Roko Prkačin

[clyde21]

Roko just needs to become a more reliable shooter and needs to hit his FTs, he's gotten better there but still has a long ways to go, that'll unlock the rest of his game offensively

right now I don't see a huge difference between him and a guy like Deni until that happens (had Deni in the same range pretty much).

to the people that had Deni top 10 last year: why don't you have Roko top10 this yr?

[Charm]

Roko just needs to become a more reliable shooter and needs to hit his FTs, he's gotten better there but still has a long ways to go, that'll unlock the rest of his game

right now I don't see a huge difference between him and a guy like Deni until that happens (had Deni in the same range pretty much).

I don't see how they're alike at all...Roko's miles ahead of Deni as a scorer, but Deni was a very good defensive prospect while Roko's kind of a worrisome SF/PF tweener type on D.

[clyde21]

Roko just needs to become a more reliable shooter and needs to hit his FTs, he's gotten better there but still has a long ways to go, that'll unlock the rest of his game

right now I don't see a huge difference between him and a guy like Deni until that happens (had Deni in the same range pretty much).

I don't see how they're alike at all...Roko's miles ahead of Deni as a scorer, but Deni was a very good defensive prospect while Roko's kind of a worrisome SF/PF tweener type on D.

*they're not like at all*

*goes on to describe how exactly they are alike*

they are essentially the same archetype in the NBA and will play the same role, and have similar strengths/weaknesses coming out...Deni also had a lot of ?s regarding his shooting...and both are tweeners defensively really.

how was Deni a much better defensive prospect than Roko? not sure what's that based on tbh.

[clyde21]

i will also add Roko's a full year younger than Deni coming out.

[Charm]

Roko just needs to become a more reliable shooter and needs to hit his FTs, he's gotten better there but still has a long ways to go, that'll unlock the rest of his game

right now I don't see a huge difference between him and a guy like Deni until that happens (had Deni in the same range pretty much).

I don't see how they're alike at all...Roko's miles ahead of Deni as a scorer, but Deni was a very good defensive prospect while Roko's kind of a worrisome SF/PF tweener type on D.

*they're not like at all*

*goes on to describe how exactly they are alike*

they are essentially the same archetype in the NBA and will play the same role, and have similar strengths/weaknesses coming out...Deni also had a lot of ?s regarding his shooting...and both are tweeners defensively really.

how was Deni a much better defensive prospect than Roko? not sure what's that based on tbh.

Deni's issue offensively was that he not only had a shaky jumpshot, he was also pretty ineffective in the paint. His offensive rebound rate and free throw rate were absolutely horrible for a PF prospect.

I tend to think Roko has the better jumpshot too...qualitatively, playing with much less talent than Deni had with Maccabi, Roko attracted a lot more attention from the defense, and his jumpshots were generally higher degree of difficulty than Deni's jumpshots as a result. I have little doubt that he'll be a dangerous shooter in time.

On defense, Deni both has lighter feet on the perimeter, and better shot-blocking instincts inside. In this draft, he's probably more similar to Wagner than to Prkacin.

[Hal14]

Roko just needs to become a more reliable shooter and needs to hit his FTs, he's gotten better there but still has a long ways to go, that'll unlock the rest of his game

right now I don't see a huge difference between him and a guy like Deni until that happens (had Deni in the same range pretty much).

I don't see how they're alike at all...Roko's miles ahead of Deni as a scorer, but Deni was a very good defensive prospect while Roko's kind of a worrisome SF/PF tweener type on D.

*they're not like at all*

*goes on to describe how exactly they are alike*

they are essentially the same archetype in the NBA and will play the same role, and have similar strengths/weaknesses coming out...Deni also had a lot of ?s regarding his shooting...and both are tweeners defensively really.

how was Deni a much better defensive prospect than Roko? not sure what's that based on tbh.

I haven't seen anything that worries me about Roko's defense. I see him as a stretch 4 / 5 man in small ball lineups.

In this clip we see him switch onto a PG, the PG tries to take him off the dribble but Roko stays with him nicely and then blocks the shot.

Watch on YouTube

;t=1s

In this clip, we see him block Evan Mobley under the basket:

Watch on YouTube

He's at least adequate defensively. Not elite on D, but most players it's the offense that comes first and they get better on D later on. He's only 18, most players it takes more time than that to get to be elite defensively.

