Future Point Guards:

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#1
Unlike the center position, the coming 2012 draft does have some very good propects at the point guard position. So I'll start with those, and eventually work my way into the 2013 draft.

Marquis Teague: 6'2", 178 pounds, with a 6'6.5" wingspan. Commited to Kentucky. Since I already covered Teague in another thread, I'll keep this short. He may end up being the best PG in the draft. Extremely quick and very dangerous in the open court. Almost unstoppable. He has an explosive first step, and is a terrific ballhandler. Very good at finishing around the basket. He's also a very good passer and has good court vision. Offensively, his biggest weakness is his inconsistent outside shot. Has decent form, so his shot should improve over time.

He has the potential to be a lock down defender. He has outstanding lateral quickness, and plays the passing lanes very well. Will get burned on occasion by being a little too aggressive in the passing lanes. But he's the type that will get right up in your face defensively. He's the younger brother of Jeff Teague, and is the better player of the two. Great upside.



Myck Kabongo: 6'2", 170 Pounds. Commited to Texas. Kabongo will be the main competition for Teague for the top spot. While they're similar in a lot of ways, they're also quite different. Kabongo is more of a true pass first PG. Not to take anything away from Marquis, who is an unselfish player. Its just that their minds work differently. Kabongo is very quick, and at times seems a magician with the ball. He's a very creative passer, and is fun to watch. Sometimes he's too creative, and it costs him a turnover.

Having said that, he just doesn't turn the ball over very much. He always seems to be under control. Even at top speed heading for the basket, he magically seems to find teammates that are open. He's also a terrific ballhandler, and like Teague, seems to have the ball on a string at times. He has an explosive first step and is very hard to guard one on one. His outside shot has really improved over the last year, and he's become very consistent with it. He does need to work on his mid-range game, and add some flips and floaters to his game. But all in all, he doesn't have a lot of weaknesses that aren't self impossed.

He's a terrific defender, and reminds me a lot of Rondo in how he plays defense. He loves to pressure the ball. He's a very smart player with very good basketball IQ and terrific court vision. He's also a hard worker and a good teammate. He has tremendous upside. Texas got themselves a good one in Kabongo. Here's a little video of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks0dsZEuyAQ
 
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bajaden

Hall of Famer
#2
Josiah Turner: 6'3", 185 pounds. Commited to Arizona. Josiah is a local product that went to Sacramento High. He had a somewhat checkered experience there, which I'll get into later. At the moment, his reputation is as, more of a shoot first PG. However, he has all the skills to be a very creative passing PG. He's very slick with the ball, and has a wicked crossover combined with a very quick first step. He's also deceptively strong, and has no trouble fighting through traffic and finishing with either hand. He's excellent at penetrating and either finishing, or dishing the ball. He's difficult to guard one on one.

He has an excellent mid-range game, and his jumpshot is consistent out to about 18 feet. Beyond that, his shot, which is a little flat, becomes very inconsistent. He's a very good passer, and appears to have very good court vision, so on the right team, with the offensive burden lessened, he could blossom as one of the top point guards in the Pac 12. Defensively, he has all the tools to be a good defender. So far, there's not much to go on in that area, which isn't unusual for a young highschool player. But he's a very good athlete with quick feet, so its just a matter of hard work and desire.

Now the bad! Josiah was kicked off the Sacramento High basketball team for supossedly missing practices and games, along with just being generally disruptive. A lot of what happened was reported in the Sacramento Bee. As a result he transfered to Quality Education Academy in North Carolina. When you listen to both sides, you get the impression that the truth lies somewhere in between. So in fairness to Josiah, he's been the model citizen and player in his time at Quality Ed. He hasn't been disruptive, and he's been well liked by his teammates. And according to his mother, he's been averaging around 10 assists a game.

His mother said, that unlike the Bee report that related a story of her meeting with the headcoach of Sacramento High, she stated that that meeting never happened because he refused to meet with her. She also said that some of the coaching staff from Arizona came up to meet with him, and they were refused a meeting as well. She said that the Bee never once interviewed her or Josiah, and just ran with rumors. I have no idea whats true or not. As I said, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

The bottom line is that Josiah has done well at Quality Ed, and by all accounts there, he's a very team oriented and unselfish player. So lets hope his checkered past is behind him. He'll have a fresh start at Arizona in a very good program. He's a talented kid with great potential. It'll be fun to watch his progress this next season. Here's a little video of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QsQ-X__qBk&feature=player_embedded#!
 
