Looking ahead to the 2023 Draft

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I will admit to not having a very good grasp on Sensabaugh at all. But the upside on Bates, if the character issues are not a concern, is pretty massive. There aren't a ton of super-athletic, super-skinny, 6'10" small forwards who can handle and shoot the heck out of the ball and are go-to scorers. Like the last guy I can think of that really fit that description went #2 in the draft, and as things fell out, should have gone #1. I can at least squint and see a similarity.

The thing that does scare me a bit (outside of the character issue) is that Eastern Michigan is a bad team. I don't tend to like go-to players whose college teams badly underperform. I can think of three that went #1 overall in the past 10 years (Edwards, Fultz, Simmons), and none has had a smooth time of it, though Edwards is finally rounding out. But hey, if Bates is somehow there when the Kings pick, if the character issues can be smoothed over, he'd be a heck of a swing.
Yeah, he would be hard to pass up, unless Max Lewis or Jett Howard are sitting there, which I doubt. I agree it's easier to look good on a bad team, but there are exceptions, sorry Patrick Baldwin! However, that's what a good player is supposed to do, so I can't fault him for that. It's not so much the team he's on that concerns me, it's the competition in the conference he's in. I wish he would have transfered to a team in the SEC or the Big 10, etc. But it is what it is, and you can see most of what he has in his tool box. Now it question of whether you think it will translate to the NBA.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer


Houston won by 11 but Hendricks sure was impressive. Look at him completely blow past Jarace Walker bout 30 seconds into the highlights. Walker is a plus defender but provides the same resistance as a traffic cone in this iso bucket, he thought he could crowd him and got discarded with relative ease, n then had no hope to recover.

Part of the reason I'm really sold on Hendricks here with the first rd pick is

1) defense/blocked shots... I mean do u see the block he gets stopping the 2 man fastbreak all by himself? In my book, thats quite a play. Thats kinda why I prefer him over Kris Murray (age is also a decent sized factor tbh). Look at the 3pt shot he blocks predicting the stepback move at 3:20, WE COULD USE THIS PLAYER!!

2) confident offensive player who doesnt seem all that limited, just needs more reps, I feel like some of the other forwards in this first rd range simply dont have the same kind of upside on offense. Some of these other forwards I have a more "It looks like you might get away with this in the NBA" feeling about conversely when I watch Hendricks i see much more 'this looks like what you'd expect from an NBA player/1st rd pick(in the year 2023)'.

3) he just moves so well, whether its spinning, or on the break, or recovering on defense, he has plenty of functional athleticism, he's able to chain athletic actions one after the next fluidly, which is a very good sign for a 6'9" 19 year old.. He plays the game 'on his toes', light footed, changes direction quickly, explodes. The fact that he's only pretty good in a defensive stance and moving laterally and not great actually works in the Kings favor or he'd be WAY out of range..

4) Hendricks doesnt appear to be redundant with our players at all(other than Metu who's simply not a factor in who we draft in the first), he's quite complementary in fact.. I think its worth pointing out if you navigate to the personnel threads on this forum you will see people talking about signing PF's for big money in the offseason, n many of those PF's in question do similar things to what Hendricks could provide for possibly a 10th of the cost (along with a restricted deal)

5) He'd have been really useful in last nights loss to the Raptors. In the event that Hendricks 3pt shot is decent-to-good in the NBA, that will really allow him to play some SF.. This is a player who could give us minutes at the 3, 4 and 5.. We cant go so small as to have Keegan Murray at the 5 and Huerter at the 4... Hendricks at the 5, Murray at the 4 and then Huerter at the 3 seems viable.

the lineup of

SF - Murray
PF - Hendricks
C - Sabonis

just seems to be possibly a great match and natural fit to me



Also ---- Is Jarace Walker really 6'8? He sure looks more than an inch shorter than Hendricks to me.. I'm pretty confident he's closer to 6'7" n they gave him an extra inch because he's got long arms, which seems to be a common thing in college these days.
You wouldn't believe the arguments I've had on this forum with people about the true height of a player. I'm at a point where I simply don't care. I judge the player by what I see on the court. He may be 6'8" or he may be 6'7", I don't know. Hopefully he'll get measured at the combine and then we'll know. I haven't gone and looked up his measurements at the Jordan Classic or the Adidos Highschool All Star game. All that said, I thought both players played well and to be honest, I'd be happy with either, but I think the only one we'll have a chance at is Hendricks. I think Walker will be in the Lottery.

Ideally, if we were able to draft Hendricks, I would like us to resign Barnes and then let Hendricks come off the bench with the 2nd unit. That way there would be less pressure on him and he'd be able to be brought along slowly. I like Hendricks a lot. He has a nose for the ball and he has some rim protection in him. I do like his length, and he seems to have good court awareness. I think Walker is the better defender right now, and probably a little better athlete.
 
