As I've said before, I would HATE Larkin at 14. I would dislike Larkin at 21.
Let's do a Schroeder vs. Larkin comparison:
Schroeder is 6'2" and Larkin is 5'11", advantage Schroeder by 3 inches.
Schroeder weighs 156 lbs. and Larkin weighs 176 lbs., advantage Larkin by 20 lbs.
Pick and Roll, which player is better at it? Larkin and it's not even close. Larkin is the second best player in this draft at the pick and roll behind McCollum.
Faster, which player is faster? Larkin, but it is pretty close, but Larkin did have the fastest 3/4 court sprint at the combine.
Athletic, which player is more athletic? Larkin, 44-inch vertical says it all pretty much.
Finishing, which player is better? Both of them aren't very good at finishing so it's a tie.
Shooting, which player is better? Tied, both are very good shooters.
Stats? Per 36-minutes:
Dennis Schroeder: 17.3 PPG, 4.6 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 3.7 TO's per game, 43% from field, 40% from three, and 83% from free-throw line.
Shane Larkin: 14.5 PPG. 4.6 APG, 3.8 RPG, 2 SPG, 2.3 TO's per game, 48% from field, 41% from three, and 78% from free-throw line.
Points? Schroeder wins. Assists? Tied. Rebounds? Larkin wins. Steals? Larkin wins. Turnovers? Larkin wins. FG%? Larkin wins. 3PT%? Larkin wins. FT%? Schroeder wins.
As you can see, they are VERY similar as far as stats go. Schroeder has a 1.2/1 assist to turnover ratio, while Larkin has a 2/1 assist to turnover ratio. Larkin's main concern is defending at his size, but he was the runner-up for ACC Defensive Player of the Year and averaged 2 steals a game? Not to mention Larkin was the ACC Player of the Year. Player of the year in his league and runner-up for defensive player of the year in his league is very good.
Schroeder does have a little bit of character issues and is a very arrogant player. Larkin is very good at interviews and comes off with no character issues at all.
Larkin is a one year and 13 days older than Schroeder is. Still, both of them are very young and have room to grow. Larkin played at the University of Miami and lead his team to a ACC Championship and made it to the Elite 8 and Schroeder is playing with grown men as well and was the Most Improved Player in the German league. Both players have proven themselves to play at high levels.
Jazzfanz logic is, let's draft Schroeder instead of Larkin because he is 3-inches taller and is one-year younger. Larkin weighs 20 more lbs. than Schroeder does! 20! Larkin is also the better athlete.
All of this said, you can not go wrong with either Larkin or Schroeder.
