Ruzious wrote:doclinkin wrote:Ruzious wrote:I'm thinking I should go back to my original instincts - now that we'll likely pick toward the end of the lottery and now that Gafford has arrived. My 2 favorite players all season were Butler of Baylor and Charles Bassey. Usually the best thing is to go with your gut and go after the players you like. With our 1st pick, I'll pick Bassey. That frees us up to trade Bryant for a late 1st and late 2nd (and filler). I use the late 1st on Butler and the late 2nd on Hauser. Reasons I like Bassey - he completely dominated his conference, his offensive game is similar to Bryant's - he's a dominant inside scorer with the makings of 3 point range, he was his conference's DPOY as a freshman, and he worked his way back from a bad injury with perhaps more game left to show.
Bassey is being mocked in the 2nd round most places I look. If you were able to get him on a trade back he would be a better value. Or if he is still on the board by round 2 and you can buy a pick.
Sure, if I believed he'd go later, I'd trade down, but I just don't buy the mocks. He's too good to slide past the lottery, imo.
I just watched a bunch of videos on Bassey. He truly is a great rebounder who rebounds outside of his area. He also has high shoulders and a short neck so at 6'-10" with a 7'-3.5" wingspan, he'll play like a 7-footer. I liked the way he moved on the court, he has strong legs and good balance, and doesn't jump all over the place unnecessarily. He strikes me as a guy who won't be an injury risk. He might have a pretty lackluster vertical leap, it seems like he doesn't have much room to spare on most of his dunks, but he still manages to get the lob passes thrown his way. Maybe he only jumps as high as he needs to. His 2nd jump is pretty quick though. He doesn't need much time to gather.
He doesn't have much of a post game, but that doesn't matter much in the NBA. Most of his buckets are as a roll man, and he rolls with enthusiasm. He has the makings of a half-decent catch-and-shoot game. He's no Myles Turner or anything, but he might be a guy that you can't afford to just leave out on the perimeter. I saw him make one nice pass to a cutter, but the stats suggest he isn't much of a passer.
Defensively, he is good as a rim protector, showing good instincts on where to be and when. But he didn't look that great out on the perimeter when caught up in a switch. He doesn't have the same quick feet as, say, Bam Adebayo. He'll probably only be able to play drop coverage in the NBA.
Ultimately, he looks a lot like Daniel Gafford. Not quite 7-feet but plays like it. A big physical guy with good balance but without elite footspeed. A great motor. Very good roll man. I think Gafford is a better leaper and therefore a better vertical threat on the lob, but Bassey is probably the better shooter.
I don't think I'd take him in the lottery, but he'd be a good pick in the late teens/early 20's.