Countdown to NBA Draft: Prospect Talk

[djphan]

being a senior and that defense makes him less awe-inspiring.. he's actually growing on me though..

i see a good amt of bargnani in his game and i say that in the most flattering way possible... he could be a slightly better version of him...

[Worst_to_First]

He is such a physical force inside. We're just way beyond the point of "tearing a guy down just to do it" that it makes me laugh.

Also, I counted 5 possessions alone in the first half where because of his strength and size he cleared out enough room to allow his teammates to not only grab the rebound but grab the rebound and immediately have space to push the ball. It's those type of things that go unnoticed. I was watching the attempted reverse dunk with a friend at the golf course and we both started cracking up because it's rare to see a guy that big try and do something like that. It's insane how nimble his feet are and how big his hands are also. It wouldn't even be a stretch to say his feet are as good as Hakeem's were.

I think us older guys appreciate the kind of player he is a little more than the younger generation because we were used to seeing that type of skill down low. And I know me personally I miss it.

If only his defense was half as good as Hakeem's though...

if it was he'd be the player of his generation

Some still tout him as such regardless.

[Worst_to_First]

Towns is not an 18/10/3 guy against good teams right now. His post game is not developed enough for him to drop 18 a night or even close to it. Hampton is not NBA level competition, Hampton is not d league level competition. I'm absolutely right in questioning the level of competition and I don't understand why you're upset. When he starts dropping 20 on legit defenses then we'll talk. I didn't say Okafor is more Athletic. Okafor is much stronger, has a better wingspan, better standing reach, and doesn't get moved as easily. You saying that Okafor is a terrible defender means that you just read online that he's an Al Jefferson/Eddy curry clone because he's big and so that means he doesn't defend. Absolutely wrong. You should watch his defense in the last 10 minutes of games, he becomes the best defender on Duke when he wants to defend. Towns is a better at blocking shots but there's much more to defense than blocking shots.



His midrange game is better than all of those guys when they were coming into the NBA. That's what I said in my original post, not that he's better than where they are now. And I don't see your point. His skillset is rare. Shooters are the hardest thing to find these days. How many guys can shoot 40%+ from 3? Now compare that to the number of energy bigs that can block a couple of shots (which is what KAT will be until he develops) there will be in free agency this offseason. The few guys you name like Steph, Kyrie, and CP3 are superstars that we would all give up an arm and a leg for. This kid has ridiculous handles (way better than Kyrie and Steph coming out), he doesn't look like a 2 who's being forced to play the 1. He has the size to play SG but he has the passing and vision of a PG. I watched all of his touches from yesterday again, they were throwing triple teams at him and he still got it done. His game is smooth, he's smart, and the deadly shooting + handles will mean that his game will translate at the next level. When he gets stronger, he'll be able to consistently get to the basket and finish.

Ok now I think you don't remember those guys in college, as rookies, or you're trolling. Better handles than Kyrie? Kyrie had the best handles I ever saw for a freshman. I remember once he split a triple team out of nowhere.

Like I said before all three of those guys came into the league as one of the best midrange shooters - Russ won't. His midrange game is good but not even better than Towns'.

And Towns isn't a regular energy big. He's an energy big with a better jumper and outside game than any 7 footer at his age I've ever seen.

You're probably right that Kyrie in College actually but I still think his handle is right up there. His shooting and passing being deadly doesn't hurt him either.

I never said that I didn't like KAT. I think he has tremendous potential and I would be okay with him at #1 but people are really over hyping him as if he's on a different level from Okafor and Russell. He's not. I want to see him do it consistently against top teams and I'm still not convinced that he won't shy away from contact at the next level. Also, he really needs to work on his post game because he's a center in the NBA, he doesn't have the quickness or athleticism to play the 4.

I respect your views and opinions but there was a part in your post wherein I believed you thought Towns wears #15 for Kentucky.

