Jazzfanz BIG BOARD rankings ROUND 9
- Thread starter UGLI baby
- Start date
Paul George
UGLI baby
Well-Known Member
Me too.
Probably not the safest pick, but I think he is the only player left with star potential. Worth the risk.
I just like ridiculously tall players.
Tough call for me between Whiteside and George. Williams could make either of these guys look really, really good. I'll go with Whiteside this time though.
My version of the Draft Board of players who can actually make a difference for the Jazz looks like this:
1 Wall
2 Favors
3 Cousins
4 Turner
5 Johnson
6 Whiteside
7 George
8 Aldrich
9 Monroe
10 Babbit
11 Aminu
12 Henry
My version of the Draft Board of players who can actually make a difference for the Jazz looks like this:
1 Wall
2 Favors
3 Cousins
4 Turner
5 Johnson
6 Whiteside
7 George
8 Aldrich
9 Monroe
10 Babbit
11 Aminu
12 Henry
I voted for Henry for the third straight time. Don't understand the Whiteside fascination at all. Anyone want to guess who the last draftee who was a raw project with a 7-7 wingspan was and how he turned out?
Darkwing Duck
Well-Known Member
Was that Pavel Podkolzine?
Yeah, I am very anti-Whiteside since I believe he won't do anything good until maybe is fourth or fifth year on a different team than the one that drafts him.
Pavel Podkolzin was the one prior to the one I'm thinking of. Believe it or not, the last guy to have a 7-7 wingspan in the draft actually only had marginally more NBA impact than Podkolzin.
Bingo. And his wingspan was even larger. He clocked in at 7'8.5".
Podkolzin was supposed to be skilled for a guy his size, with the ability to dribble and shoot.
Saer Sene was supposed to be long, mobile, and jump out of the gym.
The story with guys that are this long is generally that people want so badly for them to be good that they start seeing things that aren't there. When you think about Whiteside remember the history of big raw projects who are this size. The hit rate is very very low.
mellow
Well-Known Member
Any questions on Whiteside can be answered by watching a few minutes of his college games. He looks like he has only played for a couple of years, and hasn't been coached or doesn't take coaching.
If your team is in the draft every year and plans to be there the next few years, go ahead and take Whiteside. So Golden State, Clippers, or if you had multiple 1st round picks--but that is not the jazz. Jazz need a player that sloan will let in a game before his rookie contract is over.
If your team is in the draft every year and plans to be there the next few years, go ahead and take Whiteside. So Golden State, Clippers, or if you had multiple 1st round picks--but that is not the jazz. Jazz need a player that sloan will let in a game before his rookie contract is over.
The only other players I can find who averaged 9 rebounds and close to 5 blocks per game in any college class (let alone as a freshman) were Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutumbo, Shaquille O'Neal, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwan and Benoit Benjamin.
Whiteside's college stat line (rebounds, blocks and pts.) is comparable to Marcus Camby's sophomore year, Rasheed Wallace's sophomore year, Mark West's junior year, Patrick Ewing's freshman, junior and senior years, Hakeem Olajuwon's freshman and sophomore years, Shawn Bradley's freshman year, Dikembe Mutombo's sophomore year, Alonzo Mourning's freshman and sophomore years, Theo Ratliff's junior and senior years, Antonio McDyess' freshman and sophomore years, and Benoit Benjamin's freshman and and sophomore years. Now maybe Whiteside's stats are a bit inflated because he played at a mid-major school, but still, it shows the guy is not a long-shot to be an impact player. He has good athleticism, coordination, shooting touch and instincts for a player his size. He's not going to bust like Patrick O'Bryant because he's more fluid and skilled, and comparing him to Podkolzine or Saer Sene is a joke. Podkolzine was a dinosaur, and Sene hadn't really played organized basketball before. All Whiteside has to do is be pretty good, and he can impact the game at both ends as a PF/C due to his length and athleticism.
Whiteside's college stats as a freshman compare well with Aldrich and Udoh's stats during their junior years, and the Marshall team he played on was not well put together. I'm not sure how you can say Aldrich and Udoh are "safer" picks, especially Udoh. Aldrich's game should translate somewhat to the NBA, but Udoh is just a rotation player. I can see Aldrich as a defensive presence in the post (albeit a bit undersized like Okafor), but there's really nothing much to gain by drafting Udoh. We can bring in a FA to back up Millsap as it is. Draft Express is calling Udoh's upside Jason Thompson.
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