Roko might not have off the charts size, speed or athleticism but he has a good amount of all 3 of those and this skill set and production at the professional level at only 18 years old is impressive.

[Charm]

I don't see how they're alike at all...Roko's miles ahead of Deni as a scorer, but Deni was a very good defensive prospect while Roko's kind of a worrisome SF/PF tweener type on D.

*they're not like at all*

*goes on to describe how exactly they are alike*

they are essentially the same archetype in the NBA and will play the same role, and have similar strengths/weaknesses coming out...Deni also had a lot of ?s regarding his shooting...and both are tweeners defensively really.

how was Deni a much better defensive prospect than Roko? not sure what's that based on tbh.

I haven't seen anything that worries me about Roko's defense. I see him as a stretch 4 / 5 man in small ball lineups.

In this clip we see him switch onto a PG, the PG tries to take him off the dribble but Roko stays with him nicely and then blocks the shot.

Watch on YouTube

;t=1s

In this clip. we see him block Evan Mobley under the basket:

Watch on YouTube

He might not have off the charts size, speed or athleticism but he has a good amount of all 3 of those and this skill set and production at the professional level at only 18 years old is impressive.

I mean, for any player you can make a highlight of all his assists and make him look like a great passer, or all his blocks and make him look like a great defender, etc. That's where it helps to look at season averages. Less than 1 block per 40 minutes is definitely red flag territory for a PF, even if he did produce a handful of highlights.

If you're convinced that he's going to be an average or near-average NBA defender, though, he should 100% be in the top-10 of your board. Because he's really, really promising on offense.

[clyde21]

I don't see how they're alike at all...Roko's miles ahead of Deni as a scorer, but Deni was a very good defensive prospect while Roko's kind of a worrisome SF/PF tweener type on D.

*they're not like at all*

*goes on to describe how exactly they are alike*

they are essentially the same archetype in the NBA and will play the same role, and have similar strengths/weaknesses coming out...Deni also had a lot of ?s regarding his shooting...and both are tweeners defensively really.

how was Deni a much better defensive prospect than Roko? not sure what's that based on tbh.

Deni's issue offensively was that he not only had a shaky jumpshot, he was also pretty ineffective in the paint. His offensive rebound rate and free throw rate were absolutely horrible for a PF prospect.

I tend to think Roko has the better jumpshot too...qualitatively, playing with much less talent than Deni had with Maccabi, Roko attracted a lot more attention from the defense, and his jumpshots were generally higher degree of difficulty than Deni's jumpshots as a result. I have little doubt that he'll be a dangerous shooter in time.

On defense, Deni both has lighter feet on the perimeter, and better shot-blocking instincts inside. In this draft, he's probably more similar to Wagner than to Prkacin.

bruh, every time we get in a discussion you start throwing out the word 'qualitatively'...stop throwing out these big words or imma start taking it as disrespek.

re: Deni offensively, they are pretty much the same prospect, very similar strengths/weaknesses, from questions on their shooting to their FTs to their dribble game in traffic to finishing. as prospects I have the same question...are they good enough with the ball in their hands to really be able to take on that point-forward role in the NBA, since that is essentially their biggest selling points until they can be consistent scorers/shooting.

defensively, I'll give you that Deni had quicker feet on the perimeter, but it's not game breaking, i think both will be net neutral defensively more or less in the NBA, will depend a lot on how their help defense develops otherwise most of their value will come on the other side of the court.

and my question still stands...why did people have Deni top10 last year (some even had him top5) but not Roko this year? i don't know how to reconcile that.

[Charm]

*they're not like at all*

*goes on to describe how exactly they are alike*

they are essentially the same archetype in the NBA and will play the same role, and have similar strengths/weaknesses coming out...Deni also had a lot of ?s regarding his shooting...and both are tweeners defensively really.

how was Deni a much better defensive prospect than Roko? not sure what's that based on tbh.

Deni's issue offensively was that he not only had a shaky jumpshot, he was also pretty ineffective in the paint. His offensive rebound rate and free throw rate were absolutely horrible for a PF prospect.