You wouldn't believe the arguments I've had on this forum with people about the true height of a player. I'm at a point where I simply don't care. I judge the player by what I see on the court. He may be 6'8" or he may be 6'7", I don't know. Hopefully he'll get measured at the combine and then we'll know. I haven't gone and looked up his measurements at the Jordan Classic or the Adidos Highschool All Star game. All that said, I thought both players played well and to be honest, I'd be happy with either, but I think the only one we'll have a chance at is Hendricks. I think Walker will be in the Lottery.

Ideally, if we were able to draft Hendricks, I would like us to resign Barnes and then let Hendricks come off the bench with the 2nd unit. That way there would be less pressure on him and he'd be able to be brought along slowly. I like Hendricks a lot. He has a nose for the ball and he has some rim protection in him. I do like his length, and he seems to have good court awareness. I think Walker is the better defender right now, and probably a little better athlete.
who even cares about the combine measurements?! Certainly not the Kings:) Just years after Bagley was roasted for his real height our Kings list Sabonis at 7' when he measured 6'10 at the combine.

Yup both played well. I'd say we had a great draft if somehow we land either, n belive Walker is a possible trade up target. I'm certainly not one to debate a players height (other than the case of Porzingis who was bizarely listed at 7'1 til right before that draft when he was clearly taller), I'll say I just have a hunch Walker is closer to 6'7, he's got a frame like Paul Millsap imo.

How real Hendricks 3pt shooting is remains to be seen, but, I'm quite sure that Hendricks is a better FT shooter than Walker, whos FT form always makes me nervous. If were gonna compare the 2 thats one thing I've seen enough to be confident about.

and yeah, I'm all aboard the re-sign Barnes train. No reason to think he's gonna slow down, n he just kinda steadies the ship.

The matter of adding some height and length to the frontcourt is a real concern though. If we can make some moves here at the deadline to address that, Walker would probably complement the new defensive oriented frontcourt player well, he'd further shore up the d. I'd really like to see what he'd do vs certain oversized wings on the perimeter between Huerter at SG and Keegan at PF.
 
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In an interview with the coach of Eastern Michigan, the coach said that Bates, when indroduced to the team, Bates almost got on his knee's and begged his teammates to accept him. That all he wanted was to be a part of the team, and no one special. His teammates believed him and as a result, he's playing well. As I said, Hardaway said at Memphis that the problem was his fault. He said he saw the problem, but thought it would eventually take care of itself. It didn't!. Apparently they felt the same way about Duren, but I guess no one wanted to tangle with him, or he just didn't care. But if you watched their games, they didn't bust their butts to get him the ball.
I didnt know any of that except for what was apparent during the memphis games last year. Not surprised to hear of Emoni's new attitude or Penny admitting fault (which honestly is how things seemed to me last year, your logic would be kinda wacked to not blame him)

Whats almost comically funny too is ontop of all that if your being objective the entire Josh Minott freshman season was also hilariously mishandled at Memphis by Penny last year too, at least he destroyed the predraft process and recouped some of that lost value..


These blue blood teams are trying to juggle the recruiting of hs kids and the transfers and often create too many cooks ruin the soup situations. One of the common pitfalls seems to be they chase the highest possible ranked classes, for the sake of i guess future contract negotiations, with disregard for continuity issues n u get a situation with a bigtime recruit in Bates and a bigtime x-fer everone wants in De'Andre Williams n it doesnt really work out for either of them n they step on each others toes, Williams turns 27 at the start of next season and he's still in college...
 
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while I dont have Hawkins in the first round yet, I could see how in the past few weeks people would've bumped him up there.


He's an interesting player when it comes to team fit and the Kings, not perfect but maybe good enough. UConn is free falling lost 6 out of their last 8 after like a 15-0 start. Hawkins has had a few 30pt explosions to try and keep them afloat.


For now I'd prefer Jalen Hood-Schifino Freshman at IU.
He might be one of the best one of the best shooters in the draft. I really enjoy watching him come off screens because that stroke looks great. However, I wish he offered a bit more to the table on offense. But if you're looking at the late 1st round, I think it's hard to argue against a shooter like him. If he strings some more explosive scoring games, I think you'll start seeing his name for late lotto.
 
He might be one of the best one of the best shooters in the draft. I really enjoy watching him come off screens because that stroke looks great. However, I wish he offered a bit more to the table on offense. But if you're looking at the late 1st round, I think it's hard to argue against a shooter like him. If he strings some more explosive scoring games, I think you'll start seeing his name for late lotto.
Thats what im wondering... Could this lineup work?

PG - Monk
SG - Hawkins
SF - Huerter

Davion Mitchell and Hawkins would probably make a good pair.


