Prospect watch 2011

[Arby's Roast Beef]

Barnes hasn't made me jump up and down, but the hype was so great about him at high school it's hard to envision that he'll fall that far. My question is so far, he hasn't shown too many NBA-viable attributes in his game, and that's concerning. Still a small sample space and maybe he'll rectify the situation, but if I was just ignoring the hype and simply looking at his game I'd even have him outside of the first round. At the end I think he'll split the difference and end up in at the early 20s at the worst if he keeps playing this way.

Perry Jones will definitely at least be a 1st round pick this year--hard to ignore those physical tools. I know many have him placed at the lottery, but I'm just a wee bit more skeptical about this one. I still think when all's said and done he'll end up at the lotto (I have him pegged 11th) but I think he might need a bit more seasoning than some of the established players I mentioned above (Sullinger, Jones etc).

As for Singleton, I didn't like him at all after two years--his offense was a bit of a mess, reminded me too much of Al Thornton (another Seminole, and still don't like Thornton's game today). But there's something to be said about his physical tools, and athletically he fits today's breed of NBA players. Can be molded into a stopper. Again, third years tend to be more overlooked than younger players so he might not be in the lottery, but definitely one of the better upperclassmen for sure.

I'm not high on Brandon Knight at all. I know it's super young and super early, but so far he hasn't impressed me. Might need another year in college I think, and if I were drafting today he'd also be in the outside looking into the first round. He's putting up numbers but his efficiency and passing are questionable to me so far. I'd like to see him flesh out his game a bit more before I'll jump to conclusions here. Kemba Walker has been the talk of college hoops for the early portion, but he's more waterbug speed scorer than anything else--I actually have him at #15 right now, so he's a mid-1st round pick, might sustain that with early hype--but I don't think he's really mid lotto potential here, might be late lotto with good workouts. Derrick Williams I have at #10.

 

[bajaden]

The book on Knight will be written when Kentucky starts facing better competition. He does have some things going for him though. He's a pretty good shooter from long range and he defends. His pt guard skills definitely need work, but he does show pt guard instincts. I've seen him play 6 times so far, but most of it against inferior competition. His three worse games came against Oklahoma, UCONN, and North Carolina. Three of the better teams that Kentucky has faced. So I'm in a wait and see with him, and I still have high hopes for him.

The biggest question with Singleton, was just exactly what position does he play. Thornton is a good example. Most of his scoring has come from withing 15 feet or less from the basket. He's always been a good defender and rebounder. But this year he's added the long range shot to his arsenal. So for the first time I'm convinced that he play SF. He's a very good athlete with good quickness. He's one of those guys that could get taken in the mid 20's and end up being better that a lot of the players picked before him. He reminds me a lot of Damian James from last year.

 

[Uncia03]

I think that Singleton will be a solid player. He's been good the few times I've caught him this year, but I can't see him being someone we'd consider with our potentially high draft pick.
I've been watching these guys waiting for a guy to pop out and say 'I'm the next big thing the Kings need', and I haven't been overly impressed just yet.
Last season I wanted either Cousins or Turner, they made it easy by both fitting a need for the Kings and dominating at their positions. This season....I'm waiting to be impressed.
I saw Jeff Taylor for the first time last night against Marquette and was really surprised by how well he played. Only a one-game sample, but I really liked what I saw. But like Singleton, I don't see him being a player we'd pick in the top 5. I guess at this point in time, if I had to pick one of the top guys I'd go with Perry Jones III, but I'm still waiting for a complete game from him where he dominates (and his lack of a consistent outside shot concerns me).

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

I think my rankings are definitely skewed towards big men (guys like Rick Jackson of Syracuse, JaJuan Johnson of Tennessee, Tristan Thompson of Texas and Aaric Murray of LaSalle I really like as well), but while I don't any of those guys will be drafted in the lottery, I do believe that all four are definitely sleepers if drafted in the late 1st round or beyond. The top five non-big men (omitting PFs/Cs) on my list are Kyrie Irving, Chris Singleton, Travis Leslie, Tyler Honeycutt and Kemba Walker. Those guys might really be reached for in the next draft--this draft heavily favors the bigs IMO.

