2014 Draft Prospects:

#91
Forgot a few names...

Aaric Murray
--Scoring-minded center with somewhat high usage, but awful use of the offensive floor. Doesn't pass.
--Specialty is the mid-range game (41%, 39%) which he can even hit off the dribble. Just an OK finisher for size, but really struggles to draw fouls given at-rim attempt frequency. Has shown an OK three point shot in limited attempts for size, and has hit them even off the dribble well in the past. Doesn't appear to be a sharpshooter between the limited attempts and OK free throw shooting, but the mid-range shooting could hold.
--Good build for an NBA center, but poor defender. Excellent defensive playmaker who has shown a real knack for shotblocking with some side ability for steals. Decent rebounder. More sizzle than steak on defense, and needs to improve fundamentals. Offensively just mostly a mid-range shooter, and defensively has length but has a long way to go, so he lacks the sustaining qualities to put himself firmly in a NBA roster.

Alex Kirk
--Just an OK scoring center who relies on set up shots, and as such limits turnovers, but also not a passer. Poor use of the offensive floor.
--Very good finisher on set-ups with improved accuracy and frequency of at-rim attempts after a season off, but struggles to draw fouls. Decent spot-up mid-range jumper, but percentages did fall this season, and grain of salt given subpar free throw shooting.
--Excellent frame for a NBA center. Good defender. Just a decent defensive playmaker for size, with just OK shotblocking for a 7-footer. Decent rebounder. Has shades of an inside-outside game, but both are slightly iffy with inability to draw fouls and free throw concerns, and again brings good defense, so has potential for a two-way game, but no real elite attribute as well as a need to be set up might relegate him to NBA backup.

Austin Hollins
--Very poor scoring, very low usage, heavily-inclined spot-up jumpshooting SG with a good use of the offensive floor. Combo guard levels of passing who in the past would force passes and accrue turnovers just to avoid shooting.
--Red flag is that rate of at-rim attempts have decreased over three college seasons, but actually a very good finisher off a mixture of set-ups and off dribble work, but questionable foul drawing. Awful mid-range game. A subpar spot-up three point shooter in the aggregate, but is a good-ish free throw shooting lends slight hope. His finishing is better than his jumpshooting, and for a low usage rate having a poor jumpshooting canvas is very problematic.
--Pretty good build for a shooting guard, but very poor defender. Pretty good defensive playmaker with quick hands for steals, but awful rebounder. Low usage offensive player with poor jumper with very poor defense suggests he's not NBA material.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#92
Hey Arby, Bricky has been trying to get a hold of you. He wants to know if your going to be a part of the grading team. You should have a message in your message or alert box.
 
#94
Great chance to watch a handfull of the very top draft prospects play tomorrow: Nov 12th on ESPN. At 4:30 PST, Michigan State plays Kentucky, and following that game, at 7:00 PST, Kansas plays Duke.

Some of the top players: Wiggins, Embiid, Selden for Kansas
Parker, Hood for Duke
Randle, Willie C-S, Polythress for KY.
 
#95
Dear God, didn't just see Staten's dunk for WV against Virginia Tech? It didn't count because of an early whistle but the little guy just destroyed some big dude with a dunk. Insane athleticism. Awfully unlucky that it didn't count.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#97
Excellent article on Parker from ESPN. Not exactly anything we didn't know already but a lot there about his intangibles.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...chicago-champions-classic-reluctant-superstar
I watched the Duke game on friday, and Parker was outstanding. As was Rodney Hood. For a while I didn't think either of them were going to miss a shot. Parker has it all. He handles the ball very well, and scores from anywhere on the floor. Extremely hard to guard. Hood impressed me with his outside shot, which used to be his weakness. He got to the basket at will. Just one game, but so far, I'm very impressed. Tonights games should be more of a test. Duke against Kansas.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
The proverbial other guy in this draft class, Aaron Gordon hasn't done that badly over his first three games. His defensive awareness is better than I thought it would be given the Blake Griffin comparisons. Has better shooting range than Blake had/has already, which makes his poor FT shooting all the more puzzling (JT syndrome).

Any other year and he's probably a number one or two pick. This freshman class is certainly living up to its hype.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
The proverbial other guy in this draft class, Aaron Gordon hasn't done that badly over his first three games. His defensive awareness is better than I thought it would be given the Blake Griffin comparisons. Has better shooting range than Blake had/has already, which makes his poor FT shooting all the more puzzling (JT syndrome).

Any other year and he's probably a number one or two pick. This freshman class is certainly living up to its hype.
The knock on Gordon was his outside shooting, and so far this season (small sampling) his shot looks vastly improved. If that remains the case, he could be a top five pick. He's a great athlete, and plays like Griffin on steroids. I love his defensive effort so far.
 
The knock on Gordon was his outside shooting, and so far this season (small sampling) his shot looks vastly improved. If that remains the case, he could be a top five pick. He's a great athlete, and plays like Griffin on steroids. I love his defensive effort so far.
A bit redundant, dontcha think?
 