Though I would also say if you really want more of a PG-type of combo rather than the more SG-oriented Hawkins, Jalen Hood-Schifino really stands out IMO, n u have him guard the PG n Davion guards the SG.

(the last shot/creation on these highlights 2:09 is too damn clean, the steph curry influence is very strong nationwide if your being honest, thats surgical for a 6'5 freshman pg.)
 
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Yeah that range seems about right, in the 20's. I think the only way we can debunk Bates being out of the Kings range is if he safely rises way past us, the idea that he's too low and out of our range --- I'll need to see that to believe it..

I think there's some lessons to be learned from the 21st pick of the 2017 draft --- Terrance Furgeson, whos currently playing in Poland. Bates handle is so much more polished than his was, it's comparing apples and oranges, his ability to score off the dribble the same, it'll help Bates stay in bench rotations (long as his defense is passable) instead of being on the third string n stuck in the gleague. Furgeson is a player with longer wingspan and a 40 inch vertical leap, people saw his 3pt shot look wet and saw him glide laterally n so he appeared to have great tools, but the polish wasnt there, and with Bates he appears to have a nice amount of polish, an easily translatable skill and a natural role as a microwave bench scorer.
 
Thats what im wondering... Could this lineup work?

PG - Monk
SG - Hawkins
SF - Huerter

Davion Mitchell and Hawkins would probably make a good pair.


Though I would also say if you really want more of a PG-type of combo rather than the more SG-oriented Hawkins, Jalen Hood-Schifino really stands out IMO, n u have him guard the PG n Davion guards the SG.

(the last shot/creation on these highlights 2:09 is too damn clean, the steph curry influence is very strong nationwide if your being honest, thats surgical for a 6'5 freshman pg.)
That lineup is really interesting. We know Monk has some PG abilities in him (although he can get a bit crazy with his handles). We also know that K'Von is an underrated playmaker. I don't think that lineup works because I'm not a fan of the Monk-Huerter back court. I think we'd need true PG manning the ship.

Looking at our lineup possibilities, it does feel like Hawkins would be more of a luxury pick, but as an off-ball SG, he's easy to slot in anywhere.

I'll definitely have to watch more of Jalen Hood-Schifino. The most recent Indiana game I watched was the one against Iowa and he played fantastic.
 
Oso Ighodaro with 8 assists today! What a crazy player he is to evaluate. Still shooting almost 70% (as he did last season too..) Hope he keeps slaying this season, his name will make the rounds more and more. The grusome twosome Marquette has in the frontcourt with him and Maxence-Prosper is so much fun to watch

32 mins 5/5 fgs, 10pts, 4 rebs (2offensive), 8 assists, 1 stl, 2 blks..

He's one where some of these west coast schools must be thinking "how'd we let him get away!", Arizona kid. Listed at 6'9 and 215lbs, he's very explosive and light on his feet.
 

40 for Strawther! I'm still a big advocate for Julian Strawther here. he's got a translatable skill. 6'7 and can shoot the damn ball. He legitimately has a very nice looking 3pt shot, and I dont even mean his 'form' I mean how the ball looks after it leaves his hand.

the arc he gets on the shot is just about perfect... right? doesnt it look like from the apex of the ball, now your at about a 45degree angle from the rim, which means your really maximizing the surface area inside the rim to splash..

Now i'm not some big Reggie Miller or JJ Reddick fanboy, but I have heard them both talk extensively about mechanics of the 3pt shot, all I'd say is I think those guys would look at Strawther's shot n think he might be pretty good. I think a lot of people over the years have heard about the type of shooters who aim for the bottom of the back rim n it just kisses that n goes straight down.

IDK maybe i'm just a sucker for the optics. maybe thats me being totally hypercritical, all forms of playing 'shot doctor' veer into that territory. We are talking about taking a flyer here in the 2nd rd.


ESPN has him at #58 in the best available list so in theory thats right in our 2nd rd range.. Is it realistic to think he's actually gonna fall that far, in a field that'll probably thin out a little with withdrawals? I dont believe that. Is he truly doomed to the bottom half of the 2nd or worse? I'm not so sure.
 
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Arkansas was 8-1 with Trevon Brazile


Their now 6-6 without him (and I mean c'mon how ridiculous is the first dunk in the highlightso_O, worth a click for that alone, looks like he was preparing to dunk the ball on an 11' rim and then thought "oh wait its down here!")


One of the things that sucks is that he might really still be a factor in this draft but since he got injured he's not talked about anymore. Ya know who seems like the biggest benefactor to the Brazille injury when I look at mocks/boards? Noah Clowney.

Sure would be excited to have him on the Kings, I dont even care if he's not ready at the start of the season. He just turned 20 earlier this month. His wingspan has to be like 7'3", so he's potentially a great match next to Sabonis, this player is a bigtime rim-runner, the types of good passes that Sabonis throws, are the types of passes this kid turns into highlight dunks.. He'd look good in a Kings jersey. If we take him with the first rd pick Ill be talking big crap.