[DickGrayson]

Towns is not an 18/10/3 guy against good teams right now. His post game is not developed enough for him to drop 18 a night or even close to it. Hampton is not NBA level competition, Hampton is not d league level competition. I'm absolutely right in questioning the level of competition and I don't understand why you're upset. When he starts dropping 20 on legit defenses then we'll talk. I didn't say Okafor is more Athletic. Okafor is much stronger, has a better wingspan, better standing reach, and doesn't get moved as easily. You saying that Okafor is a terrible defender means that you just read online that he's an Al Jefferson/Eddy curry clone because he's big and so that means he doesn't defend. Absolutely wrong. You should watch his defense in the last 10 minutes of games, he becomes the best defender on Duke when he wants to defend. Towns is a better at blocking shots but there's much more to defense than blocking shots.



His midrange game is better than all of those guys when they were coming into the NBA. That's what I said in my original post, not that he's better than where they are now. And I don't see your point. His skillset is rare. Shooters are the hardest thing to find these days. How many guys can shoot 40%+ from 3? Now compare that to the number of energy bigs that can block a couple of shots (which is what KAT will be until he develops) there will be in free agency this offseason. The few guys you name like Steph, Kyrie, and CP3 are superstars that we would all give up an arm and a leg for. This kid has ridiculous handles (way better than Kyrie and Steph coming out), he doesn't look like a 2 who's being forced to play the 1. He has the size to play SG but he has the passing and vision of a PG. I watched all of his touches from yesterday again, they were throwing triple teams at him and he still got it done. His game is smooth, he's smart, and the deadly shooting + handles will mean that his game will translate at the next level. When he gets stronger, he'll be able to consistently get to the basket and finish.

Ok now I think you don't remember those guys in college, as rookies, or you're trolling. Better handles than Kyrie? Kyrie had the best handles I ever saw for a freshman. I remember once he split a triple team out of nowhere.

Like I said before all three of those guys came into the league as one of the best midrange shooters - Russ won't. His midrange game is good but not even better than Towns'.

And Towns isn't a regular energy big. He's an energy big with a better jumper and outside game than any 7 footer at his age I've ever seen.

You're probably right that Kyrie in College actually but I still think his handle is right up there. His shooting and passing being deadly doesn't hurt him either.

I never said that I didn't like KAT. I think he has tremendous potential and I would be okay with him at #1 but people are really over hyping him as if he's on a different level from Okafor and Russell. He's not. I want to see him do it consistently against top teams and I'm still not convinced that he won't shy away from contact at the next level. Also, he really needs to work on his post game because he's a center in the NBA, he doesn't have the quickness or athleticism to play the 4.

Towns post game is strong and advanced his age. It's not Okafor interior scoring, but Towns is better at everything offensively.

Name 15 starting centers in the NBA with postgame.


ATL - Horford yes
BKN - Plumlee, no
BOS - Zeller, not yet
CHA - Jefferson, yes
CHI - Noah, no
CLE - Mozgov, somewhat
DAL - Chandler, no
DEN - Nurkic, not yet
DET - Drummond, not exactly a go to player yet.
GSW - Bogut, no
HOU - Howard, 3 or 4 moves
IND - Hibbert, no
LAC - Jordan, no
LAL - Sacre, no
MEM - Gasol, yes
MIA - Whiteside, no
MIN - Pekovic, yes
MIL - Henson, no
NO - Asik, no
NYK - Smith, no
OKC - Adams, no
ORL - Vucevic, yes
PHI - Sims, no
PHX - Len, not yet
POR - Lopez, no
SA - Splitter, somewhat
SAC - Cousins, yes
TOR - Valacinuous, somewhat
UTA - Grobert, not yet
WAS - Gortat, somewhat


7 out of 30 starting centers with certain post games. You act like a post game is needed to start in the NBA.

[god4gives]

Wow, Frank Kaminsky with 10-14, 3-5 from downtown, 12 rebounds, 4-5 FT, zero personal fouls, (Hello KAT?) one block and a total of 27 points! Yegads!

Obviously I want the Knicks to have the worst record, but if we fall in the draft down to 6/7, it's between Kaminsky and WCS for me.

NO way Kaminsky drops below 10th pick. He might even go earlier.

You folks here have dramatically underestimated this fellow. Shame on you!

I didn't really expect much from a team thats undersized. i knew this was going to be an easy game for Kaminsky. Wisconsin first test is probably gonna be Arizona or whoever wins the arkansas and north carolina game

[2010]

Ok now I think you don't remember those guys in college, as rookies, or you're trolling. Better handles than Kyrie? Kyrie had the best handles I ever saw for a freshman. I remember once he split a triple team out of nowhere.

