The thing is players like Jordan, Kobe, and Wade all won titles with unassuming point guards that were lights out three point shooters playing next to them. The big guard tandem looks good on paper but it's never won anything. Derek Fisher, Steve Kerr, John Paxson, BJ Armstrong, Derek Fischer, Damon Jones... if your #1 option on offense is a big scoring guard who can slash to the rim then you need a shooter next to him that can handle the ball.
Prospect watch 2011
- Thread starter asakkings
- Start date
I'll be honest, I have no idea how good or bad Fredette will be at the next level as far as defense goes. He seldom gets challenged because of the zone defense BYU plays, and he seldom gets into a defensive position. He works so hard on the offensive side of the ball, that maybe they don't expect him to play defense. His last game was an exception. In more ways than one. I don't know if there were scouts at the game, or that one of the scouts challenged him to show some defense, because he was a lot more aggressive on defense than I'm used to seeing. He also was trying to show off his PG skills. I think he only took 4 or 5 shots from the perimiter in the entire game, and instead tried to drive and dish, or finish.
He ended up with 5 assists. But I counted how many shots by his teammates that were missed that would have been assists. Some of them point blank layups. He could have easily had 16 assists in the game. But coulda, woulda, shoulda, mean nothing in the end. Despite all that, when the game was on the line, he showed up and put the game away, and ended up with 22 points after scoring around 5 or 6 in the first half.
If we were to draft him, I envision him coming off the bench with Beno remaining the starter. I also envision him being on the floor at the end of close games. It would help open up the floor, and you dare not leave him open. I actually see him being a better player in the NBA where there's more one on one play, and where he won't be the focus of the other teams defense night after night. Its not unusual to see two defensive players on him the minute the ball is in his hands. Its hard to do that in the NBA without hurting yourself somewhere else.
He ended up with 5 assists. But I counted how many shots by his teammates that were missed that would have been assists. Some of them point blank layups. He could have easily had 16 assists in the game. But coulda, woulda, shoulda, mean nothing in the end. Despite all that, when the game was on the line, he showed up and put the game away, and ended up with 22 points after scoring around 5 or 6 in the first half.
If we were to draft him, I envision him coming off the bench with Beno remaining the starter. I also envision him being on the floor at the end of close games. It would help open up the floor, and you dare not leave him open. I actually see him being a better player in the NBA where there's more one on one play, and where he won't be the focus of the other teams defense night after night. Its not unusual to see two defensive players on him the minute the ball is in his hands. Its hard to do that in the NBA without hurting yourself somewhere else.
Its a shame its the only one you've read. There's already been a lot of good information posted. Uncia03 has written some outstanding posts. There are some very good follower's of college basketball on this fourm, and I think you can get just as good, if not better information here, than you can on most of the so called mock draft websites.
Sorry. If it's any consollation, I'm probably wrong about these guys more often than I'm right 
Maybe I'll change my mind around March Madness, but when it's starting to feel like work, that's when I know I have to stop. So while it's fun to have informed opinions about draft prospects, at some point the effort put in is not worth what I get out of it. The draft will still be fun regardless.
Maybe I'll change my mind around March Madness, but when it's starting to feel like work, that's when I know I have to stop. So while it's fun to have informed opinions about draft prospects, at some point the effort put in is not worth what I get out of it. The draft will still be fun regardless.
Sorry. If it's any consollation, I'm probably wrong about these guys more often than I'm right
Maybe I'll change my mind around March Madness, but when it's starting to feel like work, that's when I know I have to stop. So while it's fun to have informed opinions about draft prospects, at some point the effort put in is not worth what I get out of it. The draft will still be fun regardless.
Maybe I'll change my mind around March Madness, but when it's starting to feel like work, that's when I know I have to stop. So while it's fun to have informed opinions about draft prospects, at some point the effort put in is not worth what I get out of it. The draft will still be fun regardless.
Continuing the Jimmer Fredette discussion...
