Dang it…you guys beat me to it. Oh well, here goes my long-winded (as usual) post.
If we're picking where we're slotted to be at, or maybe even a little earlier, and the players are who they are right now (they won't be), the guy I'm taking if Johnson and Russell are off the board is Booker. Hell, maybe even if Russell is on the board, I'd consider it. If it wasn't for the Harrison brothers being bitchy if they get benched, Booker would be starting (don't be surprised to see him starting come tournament time). He's better than they are, by a lot.
Now we have to realize he's not getting asked to do a lot, but you can tell he can. He can drive, I saw a play in the Texas A&M game where his defender respected his drive game enough that as he was in triple threat he threatened to drive, his defender bit and he stepped back and nailed a deep three. That's impressive, because everybody thinks he's just a shooter. His defense can look a little lackadaisical at times, but he has the skills and potential to be a plus defender…as of now, he's just average, but he's a freshman on a team with a loaded front court, he can adjust (Klay Thompson certainly did). As has been mentioned, he has a very high bball IQ. I don't think we need to go over it again.
On a team full of players who lack a lot of offensive skills, he stands out. Even though he could (and sometimes should be), he's not much of a ball-stopper. He just makes the right play. I figure if he was on a team like Ohio State, Indiana or something else where he was one of the only offensive options, he would be putting up some damn good numbers. Unfortunately he's not, so it's almost kind of like gambling on a European player…we don't know what he could be doing, we can just project. He's not as good of a passer/creator as Russell, but he's certainly a better shooter, and I would argue he has better athleticism and defensive tools. Russell will most likely (and probably should) go earlier though. I'm all aboard on the Booker to Utah train. His ceiling is most definitely Klay, and even if (and he probably won't) he doesn't reach that, he'll still be a good player. I would easily take him over Porz, WCS, Oubre, Turner and maybe even Mudiay (but probably not).
