Possible lottery picks in the 2022 draft:
- Thread starter bajaden
- Start date
I’m curious what our friend @serbiangoat thinks of Jovic and if he has NBA foot speed or VK Jug footspeed?
I am intrigued by his age, length and free throw percentage. Defense will be the question especially paired with Sabonis.
I am intrigued by his age, length and free throw percentage. Defense will be the question especially paired with Sabonis.
Keegan doesn't jump off the screen as a player that will be a star, but he does appear to be a player that will make your team better. I will agree with the Capt on that his better position will be at the four, but I think he's quite capable of also playing the three. He's one of those players that isn't great at any one thing, but good at almost everything. More importantly, he has high basketball IQ and that's something this team needs.
I've done multiple write ups of him and his whole team (full of euroleauge/NBA prospects) in the previous pages, I will be doing a final one in a few weeks when the season is over,(they will not be making the playoffs the ABA is way to strong this season for them) aside from his ball handling and a disappointing overall season I think his game will translate better than the NBA than it does in Europe. At the moment he plays like combo of a better scoring Joe Ingles and a worse scoring prime Gallo.
Once he gets a bit stronger he will be a solid team defender despite being on the slower side, def does not have NBA footspeed but that never stopped Peja/Radmanovic/Uncle Joe/Gallo who are all similar size and makes up for it in smarts/length.
Note: I don't watch college basketball so I cannot compare him to other players in terms of who I feel is better/where he should be taken. If anyone wants to watch all of Jovics full games https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI2DGUaFuXrs1384LpLthde-OidotJGJb he plays for Mega Basket (pink uniform can't miss it)
Once he gets a bit stronger he will be a solid team defender despite being on the slower side, def does not have NBA footspeed but that never stopped Peja/Radmanovic/Uncle Joe/Gallo who are all similar size and makes up for it in smarts/length.
Note: I don't watch college basketball so I cannot compare him to other players in terms of who I feel is better/where he should be taken. If anyone wants to watch all of Jovics full games https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI2DGUaFuXrs1384LpLthde-OidotJGJb he plays for Mega Basket (pink uniform can't miss it)
Last edited:
Diabate. This is the kid I'm interested in. He's just as long as Jaren Jackson, but moves better. Extremely fluid for a 6'11" kid. He'll probably rocket up the draft board by the time the draft comes around.
https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/moussa-diabate-michigan-wolverines-on-the-rise-2022-nba-draft
https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/moussa-diabate-michigan-wolverines-on-the-rise-2022-nba-draft
You're pointing to yesterday's game like it's some indicator of poor NBA upside but the dude had 28 points on 16 shots against a solid (and desperate) Florida team in a game where he showed solid passing skills and growth against double-teams as he put the rest of the Auburn Tigers on his back and almost carried them to a win. despite getting double/triple-teamed for most of the night.
NBA spacing's going to get him better looks than he's getting now though. The shooting stroke and defensive tools all will translate. He's skinny and will need to add weight to play on the inside in the league, sure. But he's also only 18 years old and has a solid frame that suggests he'll be able to gain muscle without compromising his speed/health. I guess the one knock on him is that he's not quite the most explosive athlete in the world but he glides down the floor like a giant Paul George and plays defense like Kawhi.
I don't know if he'll be a superstar by any means but he is essentially the prototypical modern NBA forward.
NBA spacing's going to get him better looks than he's getting now though. The shooting stroke and defensive tools all will translate. He's skinny and will need to add weight to play on the inside in the league, sure. But he's also only 18 years old and has a solid frame that suggests he'll be able to gain muscle without compromising his speed/health. I guess the one knock on him is that he's not quite the most explosive athlete in the world but he glides down the floor like a giant Paul George and plays defense like Kawhi.
I don't know if he'll be a superstar by any means but he is essentially the prototypical modern NBA forward.
Yeah, I don't know if you can ever predict a prospect being a star. It's a little bit of a luck of a draw which guys actually turn out and who doesn't. What you can predict are the tools a guy enters the NBA with and Jabari's are about as valuable as you can possibly get for the current NBA. I honestly don't even know who you can compare his tools too, because of how good his shooting is. Maybe like better shooting/ far worse creation Pascal Siakam? JJJ with more defensive wing potential?