It might be a totally bizarre player comparison for most but I just cant help but think that he looks like a Rich mans version of Chris McCollough the 29th pick of the 2015 draft, whos probably not someone casual fans would remember cuz he flamed out quick, was an exceptional athelete as well, with just much more dull tools and considerably less flashes of skill.

I'm still left kind of scratching my head over Brazile, and im sure others are too.. Cuz like, was the range that people were saying he was in, was that actually his range? Or I guess a better way to phrase it would be --- Are we totally sure this player doesnt have lottery talent? Thats why I think McCollough might be appropriate to bring up, this kid is soooooooooo much better.. n i dont even mean to shade mccollough like that but thats just my honest opinion from what I saw.
 
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Remind anyone of Ray McCallum?


This wasnt even just an upset of the #2 team in the nation, this was a beatdown.


Jaden Bradley who's a pretty damn high pedigree (freshman) PG was rendered completely worthless by Sherfield in this game as well.
 

38!


looks like an NBA player to me. he's 6'5. idk bout you guys.. in a world where tyler herro gets a 130 million dollar 4 year extension after starting 30 games, i'd imagine this player at least deserves a shot:)...

Santa Clara quickly becoming a SG factory?

My left handed bias is heavy with this player, color me a believer.
 
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Very interesting updates to ESPN's best available list

- Brice Sensabaugh up to #15! With players like David Roddy going high in the 2nd and Lu Dort getting huge deals, its not difficult to see why a player like Sensabaugh who's really got a powerful build wouldn't creep up n past the 20s.

-KELEL WARE DOWN TO #23 !!!! I'd sure love to have him with the pick though he's decidedly not a'win-now' guy.

-Dariq Whitehead and Dillon Mitchell down to 28 and 29! I honestly wouldnt have expected to see Whitehead so low on boards when hes shooting 37% from 3, woulda thought it have taken a disasterous 3pt% to knock him this low.. This HAS to be the bottom of his range, no?

-Noah Clowney down to 33. This is a much more appropriate range for him than some places ive seen, not saying he's totally bound to that range but i think he was getting a wee bit too much benefit of the doubt someplaces.

-With all this movement swirling around him Bilal Coulibaly remains at #40 (2 spots above Emoni Bates who got a big bump)

-Podziemski at 84 got a slight bump up but its still way too low.
 

38!


looks like an NBA player to me. he's 6'5. idk bout you guys.. in a world where tyler herro gets a 130 million dollar 4 year extension after starting 30 games, i'd imagine this player at least deserves a shot:)...

Santa Clara quickly becoming a SG factory?

My left handed bias is heavy with this player, color me a believer.
Wisconsin is one of those states that sneakingly produces NBA talent. Recent players include: Herro, Hali, Poole, Johnny Davis, Jalen Johnson, and Patrick Baldwin IV.

He has NBA size with a really good looking 3pt shot. He's got some really shifty handles, but the first step and quickness is lacking. As an on-ball player, he relies on picks to get down-hill, but I noticed that he struggled a lot when teams blitzed him (I don't know why they don't more often). Finishing at the rim relies a lot of finesse and touch because of his lack of vertical explosiveness. I like him, but I just don't know what parts of his game translate to the NBA. Is he going to be the shot-creator that he is at Santa Clara? Or would he be more designated into a spot-up shooter that'll provide some positional rebounding at SG?

One thing I wish is that we saw more action of him without the ball. Only 58.1% of his 3s are assisted. For reference, Anthony Black is at 75% and Keyonte George is at 69.2%.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Thats what im wondering... Could this lineup work?

PG - Monk
SG - Hawkins
SF - Huerter

Davion Mitchell and Hawkins would probably make a good pair.


Though I would also say if you really want more of a PG-type of combo rather than the more SG-oriented Hawkins, Jalen Hood-Schifino really stands out IMO, n u have him guard the PG n Davion guards the SG.

(the last shot/creation on these highlights 2:09 is too damn clean, the steph curry influence is very strong nationwide if your being honest, thats surgical for a 6'5 freshman pg.)
It's too bad we couldn't have found a way to keep Donte D. He's playing well for the Warriors, and would fit perfectly into the type of lineup your describing. He's an excellent defender, and to be honest. a better PG than Mitchell, and he's a lot taller and a better shooter. Oh well, I've always been a big Donte fan going all the way back to Villanova!
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer

40 for Strawther! I'm still a big advocate for Julian Strawther here. he's got a translatable skill. 6'7 and can shoot the damn ball. He legitimately has a very nice looking 3pt shot, and I dont even mean his 'form' I mean how the ball looks after it leaves his hand.

the arc he gets on the shot is just about perfect... right? doesnt it look like from the apex of the ball, now your at about a 45degree angle from the rim, which means your really maximizing the surface area inside the rim to splash..

