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Following potential 2012 draftees

Cyrone Torbin said:
Do you get the feeling that he plays small? Whenever i watched him I just always thought he was 6'3-ish. That is one of the things that bothers me about him, though it may just be in my head.
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I don't. Not at all.

Here's what I think you're seeing (just a guess). Some small (6'3) guys play on teams that lack bigs and they muscle and hustle down low for rebounds, putbacks, etc. Makes them seem like they play bigger than they are. Then there's Darius. He has played on a team that features truly elite rebounders, shot-blockers, athletes .. and he happens to be a 45% perimeter shooter. UK needed Darius, with his shooting touch to play on the perimeter (like a 2/3) and use his length and athleticism (best athlete at UK) on defense there as well. This can make a guy seem to play smaller than the guy that's gutting it out in the post.

I appreciate your sincere question, btw.
 
PKM said:
I'll speak to Miller and leave Taylor to someone else (even though I've watched him play about 80 games). Miller is a very good shot, yes. As far as him being able to create off the dribble, that's where he's driven UK fans crazy.. because he was the BEST at it on our team, but deferred too much. He sees the gaps and has a BEAUTIFUL jump stop lateral one-handed floater that is money. He has excellent post moves ..

Cy is wrong when he says Miller is not elite at any one thing (that is patently incorrect). Perhaps the exact opposite is true .. again the 'problem' with his game is he doesn't do anything more than is asked of him. He doesn't look to be a primary scorer. He's a teammate. He wants to win and couldn't care less what his personal stats are. I'm not trying to be cute when I say this .. I'm saying it's actually been a problem. Cal has benched Miller several times for not being more assertive .. and each time he did, Miller took that as the coach told him to do it .. and he did. He is unselfish to a literal fault. And much like MKG's shot being supposedly unfixable, I don't know that Darius will ever develop a killer instinct. But he has a high skillset at just about everything that is basketball.
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I like Miller, but I do think the bolded section is a pretty big negative. Either way, I don't really care since we aren't going to get him.
 
NAOS said:
I think DMiller can be a better pro than Danny Green just because of his physical profile.
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He's a legit 6'8, very strong, very athletic, very good handles, very good shot .. now he needs to make like Nike and just do it.
 
PKM said:
He's a legit 6'8, very strong, very athletic, very good handles, very good shot .. now he needs to make like Nike and just do it.
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Do you think he can guard NBA SGs? What about PFs? just curious.
I'd be absolutely sold if he could be the guy who takes on the best opposing wing.
 
NAOS said:
Do you think he can guard NBA SGs? What about PFs? just curious.
I'd be absolutely sold if he could be the guy who takes on the best opposing wing.
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SG's, yes
SF's, yes
(about any of those)

At UK he often played AND defended all 5 positions .. but in the NBA I'd say the wings are a definite.
 
PKM said:
I'll speak to Miller and leave Taylor to someone else (even though I've watched him play about 80 games). Miller is a very good shot, yes. As far as him being able to create off the dribble, that's where he's driven UK fans crazy.. because he was the BEST at it on our team, but deferred too much. He sees the gaps and has a BEAUTIFUL jump stop lateral one-handed floater that is money. He has excellent post moves ..

Cy is wrong when he says Miller is not elite at any one thing (that is patently incorrect). Perhaps the exact opposite is true .. again the 'problem' with his game is he doesn't do anything more than is asked of him. He doesn't look to be a primary scorer. He's a teammate. He wants to win and couldn't care less what his personal stats are. I'm not trying to be cute when I say this .. I'm saying it's actually been a problem. Cal has benched Miller several times for not being more assertive .. and each time he did, Miller took that as the coach told him to do it .. and he did. He is unselfish to a literal fault. And much like MKG's shot being supposedly unfixable, I don't know that Darius will ever develop a killer instinct. But he has a high skillset at just about everything that is basketball.
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Thanks for the honest assessment. You say he's a superior athlete, yet everyone else I can find on the web says he's simply a good athlete. That's why I wish I had some good video on him. If he truly has dribble creativity, I think that may be able to come through over time. I worry about rebounding. I understand that he had great rebounding teammates, but can he rebound? Will he rebound? Does he put an effort into blocking out even if he's not grabbing the board?
 
idiot said:
Thanks for the honest assessment. You say he's a superior athlete, yet everyone else I can find on the web says he's simply a good athlete. That's why I wish I had some good video on him. If he truly has dribble creativity, I think that may be able to come through over time. I worry about rebounding. I understand that he had great rebounding teammates, but can he rebound? Will he rebound? Does he put an effort into blocking out even if he's not grabbing the board?
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He is an elite athlete, trust that for now. He can create off the dribble, trust that for now. He makes the effort on everything except being 'the man.' Also, as someone else said, with MKG, Jones, and Davis, it just didn't make any sense for him to crash the boards as well. UK led the nation in rebounding margin and he wasn't needed for that. When he would play PF or, rarely, center .. he would block out and pull down the boards .. but he played mostly on the perimeter.
 
PKM said:
He is an elite athlete, trust that for now. He can create off the dribble, trust that for now. He makes the effort on everything except being 'the man.' Also, as someone else said, with MKG, Jones, and Davis, it just didn't make any sense for him to crash the boards as well. UK led the nation in rebounding margin and he wasn't needed for that. When he would play PF or, rarely, center .. he would block out and pull down the boards .. but he played mostly on the perimeter.
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A couple of years from now PKM will either look like a prophet, or a complete homer.
 
Hantlers said:
On a side note, I'd like to reply to what I have bolded. We've been hearing a ton of this, how Miller is willing to take the side role. I actually have a problem with this. According to PKM, Miller is one of the most, if not the most skilled player on Kentucky's team. Clearly this was a team stocked with NBA talent. Yet with all those skills, he's ok with taking the side role. To me, that's a sign of somebody who doesn't want to be great. Maybe I'm being way off base, but I actually do see this as a concern.
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Let me just say that on senior night coach cal told miller to take over I remember he dropped 26 points that night. Pkm could give the specifics but when asked to he can really light it up. I'll do more research and get the team and his stats,
 
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