Last edited:
I hate getting into get into this comparison of Diabate to Smith but. Both players are great athlete's. They can both run fast and jump high. They both have good reflexes. What I've never understood is why it's necessary to degrade one player in order to promote another. I like Diabate, but right now, today, Smith is the significantly better player, and if I may point out, Diabate is 20 years old, while Smith is 18 years old. Diabate is still a bit on the thin side at 208 Lb's, while Smith already has the makings of an NBA body at 220 Lb's while both players are around 6'10".
Probably the only edge I would give Diabate is that his ball handling may be a bit better than Smith's. Neither player puts up awe striking rebounding numbers, but both players play next to 7 footer's that gobble up boards, and Smith plays on the perimeter a lot. When it comes to shotblocking, and steals, Smith is the clear winner and it's not even close. Smith is the far superior defender with a defensive rating of 89.3, versus Diabate's 103.0 rating.
Lastly Smith is one of the best 3 pt shooters in college this year averaging over 40%. 3 pt shooting is not Diabate's strength who is averaging 21.4% from three. I'd also like to point out that Smith is the focal point of every opposing teams defense. Diabate isn't!!!! I seriously doubt that Smith will have a difficult time getting his shot off in the NBA. He has a lightning quick release, and a very high release, making it very difficult to block. Smith isn't perfect, but for an 18 year old, he's far ahead of most 18 year old's. Probably comes from having an NBA father and starting to play basketball at age 5.
As I said, I like Diabate and to be honest, I have no idea where he'll go in this draft. There are a lot of bigs with similar resume's that he has to compete with. Christian Koloko, Ibou Badji, Mark Williams, Ismael Kamagate, Trevion Williams, Oscar Tshiebwe, Hunter Dickinson, Zach Idey, Isaiah Mobley, Ariel Hukporti, Kofi Cockburn, and Khalifa Diop. All these players except for Tshiebwe are 6'10" are over. All are talented and a few, ten years ago, would have been lottery picks. My point is that when your trying to decide where a player like Diabate will go in the draft, it's tough! That's a lot of competition. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I personally think he'll go somewhere at the top of the 2nd round.
In today's NBA you better have one skill that you can hang your hat on. If your a big, then you either have to be able to shoot the three, or be a great rebounder, or be able to defend the basket. If you can do all three, then your moving into rare air. So this is where scouts are probably having a hard time placing Diabate. He's not great at any of those things. He doesn't block shots, and can't shoot the three. He does have a pretty good midrange jumpshot. He's a decent to good defender, but not elite. That probably puts him in the 2nd round. He does have a great motor and will score you a bunch of points at times on pure hustle, and to me that's a skill in and of itself.
Probably the only edge I would give Diabate is that his ball handling may be a bit better than Smith's. Neither player puts up awe striking rebounding numbers, but both players play next to 7 footer's that gobble up boards, and Smith plays on the perimeter a lot. When it comes to shotblocking, and steals, Smith is the clear winner and it's not even close. Smith is the far superior defender with a defensive rating of 89.3, versus Diabate's 103.0 rating.
Lastly Smith is one of the best 3 pt shooters in college this year averaging over 40%. 3 pt shooting is not Diabate's strength who is averaging 21.4% from three. I'd also like to point out that Smith is the focal point of every opposing teams defense. Diabate isn't!!!! I seriously doubt that Smith will have a difficult time getting his shot off in the NBA. He has a lightning quick release, and a very high release, making it very difficult to block. Smith isn't perfect, but for an 18 year old, he's far ahead of most 18 year old's. Probably comes from having an NBA father and starting to play basketball at age 5.
As I said, I like Diabate and to be honest, I have no idea where he'll go in this draft. There are a lot of bigs with similar resume's that he has to compete with. Christian Koloko, Ibou Badji, Mark Williams, Ismael Kamagate, Trevion Williams, Oscar Tshiebwe, Hunter Dickinson, Zach Idey, Isaiah Mobley, Ariel Hukporti, Kofi Cockburn, and Khalifa Diop. All these players except for Tshiebwe are 6'10" are over. All are talented and a few, ten years ago, would have been lottery picks. My point is that when your trying to decide where a player like Diabate will go in the draft, it's tough! That's a lot of competition. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I personally think he'll go somewhere at the top of the 2nd round.