Now i'm not some big Reggie Miller or JJ Reddick fanboy, but I have heard them both talk extensively about mechanics of the 3pt shot, all I'd say is I think those guys would look at Strawther's shot n think he might be pretty good. I think a lot of people over the years have heard about the type of shooters who aim for the bottom of the back rim n it just kisses that n goes straight down.

IDK maybe i'm just a sucker for the optics. maybe thats me being totally hypercritical, all forms of playing 'shot doctor' veer into that territory. We are talking about taking a flyer here in the 2nd rd.


ESPN has him at #58 in the best available list so in theory thats right in our 2nd rd range.. Is it realistic to think he's actually gonna fall that far, in a field that'll probably thin out a little with withdrawals? I dont believe that. Is he truly doomed to the bottom half of the 2nd or worse? I'm not so sure.
I'm a big Strawther fan. He sort of gets lost in the fanfare around Gonzaga, but he's like a quiet asassin, who I think with a bigger role, would get more noteriety! And I agree with you on his shot. Nice arc, nice release and very nice back spin, which means a good follow through. I'm a back of the rim advocate, and I'm sure most shot doctors would say the same. He's be a nice pick up in the 2nd rd. Sometimes I think the only thing that separates a player like Strawther and Sensabaugh, is the role they're playing on their team.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Very interesting updates to ESPN's best available list

- Brice Sensabaugh up to #15! With players like David Roddy going high in the 2nd and Lu Dort getting huge deals, its not difficult to see why a player like Sensabaugh who's really got a powerful build wouldn't creep up n past the 20s.

-KELEL WARE DOWN TO #23 !!!! I'd sure love to have him with the pick though he's decidedly not a'win-now' guy.

-Dariq Whitehead and Dillon Mitchell down to 28 and 29! I honestly wouldnt have expected to see Whitehead so low on boards when hes shooting 37% from 3, woulda thought it have taken a disasterous 3pt% to knock him this low.. This HAS to be the bottom of his range, no?

-Noah Clowney down to 33. This is a much more appropriate range for him than some places ive seen, not saying he's totally bound to that range but i think he was getting a wee bit too much benefit of the doubt someplaces.

-With all this movement swirling around him Bilal Coulibaly remains at #40 (2 spots above Emoni Bates who got a big bump)

-Podziemski at 84 got a slight bump up but its still way too low.
Nice to see that ESPN finally updated their top 100. I stopped going there to see thinking they were going to wait till the end of the season. This is one of the toughest mock years from one to around 23 or so. So many players that one could argue equal talent from about 5 or 6 down. Makes it fun though!
 
Wisconsin is one of those states that sneakingly produces NBA talent. Recent players include: Herro, Hali, Poole, Johnny Davis, Jalen Johnson, and Patrick Baldwin IV.

He has NBA size with a really good looking 3pt shot. He's got some really shifty handles, but the first step and quickness is lacking. As an on-ball player, he relies on picks to get down-hill, but I noticed that he struggled a lot when teams blitzed him (I don't know why they don't more often). Finishing at the rim relies a lot of finesse and touch because of his lack of vertical explosiveness. I like him, but I just don't know what parts of his game translate to the NBA. Is he going to be the shot-creator that he is at Santa Clara? Or would he be more designated into a spot-up shooter that'll provide some positional rebounding at SG?

One thing I wish is that we saw more action of him without the ball. Only 58.1% of his 3s are assisted. For reference, Anthony Black is at 75% and Keyonte George is at 69.2%.
Yup I remember back about 7 or 8 years ago when Keevon Looney was rated 5-stars and lots of articles on him had the caveat of 'we dont know how good the competition he's playing in Wisconsin really is', n theres just been a steady supply of 1st rd picks from there ever since.

I dont think Podziemski will be doing much finishing at the rim but he does seem to be able to stop short and hit a floater. I think he'll be designated a spot up shooter first n then if he's good at that teams will test the waters with his shot creation.

Something like a taller Malachi Flynn?
 