 

[Vlade4GM]

Perry Jones will be taken pretty high on hype and raw talent alone.

 

[Kingster]

Singleton just doesn't impress me. He looks like low 1st, or 2nd round material. I just never see him make an impact on the game, thought there's been a lot of hype around him for the last couple of years.

 

[bajaden]

Players that I like, some of whom will be lottery picks and in no particular order:

Perry Jones, Baylor
Terrence Jones, Kentucky
Jared Sullinger, Ohio St.
Kyrie Irving, Duke
Derrick Williams,Arizona
Alec Burks, Colorado
Trey Thompkins, Georgia
Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
Chris Singleton, Florida St.
Kemba Walker, UCONN
JaJaun Johnson, Purdue
Kenneth Faried, Moorehead St.
Jordan Hamiltion, Texas
Tristan Thompson, Texas
Tyler Honeycutt, UCLA
Keith Benson, Oakland
Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas
LaceDaius Dunn, Baylor
Brandon Knight, Kentucky
John Henson, North Carolina
Kyle Singler, Duke
Travis Leslie, Georgia
C.J. Leslie, North Carolina St.

Now I know this is a whose who of the draft for the most part. But I've seen all these guys play. Some of them 4 or 5 times. All these guys will be drafted if they put their names in and most of the them will be 1st round picks and some, lottery picks. I have my favorites of course, but there's a lot of talent there. Some more developed than others, such as Chris Singleton and Kenneth Faried. A guy I left off that I love is Jimmer Fredette. Not the most athletic guy, but very fundamentally talented and a guy that can shoot lights out. I also left off Josh Shelby because I just haven't seen him play enough, but judging from some all star games and a couple of highschool games I was able to see, he's a very talented guy. So far his outside shot hasn't been dropping consistently, but he has great form on his shot. He has good passing skills. And he played very good defense in the couple of games I saw. So I'm in a wait and see position with him. He's played well, but hasn't showed me that IT factor yet.

I like both the Morris brothers, but neither has shown me anything special, and the better offensive player of the two, is the weaker rebounder of the two. Actually Marcus reminds me of Landry part two. Not that thats a bad thing, but it doesn't excite me. There are some kids that play in lesser conferences that I like, but will likely be 2nd round picks or not get drafted at all. Someone like Orlando Johnson from U.C. Santa Barbara. Here's a shooting guard thats shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc and who is a terrific athlete. Unfortunately the sun doesn't shine as often where he plays. Another is Kawhi Leonard of San Diego St. Great athlete, but undersized at 6'7" and plays out of postion at PF. Sometimes its guys like these that end up with long careers in the NBA.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

These are my favorites for now, probably in this order, and these guys should go in the first round:

John Henson Kyrie Irving Terrence Jones Jared Sullinger Chris Singleton Rick Jackson JaJuan Johnson Travis Leslie Jonas Valunciunas Tyler Honeycutt Kemba Walker Trey Thompkins Kyle Singler CJ Leslie
Derrick Williams Tristan Thompson Perry Jones Mason Plumlee Aaric Murray DJ Kennedy Xavi Rabaseda LaceDarius Dunn Kawhi Leonard Kris Joseph Alec Burks Jordan Hamilton Iman Shumpert Jon Leuer
Kenneth Faried Rodney Williams

 

[bajaden]

These are my favorites for now, probably in this order, and these guys should go in the first round:

John Henson, Kyrie Irving, Terrence Jones, Jared Sullinger, Chris Singleton, Rick Jackson, JaJuan Johnson, Travis Leslie, Jonas Valunciunas, Tyler Honeycutt, Kemba Walker, Trey Thompkins, Kyle Singler, CJ Leslie,
Derrick Williams, Tristan Thompson, Perry Jones, Mason Plumlee, Aaric Murray, DJ Kennedy, Xavi Rabaseda, LaceDarius Dunn, Kawhi Leonard, Kris Joseph, Alec Burks, Jordan Hamilton, Iman Shumpert, Jon Leuer,
Kenneth Faried, Rodney Williams.