In today's NBA you better have one skill that you can hang your hat on. If your a big, then you either have to be able to shoot the three, or be a great rebounder, or be able to defend the basket. If you can do all three, then your moving into rare air. So this is where scouts are probably having a hard time placing Diabate. He's not great at any of those things. He doesn't block shots, and can't shoot the three. He does have a pretty good midrange jumpshot. He's a decent to good defender, but not elite. That probably puts him in the 2nd round. He does have a great motor and will score you a bunch of points at times on pure hustle, and to me that's a skill in and of itself.
Thought I'd go around the horn with updates on how some of our favorite likely 1st rd players and fringe 1st rd players did over the weekend.
Whereas we were discussing Diabate, he had 3 pt's on 1 of 3 shooting, 3 boards, 2 assists, and 1 blocked shot. It's only fair to follow with Jabari Smith who had 28 pt's, on 7 of 16 overall and 4 of 5 from three. He also went 10 of 11 from the line while grabbing 7 boards with 1 blocked shot. If that's and example of how badly he'll play in the NBA, then sign me up! Oscar Tshiebwe the slightly undersized PF from Kentucky keeps on rolling. He had 21 pt's, 14 rebounds (leads all of college in rebounding averaging over 15 a game) with 1 steal and 1 block.
Benedict Mathurin had a nice game scoring 24 pt's on 9 of 17 overall and 4 of 7 from the three. He added 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Mathurin isn't glitzy and doesn't get a lot of headlines, but he's a very good basketball player who plays both ends of the court. Ochai Agbaji had another good game scoring 23 pt's on 8 of 15 shooting overall while going 3 of 6 from the three. I know he's a four year senior, but I still think he goes in the 1st round. He's just too good a player to slide into the 2nd rd. Holmgren had a rough shooting game scoring 10 pt's on 3 of 9 overall and 1 of 5 from the three. However he did pull down 10 boards and blocked 5 shots.
One of my personal favorites, Jeremy Sochan scored 17 pt's going 6 of 9 overall and 0 for 1 from the three. He added 6 boards and 1 steal. Banchero had one of his typical games ( he is consistent ) scoring 17 pt's going 6 for 12 overall. He missed all 3 of his three's. He added 8 boards, 1 steal and 1 block. His running mate Griffin came back down to earth a little scoring 15 pt's on 5 of 10 shooting and going 2 of 6 from three. He added 5 boards and 1 blocked shot.
Keegan Murray was back to his normal self scoring 24 pt's on 10 of 17 shooting while going 2 of 5 from three. He added 5 boards and 1 block. That brings me to another of my favorite players to watch. E. J. Liddell. I'm not sure exactly what Liddell is. He reminds me a lot of Paul Milsap, and undersized PF. Some scouts see him as SF. I haven't made up my mind, but he is a darned good basketball player. He's 6'7" and 240 Lb's and he must have long arms because he averages 2.6 blocked shots a game. He also shoots over 40% from three. Anyway on Sunday Liddell had 15 pt's on 6 of 13 shooting overall while going 1 for 2 from three. He added 8 rebounds, 1 steal, and a whooping 5 blocked shots.
Another favorite of mine and a dark horse to move into the middle of the 1st round is Hyungjung Lee, who plays for Curry's old team, Davidson. Lee had 29 pt's on 8 of 12 shooting overall while going 4 of 6 from three. Lee is a dead eye shooter! He went 9 of 10 from the line and added 4 boards, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. And then we have Jaden Ivey who is making a case for the top three. Ivey had 25 pt's on 5 of 11 shooting while missing all 5 of his 3 pointers. However, he went to the line 18 times making 15 of them. He also had 4 assists and 2 boards.
I want to give Kofi Cockburn a little love here. It seems he's locked into the 2nd rd no matter what he does. He scored 27 pt's on 10 of 17 shooting while adding 9 rebounds and 1 steal. I don't think he's taken one three pt shot all season, but he puts up these numbers night after night while playing in one of the toughest conferences this season. There has to be a place for 7 footer that weighs 290 Lb's doesn't there? No one, and I mean no one plays bully ball on him.
I saved Johnny Davis for last because of the altercation that occurred in the game between Michigan and Wisconsin. Wisconsin won the game and with a few minutes left in the game and with Wisconsin having a commanding lead, strangely Chris Holtmann (Wisconsin's head coach) still had his starters in the game while Juwan Howard, Michigan's coach had put in his sub's, basically conceding the rest of the game. Then with just a minute or two left, Holtmann called two different timeouts to set up plays. Obviously Howard was visibly upset and when the two teams did the handshake pass by Howard and Holtmann had some words, which then escalated into a few punches being thrown. Not by Howard or Holtmann but a couple of players. I think think there was fault on both sides, but it probably wasn't a good idea by Holtmann to drag out the game and in a somewhat disrespectful way.