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Been a minute since I watched a Hawkeye game. They played Northwestern who is pretty solid this year. Kris had a fairly quiet game with 14 points and 7 boards but like a good Murray he found a way to make an impact. I’d say he is a better passer than Keegan and set his teammates up a few times. Had a couple blocks.

also, saw my first “6 point play”. One of the Hawks got fouled on a made three, made the free throw and then made two free throws on a technical called on the opposing coach on the play.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Grant Nelson: PF/C, 6'11", 215 Lb's, Wingspan NA, Junior, North Dakota St.
28.7 mpt- 17.0 ppg - 52.4% fgp - 24.6% 3pp - 69.0% ftp - 7.8 rpg - 1.6 apg - 0.8 stl's - 1.6 blk's



This is a player that I really like, but I've had had trouble placing him. Of late he's suddenly gotten a lot of notice because he went off for 36 pt's against North Dakota. I'm referring to Grant Nelson, the 6'11" Center/PF for North Dakota St. When you see a player like Nelson put up big numbers in a mid-level conference, you question if his game could translate to the NBA. I've only seen three of his games, but I'm convinced that Nelson has NBA talent. He impressed the hell out of me with his ballhandling. He handles the ball like a guard, and with some investigating, I disvovered that in Highschool, he was a 6'2" guard. In two years he grew to 6'11", but retained the ballhandling skills.

He's an above average athlete, and very fluid, with a quick first step for a 6'11" player. He has a lot of wiggle to his game and a herky jerky way of attacking the basket, with some wicked crossovers and some Euro steps thrown in. He has no problem creating his own shot, and in the games I watched, very few of his shots were assisted. He has head fakes, jab steps, and drop steps that he can throw at you, and he does it without thinking. He's very tough to guard one on one. At least at the level he's playing at. If he gets you into the post he can screw you into the floor. And he scores most of his points in the post, or within 15 feet of the basket.

He has a three point shot, but it's definitely a work in progress. However it shows promise, and once into the NBA and spending all his time working on his game, I definitely think his shot will at minimum become credible. He has a very good midrange game with a high release, making his shot nearly impossible to block, and with his ability to create space, it could become a major weapon for him. He's also shown some promise as a passer, and he is a willing passer. Of course he does have his share of turnovers, but his court vision appears to be good.

What really adds to his attraction is his defensive ability. He's a terrific defender averaging 1.6 blocks a game. He has great shot blocking instincts and times seems to come out of nowhere to block a shot. He runs the floor hard on offense and defense, and he plays with an edge. As they say, he has that dog in him. He's also a very good defender away from the basket with good lateral quickness, and instincts. He has good verticality and I saw his head even with the basket several times while blocking a shot. I don't know his wingspan, but it's definitely 7 feet something. He has very long arms.

Rumors are that he's gone from being absent on most mock draft boards, to now being thought of as a early 2nd rd pick to perhaps even a late first rd pick. I don't think he's NBA ready quite yet. He's raw in some areas and would likely spend some time being developed. But if your interested in a long term player who could turn out to be special, then he's definitely someone who fills that bill. I like this kid a lot, and if he sitting there in the 2nd rd, I would grap him in a heartbeat. I haven't made up my mind about taking him in the 1st rd just yet. But he's growing on me. There have been several players that had late in life growth spurts that ended up becoming stars. Anthony Davis anyone?

Other than his 3pt shot, and becoming more mistake free, which comes with experience, he's needs to get stronger. Which I think will help his shooting and his ability to rebound and defend at the basket. A final note! One scout who was at the North Dakota game when asked what he thought of Nelson, he said he's definitely a Unicorn!


 
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This is a player projected in the bottom half of the 2nd round?! I kinda find that hard to believe even with how raw he is in areas.. He moves so well and look at his frame, he's really putting on some muscle..

I refuse to believe this player could go undrafted. Look at the progress he's made at the FT line from 49% as a Freshman to 69% Sophomore year on much higher volume... This player is much better than last season, he's actually had a similar uptick in play as Chimezie Metu did from Fr - So year at USC.
 
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Grant Nelson: PF/C, 6'11", 215 Lb's, Wingspan NA, Junior, North Dakota St.
28.7 mpt- 17.0 ppg - 52.4% fgp - 24.6% 3pp - 69.0% ftp - 7.8 rpg - 1.6 apg - 0.8 stl's - 1.6 blk's



This is a player that I really like, but I've had had trouble placing him. Of late he's suddenly gotten a lot of notice because he went off for 36 pt's against North Dakota. I'm referring to Grant Nelson, the 6'11" Center/PF for North Dakota St. When you see a player like Nelson put up big numbers in a mid-level conference, you question if his game could translate to the NBA. I've only seen three of his games, but I'm convinced that Nelson has NBA talent. He impressed the hell out of me with his ballhandling. He handles the ball like a guard, and with some investigating, I disvovered that in Highschool, he was a 6'2" guard. In two years he grew to 6'11", but retained the ballhandling skills.

He's an above average athlete, and very fluid, with a quick first step for a 6'11" player. He has a lot of wiggle to his game and a herky jerky way of attacking the basket, with some wicked crossovers and some Euro steps thrown in. He has no problem creating his own shot, and in the games I watched, very few of his shots were assisted. He has head fakes, jab steps, and drop steps that he can throw at you, and he does it without thinking. He's very tough to guard one on one. At least at the level he's playing at. If he gets you into the post he can screw you into the floor. And he scores most of his points in the post, or within 15 feet of the basket.