Fixed!

I realize that this is just your opinion and not how you think the draft will actually turn out. I'm just amazed that you have Henson that high. I like him, but the dude has a long way to go in my opinion. He really needs to put some muscle on his frame, and develop more game away from the basket. He's a good athlete, and shows potential, but I really don't see how you could put him ahead of guys like either of the Jones guys who are showing better passing skills and ballhandling skills, although Henson does handle the ball well for a big man. Terrence is just as good if not a better defender and shotblocker from the SF position.

Henson isn't a very good passer and he's a terrible freethrow shooter. I'm not trying to rag on Henson, because I can see the potential of the kid. But he's basicly a post player with a somewhat limited post game that depends too much on his athleticism. He also gets pushed around too much in the post because of his slight build.

I see him as a first round pick, and depending on the development of some of the freshman he could go as high as 12 and could go as low as 22. And right now, I would bet a lot of money on that.

 

[bajaden]

Singleton just doesn't impress me. He looks like low 1st, or 2nd round material. I just never see him make an impact on the game, thought there's been a lot of hype around him for the last couple of years.

You can't be serious when you say you've never seen him make an impact on a game! OK, let me start by saying that you're right about him probably being a low first round pick. And I definitely think he'll be taken in the first round, and he could go higher if he continues to play the way he's been playing. He is the best player on the Florida St. team in my opinion. Where he stands out is on the defensive end of the floor. He's an outstanding defender averaging 2.4 steals and 2.1 blocks from the SF position. He's a get right up in your face type defender and is very physical.

He's a very good rebounder for a SF averaging 8.2 rebounds a game. His offensive game has improved every year with his 3 pt shooting being his biggest weakness along with his ballhandling. He's really improved his outside shot this year averaging 38.3% from beyond the arc, while averaging 14.9 PPG. He's a terrific athlete in the Gerald Wallace mold. He definitely would have been a first round pick last year, and if he would slide into the 2nd round, which is highly unlikely, he would be an absolute steal.

 

[x2RedReaper2x]

This is the site I like to use to view NBA prospects. The mocks drafts they have are very close to what actually happens. They have reports on almost every prospect by the start of the draft.

http://www.nbadraft.net/

 

[Big Cuz 15]

that site is great. i like draftexpress.com also

 

[bajaden]

that site is great. i like draftexpress.com also

Of the two sites I find that Draftexpress is the more accurate of the two, but both give decent to good info. I personally prefer to come to my own judgements on players, so I try not to read too much on a player. However I realize that everyone doesn't have the time I do to waste on such interprizes. Anyway, Draftexpress has its own scouting dept which gives it more credibility in my opinion. They have extensive scouting of the european players, which is where I go for most of my info in that area. They also provide good alternative links.

 

[kingsboi]

So how's Brandon Knight been holding up so far in his last couple of games?

 

[x2RedReaper2x]

I don't like draftexpress too much, it said the best case Tyreke Evans would be was Larry Hughes.

 

[gunks]

You can't be serious when you say you've never seen him make an impact on a game! OK, let me start by saying that you're right about him probably being a low first round pick. And I definitely think he'll be taken in the first round, and he could go higher if he continues to play the way he's been playing. He is the best player on the Florida St. team in my opinion. Where he stands out is on the defensive end of the floor. He's an outstanding defender averaging 2.4 steals and 2.1 blocks from the SF position. He's a get right up in your face type defender and is very physical.

He's a very good rebounder for a SF averaging 8.2 rebounds a game. His offensive game has improved every year with his 3 pt shooting being his biggest weakness along with his ballhandling. He's really improved his outside shot this year averaging 38.3% from beyond the arc, while averaging 14.9 PPG. He's a terrific athlete in the Gerald Wallace mold. He definitely would have been a first round pick last year, and if he would slide into the 2nd round, which is highly unlikely, he would be an absolute steal.