I tend to think Roko has the better jumpshot too...qualitatively, playing with much less talent than Deni had with Maccabi, Roko attracted a lot more attention from the defense, and his jumpshots were generally higher degree of difficulty than Deni's jumpshots as a result. I have little doubt that he'll be a dangerous shooter in time.

On defense, Deni both has lighter feet on the perimeter, and better shot-blocking instincts inside. In this draft, he's probably more similar to Wagner than to Prkacin.

bruh, every time we get in a discussion you start throwing out the word 'qualitatively'...stop throwing out these big words or imma start taking it as disrespek.

re: Deni offensively, they are pretty much the same prospect, very similar strengths/weaknesses, from questions on their shooting to their FTs to their dribble game in traffic to finishing. as prospects I have the same question...are they good enough with the ball in their hands to really be able to take on that point-forward role in the NBA, since that is essentially their biggest selling points until they can be consistent scorers/shooting.

defensively, I'll give you that Deni had quicker feet on the perimeter, but it's not game breaking, i think both will be net neutral defensively more or less in the NBA, will depend a lot on how their help defense develops otherwise most of their value will come on the other side of the court.

and my question still stands...why did people have Deni top10 last year (some even had him top5) but not Roko this year? i don't know how to reconcile that.

No disrespect meant...just drawing the distinction between some of my observations, which are quantitative and not up for debate (e.g. Deni's terrible offensive rebound and free throw rates) and other observations which are qualitative and subject to interpretation (Roko generally was taking higher degree of difficulty shots than Deni).

I don't dislike Roko. I'll probably have him higher than I had Deni last year. I just don't think the two are very comparable. Roko's so much more of a scoring threat with the ball in his hands, especially when it comes to attacking the basket. That gives him a much higher offensive ceiling, and more likelihood to develop into a point forward type instead of merely an IQ/glue guy type.

My only serious reservation with Roko is his defense, where I worry that he doesn't do anything particularly well on that end, and may be targeted by more athletic players. If I felt confident that he'd hold his own on defense I'd have him top-10, but as it stands he's more of a late teens/early 20's guy for me.

[pad300]

...

and my question still stands...why did people have Deni top10 last year (some even had him top5) but not Roko this year? i don't know how to reconcile that.

The quality of the other prospects in the draft does factor into it... Would anybody in last year's draft make this years top 5? How many guys in the 5 to 10 range would make last year's top 5?

[EvanZ]

If Kuminga's age is a point of controversy, that's news to me.

He's from Congo. It's well known that only like 1/3 of kids there have legit birth certificates. I think he's probably at least a year older than given.

Source?

Actually, I was wrong. Only 1/4 of children in Congo have birth certificates:

https://borgenproject.org/womens-rights-in-the-drc/

[Hal14]

Deni's issue offensively was that he not only had a shaky jumpshot, he was also pretty ineffective in the paint. His offensive rebound rate and free throw rate were absolutely horrible for a PF prospect.

I tend to think Roko has the better jumpshot too...qualitatively, playing with much less talent than Deni had with Maccabi, Roko attracted a lot more attention from the defense, and his jumpshots were generally higher degree of difficulty than Deni's jumpshots as a result. I have little doubt that he'll be a dangerous shooter in time.

On defense, Deni both has lighter feet on the perimeter, and better shot-blocking instincts inside. In this draft, he's probably more similar to Wagner than to Prkacin.

bruh, every time we get in a discussion you start throwing out the word 'qualitatively'...stop throwing out these big words or imma start taking it as disrespek.

re: Deni offensively, they are pretty much the same prospect, very similar strengths/weaknesses, from questions on their shooting to their FTs to their dribble game in traffic to finishing. as prospects I have the same question...are they good enough with the ball in their hands to really be able to take on that point-forward role in the NBA, since that is essentially their biggest selling points until they can be consistent scorers/shooting.

defensively, I'll give you that Deni had quicker feet on the perimeter, but it's not game breaking, i think both will be net neutral defensively more or less in the NBA, will depend a lot on how their help defense develops otherwise most of their value will come on the other side of the court.

and my question still stands...why did people have Deni top10 last year (some even had him top5) but not Roko this year? i don't know how to reconcile that.

No disrespect meant...just drawing the distinction between some of my observations, which are quantitative and not up for debate (e.g. Deni's terrible offensive rebound and free throw rates) and other observations which are qualitative and subject to interpretation (Roko generally was taking higher degree of difficulty shots than Deni).

