Following 2019 draftees!!!

To be fair to Duke, Zion did get hurt in the opening seconds of the game because his expensive Nike shoe exploded.
Yeah watched the replay several times and with the way he planted his foot he is very lucky he didn’t have a more serious injury. He is a special talent and hope he is going to be fine.
Will be watching what he will be wearing after his return.

Things like this with March madness coming up soon I can see players like him that’s a sure top pick sitting the tournament out.
 
Now that the roster has overturned I can't help but think Simi craptu would be an interesting fit here. He is very, very fast and a solid passer for a 6'10 do-it-all type, solid all around potential. A project for sure, but one that could pay off.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Now that the roster has overturned I can't help but think Simi craptu would be an interesting fit here. He is very, very fast and a solid passer for a 6'10 do-it-all type, solid all around potential. A project for sure, but one that could pay off.
I can see some long range potential in him, but the minute Garland went down, he became a different player, and not in a good way. Not going to knock him too much on that since there's a lot of assisted big's in the NBA. Just that I was a little disappointed from that moment on. Not sure why Bassey is ranked so low. Everytime I've watched him play, he's looked like a big with potential. Not a great athlete, but he's certainly athletic enough. I'm also wondering where Bazley is going to go. He's the mystery man this year. I still think he'll go somewhere in the bottom half of the 1st rd, but hey, if he slides down to the Kings, you have to take him.

Not holding my breathe on that one.
 
I can see some long range potential in him, but the minute Garland went down, he became a different player, and not in a good way. Not going to knock him too much on that since there's a lot of assisted big's in the NBA. Just that I was a little disappointed from that moment on. Not sure why Bassey is ranked so low. Everytime I've watched him play, he's looked like a big with potential. Not a great athlete, but he's certainly athletic enough. I'm also wondering where Bazley is going to go. He's the mystery man this year. I still think he'll go somewhere in the bottom half of the 1st rd, but hey, if he slides down to the Kings, you have to take him.

Not holding my breathe on that one.
I've been tracking craptu's story for a while, many years back NBA execs flocked to canada to get an early glimpse at him. this season in the few vandy games i've caught he reminds me more of Kevon Looney, his best position could actually be the backup 5 like that, Simi has pretty good vision and anticipation passing the ball, he's good on the break.

Simi in many ways is like a lesser version of Marvin tho so i'm not sure how they'd play it... Thing is he is in fact VERY fast, raw speed, and the Kings/Vlade have shown this is something valued, so on the strength of that alone im not giving up hope...

Bazley on the other hand brings a bit of a newer element to the team, or the one they were hoping to channel from Justin Jackson. Same sort of thing they'd be looking for if they managed to land Lou King.

With u on Bassey, I have been high on him and whenever I check in on him I kinda scratch my head and say "what am I missing?" cuz he looks legit to me. For someone relatively new to basketball, I like the flashes he shows.


Heck of a slate of games today!!! Enjoy
 
I feel like everytime i watch TCU the past 2 seasons Kouat Noi is draining all his 3's... He might be an Anthony Morrow style sleeper, who actually led the league in 3pt shooting percentage his rookie year as an undrafted free agent.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I like Fernando quite a bit. He had another typical game today. He does a lot of things technically correct. Good fundamental player with quite a bit of upside me thinks. One thing that sets him apart from some of the other bigs is his game away from the basket. At the same time, he's a very physical player with an NBA body. Good athlete who runs the floor well too.

Another good game today by PJ Washington, who had become Kentucky's go to guy. If he's not careful, he'll make himself into a lottery pick. Not bad for a player who declared last year to get imput, was told he be a 2nd rd pick at best, so he returned to school. About 10 or 12 games into this season, a light seem to go off, and he became a different player who plays with aggression and confidence. He can score from anywhere on the court, and can play both the SF and PF positions. Sure wish the Kings had a shot at him.

I think DeAndre Hunter is locked into the 5th or 6th spot. I have him at number 5 on my board. I watch him, and despite that he tends to play conservatively (doesn't take a lot of risks on defense) he's still a dam good defender. He always looks like he's trying to play under control. I think that if he would just let himself go at times, he could be a star. It's not that he disappears or doesn't look like he's not trying. Not at all, he's playing very well, it just looks like there's a lot more to be had there. He had a great game today by the way.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
I haven't watched a lot of college ball this year, but the guy that is very intriguing if you could get him in the 2nd round is Thybulle from Washington. Awesome athlete, even by NBA standards, absolutely excellent on defense because of his 6'6" size, 7' wingspan, athleticism, motor, and anticipation, and with time could become a solid offensive player. I'd be targeting this guy in the draft. If necessary, I'd trade up to get him.