Anyway, the good thing is that once again Johnny Davis rose to the occasion with 25 pt's on 11 or 17 shooting overall while missing his only 3 pt shot. He also had 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Davis may become the new king of the mid-range shot once in the NBA.
Whereas we were discussing Diabate, he had 3 pt's on 1 of 3 shooting, 3 boards, 2 assists, and 1 blocked shot. It's only fair to follow with Jabari Smith who had 28 pt's, on 7 of 16 overall and 4 of 5 from three. He also went 10 of 11 from the line while grabbing 7 boards with 1 blocked shot. If that's and example of how badly he'll play in the NBA, then sign me up! Oscar Tshiebwe the slightly undersized PF from Kentucky keeps on rolling. He had 21 pt's, 14 rebounds (leads all of college in rebounding averaging over 15 a game) with 1 steal and 1 block.
Benedict Mathurin had a nice game scoring 24 pt's on 9 of 17 overall and 4 of 7 from the three. He added 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Mathurin isn't glitzy and doesn't get a lot of headlines, but he's a very good basketball player who plays both ends of the court. Ochai Agbaji had another good game scoring 23 pt's on 8 of 15 shooting overall while going 3 of 6 from the three. I know he's a four year senior, but I still think he goes in the 1st round. He's just too good a player to slide into the 2nd rd. Holmgren had a rough shooting game scoring 10 pt's on 3 of 9 overall and 1 of 5 from the three. However he did pull down 10 boards and blocked 5 shots.
One of my personal favorites, Jeremy Sochan scored 17 pt's going 6 of 9 overall and 0 for 1 from the three. He added 6 boards and 1 steal. Banchero had one of his typical games ( he is consistent ) scoring 17 pt's going 6 for 12 overall. He missed all 3 of his three's. He added 8 boards, 1 steal and 1 block. His running mate Griffin came back down to earth a little scoring 15 pt's on 5 of 10 shooting and going 2 of 6 from three. He added 5 boards and 1 blocked shot.
Keegan Murray was back to his normal self scoring 24 pt's on 10 of 17 shooting while going 2 of 5 from three. He added 5 boards and 1 block. That brings me to another of my favorite players to watch. E. J. Liddell. I'm not sure exactly what Liddell is. He reminds me a lot of Paul Milsap, and undersized PF. Some scouts see him as SF. I haven't made up my mind, but he is a darned good basketball player. He's 6'7" and 240 Lb's and he must have long arms because he averages 2.6 blocked shots a game. He also shoots over 40% from three. Anyway on Sunday Liddell had 15 pt's on 6 of 13 shooting overall while going 1 for 2 from three. He added 8 rebounds, 1 steal, and a whooping 5 blocked shots.
Another favorite of mine and a dark horse to move into the middle of the 1st round is Hyungjung Lee, who plays for Curry's old team, Davidson. Lee had 29 pt's on 8 of 12 shooting overall while going 4 of 6 from three. Lee is a dead eye shooter! He went 9 of 10 from the line and added 4 boards, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. And then we have Jaden Ivey who is making a case for the top three. Ivey had 25 pt's on 5 of 11 shooting while missing all 5 of his 3 pointers. However, he went to the line 18 times making 15 of them. He also had 4 assists and 2 boards.
I want to give Kofi Cockburn a little love here. It seems he's locked into the 2nd rd no matter what he does. He scored 27 pt's on 10 of 17 shooting while adding 9 rebounds and 1 steal. I don't think he's taken one three pt shot all season, but he puts up these numbers night after night while playing in one of the toughest conferences this season. There has to be a place for 7 footer that weighs 290 Lb's doesn't there? No one, and I mean no one plays bully ball on him.
I saved Johnny Davis for last because of the altercation that occurred in the game between Michigan and Wisconsin. Wisconsin won the game and with a few minutes left in the game and with Wisconsin having a commanding lead, strangely Chris Holtmann (Wisconsin's head coach) still had his starters in the game while Juwan Howard, Michigan's coach had put in his sub's, basically conceding the rest of the game. Then with just a minute or two left, Holtmann called two different timeouts to set up plays. Obviously Howard was visibly upset and when the two teams did the handshake pass by Howard and Holtmann had some words, which then escalated into a few punches being thrown. Not by Howard or Holtmann but a couple of players. I think think there was fault on both sides, but it probably wasn't a good idea by Holtmann to drag out the game and in a somewhat disrespectful way.