I basically have the same concern that everyone else does. His shooting would be a great addition to our team no doubt, but can he hold his own on defense? He doesn't need to be a great defensive player though -- he just needs to be competent. Most people, myself included, thought J.J. Redick would be a liability on defense and he's actually made himself into a decent defender by working hard. One of the biggest adjustments for big-time scorers coming into the NBA who aren't high lottery picks is changing your mentality from go-to guy to role player. And that means more than just deferring on offense, it also means contributing in other areas -- defense, rebounding, floor spacing. Whether Fredette can do that or not is a judgement call that's hard to make since it's mostly a mental adjustment. For every J.J. Redick who can make the adjustment there's an Adam Morrison who can't.
I basically have the same concern that everyone else does. His shooting would be a great addition to our team no doubt, but can he hold his own on defense? He doesn't need to be a great defensive player though -- he just needs to be competent. Most people, myself included, thought J.J. Redick would be a liability on defense and he's actually made himself into a decent defender by working hard. One of the biggest adjustments for big-time scorers coming into the NBA who aren't high lottery picks is changing your mentality from go-to guy to role player. And that means more than just deferring on offense, it also means contributing in other areas -- defense, rebounding, floor spacing. Whether Fredette can do that or not is a judgement call that's hard to make since it's mostly a mental adjustment. For every J.J. Redick who can make the adjustment there's an Adam Morrison who can't.
There are no guarantees, and I'm anxious to see how he fares once the tournament starts. I've seen him play a lot since all BYU games are on the mtn channel on direct tv. In most games he plays what I would call token defense. And since BYU plays a 3/2 zone, its hard to get a good read. So what do I know that would help come to some decision.
From everything I've heard or read about him, he's a very hard worker and a gym rat. There have been many games where he plays all 40 minutes of the game, and if not he seldom plays less than 36 minutes. So we know he's in good shape. From watching him play, he appears to have very good end to end speed, and when on offense, he has very good quickness that combined with a wicked crossover dribble makes him hard to guard. So when you take all those things into consideration, you have to come to the conclusion that at worse, he's an, NBA average athlete, which would put him in the Mike Bibby or Steve Nash catagory of athletes. At best, he's a little above average NBA athlete.
He has a very good work ethic, and from what I've read, he would have no problem coming off the bench, and he is one of those guys that doesn't need to get warm to start hitting shots. He's hot the minute he steps on the floor, which is great for a guy coming off the bench. I certainly don't see any Adam Morrison in him. He's a better shooter than Morrison for one thing, and I think he's a better athlete. Also, Morrison was a one trick pony. All he could do at the college level was score. Fredette actually has point guard skills, and to be honest I think his point guard skills are better than Beno's are right now. For a guy that was never a point guard until he got to college, he has very good court vision and good passing ability. I think he's going to surprise some people.
From everything I've heard or read about him, he's a very hard worker and a gym rat. There have been many games where he plays all 40 minutes of the game, and if not he seldom plays less than 36 minutes. So we know he's in good shape. From watching him play, he appears to have very good end to end speed, and when on offense, he has very good quickness that combined with a wicked crossover dribble makes him hard to guard. So when you take all those things into consideration, you have to come to the conclusion that at worse, he's an, NBA average athlete, which would put him in the Mike Bibby or Steve Nash catagory of athletes. At best, he's a little above average NBA athlete.
He has a very good work ethic, and from what I've read, he would have no problem coming off the bench, and he is one of those guys that doesn't need to get warm to start hitting shots. He's hot the minute he steps on the floor, which is great for a guy coming off the bench. I certainly don't see any Adam Morrison in him. He's a better shooter than Morrison for one thing, and I think he's a better athlete. Also, Morrison was a one trick pony. All he could do at the college level was score. Fredette actually has point guard skills, and to be honest I think his point guard skills are better than Beno's are right now. For a guy that was never a point guard until he got to college, he has very good court vision and good passing ability. I think he's going to surprise some people.
For those interested, here are some games of interest on the tube today.