The knock on Gordon was his outside shooting, and so far this season (small sampling) his shot looks vastly improved. If that remains the case, he could be a top five pick. He's a great athlete, and plays like Griffin on steroids. I love his defensive effort so far.

Not related to this post, just wanted to quote you so you'd see this post. Have you seen Mount St. Marys play this season, or have they been on TV? I don't suspect I'll get to see them on TV over here, but you guys might. I ask because a friend of mine who I lived with for a short period of time in the US is on their team. Pretty impressive.
 
Ah, this thread is back. Alright.

Lackluster start numbers wise for my favorite player in LAST years draft 'class', Willie Cauley-Stein. Hard for him to stick out on that monster Kentucky team though. Maybe, juuuust maybe he can slide into the early second round. I love him next to Cousins.

Any thoughts on Montrezl Harrell?
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Not related to this post, just wanted to quote you so you'd see this post. Have you seen Mount St. Marys play this season, or have they been on TV? I don't suspect I'll get to see them on TV over here, but you guys might. I ask because a friend of mine who I lived with for a short period of time in the US is on their team. Pretty impressive.
And his name is? There's a good chance I'll see him since I have the ESPN sports package which shows a lot of college basketball.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Ah, this thread is back. Alright.

Lackluster start numbers wise for my favorite player in LAST years draft 'class', Willie Cauley-Stein. Hard for him to stick out on that monster Kentucky team though. Maybe, juuuust maybe he can slide into the early second round. I love him next to Cousins.

Any thoughts on Montrezl Harrell?
First Cauley-Stein will go in the first round, and possibly the lottery. Scouts are very high on him, and they know about all the talent on that team, and will take it into consideration. If not for being around 6'8", Harrell might be a shue in for the top ten, and depending on how he plays, now that Dieng is gone, he might end up there anyway. Freak athlete that despite being 6'8", still blocks a lot of shots and rebounds very well. His offense is a work in progress.
 
i like harrell, but im scared off a little by his height..if he could develop a jumpshot that would help him a lot...seems like he would be a good fit next to cousins, bt is he thomas robinson 2.0
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
The Kings need to sell off some mediocre vets for #1 picks in this year's draft. For example, get Sulaimon in the lower first round and be happy you did (see baja description). I'd like to have no less than two 1st rounders in this draft; hopefully it's three. Add those rookies to a core of three or four vets that a good character guys, and that's your foundation for future success.
 
I'd love to get multiple first rounders this year but it's just unlikely. Can't see any team giving up a first rounder for anything we have, even late firsts.

If we don't get a shot at Parker, I'd love to have a chance at getting Hood, but he'll go somewhere in the first, probably in the upper-middle.
 
How fast is Parker in the open court? He's so smooth that it doesn't even look like he's going that fast, but watch everyone sprinting after him. He just gains more and more ground on everyone, guards included. Saying he has "above average" athleticism really doesn't do him justice at all.

He hasn't had a flawless game, by the way. But he's still been very effective and is coming up big for Duke. They need to get him the ball more because they've been ignoring him a little.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
I'm really impressed with Joel Embiid so far this season. He's a lot more than just a shotblocker. He showed in the Duke game that he's got a passing game and he's just tearing Iona up on the inside right now, 15 and 12 so far and he hasn't missed a shot from the field.
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
I'm really impressed with Joel Embiid so far this season. He's a lot more than just a shotblocker. He showed in the Duke game that he's got a passing game and he's just tearing Iona up on the inside right now, 15 and 12 so far and he hasn't missed a shot from the field.
JoJo is just another of a great draft class. I know he has little experience like 3 or 4 years in basketball but at 7 foot, he is very athletic. I'd like to see more weight but he's 18, right? He seems to be a far safer pick than Drummond who is the only guy who comes springing to mind with whom to compare him. He would fit with the Kings.

This talk comparing him to Hakeem Olajuwan has to stop though. Just because he started as a soccer player in Africa and is tall doesn't make him anything like one of the greatest players to play the game.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
JoJo is just another of a great draft class. I know he has little experience like 3 or 4 years in basketball but at 7 foot, he is very athletic. I'd like to see more weight but he's 18, right? He seems to be a far safer pick than Drummond who is the only guy who comes springing to mind with whom to compare him. He would fit with the Kings.

This talk comparing him to Hakeem Olajuwan has to stop though. Just because he started as a soccer player in Africa and is tall doesn't make him anything like one of the greatest players to play the game.
Blame Dicky V.
 
Thankfully I'd made my posts on Smart before last nights game so I don't look like a bandwagoner... He single-handedly destroyed Memphis last night, pouring in 39 points, to go along with 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks. He's a beast.

Here's his highlights from the game:

 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Thankfully I'd made my posts on Smart before last nights game so I don't look like a bandwagoner... He single-handedly destroyed Memphis last night, pouring in 39 points, to go along with 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks. He's a beast.