This dude sounds interesting.

This is kind of why I want us to try to trade Landry to a playoff team for a late first. I know we're super young, but another project would be better than letting the guy walk...And I doubt we're getting an impact vet for him.

I wouldnt mind a D playing hyper athlete at the 3 going foward. With DMC and Reke being our two stars, we need SOMEBODY to make highlight dunks

 

[bajaden]

So how's Brandon Knight been holding up so far in his last couple of games?

Had a great scoring game yesterday. He scored 25 pts on 7 of 13 shooting and 4 out of 6 from beyond the arc. He did turn the ball over around 4 times which is too much, but overall he had a good game. He also played solid defense. His running mate, Terrence Jones, also had a good game 12 points on 5 of 11 shooting. 8 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocked shots. The real surprise of the game was Josh Harrellson their center. He's not the most athletic player you'll ever see, but he's just fundamentally solid in how the plays the game. Knows position, and rotations like they were a science. He had a career night with 23 pts, on 10 of 12 shooting, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 blocked shot.

I don't know if you follow college basketball, but if you didn't know anything about Harrellson he would just look like a big white stiff. But the guy is very effective with limited athletic ability.. By the way Kentucky trounced Louisville..

 

[bajaden]

I don't like draftexpress too much, it said the best case Tyreke Evans would be was Larry Hughes.

I pay little or no attention to some editors idea of a comparison. If I were you I would just read the information about a player. Actually I would try watching the games themselves. But for the record, I think the comparison to Hughes, who went to St Louis University from my home town, was that Hughes wasn't a very good shooter coming out of college, and still isn't for the most part. Hughes game was attacking the basket. So there is some comparison. At least early in their careers. Hughes was considered a pretty good prospect coming out of college. He just never got substantially better.

 

[kingsboi]

Had a great scoring game yesterday. He scored 25 pts on 7 of 13 shooting and 4 out of 6 from beyond the arc. He did turn the ball over around 4 times which is too much, but overall he had a good game. He also played solid defense. His running mate, Terrence Jones, also had a good game 12 points on 5 of 11 shooting. 8 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocked shots. The real surprise of the game was Josh Harrellson their center. He's not the most athletic player you'll ever see, but he's just fundamentally solid in how the plays the game. Knows position, and rotations like they were a science. He had a career night with 23 pts, on 10 of 12 shooting, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 blocked shot.

I don't know if you follow college basketball, but if you didn't know anything about Harrellson he would just look like a big white stiff. But the guy is very effective with limited athletic ability.. By the way Kentucky trounced Louisville..

Good to hear he had a effecitve shooting game. He seems like a scoring PG, no? I keep hearing about Terrence Jones by all kinds of people, what position is he, a SF correct?

The only time I follow College basketball is when its tournament time. So I won't know too many players, I haven't watched one college game yet so I can't make any speculations on who looks good and who doesn't. I'm just basing it all on reviews and highlights I see.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

I don't like draftexpress too much, it said the best case Tyreke Evans would be was Larry Hughes.

Player projections aside, it seems to me that DraftExpress has a better track record than NBADraft.net of predicting about how high players will be drafted.

 

[Vlade4GM]

nbadraft.net is not even in the same league as draftexpress IMO, DX is legit. I used to like nbadraft.net for their old profiles, but since they re-did their site, they haven't uploaded their pre-2006 stuff.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I don't like draftexpress too much, it said the best case Tyreke Evans would be was Larry Hughes.

Ironically, he's playing a lot like Hughes so far this year. In DX's defense, they were very similar, except that Hughes had much less strength and took way too many jumpers. Evans played more within himself, driving to the basket more.

Regardless, projections are more of a fan service than anything else. The real fruits of their labor is in the long write ups they do on a lot of players. Obviously, they're not always going to be right with players, but they're pros and they do their due diligence. They're the best game in town, so it's hard to complain. nbadraft.net makes ridiculous comparisons, their mocks are often also ridiculous, and they don't update their profiles as much as DX does.