Like I said before all three of those guys came into the league as one of the best midrange shooters - Russ won't. His midrange game is good but not even better than Towns'.

And Towns isn't a regular energy big. He's an energy big with a better jumper and outside game than any 7 footer at his age I've ever seen.

You're probably right that Kyrie in College actually but I still think his handle is right up there. His shooting and passing being deadly doesn't hurt him either.

I never said that I didn't like KAT. I think he has tremendous potential and I would be okay with him at #1 but people are really over hyping him as if he's on a different level from Okafor and Russell. He's not. I want to see him do it consistently against top teams and I'm still not convinced that he won't shy away from contact at the next level. Also, he really needs to work on his post game because he's a center in the NBA, he doesn't have the quickness or athleticism to play the 4.

Towns post game is strong and advanced his age. It's not Okafor interior scoring, but Towns is better at everything offensively.

Name 15 starting centers in the NBA with postgame.


ATL - Horford yes
BKN - Plumlee, no
BOS - Zeller, not yet
CHA - Jefferson, yes
CHI - Noah, no
CLE - Mozgov, somewhat
DAL - Chandler, no
DEN - Nurkic, not yet
DET - Drummond, not exactly a go to player yet.
GSW - Bogut, no
HOU - Howard, 3 or 4 moves
IND - Hibbert, no
LAC - Jordan, no
LAL - Sacre, no
MEM - Gasol, yes
MIA - Whiteside, no
MIN - Pekovic, yes
MIL - Henson, no
NO - Asik, no
NYK - Smith, no
OKC - Adams, no
ORL - Vucevic, yes
PHI - Sims, no
PHX - Len, not yet
POR - Lopez, no
SA - Splitter, somewhat
SAC - Cousins, yes
TOR - Valacinuous, somewhat
UTA - Grobert, not yet
WAS - Gortat, somewhat


7 out of 30 starting centers with certain post games. You act like a post game is needed to start in the NBA.

Hibbert doesn't have a post game? Go tell that to Tyson Chandler.

[islanders11040]

You're probably right that Kyrie in College actually but I still think his handle is right up there. His shooting and passing being deadly doesn't hurt him either.

I never said that I didn't like KAT. I think he has tremendous potential and I would be okay with him at #1 but people are really over hyping him as if he's on a different level from Okafor and Russell. He's not. I want to see him do it consistently against top teams and I'm still not convinced that he won't shy away from contact at the next level. Also, he really needs to work on his post game because he's a center in the NBA, he doesn't have the quickness or athleticism to play the 4.

Towns post game is strong and advanced his age. It's not Okafor interior scoring, but Towns is better at everything offensively.

Name 15 starting centers in the NBA with postgame.


ATL - Horford yes
BKN - Plumlee, no
BOS - Zeller, not yet
CHA - Jefferson, yes
CHI - Noah, no
CLE - Mozgov, somewhat
DAL - Chandler, no
DEN - Nurkic, not yet
DET - Drummond, not exactly a go to player yet.
GSW - Bogut, no
HOU - Howard, 3 or 4 moves
IND - Hibbert, no
LAC - Jordan, no
LAL - Sacre, no
MEM - Gasol, yes
MIA - Whiteside, no
MIN - Pekovic, yes
MIL - Henson, no
NO - Asik, no
NYK - Smith, no
OKC - Adams, no
ORL - Vucevic, yes
PHI - Sims, no
PHX - Len, not yet
POR - Lopez, no
SA - Splitter, somewhat
SAC - Cousins, yes
TOR - Valacinuous, somewhat
UTA - Grobert, not yet
WAS - Gortat, somewhat


7 out of 30 starting centers with certain post games. You act like a post game is needed to start in the NBA.

Hibbert doesn't have a post game? Go tell that to Tyson Chandler.

Im posting this to hopefully start everyones day in a bad mood.

[BeagleBoss]

Russellmania today @ 5pm!!!

[BeagleBoss]

KAT's hook is already elite. He'll have no problems scoring in the post in the nba. His biggest learning curve will be defensively and adapting to the speed and strength of the bigs and staying out of foul trouble. But he'll be fine. It wont take him 3 years! That's just ridiculous talk!!