Duke/Virgina: 4 PM on ESPN2.
Oklahoma St./Texas: 6 PM on ESPN2. Texas has Jordan Hamilton who heads my list at the SG position. At 6'7", he can also play SF.
St. Marys/San Diego: 8 PM on ESPN2. San Diego is not to be confused with San Diego ST. St. Marys has PG Mickey McConnel. He may not be athletic enough for the NBA, but he's fun to watch.. Pure PG!!
Georgetown/UCONN: 4 PM on ESPN3. Its also on Fox sports channel 640 on direct tv. UCONN features Kemba Walker, who of late has been playing terrible while shooting 33.9% overall from the field for his last 8 games.
Duke/Virgina: 4 PM on ESPN2.
Oklahoma St./Texas: 6 PM on ESPN2. Texas has Jordan Hamilton who heads my list at the SG position. At 6'7", he can also play SF.
St. Marys/San Diego: 8 PM on ESPN2. San Diego is not to be confused with San Diego ST. St. Marys has PG Mickey McConnel. He may not be athletic enough for the NBA, but he's fun to watch.. Pure PG!!
Georgetown/UCONN: 4 PM on ESPN3. Its also on Fox sports channel 640 on direct tv. UCONN features Kemba Walker, who of late has been playing terrible while shooting 33.9% overall from the field for his last 8 games.
Walkers last game against Providence wasn't bad. But the 7 games preceding that game were just terrible. He was throwing up shot after shot and they just wern't going in. I think it should be noted that he's also going up against mostly conference teams and even the out of conference teams are very good teams. However, it doesn't bode well for him it this continues. He starting to look like an Allen Iverson that can't shoot. And I never liked Iverson. He does put in more effort on defense than Iverson did though.
Knight is a better, or maybe I should say, more consistent shooter than Walker. When you add in that Knight is much taller than Walker, and is almost as quick as Walker and plays outstanding defense, I wouldn't be surprised to see Knight get taken before Walker come draft time. Remember, you have to also throw potential into the equation, and since Walker is a junior and Knight is a freshman, Knight has the potential on his side. Of course Walker has better honed PG skills at the moment, but who's to say that by the time Knight would be a junior he would be a better PG than Walker.
Walkers stats for the year are:
22.8 PPG - 42.4% FGA - 36.2% 3PA - 4.5 APG
Knights stats for the year are:
17.6 PPG - 46.4% FGA - 41.8% 3PA - 3.8 APG
Knights biggest weakness is the amount of turnovers per game. Since he's a freshman, and he also plays in a uptempo and less disciplined system than some other schools, the turnovers aren't that much of a surprise, and not something that can't be corrected. The Kid is a very good and consistent shooter. He's coming off a 24 pt game against Tennessee, that I'll write about soon.
I don't know, I think 26 pts, 8-16, 2-2 from three and 11 rebounds is a pretty darn good game. Williams is a guy who makes something happen just about every time he has the ball. I think Arizona could go to him more - and they use him especially poorly against a zone by puttin ghim in the middle where they can't get him the ball (Washington used mostly man tonight) - but he gets it done when they do go to him. If he's not a top-5 pick I'd be absolutely shocked, and at this point I'd take him 1 or 2 (only Irving might beat him out).
I'm just going off my impression from the game. The numbers were there -- and both of his three pointers were big shots -- but he looked like a non-factor for most of the second half. I didn't see the explosive athleticism I usually see from him and he was a step slow on defense a lot of the time too. He just looked tired in this one. But I suppose anyone who can put up numbers like that on an off-night is very talented indeed. And his defense at the end is what won the game for Arizona. He forced the turnover with 3 seconds left and then erased a possible game-winner with a massive block. I jumped. It was nice.
I'm just going off my impression from the game. The numbers were there -- and both of his three pointers were big shots -- but he looked like a non-factor for most of the second half. I didn't see the explosive athleticism I usually see from him and he was a step slow on defense a lot of the time too. He just looked tired in this one. But I suppose anyone who can put up numbers like that on an off-night is very talented indeed. And his defense at the end is what won the game for Arizona. He forced the turnover with 3 seconds left and then erased a possible game-winner with a massive block. I jumped. It was nice.