He has a three point shot, but it's definitely a work in progress. However it shows promise, and once into the NBA and spending all his time working on his game, I definitely think his shot will at minimum become credible. He has a very good midrange game with a high release, making his shot nearly impossible to block, and with his ability to create space, it could become a major weapon for him. He's also shown some promise as a passer, and he is a willing passer. Of course he does have his share of turnovers, but his court vision appears to be good.

What really adds to his attraction is his defensive ability. He's a terrific defender averaging 1.6 blocks a game. He has great shot blocking instincts and times seems to come out of nowhere to block a shot. He runs the floor hard on offense and defense, and he plays with an edge. As they say, he has that dog in him. He's also a very good defender away from the basket with good lateral quickness, and instincts. He has good verticality and I saw his head even with the basket several times while blocking a shot. I don't know his wingspan, but it's definitely 7 feet something. He has very long arms.

Rumors are that he's gone from being absent on most mock draft boards, to now being thought of as a early 2nd rd pick to perhaps even a late first rd pick. I don't think he's NBA ready quite yet. He's raw in some areas and would likely spend some time being developed. But if your interested in a long term player who could turn out to be special, then he's definitely someone who fills that bill. I like this kid a lot, and if he sitting there in the 2nd rd, I would grap him in a heartbeat. I haven't made up my mind about taking him in the 1st rd just yet. But he's growing on me. There have been several players that had late in life growth spurts that ended up becoming stars. Anthony Davis anyone?

Other than his 3pt shot, and becoming more mistake free, which comes with experience, he's needs to get stronger. Which I think will help his shooting and his ability to rebound and defend at the basket. A final note! One scout who was at the North Dakota game when asked what he thought of Nelson, he said he's definitely a Unicorn!


yeah he looks like an NBA player. I'd be shocked if this player got picked before Ryan Kalkbrenner though. I dont think teams are THAT desperate for projects.

I wonder how he does protecting the ball vs better competition while dribbling like that, sure looks like easy food for steals, though hes been doing his dribbling drills like a guard and shows some shiftiness...Im looking at the boxscore vs Kansas right now he had 5 turnovers there, n was relatively ineffective vs a frontline of players 4" shorter..

Why not just sign Branden Carlsen from Utah as an UDFA. He's older, will be 24 around the draft. Carlsen's for sure a good 3pt shooter n also has a faceup game, over 2 blocks per game in the pac12. It's actually completely exhausting going thru some of the lower teir C's, there's just so many, n yeah Grant Nelson is another name to add to the pile.
 
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So obviously theres the rumor about Matisse Thybulle and Coach Brown liking him a lot. The trade deadline is 6 days away.

Not gonna get into it just yet, but if the trade deadline does pass and we dont get a defensive wing.... Seems that our chances of drafting one with the first rd pick would increase quite a bit...

Also I think a silver lining is that Terence Davis is just not gonna be that guy for us.

Whats really interesting to me is that Thybulle isnt much of a 3pt shooter, he's a "keep the defense honest" type 3pt shooter n philly has him taking only 1 attempt per game this szn... That honestly makes me think Dillon Mitchell is going to be a player Coach Brown will like a ton.. Also makes me think that we might want to start looking outside the box of the 3-n-d, we might very well have enough 3pt firepower as is, or i guess one can never have enough, but maybe it just isnt the same priority as defensive reinforcements, I know some will think "well lets get a defender who can shoot 3's, 2 birds with one stone!", but that begs the question, 'then who is overlooked?'


N Honestly Mitchell makes a lot of sense here when you start looking at it thru that lens of 'we might have enough 3pt shooting already, lets get someone who can shore up the defense regardless of their 3pt shot'.. N he is quite talented, n we really don't have a player like him, he's extremely far from being redundant here, much more so than most everyone else discussed in this thread. Mitchell is listed at PF but his defensive versatility is simply unmatched for players projected in our range.

The other name in our range that also stands out BIGTIME like this is --- Dariq Whitehead

If the 1st rd Pick does end up as Whitehead or Mitchell you can be sure i'm bumping this post.
 
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40 for Tubelis! Honestly I'm not sure if he'd be a very good fit here but he's so productive, n projected so low, ya gotta keep an eye on him.


Ballo did much better vs Dante in this one than their last matchup. Ballo only took a few shots, n has the way better team so he was smart to maintain trigger dicipline, even was kicking out his orebs.


