Following potential 2017 draftees...

[Park Bites]

Hantlers or Howard they're both forgettable so whichever one you remember better.


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OK thanks

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[Park Bites]

The sad thing about the draft is there are a lot of things to take into account.

We have seen players do nothing with one team only to do much better on others.

So who drafts a player is important also.

Things I look for

Motor - does a player hustle all the time or do they take plays off.

BBIQ - do the understand the game and how to be in the right place at the right time.

Defense - if a player has a desire to play it. NCAA is notorious for hiding players short comings.

Measurements - are not the end all but mixed with motor can be very nice.

Gym rat - players that spend all their time in the gym. Working out and practicing is huge.



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[Jazz4ever]

The sad thing about the draft is there are a lot of things to take into account.

We have seen players do nothing with one team only to do much better on others.

So who drafts a player is important also.

Things I look for

Motor - does a player hustle all the time or do they take plays off.

BBIQ - do the understand the game and how to be in the right place at the right time.

Defense - if a player has a desire to play it. NCAA is notorious for hiding players short comings.

Measurements - are not the end all but mixed with motor can be very nice.

Gym rat - players that spend all their time in the gym. Working out and practicing is huge.



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Everyone is a so called "gym rat" nowadays, and everyone has a "chip on their shoulder".
Trey Burke had a huge chip on his shoulder and he might have to go over to Europe to play after his rookie deal. So its best to look past these buzz words, at one time they might have carried some weight.

Things I look for:

measurements: I value them less than 3 years ago, Exum has a lot do with that. Still important though. Fultz will go over Ball because he has a 6'9" wingspan.
motor: this is important, but also tied to athleticism. Russel Westbrook's combo of athleticism and motor has him setting triple double records. Bobby Portis' has a good motor but his lack of athleticism kills him in the NBA.
strength: a very underrated aspect and important for guards as big men nowadays. I think they should have more strength tests in the combine than just bench press.
off the bounce jumper: I'd weight this at 3x the importance than stand still jumpers. Unless you play with superstars you're going to be shooting off balance alot.
steals: a high steal rate shows good functional athleticism and some basketball IQ. It's not a given a high steal player will be good (Smart isn't), but it seems a lower steal player (< 1) will bust (McDermott, Babbitt)

 

[Park Bites]

Everyone is a so called "gym rat" nowadays, and everyone has a "chip on their shoulder".
Trey Burke had a huge chip on his shoulder and he might have to go over to Europe to play after his rookie deal. So its best to look past these buzz words, at one time they might have carried some weight.

Things I look for:

measurements: I value them less than 3 years ago, Exum has a lot do with that. Still important though. Fultz will go over Ball because he has a 6'9" wingspan.
motor: this is important, but also tied to athleticism. Russel Westbrook's combo of athleticism and motor has him setting triple double records. Bobby Portis' has a good motor but his lack of athleticism kills him in the NBA.
strength: a very underrated aspect and important for guards as big men nowadays. I think they should have more strength tests in the combine than just bench press.
off the bounce jumper: I'd weight this at 3x the importance than stand still jumpers. Unless you play with superstars you're going to be shooting off balance alot.
steals: a high steal rate shows good functional athleticism and some basketball IQ. It's not a given a high steal player will be good (Smart isn't), but it seems a lower steal player (< 1) will bust (McDermott, Babbitt)

Good points.

I forgot to put

Love of the game - you find this lacking in a lot of big men. They play basketball because they are tall but do the really love basketball. Rudy loves to play the game.

This too goes along with BBIQ.

One of the biggest is competitive. These people hate to lose and get better as the game gets tighter. Michael Jordan being the apex of this measurement.



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[Game6Conley]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJvPVVMp3ro

Serious Baller Alert. This is footage posted in early 2016. 1st rd potential for sure. 2021 draft class seems to have a chance to be the best PG crop since 2017, could be a bunch of tall ones... There's 2 really athletic PG's on the radar already 6'2" Dwon Odom from Georgia(Freakishly athletic for a Fr.) and 5'11" Posh Alexander from Brooklyn

Fans of Kennard will like Mannion, he's more of a natural combo tho, obviously his handle is much sharper at this stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ayi6-BKFACA

 

[seattlejazzfan]

i work with a guy who is good friends with Pace Mannion - he went down to AZ a couple months ago and spent some time with the Mannions, said the kid works with a personal trainer and personal basketball coach for hours before and after school. Also has his own nutritionist. While he was there, a reporter from Sports Illustrated was doing a piece on Nico. will be interesting to watch him go through the HS ranks.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

With Matt Bonner retired, Scalabrine retired, and Budinger out of the league the NBA is really devoid of ginger ballers atm.

 

[BTP]

Good points.

I forgot to put

Love of the game - you find this lacking in a lot of big men. They play basketball because they are tall but do the really love basketball. Rudy loves to play the game.

This too goes along with BBIQ.

One of the biggest is competitive. These people hate to lose and get better as the game gets tighter. Michael Jordan being the apex of this measurement.