https://www.thestepien.com/2019/01/06/draft-notes-understanding-matisse-thybulle/
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I haven't watched a lot of college ball this year, but the guy that is very intriguing if you could get him in the 2nd round is Thybulle from Washington. Awesome athlete, even by NBA standards, absolutely excellent on defense because of his 6'6" size, 7' wingspan, athleticism, motor, and anticipation, and with time could become a solid offensive player. I'd be targeting this guy in the draft. If necessary, I'd trade up to get him.

https://www.thestepien.com/2019/01/06/draft-notes-understanding-matisse-thybulle/
I like Thybulle a lot, and he may be the best defensive wing in the draft, if he declares. Of course the knock on him has been his inconsistent jumpshot. Having said that, he's not a terrible shooter, having averaged 36.9% from the three for his career. He's one of those, either he's hot, or he's cold shooters. If you could grab him in the 2nd rd, I wouldn't complain. I guess it would depend on who else was available at the time. Thybulle is one of the main reasons for Washington's success this season, and Washington is likely to be the only team from the Pac 12 to make the tournament.

I'll put it this way, I have a list of players that I'd be happy with in the 2nd rd, and Thybulle is on that list. He's just not at the top of the list, and a few of those that are, might be taken at the bottom of the 1st rd. Darius Bazley would be one of those players. I doubt he slides into the 2nd rd, but if he does become available, you grab him and go home happy. I thought for some time Bruno Fernando might be there for us, but right now, he looks like a bottom of the 1st rd pick.

If your looking for instant offense from the bench, someone like Markus Howard would fit the bill. Personally, I'm not a fan of diminutive PG's, but the dude can put points on the board in the blink of the eye. I think you'd have to take a close look at Louis King, Charkles Bassey or Cam Johnson. And there's my personal favorite, Dylan Windler.

Since we started in the state of Washington, another favorite of mine that doesn't get much press, probably because Wash St. isn't getting much press, and the fact that he's a senior, is Robert Franks, a 6'9", 225 lb forward. He's averaging 22.4 ppg while shooting 51.9% overall and 40.8% from the three. He also shot over 40% from the three his junior year, so we have some consistency here. He's a plus 80% shooter from the free throw line, and he gets to the line 4.5 times a game, a bigger attribute than some think. He's turned himself into a pretty good passer averaging 2.5 assists a game. Oh, and he averages 7.4 boards a game.

Most of those I've mentioned, not all, are likely 2nd rd picks, and that includes Franks. So I think if any, or most of those, are sitting there when the Kings pick, it will probably come down to who they think has the best long term potential, or, who they think is more ready to step in and help right away
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
I like Thybulle a lot, and he may be the best defensive wing in the draft, if he declares. Of course the knock on him has been his inconsistent jumpshot. Having said that, he's not a terrible shooter, having averaged 36.9% from the three for his career. He's one of those, either he's hot, or he's cold shooters. If you could grab him in the 2nd rd, I wouldn't complain. I guess it would depend on who else was available at the time. Thybulle is one of the main reasons for Washington's success this season, and Washington is likely to be the only team from the Pac 12 to make the tournament.

I'll put it this way, I have a list of players that I'd be happy with in the 2nd rd, and Thybulle is on that list. He's just not at the top of the list, and a few of those that are, might be taken at the bottom of the 1st rd. Darius Bazley would be one of those players. I doubt he slides into the 2nd rd, but if he does become available, you grab him and go home happy. I thought for some time Bruno Fernando might be there for us, but right now, he looks like a bottom of the 1st rd pick.

If your looking for instant offense from the bench, someone like Markus Howard would fit the bill. Personally, I'm not a fan of diminutive PG's, but the dude can put points on the board in the blink of the eye. I think you'd have to take a close look at Louis King, Charkles Bassey or Cam Johnson. And there's my personal favorite, Dylan Windler.

Since we started in the state of Washington, another favorite of mine that doesn't get much press, probably because Wash St. isn't getting much press, and the fact that he's a senior, is Robert Franks, a 6'9", 225 lb forward. He's averaging 22.4 ppg while shooting 51.9% overall and 40.8% from the three. He also shot over 40% from the three his junior year, so we have some consistency here. He's a plus 80% shooter from the free throw line, and he gets to the line 4.5 times a game, a bigger attribute than some think. He's turned himself into a pretty good passer averaging 2.5 assists a game. Oh, and he averages 7.4 boards a game.