#3
Baja, I just wanted to state my appreciation for all the future prospects/players write-ups. They're awesome! I haven't been around the site lately, but I'll be sure to catch up on all the future prospects/players threads.

As for point guards, I hope the Kings don't have to draft a starting point guard in the near future (especially with Jimmer and Thornton on the team).
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#4
Baja, I just wanted to state my appreciation for all the future prospects/players write-ups. They're awesome! I haven't been around the site lately, but I'll be sure to catch up on all the future prospects/players threads.

As for point guards, I hope the Kings don't have to draft a starting point guard in the near future (especially with Jimmer and Thornton on the team).
First of all, thank you! Secondly, I certainly hope your right about Jimmer as well. However, the way I look at it, is if someone is there that you think is better than what you have, you go for it. You can never have too much talent.
 
#5
First of all, thank you! Secondly, I certainly hope your right about Jimmer as well. However, the way I look at it, is if someone is there that you think is better than what you have, you go for it. You can never have too much talent.

I agree about adding talent to this team, I just personally hope that Jimmer can be the guard we're looking for. But Baja, I completely agree with what you're saying.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#6
Tony Wroten: 6'5", 208 Pounds, with a 6'8" wingspan. Measurements from the Nike Hoops Summit. Commited to Washington. Wroten is a southpaw and is the cousin of Nate Robinson. I'm befuddled that at the moment, Wroten isn't listed on any of the draft boards. This is a very talented kid, and it will be interesting to see how Lomar uses him at Washington. He tore his ACL playing football, and missed the entire 2009-10 season. But he came back with a vengence and seems to have lost nothing in the process. He's an above average athlete with good quickness and lateral agility. The biggest discussion seems to be over whether he's a SG or a PG. Personally, I don't know what the discussion is about. He has all the tools and instincts to be a great PG, and thats how he percieves himself.

He has incredible court vision to go along with, at times, almost mindblowing passing ability. Add to the mix, that he's unselfish to a fault, and you have the makings of a PG. I think people look at his 6'5" height, 6'8" wingspan, and automaticly think SG. What I see when I look at him, is a match up nightmare. He has excellent speed and is terrific at pushing the ball. I don't think I've ever seen anyone make the passes in traffic and as close to the basket that he does. There are times where you simply don't know where the ball is until you see someone putting it through the basket. He'll remind you of J Will a little when he first came to the Kings. And like J Will, he gets a little too fancy and creative at times. He doesn't seem to be quite as effective in the halfcourt offense. Could be that visually, its just not as compelling, and leaves you with that illusion.

He's a decent shooter from the outside, but is streaky. He definitely needs work on his form, and his shot seems to improve porportionably the closer he gets to the basket. The bulk of his offense comes from attacking the basket, where he can either score, or dish. Thats where he seems most comfortable. However, he needs to improve his jumpshot at the next level. Having a one deminsional offense won't cut it in the NBA. He's only 17 years old, so its not a major concern right now. He's a pretty good ballhandler, but its another area that needs to be brought up to a higher level to match and compliment his passing abilities.

He's a very good defender and is instinctively effective at playing the passing lanes. He gets his share of steals and is a pretty good weakside shotblocker. He also rebounds very well for the position he plays. He's fairly strong for his age, and plays a physical game. Some of the scouts have marked him down, saying they haven't seen significant improvement in the last two years. But for some reason they seem to ignore the fact that he missed a year due to his torn ACL. I'm willing to cut him some slack because of it. There's not a lot to dislike with Wroten. He's not perfect, but he really doesn't have any major flaws staring him in the face. With his athletic ability, height and natural PG intincts and abilities, he could work himself into the top ten spots of the draft. That won't be an easy feat because of the depth of this coming draft. But he has the talent. A lot will depend on how Lomar uses him, and the amount of playing time he gets. But all things considered, he should be an impact player the minute he sets foot on the court at Washington.

I'm watched a ton of film on Wroten, including anything youtube had. But I couldn't really find anything that does him justice, and really shows what he's capable of. However, here's a little video of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ac...ay&list=PL5B27D6FB104DCAB2&index=8&playnext=2
 
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