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To be honest, most bigs I see these days show a lot of passion. Look at the young generation of mostly international tall guys.
Other than Rudy, there're Embiid, Jokic, Porzingis, Giannis and Adams. It's impressive. You could even include Towns as the Dominican influence
has probably helped him become a naturally smooth athlete, if you read some stuff about him.
Bigs that are there for the numbers and the check have an increasingly hard time. I just wonder when the general concensus on international guys will tip that they're soft and likely busts. The aforementioned will make a good case to shake that sentiment.

 

[Game6Conley]

i work with a guy who is good friends with Pace Mannion - he went down to AZ a couple months ago and spent some time with the Mannions, said the kid works with a personal trainer and personal basketball coach for hours before and after school. Also has his own nutritionist. While he was there, a reporter from Sports Illustrated was doing a piece on Nico. will be interesting to watch him go through the HS ranks.

Good to hear, you can certainly see the results, he's an obvious 5-star player. He's one of the best in that class with serious staying power, I;m actually rather convinced that class is at least going to be well above average... There's lots of players who seem to have staying power, I don't go thru the Fr with a finetooth comb, maybe just the top 50 missing a few, I've seen his name on lists for a while tho..

He's like a rich mans Tyler Herro 6'4ish combo Wisconsin 2018 commit. Herro was very advanced at that stage I posted him here a while back, Nico's even further ahead tho, his game is just crisp and clean.

That SI piece really brought him some hype, reminded me to post him here. He passes the eye test quite easily, better than Austin Rivers at the same stage... I suspect he will transition to the PG spot well, and he looks like he could end up 6'5" so this is a story to monitor closely, high ceiling... I really like his handle(it's tight and low, like a much shorter player) and would describe his game as remarkably sharp at this stage..Obviously he has GREAT hand eye coordination and instincts..

That class has some damn fine guard prospects that've surfaced already, Jalen Suggs is the best PG-ish guard I've seen tho, thats really no sleight at Nico either -- both are super advanced.

IDK if he's got a nickname but it should be Nico "The Blade" Mannion

 

[Game6Conley]

Reid Travis might be the closest thing to Psycho T in college. He's really been playing well of late, trashed Markkanen in their matchup, Ristic played poorly too (Chance Comanche stepped up or Zona might have blown it)

Travis could be working his way into the 2nd rd.. He's obviously recovered fully from the injury. He's kinda like a Udonis Haslem with a bit more wiggle around the rim. Throwback PF, In many ways he's sorta a shorter PF version of Kanter...

Trier had a good line but at one point Miller told him "get the **** out" and did the coinciding Ari Gold point to the bench..

 

[Game6Conley]

DX's in-class rankings haven't been updated into February yet but they're particularly terrible, oversights across the board this season...

SMU's Semi Ojeleye turned 23 in December, still shooting 41% on 2 3pt makes per game.. Could be useful in smallball looks for damn sure. This will be misconstrued but he's got some Draymond Green parallels. also sorta like a Wing version of Caleb Swanigan(Who's in by-far the best shape of his life btw) in many ways.. There's no way he's just the 40th best Jr. in the nation.

Grayson Allen is really playing much better, if this continues he's a lock for the 1st. He sorta looks like Ted Cruz mixed with one of those towns people from Jim Carrey's Grinch and then a minor twist of Bill Murray.

11-5-2blks in 15 minutes for Zach Collins! Surprise! I still have him rated right at the fringe lottery, most mocks have him closer to the to the 20's. if somehow he were to fall to Utah that'd be a major coup IMO. Collins is a perfect backup candidate at C. Nigel Williams-Goss keeps it rolling, he's going to be profiled as a player who plays winning basketball by NBA teams, for sure.

Lonzo Ball steals the show late last night, that was fantastic. At this point it's safe to say he's going top-3, he's really got a tall order moving forward trying to live up to all this hype in the NBA tho.. IIRC I used to point that out about Trey Burke ad nauseum, they're apples and oranges - I just kinda get that feeling, obviously Lonzo's way better equipped for war, expectations will also be much higher tho -- he's gonna be painted as the savior..

Aaron Holiday, who miraculously is still underrated most everywhere, was instrumental in the W off the bench yet again. 9-7 and 3 blocks for Ike.

Jordan Bell caused TJ Leaf problems throughout this game, this was a strong showing for him.

Elijah Stewart is underrated and underappreciated nationally for sure. High upside 2nd rd pick. 40% high volume 3pt shooter, he's very athletic and projects as a plus defender.. I actually don't get how he doesn't have more hype..


Roy Williams is a damn fool for not unleashing Tony Bradley with Isaiah Hicks out, dumbfounding, he played so well in his minutes entrenching himself on the oboards. If Hicks plays UNC probably takes that.. Kenny Williams also shouldn't be starting he scored 0 in 20 minutes, he shouldn't be starting, ima say it twice.

Giles and Frank Jackson had sneaky good games off the bench. Tatum was solid.

 

[Game6Conley]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_W5SDsEnHg

Underrated 4*, he's inside the top-100 but should be inside the top-50. Looks like he can play point at 6'4". He's got offers from all the west coast powers(other than UCLA and CAL)