Most of those I've mentioned, not all, are likely 2nd rd picks, and that includes Franks. So I think if any, or most of those, are sitting there when the Kings pick, it will probably come down to who they think has the best long term potential, or, who they think is more ready to step in and help right away
Why didn't Bazley go to Syracuse? That's a red flag for me.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
Why didn't Bazley go to Syracuse? That's a red flag for me.
I don't know the answer to why Bazley didn't go to college, but right now our best pick is at about #41. If Bazley's athleticism and skills remotely match the rumors, the only red flags that would dissuade me off of him at #41 would be armed robbery and above.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Why didn't Bazley go to Syracuse? That's a red flag for me.
I have no idea why he didn't go to Syracuse, but since I'm not a big fan of Syracuse players, I'm sort of happy he didn't. Look, I'm not going to get too excited over something I have no information on. But I read as much as I can in regards to players backgrounds from highschool, recruiters etc. Remember, Syracuse was involved in some recruiting violations as well, and maybe that had something to do with it. In any event, I've heard nothing bad about the kid, and I do know he was heavily recruited by many of the major colleges.

So if you can pick up a player with that much potential in the 2nd round, that looks like a win/win to me. Personally, I think he'll probably go in the 1st round. Some team at the bottom of the 1st round, like the Warriors, or Houston will take a flyer on him because they can afford to.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
I don't know the answer to why Bazley didn't go to college, but right now our best pick is at about #41. If Bazley's athleticism and skills remotely match the rumors, the only red flags that would dissuade me off of him at #41 would be armed robbery and above.
If he's a good kid and a good teammate he sounds like a good prospect. I like the way Vlade has paid a lot of attention to the character of the guys he's drafted and I would expect he continues to do so.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Well, since were getting close to March Madness, I thought I would update my top 30 players. Some have risen, and some have dropped. Bear in mind, I base my decisions on several different factors. One is how they've played so far this season. In other words, results. Another is, what is the players long range potential. I also take age and the system their playing in into consideration. So with no further ado:

1. Zion Willaimson: SF/PF/whatever, 6'7", 285 Lb's, Duke: Zion was probably born on another planet because he's not restricted by gravity or any other earthly thing. He's one of a kind, and will with out a doubt be the 1st pick in the draft. If you haven't watched him play, you need to. No, he's not perfect, his jumpshot needs some work as do his handles, but he's a unique specimen.

2. Ja Morant: PG, 6'3", 175 Lb's, Murray St.: There have been some comparisons to Fox, and it's easy to see why. Morant has crazy athleticism. He get from end of the floor to the other in the blink of an eye. Like Fox, his outside shot is a little suspect, but not terrible. I would say that his court vision and passing ability is ahead of Fox at the same point in time. He has a terrific feel for the game. I have him at number 2, but depending on a teams needs, Barrett could easily be at number 2. If the Sun's end up with the 2nd pick, and don't pick Morant, then they need to fire their GM again.

3. R.J. Barrett: SF, 6'7", 202 Lb's, Duke: Barrett may be the most talented player overall, in the draft. There's not much he can't do. He can score from anywhere on the court. He's a good finisher, and has excellent handles for the position. He's a much better passer than I thought averaging just under 4 assists a game. Yeah, he does need to become more consistent from the three. but overall, in a normal year, he'd be the 1st player taken in the draft.

4. DeAndre Hunter: SF, 6'8", 225 Lbs, Virginia: I love Hunter, and I probably have him higher than most, but mark this down. three years from now, he may be considered the best player to come out of this draft. He's a terrific defender, and my only knock on him defensively, is that at times I think he's a bit too careful on D trying not to pick up early fouls. He's one of those players that I think will be a far better NBA player than he was a college player, and he's a dam good college player. He's shooting 53.3% overall, and 45.1% from the three. He can guard every position on the floor.

5. Keldon Johnson: SF/SG, 6'6", 211 Lb's, Kentucky: I probably have Johnson higher than most, but I think he tremendous potential, and he's not too shabby right now. He's the best player on the Kentucky team, in my humble opinion, and hes very skilled. He's quite capable of playing both SF and SG, due to his long wingspan. he has excellent handles and he's shooting 40.7% from the three. He's also a very good passer, and a unselfish player.

6. Cam Reddish: SF, 6'8", 218 Lb's, Duke: I could no longer hold Reddish in the 4th spot. At some point, what you do on the floor has to reflect your potential, and draft ranking. He's lived up to his reputation of being here one game, and gone the next. He's shooting a paltry 36.8% overall, and pulling down a pitiful 3.3 rebounds in 28 minutes a game. For a player as talented as he is, he should be embarrassed. To be honest, I think I'm doing him a favor ranking him this high.