[E-Balla]

KAT's hook is already elite. He'll have no problems scoring in the post in the nba. His biggest learning curve will be defensively and adapting to the speed and strength of the bigs and staying out of foul trouble. But he'll be fine. It wont take him 3 years! That's just ridiculous talk!!

When have you seen Towns consistently hit that hook against players over 6-8? Seriously think about his best games and the size of the guys he played.

Also he scores .848 PPP in the post. Jahlil at the halfway point was at 1.3 PPP (idk what it is now but I'd assume its dropped to around 1.05-1.10 mainly because his teammates stopped hitting as many shots in conference play).

I think people are underestimating exactly how good Jahlil is right now. Check out this list of 15+ ppg scorers in the NCAA since 98:
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pla ... _by=fg_pct

Jahlil is second in FG% for all major conference players (under JR Michael Bradley) and the closest freshman to Jahlil's 67.4 FG% is Cody Zeller's 62%. He's way better in the low post than any other freshman ever.

[E-Balla]

Someone just told me something I missed when watching the OSU-VCU game but D'angelo was 1-4 with a turnover after he got elbowed in the head.

[DickGrayson]

KAT's hook is already elite. He'll have no problems scoring in the post in the nba. His biggest learning curve will be defensively and adapting to the speed and strength of the bigs and staying out of foul trouble. But he'll be fine. It wont take him 3 years! That's just ridiculous talk!!

When have you seen Towns consistently hit that hook against players over 6-8? Seriously think about his best games and the size of the guys he played.

Also he scores .848 PPP in the post. Jahlil at the halfway point was at 1.3 PPP (idk what it is now but I'd assume its dropped to around 1.05-1.10 mainly because his teammates stopped hitting as many shots in conference play).

I think people are underestimating exactly how good Jahlil is right now. Check out this list of 15+ ppg scorers in the NCAA since 98:
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pla ... _by=fg_pct

Jahlil is second in FG% for all major conference players (under JR Michael Bradley) and the closest freshman to Jahlil's 67.4 FG% is Cody Zeller's 62%. He's way better in the low post than any other freshman ever.

Hey bro, your link isn't working.

Jahil is playing against guys the size of Yao Ming and Grobert and Towns is playing against guys the size of Chuck Hayes. Confirmed.

let's also stop the notion Towns will be a finished product on terms of being able to score on guys bigger than him. Unlike Okafor, Towns can score outside of the post as well he does inside. Towns doesn't even get to show his full arsenal in Kentucky, but people who closely follow Kentucky have mention Towns can shoot very well has a quick release and touch on the ball.

Especially in the NBA where having a jump shot will expand your offensive game. Defensively, Towns blows Okafor away and Towns is closer to Okafor offensively than you believe.

[DickGrayson]

Hibbert doesn't have a post game? Go tell that to Tyson Chandler.

Hibbert is 7"2 and shoots 45% FG, he gets stuffed in the paint all the time. Chandler was a wuss that season.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_7XJ3ZF1-g[/youtube]



Pacers are worst offensively when Hibbert is on the court. He has post moves, but no precision or might when he's in the post. That's like a guy having a cross over but can't shoot.

[Da_Mane_Man]

guys, i'm lazy ... can someone post the ncaa games today that are relevant to the knicks' pick? i wanna see some of these guys play.

[E-Balla]

KAT's hook is already elite. He'll have no problems scoring in the post in the nba. His biggest learning curve will be defensively and adapting to the speed and strength of the bigs and staying out of foul trouble. But he'll be fine. It wont take him 3 years! That's just ridiculous talk!!

When have you seen Towns consistently hit that hook against players over 6-8? Seriously think about his best games and the size of the guys he played.

Also he scores .848 PPP in the post. Jahlil at the halfway point was at 1.3 PPP (idk what it is now but I'd assume its dropped to around 1.05-1.10 mainly because his teammates stopped hitting as many shots in conference play).

I think people are underestimating exactly how good Jahlil is right now. Check out this list of 15+ ppg scorers in the NCAA since 98:
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pla ... _by=fg_pct

Jahlil is second in FG% for all major conference players (under JR Michael Bradley) and the closest freshman to Jahlil's 67.4 FG% is Cody Zeller's 62%. He's way better in the low post than any other freshman ever.

