Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch

londoncollin · Post #2001 » by **londoncollin** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 11:30 pm

Remember in November when I talked up Withey?

OrlChamps2030 · Post #2002 » by **OrlChamps2030** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:50 am

Jamaal Franklin is interesting, he does it all. He leads his team in points, rebounds, steals, and assists. What position is he going to play in the NBA? If we have another pick and our scouts think he can play SG do we take a look at him?

IGotDaMagicInMe · Post #2003 » by **IGotDaMagicInMe** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:51 am

FGCU is legit

akhenaten · Post #2004 » by **akhenaten** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:55 am

For those of you saying Oladipo is not worthy of a top 5 pick because he's gimmicky or just a luxury, tell me what I'm missing. Because I watched McLemore, Smart, and Noel multiple times this season, and I don't see any of them being all-stars in the NBA. Oladipo, on the other hand, may not be an all-star, but he brings skills and athleticism that are going to immediately translate into the NBA and make a difference on your team. I mean the guy is an ELITE defender, and no one disputes this, whereas Smart is just a good defender and not particularly impressive on offense either. Is it just his size? If Oladipo were 6'6" with the exact same game, would you have him top 3?

And then here's the follow-up -- if he is closer to 6'3", is there any way he could play point?

londoncollin · Post #2005 » by **londoncollin** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:00 am

akhenaten wrote:For those of you saying Oladipo is not worthy of a top 5 pick because he's gimmicky or just a luxury, tell me what I'm missing. Because I watched McLemore, Smart, and Noel multiple times this season, and I don't see any of them being all-stars in the NBA. Oladipo, on the other hand, may not be an all-star, but he brings skills and athleticism that are going to immediately translate into the NBA and make a difference on your team. I mean the guy is an ELITE defender, and no one disputes this, whereas Smart is just a good defender and not particularly impressive on offense either. Is it just his size? If Oladipo were 6'6" with the exact same game, would you have him top 3?

And then here's the follow-up -- if he is closer to 6'3", is there any way he could play point?

No, but Ellis is 6'3", Bradley is 6'2", Gordon is 6'3", etc.

So his height isn't as much much of a concern as people are making it.

A lot depends on what his reach and wingspan measurements are.

akhenaten · Post #2006 » by **akhenaten** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:10 am

I agree, and it appears, at least, that he has a long wingspan. Will be interesting to see the pre-draft measurements.

It just seems that none of the guys projected at the top is going to be a star, so why not add a guy with an elite skill instead of someone who's mediocre at everything? Same argument could be made for drafting Noel, but with no worry of a bad injury.

Noonskadoodle · Post #2007 » by **Noonskadoodle** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:11 am

Larkin is a blur

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBBLSf94MX8[/youtube]

& he is from Orlando

magicman123 · Post #2008 » by **magicman123** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:14 am

yea hes a good defender, but as a junior he should of been more impressive throughout his career to warrant a top 3 pick

londoncollin · Post #2009 » by **londoncollin** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:15 am

akhenaten wrote:I agree, and it appears, at least, that he has a long wingspan. Will be interesting to see the pre-draft measurements.

It just seems that none of the guys projected at the top is going to be a star, so why not add a guy with an elite skill instead of someone who's mediocre at everything? Same argument could be made for drafting Noel, but with no worry of a bad injury.

Just because there aren't any projected stars doesn't mean that stars don't exist. I mean, who would have thought that Love would be a star?

Hopefully we have talented enough scouts to find those stars.

tranjSAIC · Post #2010 » by **tranjSAIC** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:23 am

londoncollin wrote:is there any way he could play point?

Dude barely has the handles to play the 2, no way in hell can he be a point. I still like him alot though, I would try to trade Affalo for Minny's lotto pick so we can target him with our 2nd pick.

londoncollin · Post #2011 » by **londoncollin** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:25 am

tranjSAIC wrote:
londoncollin wrote:is there any way he could play point?

Dude barely has the handles to play the 2, no way in hell can he be a point. I still like him alot though, I would try to trade Affalo for Minny's lotto pick so we can target him with our 2nd pick.

But I never said that!

Post #2012 » by **Bensational** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:37 am

londoncollin wrote:
akhenaten wrote:I agree, and it appears, at least, that he has a long wingspan. Will be interesting to see the pre-draft measurements.

It just seems that none of the guys projected at the top is going to be a star, so why not add a guy with an elite skill instead of someone who's mediocre at everything? Same argument could be made for drafting Noel, but with no worry of a bad injury.

Just because there aren't any projected stars doesn't mean that stars don't exist. I mean, who would have thought that Love would be a star?

Hopefully we have talented enough scouts to find those stars.

exactly. i'm sure if Nicholson were made a 1st option and allowed to continue to not play defense that he could have looked like a star from this draft. our scouts do well.

i have a feeling that Smart and McCollum both have a good chance of being big offensive contributors next season. but i'm no scout, and wouldn't put any weight in my own opinion.

Noonskadoodle · Post #2013 » by **Noonskadoodle** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:41 am

I honestly believe Larkin has Ty Lawson type potential. He needs to add some more muscle like Lawson did, but his shot is much better than Lawsons.

An underrated rebounder at 4 a game & just a tough PG. That speed is lethal & allows him to get wherever he wants on the court.

OrlChamps2030 · Post #2014 » by **OrlChamps2030** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:46 am

the Illini are making Larkin work for everything tonight

Noonskadoodle · Post #2015 » by **Noonskadoodle** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:49 am

Lawson as a Sophomore averaged 13 points 5 assists 3 rebounds 2 steals & shot 53% from the field & 47% from 3

Larkin as a Sophomore has averaged 14 points 5 assists 4 rebounds 2 steals shot 48% from the field & 41% from 3

Ty listed at 5-11 195

Shane listed at 5-11 176

Noonskadoodle · Post #2016 » by **Noonskadoodle** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:49 am

Zmill wrote:the Illini are making Larkin work for everything tonight

Yea they are. Still has 8 points 4 assists 2 boards so far.

londoncollin · Post #2017 » by **londoncollin** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:02 am

Noonskadoodle wrote:I honestly believe Larkin has Ty Lawson type potential. He needs to add some more muscle like Lawson did, but his shot is much better than Lawsons.

An underrated rebounder at 4 a game & just a tough PG. That speed is lethal & allows him to get wherever he wants on the court.

With guys like Larkin who rely on speed, having to add weight scares me. Like he might lose that speed that makes him special.

Still probably worth a chance in the second round.

tranjSAIC · Post #2018 » by **tranjSAIC** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:11 am

londoncollin wrote:
tranjSAIC wrote:
londoncollin wrote:is there any way he could play point?

Dude barely has the handles to play the 2, no way in hell can he be a point. I still like him alot though, I would try to trade Affalo for Minny's lotto pick so we can target him with our 2nd pick.

But I never said that!

My bad, i was cutting the quote down, someone else posted that

Post #2019 » by **Def Swami** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:19 am

thelead wrote:I know it's always changing but lets rank our top 5 as of today. I'll go first:

1. Noel
2. McCollum
3. Smart
4. McLemore
5. Burke

I don't really have an order on your list, but I would draft all of those guys top 3. I don't think we could go wrong with any of those guys. They all fill a need for us. I'll leave it to Rob and his crew to pick their favorite from that crop.

However, my ideal draft day would be to come away with a PG and a defensive PF to complement Vucevic.

Post #2020 » by **Def Swami** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:23 am

Noonskadoodle wrote:Its sad that I like the guys in the mid 1st to the 2nd round more than the top guys hahaha

I think it's gotten to the point where I wouldn't mind drafting Burke top 3 if our front office liked him that much.