I don't dislike Roko. I'll probably have him higher than I had Deni last year. I just don't think the two are very comparable. Roko's so much more of a scoring threat with the ball in his hands, especially when it comes to attacking the basket. That gives him a much higher offensive ceiling, and more likelihood to develop into a point forward type instead of merely an IQ/glue guy type.

My only serious reservation with Roko is his defense, where I worry that he doesn't do anything particularly well on that end, and may be targeted by more athletic players. If I felt confident that he'd hold his own on defense I'd have him top-10, but as it stands he's more of a late teens/early 20's guy for me.

How good do you expect him to be defensively at age 18? Players typically are good on offense first and the defense comes later. You look at all NBA defensive teams, they rarely have players under the age of 25. You look at the best defensive teams in the league - they are rarely among the league's youngest teams.

It should be no shocker that the NCAA defensive player of the year (Mitchell) is a 22 year old.

Let's look at some of the players in this draft class who are only 18 so we're comparing apples to apples:

Giddey = average at best defensively. Shows some occasional flashes of brilliance on D, but overall it's seen as a weaker part of his game
Sengun = average at best defensively. Shows some occasional flashes of brilliance on D, but overall it's seen as a weaker part of his game
Roko = average at best defensively. Shows some occasional flashes of brilliance on D, but overall it's seen as a weaker part of his game. I might even say Roko is a slightly better defender today than Sengun or Giddey. Giddey projects as a PG on offense so he will probably be guarding 1's (and maybe sometimes 2's) who are likely going to be very quick for him to try and stay in front of. Sengun has more blocks than Roko but he's also a traditional center who is defending the post more often whereas Roko is sometimes defending the post but often defending the perimeter where there's less opportunities for blocks. We've seen Sengun look foolish defensively at times vs some of the really big, skilled, more experienced centers in Europe whereas we haven't (to my knowledge) seen Roko look foolish defensively yet vs anyone.
Springer - seems to be by far the best defender of the group, but he's also facing weaker competition in NCAA than these other 3 who are playing professionally overseas

Looking at other guys in this draft class. I think Kai Jones vs Roko is an interesting debate if we want to have an apples to apples discussion. I currently have Jones higher on my big board, but I think they're pretty close overall in terms of who's the better draft prospect. Now, if we are just looking at them defensively: Jones gets more blocks per minute and with his longer wingspan (while being just as quick as Roko) Jones can also defend the perimeter just as well (if not better). But at the same time, from what I've gathered about Jones, he is still very raw, not as fluid with his movements/coordination which hurts him at times on D and he was also pretty inconsistent this past season (showing flashes of brilliance but other times when he looked flat out bad). Jones is kind of more of a project who may need more development (despite being 2 years older at age 20) whereas Roko is more polished, more fundamental, more of a finished product. Roko also can be inconsistent at times, but Roko also faced better competition. So I might call them about even defensively..

[clyde21]

Deni's issue offensively was that he not only had a shaky jumpshot, he was also pretty ineffective in the paint. His offensive rebound rate and free throw rate were absolutely horrible for a PF prospect.

I tend to think Roko has the better jumpshot too...qualitatively, playing with much less talent than Deni had with Maccabi, Roko attracted a lot more attention from the defense, and his jumpshots were generally higher degree of difficulty than Deni's jumpshots as a result. I have little doubt that he'll be a dangerous shooter in time.

On defense, Deni both has lighter feet on the perimeter, and better shot-blocking instincts inside. In this draft, he's probably more similar to Wagner than to Prkacin.

bruh, every time we get in a discussion you start throwing out the word 'qualitatively'...stop throwing out these big words or imma start taking it as disrespek.

re: Deni offensively, they are pretty much the same prospect, very similar strengths/weaknesses, from questions on their shooting to their FTs to their dribble game in traffic to finishing. as prospects I have the same question...are they good enough with the ball in their hands to really be able to take on that point-forward role in the NBA, since that is essentially their biggest selling points until they can be consistent scorers/shooting.

defensively, I'll give you that Deni had quicker feet on the perimeter, but it's not game breaking, i think both will be net neutral defensively more or less in the NBA, will depend a lot on how their help defense develops otherwise most of their value will come on the other side of the court.

and my question still stands...why did people have Deni top10 last year (some even had him top5) but not Roko this year? i don't know how to reconcile that.