7.Jarrett Culver: SG/SF, 6'6", 190 Lb's, Texas Tech: Culver has made a slow steady climb up the draft board all season long. His 3 pt shot has dropped off of late, but he's one talented player with a great motor. He's a surprisingly good passer averaging almost 4 assists a game. He's a pretty good defender, but who floats a bit at times. Again, most 1st option players try to stay on the floor, and early fouls take them off the floor. Culver is also a good rebounder for his position. he's one of those intangible players.

8. Rui Hachimura: SF/PF, 6'8", 230 Lb's, Gonzaga: Rui has had what some would call a breakout year. Excellent defender, decent to good rebounder, who is excellent at finishing around the basket. He's shooting 59.8% ovrall, and this year he's proven to be a consistent 3 pt shooter averaging 42.0%. Some question whether his handles are good enough for the SF position, and I have similar doubts. Right now he's more of a straight line driver. That said, I think he has long term potential.

9. Darius Garland: PG, 6'2", 175 Lb's, Vanderbilt: Garland is probably the 2nd best PG in this draft, in a year, where there aren't many potential NBA starting PG's. Garland came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, and then he went down, and Vanderbilt went down with him. So all the analysis is based on about 4 games, but hey, he was terrific in those games, and since there aren't many other PG's, thus the high rating. He was averaging 16.2 ppg, on 53.7% overall shooting, while shooting 47.8% from the three. I doubt he could maintained those numbers, but it is what it is.

10. Jontay Porter: PF/C, 6'11", 240 Lb's, Missouri: Why you ask would a player who hasn't stepped onto the court this season be ranked this high? Well, we do know what he can do, and when you look at all the players in this draft that are 6'10" or taller, Porter is the most talented of the bunch, and it's not really close. He's a terrific passer, who is also a very good 3pt shooter. A team can run the ball through him out of the high post. He's the prototype NBA center of today.

11. K.Z. Okpala: SF, 6'9", 215 Lb's, Stanford: I really like Okpala. He's really improved his all around game this year. He's shooting 37.1% from the three this season. He's an excellent athlete and a smart player who has learned to take whats there. I think he has quite a bit of upside left. He's still a bit raw in some areas, but he has the beginning of a good foundation going forward.

12. Brandon Clarke: PF/SF/C, 6'8", 215 Lb's, Gonzaga: Clarke is one of the surprises of the season. He played his first two years at San Jose St. before transferring to Gonzaga. He's been a force on the defensive side of the ball. He's one of the best defenders in college averaging 3.1 blocks a game. While that stat is nice, you have to actually see him play to appreciate what he's capable of. But he's not a one dimensional player. He's averaging 16.8 ppg on 68.3% shooting. While he's not a prolific 3pt shooter, he's shown he can hit that shot, shooting 36.4%. He also averages 8.3 boards and 1.3 steals.

13. Jaxon Hayes: C/PF, 6'11", 220 Lb's, Texas: Hayes is a very good athlete who runs the floor well. Most of his offense comes from alley oops, putbacks etc. In other words, he's fairly raw at this point. Most of his upside is on the defensive side of the ball as a rim protector. He's averaging 2.3 blocks a game. At present, he's not much of a passer, and you don't want him to put the ball on the floor much. But he has the potential to be a Capella type player. It will take him a while, but there's a lot of raw talent there.

14. P.J. Washington: SF/PF, 6'8", 228 Lb's, Kentucky: Washington has really come into his own this season. He's almost become a dominate player for Kentucky. In Kentucky's giant matchup with at the time, number one Tennessee, he dominated in the post, against two highly regarded players, Grant Williams, and Admiral Schofield. Washington has become a smart player who knows what his strengths are, and plays to them. He's also shooting 43.1 from the three this season while pulling down 8.1 rebounds.

15. Jalen McDaniels: SF, 6'10", 195 Lb's, San Diego St.: Coming out of high school, Jalen was compared to Kevin Durant. Tough comparison to live up to. Body wise, he does look a lot like Durant, and this season, he's starting to play more like Durant (Ok, so I'm exaggerating a tad). Seriously, he's been playing very well. To be honest he reminds more of Kawhi Leonard. He has excellent length, a very good mid-range jump shot, and he's a good defender. and a player who I think can be a lock down defender in the future, if he wants to be.

TO BE CONTINUED:
 
I'm watching Xavier vs St. Johns right now and 6'7" Sophomore wing Naji Marshall is killing the johnnies, and he's been on some kind of tear all month long... something to monitor going into tourney time for sure...

