2015 Draft Prospects:

Gilles · Mar 28, 2015

Notice, how WCS just hounded Grant into the corner without jumping, but his teammates started flying in Grant's direction - Jerian should've put his body into Harrison or Lyles to get FTs. On the previous possession though, seeing Grant leaning back to pull up for a jumper, WCS jumped right with him, though he stretched his arm, while jumping up, and not into Grant. He might look like he doesn't have a clue offensively (and it's not true - he's just limited, so he can't look active, if he's covered tightly, and Kentucky guards just suck at using screens, not waiting for bigs to plant themselves), but defensively WCS makes most plays right.

Dime Dropper said:

He basically lost two seasons with shoulder injury, after doctors botched initial operation, and this year his coach mentioned him not being 100% because of back spasms. With the style he plays, I'm not touching Dunn anywhere in the lottery.

P.S. DX moved Poeltl into lottery.

Tetsujin · Mar 28, 2015

sdballer said:

The way he played Notre Dame's final possession is pretty much indicative of his amazing defensive potential. Matched Grant step for step while simultaneously cornering him into a bad buzzer beater attempt. Ridiculous agility and dexterity for a seven footer.

Gilles · Mar 28, 2015

Wisconsin made 15 out of 20 FTs, 5-7 on 2s and 10-12 on 3s in the second half vs Arizona: 55 points in 28 shooting possessions for .982TS%.

Gilles · Mar 28, 2015

Darth Divac · Mar 28, 2015

Tonight really showed why I'm leery of Towns.

If you look at Towns' box, you'd think he had a really good game-and in some ways, he did. He got his offensively, and chipped in a few valuable assists & steals. But that was the extent of his contribution. He got absolutely manhandled by Zach Auguste in the post, and on the glass. I know his numbers are outstanding, but I've made it a point to watch as much Kentucky basketball as I could over the past year, and I just don't see what others seem to see in Towns.

WCS, on the other hand, impressed me greatly. His numbers, in contrast to Towns', have been relatively modest, but his true value on the court is incalculable. He does so many critical, little things that never show up in the box score. His defense against both bigs and perimeter players has been absolutely lights out, and his athleticism/size combo is top notch. He may never be a true superstar in the NBA, but he strikes me as the sort of player a rising team absolutely must have on their roster in order to compete.

Capt. Factorial · Mar 28, 2015

Gilles said:

About time.

bajaden · Mar 28, 2015

Gilles said:

Would have been 11 out of 13 if Dekker's foot hadn't been on the line on that last shot. Two close games. Thats what the tournament is all about. I thought Kentucky looked tight the entire game, while Notre Dame looked like it was having fun. Talent won out in the end, but Kentucky dodged a bullet. Great game by Towns. Notre Dame had no answer for him. Without him, Kentucky loses the game.

Tetsujin · Mar 28, 2015

bajaden said:

Darth Divac said:

In conclusion, Karl Anthony-Towns is either a great talent or greatly overrated.

bajaden · Mar 28, 2015

Darth Divac said:

Fact: Towns destroyed Auguste in the post. Auguste couldn't guard Towns. Fact, almost all of Auguste's points came off the pick and roll, or back door cuts. Not with post moves. You want to pick on Towns for losing track of Auguste, fine, but when they went man on man against each other, Towns was the winner. Many of Auguste's points came when Towns was sitting on the bench. I know you don't like him, but try not making up fantasy stories.

bajaden · Mar 28, 2015

Tetsujin said:

Towns is very talented. He's not perfect, but most of his problems are fixable. Counting tonights game, I've seen Kentucky play 27 times this year. I've seen him have some bad games, and I've seen him have some great games. If he was on a team where he was the featured player, his stats would look much better, but he's not. He'll be either the first or second pick in the draft, and not because he's overrated.

Gilles · Mar 29, 2015

Just to put in perspective success of Kaminsky and Towns in the post yesterday, both got away with a few instances of chickening. With stronger and more aggressive post defenders in NBA they would have to use this move more obviously to be able to go around their man, and would collect quite a few offensive fouls.

Tetsujin · Mar 29, 2015

Gilles said:

In fairness to both, the best true big man to come out of the draft in the past decade (Boogie) still has some trouble in the same situation.

206Fan · Mar 29, 2015

Where are the people who aren't sold on Winslow?

206Fan · Mar 29, 2015

Anyone have any comments about Stanley Johnson? He has played total C R A P in the tournament.. he had a good scoring game vs a 15th seed, but disappeared after that.

Looking back at his games, the level of talent he played against was weaker than most ranked teams.

Hard to ignore his games vs big competition.