Kenneth Faried had another nice game for Moorehead St. 17 points and 12 rebounds. He's currently averaging 14 rebounds a game, and for those that don't know, the reason his last game was significant, was that the 12 rebounds made him the all time NCAA leader in career rebounds. When you consider how many great players came out of college and went on to great NBA careers, thats quite a feat. Here's a nice ESPN article on Faried..
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=6101092
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=6101092
As previously mentioned by a couple of other posters, Derrick Williams had a very nice game against Washington. He ended up with 26 pts on 8 of 16 shooting, and was 2 for 2 from beyond the arc. He went to the the freethrow line 9 times and made 8 of them. This year he's shooting a very respectable 75.4% at the line. He also had 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocked shots. The last blocked shot coming with 2 seconds left on the clock, and whiched saved the game for Arizona who won 87 to 86.
Williams seems to be pacing himself more now than at the beginning of the season. I'm sure having his hand bandaged isn't helping his game either. The good news is that the Washington game should be the last game he has to play with the bandage. So I'll be curious to see what changes, if any, there are to his game.
Williams seems to be pacing himself more now than at the beginning of the season. I'm sure having his hand bandaged isn't helping his game either. The good news is that the Washington game should be the last game he has to play with the bandage. So I'll be curious to see what changes, if any, there are to his game.
Jimmer Fredette had a less than normal game against TCU. His outside shot was off, and he actually shot an airball from a wide open position. I guess he's human afterall. Realizing that his shot was off, he started attacking the basket and had more sucess there. When he didn't score, he was fouled and ended up making 9 trips to the line. Being a 90% freethrow shooter, he made 8 of the 9. He ended up with 23 Pts on 6 of 16 shooting, with 9 of those being 3 pointers. His total shots are slightly inflated since he twice had to throw up a shot with the shotclock about to go off. One of those being a three point shot on one foot while falling out of bounds.
Personally I think he's feeling a little of the wear and tear of the season. He averages 34.5 minutes a game out of the 40 minutes available, and I've seen several games where he's played the entire game. For those of you that don't watch college basketball, they don't call the game the same way they do in the NBA. The ref's allow players to be a lot more physical, almost to the point of mugging another player. Fredette is banged, pushed, shoved and throughly abused almost every game. And while he does go to the line an average of 8 times a game, if he were in the NBA and treated the same way, he would probably go to the line around 15 to 18 times a game.
Now I don't expect that to happen in the NBA, because he won't be abused the same way. Which also means, I think he'll be a better offensive player in the NBA. Its the defensive side of the ball that concerns me. I'm not saying he can't, or won't play defense. Its just that he's not being asked to play much defense at BYU. One of the announcers, while commenting on Fredette, said that he was quicker than he thought, and that people will be surprised by his quickness. I tend to agree with this. How that quickness will translate to defense in the NBA, I have no idea.
Personally I think he's feeling a little of the wear and tear of the season. He averages 34.5 minutes a game out of the 40 minutes available, and I've seen several games where he's played the entire game. For those of you that don't watch college basketball, they don't call the game the same way they do in the NBA. The ref's allow players to be a lot more physical, almost to the point of mugging another player. Fredette is banged, pushed, shoved and throughly abused almost every game. And while he does go to the line an average of 8 times a game, if he were in the NBA and treated the same way, he would probably go to the line around 15 to 18 times a game.
Now I don't expect that to happen in the NBA, because he won't be abused the same way. Which also means, I think he'll be a better offensive player in the NBA. Its the defensive side of the ball that concerns me. I'm not saying he can't, or won't play defense. Its just that he's not being asked to play much defense at BYU. One of the announcers, while commenting on Fredette, said that he was quicker than he thought, and that people will be surprised by his quickness. I tend to agree with this. How that quickness will translate to defense in the NBA, I have no idea.
