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Following Potential 2018 Draftees

Yeah, Duval definitely can't shoot. In the Michigan St game the defenders were guarding him a good 5 feet of space when he had the ball at the 3pt line. He also went 3/7 from the FT line.
 
I'm gonna be watching Duke vs Michigan state and will be adding my notes on the prospects in this post(when done I will add the end at the end of the post):

Marvin Bagley:
-first play - athletic drive in traffic, misses the layup after he did the harder thing.
-putback jam. very impressive athleticism...
-tries posting up, jump-step into a hook... travels.
-gets another offensive rebound, but gets rejected on his putback attempt.
-catches a D-rebound and throws it ahead 3/4 pass to Duval.
-they try to post him up again. Loses his balance and almost turns it over...
-another O-reb... tracks the ball and first to the spot... converts a floater in the lane. Interesting... (he has 6rbs 8 minutes into the game)
-blocks opposing 5 at the rim.
-got poker in the eye on a rebound... out of the game, into the lockerroom. (half time eye injury, won't return)


Trevon Duval: Questionable touch. Misses 1/2 FTs. Questionable decisionmaking.(those are the expectations I'm coming into the game with)
-pressures ballhandler full court, good intensity on D.
-dunk in transition... has good lift and quickness.
-next possessions, tries playing one on one ... good handle but couldn't really create advantage... misses a tough shot in paint-non-restricted.
-2 possessions later - straight away 3 attempt on the catch. the form doesn't look horrible ... there is a bit of a pause when the ball is straight in front of his face. It clanks off the iron.
-misses another 3, this time from the corner, wide open.
-I like his passing, doesn't hold the ball too much
-another miss from 3.
-great cut into space and even better touch pass once he got the ball to create open layup.
-good handle and change of direction for a drive. Gets fouled. Misses both FTs... heh...
-steal and dunk in transition. A lot to like about Duval... his shot will be a major worry though.
-good quickness going to the rim and good handle again... blocked by Jackson this time.
-gets the rebound and throws a full court pass to Allen for transition 3. Nice.
-when he has a bit of steam he's dangerous. Makes a nice eurostep in the paint, gets fouled. This time makes both.
-passes up wide open 3 to drive for a layup.
-unselfish in transition(I'm not seeing the huge decision making problems he was supposed to have, plays relatively in control, overall good decisions - for example Dejounte had clear issues with decisionmaking, none of this is present with Duval IMO, at least not in this game).
-drives in the paint but misses the runner. He needs to go for a layup once he's there IMO. Those floaty runners from 3-5 feet haven't been going down for him and I don't know why he doesn't use the glass. Makes up for it on D with a block.
-touch around the rim is not great - again goes to the rim on a whim and again misses the layup.
-Duval has moves, nice score in the paint
-to the rim again, switches hands in the air, scores with the left from the right side of the rim. He has some skill.
-Duval coast to coast fastbreak. Nice.
-airball on a 3... ew.
-finishes at the rim through contact again.
-a bit out of control going t the rim, travels

Wendel Carter Jr:
-not terribly impressed, it's Q3 and this is first entry on him. Establishes good position in the post and scores under the basket.
-he establishes good position in the post most of the time, teammates don't see him.
-posting up again, scores again... is this what his role is? How does that project to the league? I need to see more of him. You can't live on postups in the league.
-good block on a postup.
-his whole game is post ups... everything is post up.
-stupid play... elbow to opponent's jaw... technical... didn't get ejected?
-O-reb and putback.

Miles Bridges:
-Starts the game with two exquisite blocks.
-Very smart on D, diagnosing what Duke wanted to do and came to help and swatted the ball from the back.
-Nice drive and kick... BTW, Michigan State is RUNNING!! First 3 baskets in transition... even after made baskets from Duke.
-drives on the catch, tries a fancy layup after switching hands... misses.
-does the exact same drive to the right on the catch, Allen ready for it, moves his feet draws a charge.
-Drains a right angle 3. Looked good and with NBA range.
-another weakside block from Bridges!
-Q3 starting with a Bridges drive, draws help from the big and dishes nicely for wide open dunk.
-Another right angle 3. Drains it.
-search dribble in the paint, turns around and misses the jumper... several possessions later misses a straight away 3.
-Bridges with another right angle 3. This seems like his sweet spot.
-great D on Grayson Allen - stayed with him, moved his feet and contested the shot at the rim, which missed.
-ill-advised shot from right angle 3 with defender in his face.
-finally got something in the paint. Drove and jump stepped into a hookey shot off the glass. Duke's zone has stopped his drive game for most of the game. He's been relegated to shooting 3s for the most part. Although... he just scored another 3 from the exact same spot so... maybe not too shabby of an alternative if he can keep it up.
-left angle 3 goes in! If he can convince teams he can shoot the 3 like this he might challenge for a top 5 pick.
-he's made a few questionable passes(turned turnovers) in traffic. Will be interesting to see if this persists going forward.
-at this point he's heatchecking... misses two ill-advised 3s in a row.


