2025 Draft Thread

[tontoz]

Haven't watched Fears in a game yet. They are playing Michigan tomorrow at 9 on ESPN2.

[BearlyBallin]

Haven't watched Fears in a game yet. They are playing Michigan tomorrow at 9 on ESPN2.

Fears had a nice 2nd half. Too bad he had those 2 turnovers late in the game.

He was big with that 4 pt play to go ahead.

[tontoz]

I haven't watched the 2nd half yet but these guys were certainly impressed.

Watch on YouTube

[tontoz]

Finally got done watching the game. Fears has legit speed, good handles and shot looks good too. Now I have 6 guys I like in the top 5 lol.

Harper
Flagg
Tre
Ace
Kasparas
Fears

Watch on YouTube

[BearlyBallin]

C Pierce & X Lee of Princeton beat A Bailey & D Harper. Exciting finish to a close game.

Lee would be nice to have on a G league team.

[tontoz]

I'm losing interest in Ace as a top 5 pick. His inability to finish inside is pretty alarming given his size and athleticism.

He is similar to Bub in that his favorite shots are midrange off the dribble. Even if you make them at 50% they aren't really moving the needle. They only have real value late in the clock.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Maryland has a 6'9" F named Tefare Gapare, who can hit threes and who jumps out of the gym.

He has played PG in the past.

Gapare is a late bloomer, who I think is as athletic as Coulibaly. Watch his development.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

If the Wizards can add a pick in the later 1st round, I’d be interested in Sorber. He could be good to pair in the front court with Sarr. He’s good at everything Sarr is not good at.

Especially if we miss out on Flagg, and go Harper with our top pick.

[DCZards]

I'm losing interest in Ace as a top 5 pick. His inability to finish inside is pretty alarming given his size and athleticism.

He is similar to Bub in that his favorite shots are midrange off the dribble. Even if you make them at 50% they aren't really moving the needle. They only have real value late in the clock.

Despite what the so-called analytics suggest, midrange shots off the dribble are still an awesome weapon. SGA is Exhibit A.

[tontoz]

I'm losing interest in Ace as a top 5 pick. His inability to finish inside is pretty alarming given his size and athleticism.

He is similar to Bub in that his favorite shots are midrange off the dribble. Even if you make them at 50% they aren't really moving the needle. They only have real value late in the clock.

Despite what the so-called analytics suggest, midrange shots off the dribble are still an awesome weapon. SGA is Exhibit A.

SGA is also a master at getting inside and finishing. Ace is awful at it which is a big problem given his size and athleticism.

44% of SGA's shot attempts are from inside 10 feet.

[DCZards]

I'm losing interest in Ace as a top 5 pick. His inability to finish inside is pretty alarming given his size and athleticism.

He is similar to Bub in that his favorite shots are midrange off the dribble. Even if you make them at 50% they aren't really moving the needle. They only have real value late in the clock.

Despite what the so-called analytics suggest, midrange shots off the dribble are still an awesome weapon. SGA is Exhibit A.

SGA is also a master at getting inside and finishing. Ace is awful at it which is a big problem given his size and athleticism.

44% of SGA's shot attempts are from inside 10 feet.

SGA wasn’t always a master at getting inside and finishing. Otherwise he would not have gone 11th in the 2018 draft behind such notables as Mo Bamba and his Kentucky teammate Kevin Knox.

No reason to think the 18 yr old Bailey can’t get better at that and other aspects of his game.

[tontoz]

Despite what the so-called analytics suggest, midrange shots off the dribble are still an awesome weapon. SGA is Exhibit A.

SGA is also a master at getting inside and finishing. Ace is awful at it which is a big problem given his size and athleticism.

44% of SGA's shot attempts are from inside 10 feet.

SGA wasn’t always a master at getting inside and finishing. Otherwise he would not have gone 11th in the 2018 draft behind such notables as Mo Bamba and his Kentucky teammate Kevin Knox.

No reason to think the 18 yr old Bailey can’t get better at that and other aspects of his game.

Have you even watched Bailey play? Doesn't sound like it. Bailey struggled to finish inside against Princeton who has no shot blocking at all. It was embarrassing.

Bailey's advanced stats aren't even in the same zip code as SGA's in college.

On the season Bailey has 7 assists and 26 turnovers which is a big red flag. A 50% TS isn't a good look for someone with his size and jumper.