No disrespect meant...just drawing the distinction between some of my observations, which are quantitative and not up for debate (e.g. Deni's terrible offensive rebound and free throw rates) and other observations which are qualitative and subject to interpretation (Roko generally was taking higher degree of difficulty shots than Deni).

I don't dislike Roko. I'll probably have him higher than I had Deni last year. I just don't think the two are very comparable. Roko's so much more of a scoring threat with the ball in his hands, especially when it comes to attacking the basket. That gives him a much higher offensive ceiling, and more likelihood to develop into a point forward type instead of merely an IQ/glue guy type.

My only serious reservation with Roko is his defense, where I worry that he doesn't do anything particularly well on that end, and may be targeted by more athletic players. If I felt confident that he'd hold his own on defense I'd have him top-10, but as it stands he's more of a late teens/early 20's guy for me.

was just joking on the disrespek part

yea, I think we'll agree to disagree here, I think they are more or less the same prospect, their path to success in the NBA is very similar and will be the same archetype and play the same roles in the NBA.

i just don't see any consistency here with how Roko's viewed this year vs. where Deni was ranked last yr (and where Samanic was the year before).

[bbms]

What impressed me most about his tape was his mean streak. Guy has a powerful build and doesn't shy away from abusing his power. He was playing against adult pros, not college amateurs.

Not many flaws in his game, IMO he has all the tools of a successful modern four, and maybe more. It won't make sense for some team to draft someone like Ziairie Williams before Roko Prkacin.

[Charm]

What impressed me most about his tape was his mean streak. Guy has a powerful build and doesn't shy away from abusing his power. He was playing against adult pros, not college amateurs.

Not many flaws in his game, IMO he has all the tools of a successful modern four, and maybe more. It won't make sense for some team to draft someone like Ziairie Williams before Roko Prkacin.

That's what I'm saying...like...Roko is waaaaay more scary than Deni attacking the basket. There's no comparison, at least not in that particular area.

[Hal14]

What impressed me most about his tape was his mean streak. Guy has a powerful build and doesn't shy away from abusing his power. He was playing against adult pros, not college amateurs.

Not many flaws in his game, IMO he has all the tools of a successful modern four, and maybe more. It won't make sense for some team to draft someone like Ziairie Williams before Roko Prkacin.

That's what I'm saying...like...Roko is waaaaay more scary than Deni attacking the basket. There's no comparison, at least not in that particular area.

Yup. Agreed that Roko seems to have a little mean streak to him and finishes very well through contact, rather than shying away from it.

[Charm]

bruh, every time we get in a discussion you start throwing out the word 'qualitatively'...stop throwing out these big words or imma start taking it as disrespek.

re: Deni offensively, they are pretty much the same prospect, very similar strengths/weaknesses, from questions on their shooting to their FTs to their dribble game in traffic to finishing. as prospects I have the same question...are they good enough with the ball in their hands to really be able to take on that point-forward role in the NBA, since that is essentially their biggest selling points until they can be consistent scorers/shooting.

defensively, I'll give you that Deni had quicker feet on the perimeter, but it's not game breaking, i think both will be net neutral defensively more or less in the NBA, will depend a lot on how their help defense develops otherwise most of their value will come on the other side of the court.

and my question still stands...why did people have Deni top10 last year (some even had him top5) but not Roko this year? i don't know how to reconcile that.

No disrespect meant...just drawing the distinction between some of my observations, which are quantitative and not up for debate (e.g. Deni's terrible offensive rebound and free throw rates) and other observations which are qualitative and subject to interpretation (Roko generally was taking higher degree of difficulty shots than Deni).

I don't dislike Roko. I'll probably have him higher than I had Deni last year. I just don't think the two are very comparable. Roko's so much more of a scoring threat with the ball in his hands, especially when it comes to attacking the basket. That gives him a much higher offensive ceiling, and more likelihood to develop into a point forward type instead of merely an IQ/glue guy type.

My only serious reservation with Roko is his defense, where I worry that he doesn't do anything particularly well on that end, and may be targeted by more athletic players. If I felt confident that he'd hold his own on defense I'd have him top-10, but as it stands he's more of a late teens/early 20's guy for me.