N'Faly Dante's not bad.. How good he is, up for debate, I refuse to believe this player can be totally written off. He's such a persona non grata in these draft discussions, headscratchingly so... I truly think a lot of 'draft watchers' dont follow recruiting at all, so I always wonder how people like that can remain objective and not easily dismiss players like Dante, or Dereck Lively, or Dillon Mitchell, Dariq Whitehead where they have this idea theyre supposed to be one of the best in the class, they fall from grace, n quickly tumble down the board, get swept under the rug, become rangebound n overlooked, n so I'd assume many draft watchers kinda label these players as depreciating assets (while the scouting services that overrated them take NO BLAME for their evaluations, the scouting services dont get needled, the players do! its INSANE yet the status quo)

We talk about "looks like an NBA player"... Such a sick dunk for a C that size running full speed... He not only looks like an NBA player, his frame fits the mold of a prototypical (Jaren Jackson-like) starting C, 7'6" wingspan, 9'5 standing reach, he's got tons of energy. N i mean if you have any questions about his athleticism just look at this dunk a few times... Him getting steals like that jumping passing lanes is not totally abnormal either, if you look at this highlight in a vacuum n think he got thrown a freebie, this player gets his hands on balls like that, he can drop low and hes athletic, its reflected in his steal #'s.

There certainly is some truth to this theory, it plays out every season n given where we are in the standings, it sure is great! hopefully we can punch way above our weight with this pick.


Oregons team composition is completely ridiculous btw, feel bad for some of those players... what an absurd thing they did in recruitment with all these centers... Not even Will Richardson playing 5 years can save them.. I hope they go from having way too many C's to having no C's at all, thats sorta what they deserve for this.. You can never convince me this roster isnt super weird. There's just such a strong stink of "we have all these resources but dont know what to do with them"
 
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What a complete and utter disaster tonights PG play was without De'Aaron... Holy Moly..

The fact that Davion Mitchell has 20 FTA's in almost 1000 minutes, its totally infuriating for me to watch honestly. There's no way the Kings actually want to play like that, it's just a concession thats been made to try and not force square pegs into round holes.


Is "poormans eric bledsoe" or "eric bledsoe in his 30's" not an appropriate player comparison for Davion at this point?
 
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Gaines is doing better and better as the season progresses, he's skinny and wild n you'll see some 'circus shots', the potential is there.. led UAB to a big victory over #19 FAU the other day.

*This is a player that we'd take in the 2nd rd to stash in the g-leauge


UAB has to make the tournament.. Right? I havent paid much attention to bracketology but it seems they should finish with like 22 wins. Sure hope so, they have one of the most exciting backcourts in the nation.
 
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ya know the Emoni Bates 2 years in college is actually going to make the G-league's or even Overtime Elite's recruitment of top players even easier. As much as colleges might have 'leveled the playing field' with NIL, it's still an inferior option clearly. I bet Naas Cunningham saw the Emoni situation play out n was like "thats not gonna be me!" n signed with OTE.

If I was as rich as Vivek n $$$ was not a factor, if my son was a top ranked player I'd still tell him to take the $$$ and go to OTE or the G-League, some of these colleges have alterior motives, coaches trying to get better contracts thru their teams recruiting rankings and not on-court results n things like that. You wanna play basketball, go somewhere where thats the focus from dawn til dusk.

What exactly did going to college do for Emoni Bates? Really helped him a ton? He helped Penny Hardaway, surely a guy who needs all the help he can get, and he helped EMU get attention when they are atrocious n dont deserve it. I think you'd have to be a bit of a sucker to believe college really helped Bates..

Emoni scores 35 tonight as EMU falls to 6-17 on the season.


The most messed up thing too is I GUARANDAMN TEE that when he hits the NBA announcers will always mention he was coached by Penny Hardaway, like Penny did something great for this kid, meanwhile they'll really just bring it up because Penny Hardaway has great name recognition. they'll re-write history on this one just you watch, Penny who handed the reigns to Emoni n then they faceplanted will be painted as the master and emoni the protege.
 
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Go talk to the average Duke fan about what they think of Kyrie Irving.. All the ones I know hate the guy, n basically insta roll their eyes at the mention of his name... they dont claim him as theirs and they think he's an idiot n says stupid things.

The loyalty goes just as far as "what have you done for me lately"... lets not kid ourselves.. See the legendary Elton Brand letter.

N the Duke alumni I know are completely embarrassed to have someone like thats name attatched to where they went to higher education, with the things he's said about the vaccine n other stuff.

The way that college is held in such a santimonious way by parents nationwide has enabled some very stupid things to happen.. We have players who do interviews n sound like their english is, lets just say not at a college level, n their names are attatched to prestigious places of higher learning, n its all BS.... Have we forgotten about the Rashad McCants UNC stories? Players werent even going to classes..

Can't wait til things are drastically different. Thank goodness the G-League had the smarts to sign Scoota Henderson, he's one the finest emmisary's they could hope for, the fact he was dominant at 17 years old proves their point spectacularly... hope I live to see the day where these Emoni Bates type of stories are in the past, n really we've made so much progress in a short amount of time.
 
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