As a follow up to the Fredette post. I wanted to throw a few kudo's to his running mate that not many people hear about. The two of them have played together for the last three years and both are seniors. I'm speaking of Jackson Emery, a 6'3" PG/SG. Emery is Fredette's backcourt mate, and the two of them play off of each other beautifully. While Emery isn't the shooter Fredette is, he's certainly not someone you don't want to guard. He's shooting around 38% from beyond the arc, which is very respectable.
Like Fredette he's a good ballhandler and passer, and he's probably the best defender on the team. He averages over 2 steals a game and has very quick hands. Could he play in the NBA? Yeah, I think so, especially if he can hone his pt guard skills a little more. My guess is that he'll go undrafted, but that some team will give him a look see at summer league. But then I thought the same thing about a couple of players last year, and they ended up getting drafted in the second round. So you never know..
Like Fredette he's a good ballhandler and passer, and he's probably the best defender on the team. He averages over 2 steals a game and has very quick hands. Could he play in the NBA? Yeah, I think so, especially if he can hone his pt guard skills a little more. My guess is that he'll go undrafted, but that some team will give him a look see at summer league. But then I thought the same thing about a couple of players last year, and they ended up getting drafted in the second round. So you never know..
Great news, and everyone should set their calendars and DVRs and TIVOs.
On Thursday, Feb 24th, Morehead State will be playing at Murray State and they will be airing this game one-time only on ESPN U at 6pm PST.
So if you have ESPN U and you have not had the opportunity to see Faried play, then you should take this opportunity to see this young man play.
Afterwards you can compare his play to the boxscores and hopefully have a better idea of why people think this kid could be an incredibly valueable role-player in the NBA.
On Thursday, Feb 24th, Morehead State will be playing at Murray State and they will be airing this game one-time only on ESPN U at 6pm PST.
So if you have ESPN U and you have not had the opportunity to see Faried play, then you should take this opportunity to see this young man play.
Afterwards you can compare his play to the boxscores and hopefully have a better idea of why people think this kid could be an incredibly valueable role-player in the NBA.
Tweener?
I havent seen him play, but checked his stats. A 6'8 220lbs PF/C in college will probably = offensive liability in the NBA.
Word is he can D like mad. And 14 rpg to go along with 2 steals and 2 blocks is snazzy!
I can see this guy going to one of the elites at the end of the 1st round, but if he slips to the second I hope we nab him.
I havent seen him play, but checked his stats. A 6'8 220lbs PF/C in college will probably = offensive liability in the NBA.
Word is he can D like mad. And 14 rpg to go along with 2 steals and 2 blocks is snazzy!
I can see this guy going to one of the elites at the end of the 1st round, but if he slips to the second I hope we nab him.
Now that all the drama of the trade deadline is over, I finally got back to watching some games I had recorded. Just finished the Colorado St./Byu game. It was a highly contested game for the most part until BYU finally went on a little run halfway through the 2nd half and went out to a 12 pt lead. They were able to nurse that lead to a win. Jimmer Fredette had another un-Fredette like game. Once again he struggled with his outside shot (more on that later), but still managed to score 34 pts. Realizing that his outside shot wasn't effective, he began driving to the basket and that usually ended up as either a basket, or a trip to the line, or both. He went to the line 16 times hitting 14 of them. Even that was a surprise, because he seldom misses from the line, shooting 90% from there.
He was 9 of 26 overall and 2 of 8 from beyond the arc. Take away the missed 6 shots from beyond the arc and he's at a respectable 9 of 20 overall. College Ref's leave a lot to be desired as compared to NBA ref's, and it takes some adjustment if your just used to the NBA. But this particular game bordered on ridiculous. Fredette had 6 turnovers in the game. 3 of those were charges, that wouldn't have been charges in the NBA since all three were called when he ran into players standing right under the basket as he was driving to the basket. They have that silly little circle in the NBA. Two of his turnovers were plays where he was basicly mugged. On one he was dribbling the ball across the halfcourt line when a defender bumped him from behind and reached for the ball. He missed the ball, but then a second defender ran into Fredette knocking him off balance causing him to lose his dribble for a second, and they called double dribble on what should have been two reach in fouls. Just terrible.