 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Ahhh wondered where you were. I'll finish my top thirty tomorrow. Takes time since I'm going through my notes on each player, and then at times I need to either move said player up, or down. Fun stuff though. After that I'll get more into the 2nd rd. Of course, in my opinion most of the players from around 22 or 23 to 40 could almost be interchanged. They all have a wart of two somewhere, so it's sort of in the eye of the beholder.
 
Temple's Quinton Rose is interesting player for the Kings. Good offensive player, he's a lil creative and can handle the rock well for 6'7, he's skinny though.
 
Ok here she blows... my updated top-60... and yeah I should have Dylan Windler on here but there's a bunch of players im really waiting for the combine/measurements to move around and he's one.

1. PHX - Zion Williamson - PF/SF/C - Duke - Fr.
2. NY - Jaxson Hayes - PF/C - Texas - Fr.
3. CLE - Darius Garland - PG - Vanderbilt - Fr.
4. CHI - Ja Morant - PG/SG - Murray St. - So.
5. ATL - De'Andre Hunter - PF/SF - Virginia - RS So.
6. MEM - Cam Reddish - SG/SF - Duke - Fr.
7. WAS - Keldon Johnson - SG/SF - Kentucky - Fr.
8. ATL - Romeo Langford - SG - Indiana - Fr.
9. NO - R.J. Barrett - SG/SF - Duke - Fr.
10. MIA - Bruno Fernando - C/PF - Maryland - So.
11. MIN - Jarrett Culver - SG/SF - Texas Tech - So.
12. CHA - Sekou Doumboya - SF/PF - Poiters - International '00
13. LAL - Nickeil Alexander-Walker - SG - Va. Tech - So.
14. BOS - Ochai Ogbaji - SG - Kansas - Fr.
15. ORL - Kezie Okpala - SF - Stanford - So.
16. BKN - Bol Bol - C - Oregon - Fr.
17. DET - Nas Little - SF/PF - UNC - Fr.
18. SAS - Charles Bassey - PF/C - WKU - Fr.
19. BOS - Rui Hachimura - SF/PF - Gonzaga - Jr.
20. UTA - Moses Brown - C - UCLA - Fr.
21. BOS - Jordan Nwora - SF/PF - Louisville - So.
22. CLE - Kevin Porter Jr. - SG/SF - USC - Fr.
23. OKC - Jontay Porter - C/PF - Mizzou - So.
24. POR - PJ Washington - PF/SF - Kentucky - So.
25. PHI - Naz Reid - C - LSU - Fr.
26. IND - Ayo Dosunmu - CG - Illinois - Fr.
27. BKN- Ty Jerome - CG - Virginia - Jr.
28. GSW - Jalen McDaniels - PF - SDSU - So.
29. SAS -Goga Bitadze - C - Mega Bemax - International '99
30. MIL - Talen Horton-Tucker - SG/SF - Iowa St. - Fr.

31. Coby White - CG - UNC - Fr.
32. Brandon Clarke - PF - Gonzaga - Jr.
33. Grant Williams - PF - Tennessee - Jr.
34. Tyler Bey - Colorado - SF - So.
35. Kellan Grady - SG - Davidson - So.
36. Daniel Gafford - C - Arkansas - So.
37. Ashton Hagans - CG - Kentucky - Fr.
38. Ignas Bradzekis - SF - Michigan - Fr.
39. Zach Norvell - SG - Gonzaga - So.
40. Austin Wiley - C/PF - Auburn - Jr.
41. Chuma Okeke - PF - Auburn - So.
42. Dedric Lawson - F - Kansas - Jr.
43. Lugentz Dort - SG/CG - ASU - Fr.
44. Quinton Rose - SF/SG - Temple - Jr.
45. Mifondu Kanbengele PF/C - FSU - Jr.
46. Darius Bazley - SF/PF - USA '00
47. Brian Bowen - SF - USA '98
48. Joshua Obiesie - CG - Brose Bamberg - International '00
49. Eric Paschall - F - Villanova - Sr.
50. Jalen Lecque - SG - Brewster Academy - USA '00
51. Josh Reaves - SG/SF - PSU - Sr.
52. Carsen Edwards - PG - Purdue - Jr.
53. Shamorie Ponds - PG - St. Johns - Jr.
54. Matisse Thybulle - Washington - Sr.
55. Aric Holman - PF - Mississippi St. - Sr.
56. Ky Bowman - CG - Boston College - Jr.
57. LaGerald Vick - SG/SF - Kansas - Sr.
58. Terence Davis - SG - Ole Miss - Sr.
59. Abdoulaye N'Doye - SF - Cholet - International '99
60. Adam Mokoka - SG - Mega Bemax - International '98