[payitforward]

Bailey has only played 335 minutes, but so far he hasn't shown anything like the scoring ability SG-A demonstrated as a Freshman.

Now... anybody can get better, of course! But that's not a good metric for draft position. To use your own citation, Kevin Knox could have gotten better too. He didn't.

This is not a criticism of Ace Bailey; at this point I have no opinion about him whatever as a draft prospect.

[tontoz]

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[tontoz]

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[Hibachi_0]

While Jakucionis, Demin or Hugo Gonzalez were playing mostly in youth leagues (EBA league, not quite youth league but not professional either), the Spanish prospect who was playing against grown men (Spanish 2nd division) was Mario Saint-Supery. This year he's been playing in the ACB. After a rough start of the season, he has stepped up and has given some interesting performances in the best domestic league in Europe.

If we got a 2nd round pick, just outside the lottery I'd consider picking him.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[SUPERBALLMAN]

The good thing about the Wizards being so bad and going through the rebuild is we actually get to see the young players getting PT and opportunities to start. Watching Sarr, Coulibaly, Bub, Kyshawn, and Champagnie has been fun, even when they loose.

But even more so, knowing they have a high pick, and 2nd rounders, has made watching college ball so much more interesting. I haven't been into the college season this much in years! I'm catching as many games as I can... Rutgers, Duke, BYU, Illinois, Oklahoma, Terps, Georgetown... this college season has had some great games already, and watching all the prospects has been fun, and its just now really getting going and its gonna be great all season and throughout March Madness!

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Looking at the draft we have the potential of landing a top 2 pick with Flagg and Harper as potential franchise building blocks.

Very EXCITING!!!


But... The Wizards ALSO have 3 2nd round picks!

Here are some players I'm eyeing....

6-10 PF Joan Beringer - 18 yr old , France

Upside, long athletic PF, potential draft and stash

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

6-8 SG Kanon Catchings - 18 yr old BYU

NBA DRAFT ROOM: Currently mocked at 42

A vastly underrated prospect who has the size, length and ball skills to be a high level NBA wing. He flies above the rim and can bring the house down with his dunking ability.

Catchings is an underrated talent who should be getting more draft buzz. He’s a long, athletic and bouncy wing who has NBA level tools and is just scratching the surface of his potential.
Buy stock now!

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6-7 PG Miles Byrd, 19 yr old, San Diego State

Bleacher Report:

Intriguing per-40-minute numbers last year should have earned Miles Byrd a spot on watch lists for 2024-25. Now in a full-time role, he's validating those standout passing and defensive rates (against a tough strength of schedule) while making 2.1 threes per game.

At 6'7", he's looked like a confident shotmaker early who can also make plays in ball-screen situations with his pull-up, runner court vision to shooters/cutters. He isn't explosive attacking the rim, but he's flashed glimpses of crafty maneuvering and adjustment finishes to help compensate for a lack of burst.

Bird also shows an unteachable knack for anticipating defensively and making timely plays on the ball. He's more of a disruptor than lockdown defender with wild steal (3.2 percent) and block (4.5 percent) rates.

There is an appealing archetype forming here. Scouts should be drawn to a 6'7" wing with shooting upside, secondary playmaking ability and instincts for creating events on defense.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[dobrojim]

Feel free to correct if I am mistaken
Either Harper or Flagg have been the number one so far on Tankathon.

Demin has an impressive array of strengths/weaknesses (5 - 4+ areas, 3 3+ areas, on negative side 1 3- area TOs, 4 1- areas)

While remembering it's still early days for this years rookies, Reed Sheppard had an amazing page on strength/weakness
going into last years draft, but so far, not much impact to show for it.

https://www.tankathon.com/players/egor-demin

[tontoz]

Feel free to correct if I am mistaken
Either Harper or Flagg have been the number one so far on Tankathon.

Demin has an impressive array of strengths/weaknesses (5 - 4+ areas, 3 3+ areas, on negative side 1 3- area TOs, 4 1- areas)

While remembering it's still early days for this years rookies, Reed Sheppard had an amazing page on strength/weakness
going into last years draft, but so far, not much impact to show for it.

https://www.tankathon.com/players/egor-demin

BYU has had a cupcake schedule so far, no top 20 opponents.