Gilles · Mar 30, 2015

Stanimal is a freshman on a team with upperclassman (RHJ was technically not, but he was a team leader along with McConnell), who are all more creators rather than finishers. Don't get me wrong, they can all finish plays, but problem is it's mostly inside. In fact, Johnson had probably most likely skillset to be a role player offensively, but that's not his mentality. That team desperately needed 3&D guy to put in starting lineup instead of either RHJ or SJ. Rondae is their best defender, Stan is Miller's most prized recruit, so Sean likely promised him the starting job, and couldn't figure out, what to do offensively - RHJ actually asked to and was moved to the bench, but Miller didn't like the defense. And you could see, how potent Arizona's offense was, when they attacked early, and there were still some cracks in defense - either basket or a foul every time.
My point is Stanley got himself in very weird situation (first thing, that came to mind - our very own trio of Evans-IT2-MT trying to split the ball), that still looked good due to the strength of defense and transition game. In the end they just had 4-pronged attack, that was choosing their spots, depending on matchups. Wisco didn't know, how to defend Ashley with Kaminsky, Dekker or, of course, Dukan and RHJ - with Dekker or Hayes. And this showed once again, that college game is different from pros: Miller should've pushed those two matchups, especially Kaminsky defending Ashley, since The Tank was killing 'Zona on the other end and was close to foul trouble.
Johnson had quite a few good games, where he completely took over for stretches offensively, there were quite a few, where he was frozen out, then have bursts of scoring in short periods - guy can score in a variety of ways. He's a better offensive rebounder than Winslow, and has the same DReb%, plus Arizona team's Dreb% is .776, while Duke's is .695 - massively different figures. Johnson also created his own transition opportunities after taking rebounds. Johnson gets to the line a lot, and you can see, that he can shoot and has touch in his .444 from mid-range on more than 150 attempts. His long range shooting is flat, so he might struggle with increased range initially, but Stanimal won't be a liability from outside by any means. Passing game and vision is good, though he's not going to be a point-forward. Handles could use tightening and lowering, which showed vs packed paint, he saw all season, though NBA will be much more spaced for him, so might get by even with his current handles for a while.
Defensively he's fast, but not as quick as Winslow, so he's pretty much set at SF defensively, where his superior strength will be in full use. Artest was quicker and had a mentality of a defense captain, so I don't see comparisons on D. Stanley is very strong, can disrupt his opponent with strength, so he will get his highlight defensive moments and plays good overall D, so he will probably be mentioned as a candidate for All-D team at some point in his career.
He's still a mid-lottery pick in 5-9 range.

Darth Divac · Mar 30, 2015

206Fan said:

Hi.

Dime Dropper · Mar 30, 2015

Darth Divac said:

How about Towns putting Kentucky on his back in their toughest game to date?

Must have been luck.

Gilles · Mar 30, 2015

Now we know, that Towns can score at will on Porzingis.

9x1x6 · Mar 30, 2015

All americans came out today.

First Team

Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin, 7-0, 242, senior, Lisle, Ill., 18.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 55.3 fg pct, 39.5 3-pt fg pct, 1.6 blocks (65 first-team votes, 325 total points),

Jahlil Okafor, Duke, 6-11, 270, freshman, Chicago, 17.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 66.9 fg pct (64, 323).

Jerian Grant, Notre Dame, 6-5, 204, senior, Bowie, Md., 16.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 6.6 apg, 1.7 steals, 36.6 minutes (53, 298).

Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky, 7-0, 240, junior, Olathe, Kan., 9.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 58.8 ft pct (45, 285).

D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State, 6-5, 180, freshman, Louisville, Ky., 19.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.1 apg, 41.5 3-pt fg pct, 1.6 steals (51, 282).

Second Team

Delon Wright, Utah, 6-5, 190, senior, Los Angeles, 14.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 5.3 apg, 52.9 fg pct, 83.4 ft pct, 2.1 steals (15, 186).

Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky, 6-11, 250, freshman, Piscataway, N.J., 9.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 55.4 fg pct, 81.4 ft pct, 2.4 blocks (8, 139).

Seth Tuttle, Northern Iowa, 6-8, 240, senior, Sheffield, Iowa, 15.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 61.6 fg pct, (3, 139).

Bobby Portis, Arkansas, 6-11, 242, sophomore, Little Rock, Ark., 17.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 54.7 fg pct (2, 102).

Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia, 6-5, 215, junior, Atlanta, 13.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, 87.1 ft pct (2, 98).

Third Team

Buddy Hield, Oklahoma, 6-4, 212, junior, Freeport, Bahamas, 17.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 82.2 ft pct (3, 96).

Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga, 6-10, 240, junior, Portland, Ore., 16.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 53.6 fg pct, 46.6 3-pt fg pct (4, 93).

Rakeem Christmas, Syracuse, 6-9, 250, senior, Philadelphia, 17.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 55.2 fg pct, 2.5 blocks (74).

Georges Niang, Iowa State, 6-8, 230, junior, Methuen, Mass., 15.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, 40.2 3-pt fg pct, 80.5 ft pct (1, 51).

Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga, 6-2, 182, senior, Holland Landing, Ontario, 11.5 ppg, 5.0 apg, 44.4 3-pt fg pct, 83.3 ft pct (1, 50).

kingsboi · Mar 30, 2015

Towns is first team material...not Cauley Stein. Seth Tuttle on the second team also is laughable.

Capt. Factorial · Mar 30, 2015

kingsboi said:

They meant to select Seth Buttle but there was a glitch at the Ministry of Information.