Jaren Jackson:
-gets the ball at the ft line with back to the basket, noone around him, turns round and flips a floatery thing at the basket... it goes in. Interesting.
-Rejects Bagley at the rim!
-defends Wendel Carter well in the post, blocks his shot and forces a turnover. Nice! He might have pretty good defensive potential.
-Wait wait wait wait... what? He just hit a 3. Duke is playing zone and MSU can't punish them for the last 10 minutes. Jackson just went to the corner and drained his first 3! Didn't expect that. Shot looked funky... a bit like his floater. Looked like a set shot with the shooting hand in front of his body and kinda low. It went in, but not sure it's something he will be good at long term.
-WTF!!! Another 3. Without hesitation. This time straight away 3. This form looks weird. I can't believe he can shoot great % from 3. It looks a bit like a mix of Rubio and Diaw shooting...
-stops transition for Duke by knocking the ball from Grayson's hands. Nice. Makes winning plays all the time.
-ANOTHER corner 3!!!! WOW! Ok, maybe he is a shooter after all?
-active in the paint, fights for rebounds, gets fouled. scores both FTs. It doesn't looks pretty but he doesn't miss... I don't think he's missed a jumper or a FT this game?? That's a great surprise.
-Nice high-low pass from Jackson.
-O-reb and put back dunk.
-he missed a couple of 3s... but he seems like he has the green light to take them.
-another good finish off the glass in the paint.

Grayson Allen is insane! WOW! I didn't start a section for him but he was tremendous all game long. Bucketgetter! I don't know how high he will get drafted but he can shoot the ball. 37 points! A lot of those were on tough contested shots. Are you kidding me?

THE END...

tl;dr: Grayson Allen is insane, great shooter and scorer. Surprise - Jaren jackson can shoot! Something to watch going forward. Might be a big + for his draft stock. If he's a great defensive big who can defend both in space and at the rim AND can shoot... that's not something that you find easily in the league. Duval - I expected to not like him... and I ended up kinda liking him. If only his shot was better... that thing clanks everywhere but into the hoop. Ugly. Wendel Carter - not sure about his place in the league, will have to watch more of him, he was active, but nothing jumped at me as his calling card in the league. Bridges - that shot has potential. He didn't show much besides the shot on offense though. I wanted to see more. His D is solid and weakside help was tremendous in several occasions. Bagley - too bad he got injured. His physical profile and athleticism are tremendous and on full display. He seems to have a bit of skill too. So much potential.
 
Knox looked really good in the second game. I'm still not sure I trust the shot, but I guess we'll see with time if he can hit it consistently. He was pretty much the only player that looked like a first round pick in that second game. Diallo's athleticism pops but he needs to improve his skill level considerably.
 
Early of course, but this Kentucky team does not impress me. Think Knox could be the only first round. Only other guy I kind of liked was Killeya-Jones.

I thought the same think watching them. Knox impressed, nobody else looked like one and done first round pick. Maybe Diallo...
 
Alright, I would say Knox is probably my 3rd rated perimeter prospect at this point.

Have you watched Sexton? And do you consider Knox a perimeter player or a 4 at the NBA level? Maybe perimeter oriented 4?

I kind of agree if I consider him a 3... This draft is full of bigs and not many perimeter players that pop. If our tank fails Knox might be a good target.
 
Have you watched Sexton? And do you consider Knox a perimeter player or a 4 at the NBA level? Maybe perimeter oriented 4?

I kind of agree if I consider him a 3... This draft is full of bigs and not many perimeter players that pop. If our tank fails Knox might be a good target.
I consider him a perimeter based 4 and someone who could be a 3 too.

Sent from my A0001 using JazzFanz mobile app
 
And no, I haven't watched Sexton. Really have 0 interest in the Jazz taking a PG so I will probably hardly ever watch Alabama this year, but some people really like him.
 
Early of course, but this Kentucky team does not impress me. Think Knox could be the only first round. Only other guy I kind of liked was Killeya-Jones.

I like Killeya-Jones as a late first or second-round prospect. He plays hard and rebounds pretty well for his build. He can shoot and has good hands and instincts around the rim. Seems like he could be a 3rd or 4th big.

Your top 3 wing prospects include ?? Doncic? the guy from Cincinnati?
 
I'm still very interested in Jared Vanderbilt at UK. He's a 6'9 combo forward, potentially a point forward, with a good handle, vision and passing. He also plays defense. If he can shoot, he could be a lottery pick. If he can't, he'll be a mid-late first-round pick. He doesn't have the floor speed and bounce of Knox though. He could become a Marvin Williams-type player at the next level, or possibly something more.
 
Jaren Jackson Jr. is known as a shooter, even though his shooting form is a bit weird. The issue with him was his movement and body control, but he's growing into his body and moving very well. He has the ability to impact plays defensively all over the floor and should be a very good if not elite help defender. He's quick and has great timing on his blocks. He should be mobile enough to defend on the perimeter and play at the 4 in the pros.

Think of him as a long PF/C who likes to spend time on the perimeter, a bit like a Myles Turner. The question is whether that jump shot will work out to 3-pt range, or if he's going to need to change it, but the talent is there.

Jackson Jr. could compete for a top-5 pick as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AipnrqPO22A
 
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Regarding Knox, I think his best advantage is at the 4. I think he's ultimately a perimeter-oriented PF, but he can play either forward position. Knox has most of the things people liked about DJ Wilson last year, but he's more aggressive, has better ball skills and isn't soft as tissue.

He likes to compare himself to long wings like Giannis.
 
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