 

[bajaden]

Good to hear he had a effecitve shooting game. He seems like a scoring PG, no? I keep hearing about Terrence Jones by all kinds of people, what position is he, a SF correct?

The only time I follow College basketball is when its tournament time. So I won't know too many players, I haven't watched one college game yet so I can't make any speculations on who looks good and who doesn't. I'm just basing it all on reviews and highlights I see.

Reading reviews is fine as long as the review is written by someone legit. Every player has at least one highlight, so I wouldn't pay too much attention to those. As far Terrence Jones, he's one of my personal favorites. He's a SF and has good size and length for that position. He's a very good athlete that plays with intensity and seems to have great stammina. He has great shotblocking timming and is a very good rebounder for his position. He handles the ball well for a 6'8"/6'9" player and is also a very good passer. He's more of make it up as you go scorer at the moment. In other words, he just sort of takes advantage of whats there. His biggest weakness is his jumpshot. He's actually fairly consistent with it despite somewhat ugly form. So he has good touch or feel for the shot, which is the important thing. The shot itself can be corrected.

As I said he's a very good athlete, and he runs the floor well. He also appears to have good hops. He has the build of a SF and looks like an NBA player. At the moment I have him in my top three, which is Terrence Jones, Perry Jones, and Jarred Sullinger. I'm omitting Irving because I have serious doubts about his throwing his name into the hat. But if he does, then I'll add him into the mix.

 

[jdbraver]

I've seen a few games by Valanciunas and I think he would fit in well here I think he would great in the pick and roll w/ reke and I think he compliments cousins well. If you pair those three with some sharpshooters I think you have a good core. It will be fun to see what is available in the FA market.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Reading reviews is fine as long as the review is written by someone legit. Every player has at least one highlight, so I wouldn't pay too much attention to those. As far Terrence Jones, he's one of my personal favorites. He's a SF and has good size and length for that position. He's a very good athlete that plays with intensity and seems to have great stammina. He has great shotblocking timming and is a very good rebounder for his position. He handles the ball well for a 6'8"/6'9" player and is also a very good passer. He's more of make it up as you go scorer at the moment. In other words, he just sort of takes advantage of whats there. His biggest weakness is his jumpshot. He's actually fairly consistent with it despite somewhat ugly form. So he has good touch or feel for the shot, which is the important thing. The shot itself can be corrected.

As I said he's a very good athlete, and he runs the floor well. He also appears to have good hops. He has the build of a SF and looks like an NBA player. At the moment I have him in my top three, which is Terrence Jones, Perry Jones, and Jarred Sullinger. I'm omitting Irving because I have serious doubts about his throwing his name into the hat. But if he does, then I'll add him into the mix.

When I saw Terrence Jones (one game) he looked to me like more of an athlete than a basketball player - a dude who just asserted his will on the court because he was too big and strong for other college players. I think that's not enough to translate into an NBA game, so I hope he's got the glimmer of some talent there. Otherwise, I worry that he might end up kind of like Earl Clark with a lot of unrealized potential.

As far as Irving goes, my Spidey-sense tells me he'll be in the draft, because he'll be a clear top-three pick in the final year of "good" rookie compensation befor the new CBA. I think he's a good kid, I think he's a smart kid, and I don't doubt he'd like to finish his degree. But it's totally possible to be a good, smart kid and to make the right decision to put off college for a bit - especially when he's looking at a contract that should be a guaranteed $16-20M right off the bat. I just don't get the impression that his foot injury is going to be serious enough to scare off GMs from taking him high - especially in a draft where the former "consensus" #1 pick is struggling in college and there's no real clear favorite to replace him.

 

[bajaden]

I've seen a few games by Valanciunas and I think he would fit in well here I think he would great in the pick and roll w/ reke and I think he compliments cousins well. If you pair those three with some sharpshooters I think you have a good core. It will be fun to see what is available in the FA market.