Gilles · Mar 30, 2015

I thought, it was funny looking, when I saw assists for WCS among stats. He actually doesn't have 2.0 anything per game, except fouls. It's 1.0 for assists and 1.7 for blocks.
And Seth Tuttle powered elite mid-major, that was ranked #11 coming into March Madness. Pace adjusted he's actually second best scorer on this list behind Kaminsky.

Telemachus · Mar 30, 2015

Capt. Factorial said:

Always nice to see a Brazil reference.

Kingster · Apr 1, 2015

I don't like Stanley Johnson or Justice Winslow for the 8th pick or higher stratum. They are both offensively challenged, and there is no way I take a wing that high who is offensively challenged. A big like WCS is at least more reasonable for that tier because he is a big and will have more effect defensively on the game by helping out the deficiencies of others. Johnson and Winslow could easily see D league time after they are drafted, imo, with Johnson being more probable than Winslow. This draft is a failure if the Kings draft either one of those guys, imo.

Kingster · Apr 1, 2015

There's a lot of talk about WCS being the perfect fit next to Cousins, but some are forgetting to put in the word, "defensively" after the word Cousins. No way is he the perfect fit next to Cousins offensively; in fact he's a most imperfect fit next to Cousins offensively.

kingsboi · Apr 1, 2015

so since you don't see Cauley Stein, Johnson or Winslow a good fit for this team. Who would you draft in the 6-8 slot?

Dime Dropper · Apr 1, 2015

It's well established that Kingster values offense a great deal more than defense. I'm quite sick of that viewpoint, as we've had it for more than a decade and look where it's got us. At some point this franchise has to start valuing defense. Kawhi Leonard had significantly worse offensive %s coming out of college too, guess we were right to pass on him.

I'm not even arguing for Johnson or Winslow by the way. Just making a general point.

As for WCS, he really isn't a terrible fit next to Cuz. I believe he'll be able to develop a solid jumper, and he's great at moving away from the ball. Cuz will find him plenty for easy dunks. The idea that you need an offensive threat next to Cuz is silly anyway. You just need someone who is competent and won't hurt you, and WCS won't hurt you given how athletic he is.

Again, why anyone would take an offensive minded player to put next to Cuz simply because he fits better offensively, over a defensive player whose going to make us a much, much better defensive team all-around, is beyond my comprehension. The "perfect" fit doesn't exist. WCS would be a great pick if we're not in a position to get Towns.

206Fan · Apr 1, 2015

Kingster said:

I'm going to counter you here a bit. Sorry if I come off being an a-hole lol, not at all. I think Winslow is a very smart offensive player. He can attack and shoot the 3 actually well. He doesn't have a mid range jumper, but he can hit his 3pt shots. I think that's what you're looking for. A 3&D guy who can stretch is the floor. Winslow can be more than a 3&D guy because he's such a smart offensive player. He can create shots and pass to teammates.

I think Johnson is a better offensive player than Winslow. I've never heard of Johnson being a poor offensive player.. he struggles with shooting at times, but he's actually a good offensive player who can score in a variety of ways.

Kingster said:

Everytime when Cuz was doubled by JT's man..JT just stood there with his hands out. WCS will hustle to an open spot and Cuz will be able to pick apart defenders. WCS is a non stop hustle guy. He's like AD.

The only other options that are good fits next to Cuz are poor defenders.

Frank Kaminsky? Stretch 4 and a very smart offensive player. He's a decent shot blocker, but he's not that good defensively. I think he will be able to hold his own. His offense is amazing. However, we've been lacking a shot blocker next to Cuz, and Kaminsky isn't that shot blocker.

Jakob Poeltl? Good man on man defender, but not a good shot blocker. I think he can be a good rim defender as time goes by though. His offense is very very impressive, but he's not a stretch 4.

Myles Turner? Intriguing guy no doubt. He has a nice mid range J and can hit from 3pt land sometimes. He's a good shot blocker, but decent man defender. Even with all this said, he's very very raw.. He's not going to help us a lot next year...or at all.

It's unrealistic to find a polished player to put next to Cuz.

I think this team has lacked defense for the longest time.. Winslow and Johnson bring us something we haven't had in a long time.

Kingster · Apr 1, 2015

kingsboi said:

I don't care about fit. I want the best player possible regardless of fit. For example, Okafor is duplicative of Cousins, not complementary, but I'd take him in a heartbeat given the chance. I think the Kings made mistakes because they have been looking for complementary pieces - Jimmer and Stauskas, e.g - rather than going after the best player. They can't afford to do that **** again.

206Fan · Apr 1, 2015

Kingster said:

Stauskas was BPA though.. Unless you think McDermott is the better shooter.

Ben was also a BPA pick. So was TRob..

2015 Draft Prospects:

Starter

The Game Thread Dude

Starter

Starter

Bench

ceterum censeo delendum esse Argentum

Hall of Famer

The Game Thread Dude

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

Starter

The Game Thread Dude

All-Star

All-Star

Starter

Bench

All-Star

Starter

Bench

Hall of Famer

ceterum censeo delendum esse Argentum

Starter

Starter

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

All-Star

All-Star

Hall of Famer

All-Star