Hey bro, your link isn't working.

Jahil is playing against guys the size of Yao Ming and Grobert and Towns is playing against guys the size of Chuck Hayes. Confirmed.

let's also stop the notion Towns will be a finished product on terms of being able to score on guys bigger than him. Unlike Okafor, Towns can score outside of the post as well he does inside. Towns doesn't even get to show his full arsenal in Kentucky, but people who closely follow Kentucky have mention Towns can shoot very well has a quick release and touch on the ball.

Especially in the NBA where having a jump shot will expand your offensive game. Defensively, Towns blows Okafor away and Towns is closer to Okafor offensively than you believe.

My bad the URL was too long and RealGM cut it short (they need to fix that): http://tinyurl.com/m6fcfb5

No one said Jahlil is playing all tall people and Towns all short people but it is a fact that Jahlil has played more tall frontcourt players and it is a fact that he's dominated them way more often than Towns.

And Towns can't score as well outside of the post as he can inside because he can't really score in the post. When it comes to scoring his ability inside isn't close to NBA standard. Jahlil right now can score on an average starting NBA C down low and Towns is far from being at that level.

I'll ask again have any of you seen Towns' post game against players over 6-8 not named Horford?

Also Towns' best games aren't against guys the size of Chuck Hayes they're actually way smaller when you take their weight into account.

Seriously I did it earlier but look at how many 6-10+ or 245+ players Towns has played and you'll be very surprised. He's just not strong enough to play those types of guys yet.

And he will improve but are we willing to hope he improves to the level where Jahlil isn't way better? Jahlil is already good enough to score at a decent rate against anyone in the world one on one. If I had to rank each of them on each side of the ball with the standard for a 10 being Jahlil's offense Towns' defense would be a 7, his offense a 5 and Okafor's defense would be a 3 (2 when he doesn't care and a 4 when he does).

[E-Balla]

guys, i'm lazy ... can someone post the ncaa games today that are relevant to the knicks' pick? i wanna see some of these guys play.

Get the March Madness App.

[BeagleBoss]

guys, i'm lazy ... can someone post the ncaa games today that are relevant to the knicks' pick? i wanna see some of these guys play.

Towns at 3 and Russell at 5 on cbs

[Fat]

Hibbert doesn't have a post game? Go tell that to Tyson Chandler.

Hibbert is 7"2 and shoots 45% FG, he gets stuffed in the paint all the time. Chandler was a wuss that season.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_7XJ3ZF1-g[/youtube]



Pacers are worst offensively when Hibbert is on the court. He has post moves, but no precision or might when he's in the post. That's like a guy having a cross over but can't shoot.

This video though

[Retired_Doc]

guys, i'm lazy ... can someone post the ncaa games today that are relevant to the knicks' pick? i wanna see some of these guys play.

Towns at 3 and Russell at 5 on cbs

Hmmm, I'm seeing on the schedule Towns at 2:40 and Russell at 5:15. Where are you seeing 3 and 5PM?

[BeagleBoss]

KAT's hook is already elite. He'll have no problems scoring in the post in the nba. His biggest learning curve will be defensively and adapting to the speed and strength of the bigs and staying out of foul trouble. But he'll be fine. It wont take him 3 years! That's just ridiculous talk!!

When have you seen Towns consistently hit that hook against players over 6-8? Seriously think about his best games and the size of the guys he played.

Also he scores .848 PPP in the post. Jahlil at the halfway point was at 1.3 PPP (idk what it is now but I'd assume its dropped to around 1.05-1.10 mainly because his teammates stopped hitting as many shots in conference play).

I think people are underestimating exactly how good Jahlil is right now. Check out this list of 15+ ppg scorers in the NCAA since 98:
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pla ... _by=fg_pct

Jahlil is second in FG% for all major conference players (under JR Michael Bradley) and the closest freshman to Jahlil's 67.4 FG% is Cody Zeller's 62%. He's way better in the low post than any other freshman ever.

I never said I didn't like Jah. I just like KAT .01% more.

And it's a hook and KAT is 7 feet. That shot isn't getting blocked in the nba.