How good do you expect him to be defensively at age 18? Players typically are good on offense first and the defense comes later. You look at all NBA defensive teams, they rarely have players under the age of 25. You look at the best defensive teams in the league - they are rarely among the league's youngest teams.

It should be no shocker that the NCAA defensive player of the year (Mitchell) is a 22 year old.

Let's look at some of the players in this draft class who are only 18 so we're comparing apples to apples:

Giddey = average at best defensively. Shows some occasional flashes of brilliance on D, but overall it's seen as a weaker part of his game
Sengun = average at best defensively. Shows some occasional flashes of brilliance on D, but overall it's seen as a weaker part of his game
Roko = average at best defensively. Shows some occasional flashes of brilliance on D, but overall it's seen as a weaker part of his game. I might even say Roko is a slightly better defender today than Sengun or Giddey. Giddey projects as a PG on offense so he will probably be guarding 1's (and maybe sometimes 2's) who are likely going to be very quick for him to try and stay in front of. Sengun has more blocks than Roko but he's also a traditional center who is defending the post more often whereas Roko is sometimes defending the post but often defending the perimeter where there's less opportunities for blocks. We've seen Sengun look foolish defensively at times vs some of the really big, skilled, more experienced centers in Europe whereas we haven't (to my knowledge) seen Roko look foolish defensively yet vs anyone.
Springer - seems to be by far the best defender of the group, but he's also facing weaker competition in NCAA than these other 3 who are playing professionally overseas

Looking at other guys in this draft class. I think Kai Jones vs Roko is an interesting debate if we want to have an apples to apples discussion. I currently have Jones higher on my big board, but I think they're pretty close overall in terms of who's the better draft prospect. Now, if we are just looking at them defensively: Jones gets more blocks per minute and with his longer wingspan (while being just as quick as Roko) Jones can also defend the perimeter just as well (if not better). But at the same time, from what I've gathered about Jones, he is still very raw, not as fluid with his movements/coordination which hurts him at times on D and he was also pretty inconsistent this past season (showing flashes of brilliance but other times when he looked flat out bad). Jones is kind of more of a project who may need more development (despite being 2 years older at age 20) whereas Roko is more polished, more fundamental, more of a finished product. Roko also can be inconsistent at times, but Roko also faced better competition. So I might call them about even defensively..

I don't see how Giddey and Roko are comparable to Sengun defensively. Giddey has some of the same lateral quickness concerns, but also waifishly thin. Roko's more similar physically, but his lack of rim protection ability is scary. Sengun averaged about as many steals+blocks as both of them combined, and he did it against tougher competition.

I am a big fan of Springer too, for what it's worth. Given another year to develop I think he'd be about as good as Suggs was this last year.

Jones I think is a bit overrated. I remember vs Oklahoma State he made some boneheaded mistakes on D that resulted in easy buckets. Seems like one of those "high ceiling" guys who doesn't actually have a realistic chance to reach the ceiling people are imagining for him.

[Charm]

What impressed me most about his tape was his mean streak. Guy has a powerful build and doesn't shy away from abusing his power. He was playing against adult pros, not college amateurs.

Not many flaws in his game, IMO he has all the tools of a successful modern four, and maybe more. It won't make sense for some team to draft someone like Ziairie Williams before Roko Prkacin.

That's what I'm saying...like...Roko is waaaaay more scary than Deni attacking the basket. There's no comparison, at least not in that particular area.

Yup. Agreed that Roko seems to have a little mean streak to him and finishes very well through contact, rather than shying away from it.

Combine that finishing ability with his rapidly developing jumpshot and passing ability and...how many bigs have that kind of multifaceted offensive skill at that age? Not many that I can think of. Again, I really worry about him on defense, but if not for that I'd have him easily in my top-10.

[pohani komarac]

Roko is locked to be good player, he has good attitude and head. Star? For now he lacks offensive polish.

[Hal14]

If Roko goes to the combine, it'll be interesting to see what his measurements are. On various sites and in various videos, I'm seeing most list him at 6'9" but one site has him at 6'10" and a recent video lists him at 6'8". For weight, most sites are showing him at 210 lbs but some show 220 lbs and 1 site even lists him at 234 lbs..kind of all over the place..