Here's his highlights from the game:

He had a great game! I remember a game like that last season early in the year that just blew me away. If he can continue to play at this level, then he moves up the draft board. Look, I like Smart, but last year he was extremely inconsistent. This is a new year. What I can't get out of my mind, and I probably should, since it was only one game, was the Exum/Smart matchup in the U19 games. A lot of these games are broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU by the way. In that game, Dante Exum totally shut down Smart. I mean he flat smothered him. But on the other end, Exum scored at will on Smart. He was just too tall, fast, athletic, and skilled for Smart to contain. In that one game, Smart looked average against Exum. Now maybe that's not a fair comparison. Who knows, Exum may be, as one scout suggested, the best player in the entire draft, and if so, then Smart doesn't look so bad.

Right now, even if Smart continues at this level, I wouldn't take him over Randle, Wiggins, Parker, or Exum. Now that's not such a bad thing. That would mean he's number 5 on my list. And to be number 5 in this draft is pretty damm good. I don't have him there yet, but I'm impressed so far.
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
He had a great game! I remember a game like that last season early in the year that just blew me away. If he can continue to play at this level, then he moves up the draft board. Look, I like Smart, but last year he was extremely inconsistent. This is a new year. What I can't get out of my mind, and I probably should, since it was only one game, was the Exum/Smart matchup in the U19 games. A lot of these games are broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU by the way. In that game, Dante Exum totally shut down Smart. I mean he flat smothered him. But on the other end, Exum scored at will on Smart. He was just too tall, fast, athletic, and skilled for Smart to contain. In that one game, Smart looked average against Exum. Now maybe that's not a fair comparison. Who knows, Exum may be, as one scout suggested, the best player in the entire draft, and if so, then Smart doesn't look so bad.

Right now, even if Smart continues at this level, I wouldn't take him over Randle, Wiggins, Parker, or Exum. Now that's not such a bad thing. That would mean he's number 5 on my list. And to be number 5 in this draft is pretty damm good. I don't have him there yet, but I'm impressed so far.
My suspicion is that at his worst he is like Tyreke in that his outside shot is not falling yet he can draw a foul. I don't know that much about Smart and his ability to get to the rim so my Tyreke comparison may fall apart. I understand he draws fouls well. Whether that will transfer to the NBA is unknown. I would be uncomfortable drafting him but that game was incredible to watch and he is a player to watch closely because some day a decision may need to be made.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
This is from the ESPN writeup for the last Kansas game: (link)

Embiid grew up playing volleyball in Yaounde, Cameroon, and didn't start playing basketball until he attended a camp run by the Sacramento Kings' Luc Mbah a Moute, who hails from the same town. Embiid was 16 years old, but his athleticism made him a natural.
Didn't know about the Mbah A Moute connection before.
 
He had a great game! I remember a game like that last season early in the year that just blew me away. If he can continue to play at this level, then he moves up the draft board. Look, I like Smart, but last year he was extremely inconsistent. This is a new year. What I can't get out of my mind, and I probably should, since it was only one game, was the Exum/Smart matchup in the U19 games. A lot of these games are broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU by the way. In that game, Dante Exum totally shut down Smart. I mean he flat smothered him. But on the other end, Exum scored at will on Smart. He was just too tall, fast, athletic, and skilled for Smart to contain. In that one game, Smart looked average against Exum. Now maybe that's not a fair comparison. Who knows, Exum may be, as one scout suggested, the best player in the entire draft, and if so, then Smart doesn't look so bad.

Right now, even if Smart continues at this level, I wouldn't take him over Randle, Wiggins, Parker, or Exum. Now that's not such a bad thing. That would mean he's number 5 on my list. And to be number 5 in this draft is pretty damm good. I don't have him there yet, but I'm impressed so far.
I pretty much agree with you. I'm a huge fan of Exum. It's a shame we can't see him in the college setting but I'd still be thrilled to get him if we don't have a chance at Parker or Randle. I might even take him over Wiggins, who in my mind hasn't shown an awful lot apart from his amazing athleticism and ability to get out on the break. Well, I suppose it's unfair not to acknowledge his defense, and his rebounding has been solid. He has a solid all-round game, just hasn't blown me away. But I digress. Exum is seriously talented and I don't blame you for having him ahead of Smart, though I'd be weary of putting too much stock into one game (as you said). Smart had a bad tournament by all accounts.

As for the Tyreke comparisons, I see where they come from but they really shouldn't be putting anyone off him. He's not a Tyreke clone. I would not at all be surprised if Smart turns out to be what everyone thought Tyreke would become. I'm obviously one of the biggest Tyreke fans on this board by the way. But Smart is more athletic overall and has a higher basketball IQ. I think he's more capable of running the point. And he's a leader. Watch one of his interviews to see how smart he is (no pun intended).