I've seen him play a couple of times. Strictly by accident both times. He's a very good athlete and has good height and length. However he's very young, and really needs to put on some muscle. I don't know how he would fare in the post in the NBA at his current weight. The problem I have is that I wll have probably seen all the other prospects 15 to 20 times by seasons end. So there's no way I can sit here and say I would take Valanciunas over one of those guys. Petrie might, since I'm sure he'll have plenty of input on the european players, but I just don't have enough to go on.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

I'm trying to compare up my mock with other mocks of other draft sites, and I see there's quite a few outliers here...so I'd like to get the board's opinion on these players: 1) John Henson, 2) JaJuan Johnson, 3) Travis Leslie, 4) Aaric Murray, 5) Kyle Singler, 6) Xavi Rabaseda, 7) Rick Jackson, 8) Lacedarius Dunn, 9) DJ Kennedy, 10) Josh Selby, 11) Klay Thompson, 12) Iman Shumpert, 13) Gary Flowers, 14) Jimmer Fredette. To put it short, I'm high on all of these players listed above.

Baja, yeah I'm a bit skeptical about John Henson's ballhandling, lack of range and awful free throw shooting, but I keep going back to his ability to wreak havoc with his length without picking up fouls, and he rebounds extremely well--I remember his pre-college comparisons were of Durant, and physically with the length I can definitely see it. He's definitely raw but the defensive potential/production is already there, and I'm really captivated. Granted, this all seems like Anthony Randolph/Brandan Wright part deux--great athlete, little brain--but I still like both of those players, and if groomed right Henson's just made for the NBA game.

Also, I'd like to add that I'm more down on Perry Jones, Marcus Morris, Tristan Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Brandon Knight, Jordan Hamilton and Mason Plumlee. Like to see opinions on these guys as well.

 

[kingsboi]

Reading reviews is fine as long as the review is written by someone legit. Every player has at least one highlight, so I wouldn't pay too much attention to those. As far Terrence Jones, he's one of my personal favorites. He's a SF and has good size and length for that position. He's a very good athlete that plays with intensity and seems to have great stammina. He has great shotblocking timming and is a very good rebounder for his position. He handles the ball well for a 6'8"/6'9" player and is also a very good passer. He's more of make it up as you go scorer at the moment. In other words, he just sort of takes advantage of whats there. His biggest weakness is his jumpshot. He's actually fairly consistent with it despite somewhat ugly form. So he has good touch or feel for the shot, which is the important thing. The shot itself can be corrected.

As I said he's a very good athlete, and he runs the floor well. He also appears to have good hops. He has the build of a SF and looks like an NBA player. At the moment I have him in my top three, which is Terrence Jones, Perry Jones, and Jarred Sullinger. I'm omitting Irving because I have serious doubts about his throwing his name into the hat. But if he does, then I'll add him into the mix.

He definently sounds like an interesting prospect. But do you really think that it would be wise to draft another SF that cannot shoot very well? I mean it would be awesome to get a defensive and athletic SF like you've been telling me that T. Jones is, but if we were to draft him we would need somebody else to spread the floor.

I keep hearing that Perry Jones could go top 3 based on his talent alone, he has good size and decent range. Long arms and plays above the rim. I also hear good things about Jared Sullinger, he's an undersized PF, no? DeJuan Blair like?

 

[bajaden]

When I saw Terrence Jones (one game) he looked to me like more of an athlete than a basketball player - a dude who just asserted his will on the court because he was too big and strong for other college players. I think that's not enough to translate into an NBA game, so I hope he's got the glimmer of some talent there. Otherwise, I worry that he might end up kind of like Earl Clark with a lot of unrealized potential.