Fredette got whacked in the jaw in the first period and no foul call. He has scratches on his face, his arms and probably places I can't mention. Everytime he touches the ball he has two defenders chasing him around the floor. When he drives to the basket he's always double or triple teamed. I firmly believe that the NBA is going to look like heaven to him. Personally I think some of the wear and tear is starting to catch up with him. He looks like he has tired legs because he's not getting the same elevation on his shot he did eariler in the year. As I said before, he plays 36 minutes a game out of the 40 and he has to work hard for every shot he gets. He seldom gets a wide open shot. He had one in this game, and it was automatic.
I want to mention a player on the Colorado St. team. He's Andy Ogide, Pronounced O - Ga - De. He's a 6'9" PF senior that weighs 245 pounds. He's a good athlete with an NBA body. He plays nice defense around the basket and has a nice face up jumper. Most of his scoring is around the basket and he has a very highly developed post game. He's added the 3pt shot this year and is shooting over 40% from there. Although he only takes around 1 3pt shot a game. He almost singlehandedly kept Colorado St. in the game. Everytime he went out of the game, BYU put on a run. The problem was that there was just one of him. He ended up with 25 pts on 9 of 12 shooting, and made 7 of 9 from the freethrow line. He added 8 boards and 1 blocked shot.
He's a nice player and he's improved every year. He seems to be peaking at the right time for Colorado St., which would be a big help to them if the make the tournament. And thats not a longshot. Right now they're third in the league behind San Diego St. and BYU, both of whom are highly ranked. We'll see.
He was 9 of 26 overall and 2 of 8 from beyond the arc. Take away the missed 6 shots from beyond the arc and he's at a respectable 9 of 20 overall. College Ref's leave a lot to be desired as compared to NBA ref's, and it takes some adjustment if your just used to the NBA. But this particular game bordered on ridiculous. Fredette had 6 turnovers in the game. 3 of those were charges, that wouldn't have been charges in the NBA since all three were called when he ran into players standing right under the basket as he was driving to the basket. They have that silly little circle in the NBA. Two of his turnovers were plays where he was basicly mugged. On one he was dribbling the ball across the halfcourt line when a defender bumped him from behind and reached for the ball. He missed the ball, but then a second defender ran into Fredette knocking him off balance causing him to lose his dribble for a second, and they called double dribble on what should have been two reach in fouls. Just terrible.
Fredette got whacked in the jaw in the first period and no foul call. He has scratches on his face, his arms and probably places I can't mention. Everytime he touches the ball he has two defenders chasing him around the floor. When he drives to the basket he's always double or triple teamed. I firmly believe that the NBA is going to look like heaven to him. Personally I think some of the wear and tear is starting to catch up with him. He looks like he has tired legs because he's not getting the same elevation on his shot he did eariler in the year. As I said before, he plays 36 minutes a game out of the 40 and he has to work hard for every shot he gets. He seldom gets a wide open shot. He had one in this game, and it was automatic.
I want to mention a player on the Colorado St. team. He's Andy Ogide, Pronounced O - Ga - De. He's a 6'9" PF senior that weighs 245 pounds. He's a good athlete with an NBA body. He plays nice defense around the basket and has a nice face up jumper. Most of his scoring is around the basket and he has a very highly developed post game. He's added the 3pt shot this year and is shooting over 40% from there. Although he only takes around 1 3pt shot a game. He almost singlehandedly kept Colorado St. in the game. Everytime he went out of the game, BYU put on a run. The problem was that there was just one of him. He ended up with 25 pts on 9 of 12 shooting, and made 7 of 9 from the freethrow line. He added 8 boards and 1 blocked shot.
