Finishing my highlights watching of the top 30 today...
23. Bobi Klintman - OK... intrigued. VERY! Seems to have some ball skills that are good for a 6'10" big? Attacks closeouts with the dribble, and gets to the rim seamlessly... very fluid mover for size. Handle is not advanced, but good enough for slashing and attacking closeouts... good enough for simple pull up jumpers... the shot looks good. Looking at his stats now... Hm... this is weird. How does he only score 10 points per 40 mins? Something is fishy. Shooting numbers look good... might translate. 2pFG% looks horrible for a big. Why? Length/size intriguing for defensive potential?
24. Bilal Coulibaly - long, but somewhat skinny wing... slasher. Effortless athleticism. Has some creative finishes around the rim... but he will need to get stronger at the NBA level or he will get pummelled like Dante did. Flashes of handle... can he develop it so he can be an on-ball wing? Right now doesn't seem to have much of an off-the-dribble game... or pull up game? Seems to get to the rim though... this is nice. Shot looks OK... numbers are OK too... I am worried when young players are not given the chance to initiate offense even if they are playing among men, but something that immediately strikes me from his stats profile - he is actually efficient. He's playing at a high level in Europe against men, and even though he's not relied to create offense ... he is efficient with what he's relied to do. I think I'd have him higher than 24... top 20 for sure.
25. Sidy Cissoko - Big, long wing... has some explosive athleticism... passing? Ok I didn't expect that... looks like he's a willing and sometimes creative passer. His shot doesn't look great on the boxscore... He's interesting, flashes handle too, but mainly uses it to get to the rim. Doesn't rebound as much as I'd like for his size... I don't like his shot... but if you think you can coach him up to shoot at NBA average level... he's very intriguing to me ... How's his defense? I would guess there is some potential there because of athleticism and length...
26. Rayan Rupert - tall wing... not very explosive... seems like mainly below the rim finisher despite his size and length... his shot actually looks good to me but the 3p% is 31%... not good... he attacks the rim, but his 2pFG% makes me think the highlights I'm seeing are bad representation of his success in the paint. He doesn't seem really athletic to me, maybe why his efficiency from 2p is so bad. Honestly... not super interested in him ... I don't think...
27. Jett Howard - interesting. Is his height real(6'8"?). He doesn't look as big to me. OK, he seems to have some off-the-bounce game here... good handle, ability to score in the midrange and from 3. Shot looks good, both on the catch and off-dribble. Why is he ranked 27? He looks like he should be higher. Doesn't seem like a high-flyer. Is his defense bad? Stocks seem low... I guess that's why he's ranked this low?
28. Colby Jones - good size for a guard... doesn't seem particularly explosive, below the rim athlete. A lot of things in his highlights look solid, but nothing jumps at you... might be a solid rotational player, not sure about higher ceiling...
29. Maxwell Lewis - big/long wing. Shows some explosive verticality off two feet. Has good finishes with both hands at the rim. The shot looks solid. I think it will translate. Has some mid-range game(pull ups, turn around jumpers, etc). Rebounds well... willing passer. Defensive metrics not great...
30. Noah Clowney - 4/5? smallball 5? good movement for his size... has some athletic ability. Attacks close outs and attacks the rim... very good rebounder it seems. Shot looks OK(but 3p% and FT% don't suggest he will be a shooter in the NBA)... but they let him shoot over 3 a game. Interesting... Seems to have some defensive ability as a rim protector and overall defender.
What did I get wrong? Where did I miss context?
My personal thoughts on these guys"
Klintman - I mostly think it's funny that he's called a "man of mystery" as if he's playing in dimly lit gyms. Reality is that he's a mystery because he couldn't get off the bench. Strong finish to the season, however, and has some U20 film (lower Euro competition) that intrigues some because he was playing point forward. I think he looks very slow even if he is fluid + he barely gets off the ground. His rim finishing is arguably the worst in the entire class, not just for bigs but the entire class. Only 53% at the rim despite 62% of them being assisted. Even though he finished the year strong his production was woefully bad, and he's not exactly young either. If he was 18 and one of the youngest players in the draft....maybe, but he is sophomore aged. When you're sophomore aged and so unproductive it's hard for me to become a believer.
Coulibaly - Favorite player in the draft, I think your concerns about his strength are valid but he's one of the youngest players in the draft + has grown 7-8+ inches in the last two years. If you want to see his offensive "bag" you can watch his youth league stuff. If you don't want to consider it at all I get it, but since people highly value Klintman's U20 film you might be interested. He is a former PG and at the youth level you see him as a super usage score who plays a ton of PnR. He's a big time late bloomer and only got PT for the senior team half way through the year. Over time he's gotten some more opportunity and in the semi finals he become one of the leading scorers and showed his potential with the ball in his hands. It remains a question as to how much he's being held back by instruction versus his current level. Another thing I'd point out is that his defense stands out in a big way. Does everything you want from a wing, active hands, guards bigs+smalls, gets around screens, and makes tons of multi-effort plays. He is one of the best, if not the best defensive wing prospects in the draft.
Cissoko - I honestly don't know what to think, such a weird mashup of skills. He's played a lot of PG in his career and it shows with his passing. I think he's just OK as an athlete but he has an grown man's body. Hard to get a feel for him and his crazy low rebounding is somewhat alarming for me. He has a lot of fans because of his unique skillset, but honestly I think it overshadows his shooting with doesn't look great to me.
Rupert - Great defensive prospect, has stunk it up badly everywhere he's gone on offense. Unfortunately I think that's his fate in the NBA as well. I think he's on par with Coulibaly as a defensive prospect but without any of the offensive intrigue and doesn't have the same gliding athleticism.
Jones - Just a really solid combo guard. Great floater game and a really active defender. Kinda boring though.
Lewis - Some people swear by him and his athleticism+skill combo, I find his advanced metrics alarming. Some people come away watching his film wowed and others seem to understand why his metrics stink. Honestly haven't watched a ton of him.
Clowney - One of my favorites in the draft and also one of the youngest players in the draft. Outstanding finishing around the basket with good touch+length+athleticism. His advanced metrics are also very strong which is impressive for such a young player. I don't have the stats with me, but I think I remember seeing that he's one of the leaders in taking charges to go along with being a decent shot blocker which the numbers love. I like him in particular because I think he can make it in the NBA just on his defense + rim finishing alone. His frame + athleticism reminds me of a Nic Claxton type. The shooting, who knows? I think the form looks great but it doesn't go in. To me that's a swing skill where if he can make it he can be an awesome 4/5 combo. If not, he's more of a Claxton/Gafford type. He will need to put on a little weight to become a full time 5, but I love his toughness.