As far as Irving goes, my Spidey-sense tells me he'll be in the draft, because he'll be a clear top-three pick in the final year of "good" rookie compensation befor the new CBA. I think he's a good kid, I think he's a smart kid, and I don't doubt he'd like to finish his degree. But it's totally possible to be a good, smart kid and to make the right decision to put off college for a bit - especially when he's looking at a contract that should be a guaranteed $16-20M right off the bat. I just don't get the impression that his foot injury is going to be serious enough to scare off GMs from taking him high - especially in a draft where the former "consensus" #1 pick is struggling in college and there's no real clear favorite to replace him.

I really doubt that his foot will be an issue, unless there's something we don't know. I think the ending of the old CBA might be the biggest factor in Irvings decision on whether to apply for the draft or not. Duke players have a history of playing more than one year. There haven't been that many one and done players there. If its all about the money, then he comes out. But if its not, and its about the experience at Duke, he stays. We'll see..

As far as T. Jones. Let me say that I was not a big Earl Clark fan in college, and I had him pegged as being a potential bust. So far he hasn't disappointed me. Jones is far superior to Clark talent wise. For starters, Clark is a PF and Jones is a natural SF. If you get a chance to watch him some more, you'll note that he's a very good ballhandler and passer. He's an outstanding defender at the college level, and your right, he sometimes just imposes his will on other players with his athleticism. I don't think thats necessarily a bad thing. If you've got, flaunt it. Offensively he's a work in progress. He really has no go to game at present. but he still manages to score his 12 to 18 pts a game. But the most important thing is that he seems to have a great feel for the game, that Clark didn't have. He also seems to have that IT factor. Every once in a while he'll do something in a game where you just say WOW! Not many players could do that. At the same time, he is 18 years old and he is still raw in a lot of areas.

I've seen him play 7 times now, and I still have one more game recorded that I haven't gotten to yet. What I'm looking for in the future is improvement. He really needs to work on his jumpshot. Not sure how much time they put in on such things in college. Ironicly Perry Jones is a very similar player to Terrence. He just happens to be taller. The other difference is that I think Terrence plays with more intensity than Perry does.

 

[bajaden]

He definently sounds like an interesting prospect. But do you really think that it would be wise to draft another SF that cannot shoot very well? I mean it would be awesome to get a defensive and athletic SF like you've been telling me that T. Jones is, but if we were to draft him we would need somebody else to spread the floor.

I keep hearing that Perry Jones could go top 3 based on his talent alone, he has good size and decent range. Long arms and plays above the rim. I also hear good things about Jared Sullinger, he's an undersized PF, no? DeJuan Blair like?

Well, find me an 18 year old SF that is a great 3pt shooter and I'll go with him. My point is, that one of the major weaknesses of most young players is their outside shot. No one hesitated to draft Wall number one, and the knock on him was his outside shot. Ditto Derrick Rose. Michael Jordan wasn't a good outside shooter when he came out of college. Kobe was terrible when drafted by the Lakers at age 18. I think you get my point. When you draft 18 and 19 year olds, your taking a gamble that they'll develop. Having watched Perry Jones play 4 times I can attest that his outside shot is a work in progress. Now if you want a good 3 pt shooter and someone that could develop, there's that word again, into a good point guard, then draft Brandon Knight. The kid can shoot the rock. But at the moment he's more of a shoot first, pass second point guard. So as you can see, its not a perfect world. You draft potential and hopefully someone thats dedicated to becoming great, and hope for the best.

As for Jared Sullinger. According to his measurements at one of the highschool all star games he measured 6'8.25 without shoes. So figure he's around 6'9 or so. Remember he's only 18 years old, so he could still add more height before he's done growing. I've stated that he reminds me a lot of Kevin Love. Love is a better passer, but Sullinger is not a bad passer either. But he's a very good rebounder and is just deadly around the basket with a variety of moves. He's a legit post player, and a decent little jumpshot to go along. He is a below the rim player, but then so is Al Jefferson, Carlos boozer, David Lee, etc. and they do just fine. Sullinger is listed at around 285, but he's obviously lost some weight because he certainly doesn't look that heavy. He's very strong. Especially in the lower body which he uses very well. Very smart player who knows how to get position and use it once he gets the ball. In other words, I like him!