He's a nice player and he's improved every year. He seems to be peaking at the right time for Colorado St., which would be a big help to them if the make the tournament. And thats not a longshot. Right now they're third in the league behind San Diego St. and BYU, both of whom are highly ranked. We'll see.
I thought I would mention a player that doesn't get much press, but whom I've really come to like. Its Jordan Taylor of Wisconsin. I've seen him off and on for the last two and half years, but this year he's made me stand up and take notice. He's really improved from his freshman year, in just about every catagory. The other night against Michigan he put up 20 pts on 8 of 19 shooting overall, and was 3 for 6 from behind the arc.. He had 5 assists and 1 turnover to go along with one steal.
For those unfamiliar with him, He's powerfully built 6'1" PG. He's more quick than fast, and is a good defender with quick feet. What I like about him is that he's a very good passer with good court vision. He's not fancy, but he gets the job done, and simply doesn't turn the ball over very much. I'm also enthused with his progression, which is what you want to see in a player. Here's what he's done up to now.
Freshman: 4.9 PPG - 26% FGA - 19.2% 3PA - 58.8% FTA - 1.2 APG - 1.6 TO's
Sophmore: 13.6 PPG - 39.5% FGA - 32.7% 3PA - 71.8% FTA - 4.8 APG - 1.2 TO's
Junior: 17.9 PPG - 45.9% FGA - 41.7% 3PA - 84.5% FTA - 5.5 APG - 1.2 TO's
You can see dramatic improvement from year to year, which shows he works on his game, and that he probably has more potential. He takes up 23.7% of his teams posessions and only turns the ball over 1.2 times a game. Right now, he's not a household name on the draft boards. But the scouts are starting to take notice, so don't be surprised if you start hearing about him. He's turning into a very solid player. By the way, about 65% of his shots are jumpshots, and from anywhere on the floor. However he has a very good finishing percentage at the basket as well. The only thing holding him back is his lack of elite athleticism that you've come to expect in PG's, and that he's only 6'1" tall. He's certainly not a midget, but he's not in the same mold of the current crop of PG's that all seem to be 6'3" or taller. All that aside, I think there's a place for him in the NBA. He plays with a fire in his belly and will drive the other PG crazy with his pesky defense.
Wisconsin is one of my dark horse teams. They play tremendous defense and knocked off Ohio St. when they were number one in the country.
For those unfamiliar with him, He's powerfully built 6'1" PG. He's more quick than fast, and is a good defender with quick feet. What I like about him is that he's a very good passer with good court vision. He's not fancy, but he gets the job done, and simply doesn't turn the ball over very much. I'm also enthused with his progression, which is what you want to see in a player. Here's what he's done up to now.
Freshman: 4.9 PPG - 26% FGA - 19.2% 3PA - 58.8% FTA - 1.2 APG - 1.6 TO's
Sophmore: 13.6 PPG - 39.5% FGA - 32.7% 3PA - 71.8% FTA - 4.8 APG - 1.2 TO's
Junior: 17.9 PPG - 45.9% FGA - 41.7% 3PA - 84.5% FTA - 5.5 APG - 1.2 TO's
You can see dramatic improvement from year to year, which shows he works on his game, and that he probably has more potential. He takes up 23.7% of his teams posessions and only turns the ball over 1.2 times a game. Right now, he's not a household name on the draft boards. But the scouts are starting to take notice, so don't be surprised if you start hearing about him. He's turning into a very solid player. By the way, about 65% of his shots are jumpshots, and from anywhere on the floor. However he has a very good finishing percentage at the basket as well. The only thing holding him back is his lack of elite athleticism that you've come to expect in PG's, and that he's only 6'1" tall. He's certainly not a midget, but he's not in the same mold of the current crop of PG's that all seem to be 6'3" or taller. All that aside, I think there's a place for him in the NBA. He plays with a fire in his belly and will drive the other PG crazy with his pesky defense.
Wisconsin is one of my dark horse teams. They play tremendous defense and knocked off Ohio St. when they were number one in the country.