Anyway, the good thing is that once again Johnny Davis rose to the occasion with 25 pt's on 11 or 17 shooting overall while missing his only 3 pt shot. He also had 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Davis may become the new king of the mid-range shot once in the NBA.
There's a bit to correct here - Holtmann is the Ohio St. head coach, you meant to say Greg Gard from Wisconsin. Best I can tell from the box score, Michigan had four starters in (and Wisconsin at least four starters in) until Gard called timeout with 48 seconds left to put in his deep bench, including two walk-ons. Howard put in three bench players but left starters Houstan and DaVante' Jones on the floor. It was evidently Howard who continued to play, not Gard, as Michigan forced a turnover with 25 seconds left in a 17 point game, and then following the layup, picked up full court with 22 seconds left, knocking the ball out of bounds with 15 seconds on the clock before Wisconsin's deep bench could get it over the timeline. With only 4 seconds for his deep bench to get the ball across the timeline against a Michigan team (remember, two starters still in) that should have stopped trying, Gard called timeout so that he could get a full 10 seconds to get the ball across. Still, Michigan didn't let Wisconsin dribble the clock out but fouled down 15 with 13 seconds on the clock. So it was absolutely, 100% Howard who was disrespectfully playing out the game. Then, following the confrontation in the handshake line, Howard DID throw a punch/slap, hitting a Wisconsin assistant coach and initiating the brawl between the players. Howard has now been suspended for 5 games (the remainder of the regular season - I would have suspended him for the postseason too) along with a fine. Gard, who was not completely innocent as he and Howard both had words, was not suspended but only fined (a smaller amount than Howard). Your summary makes it sound like Gard was the main culprit in the situation, but it was definitely Howard's refusal to let Wisconsin run out the clock that raised tensions, and Howard's punch that started the brawl.
If we're picking outside the top 5 and Bennedict Mathurin is there, I don't think I can pass on him. Two way player, big time athlete, well rounded game and love his personality. He has a good shot at being a really, really good player, maybe even an all-star.
I would also take a hard look at Kendall Brown and Johnny Davis. Davis really reminds me of Devin Booker and it's not because of their similar appearance. He is crafty, knows how to use his body and obviously has a scorers mentality. If Shaedon Sharpe is still there, it's hard to pass on his talent. I need to watch more on the other names in the lottery.
I would also take a hard look at Kendall Brown and Johnny Davis. Davis really reminds me of Devin Booker and it's not because of their similar appearance. He is crafty, knows how to use his body and obviously has a scorers mentality. If Shaedon Sharpe is still there, it's hard to pass on his talent. I need to watch more on the other names in the lottery.
Yep, my bad, mean't to say Gard. That's what happens when you get old and then try to go on memory. I missed the slap/punch by Howard. To be honest, the game was over and I was in the kitchen when the whole thing started so I came in a bit late and was listening to the announcers version of what happened and a replay of the melee that followed. I need to pay better attention to what they're saying in the future, but it sounded to me like one of the announcers was trying to lay some of the blame at Gard's feet. Maybe I misheard. I guess the only mistake Gard made was blocking Howards path after Howard made his comment as he was passing by.
Sharpe has stated, along with his family and Calipari that he will be playing for Kentucky next season. Of course he can change his mind if enters, goes to the combine, and some team says hey, I'm taking you with the 6th pick in the draft. But until then, I'll take him at his word. I agree on Mathurin by the way.
Never thought of Booker when looking at Davis. First player that leaped out at me was Jimmy Butler. Not so much about appearance but with the determination and refusal to lose that Butler has. Davis has the same bulldog headedness.
Never thought of Booker when looking at Davis. First player that leaped out at me was Jimmy Butler. Not so much about appearance but with the determination and refusal to lose that Butler has. Davis has the same bulldog headedness.
He's a great off the ball mover and he's so good at moving away from the action so he can make a catch and shoot target of himself. Can play SG/SF and is pretty much fully developed. He looks like Buddy, without the explosive nature as a scorer of course, but a version Buddy that could live above the rim. I can see both Fox and Sabonis using someone like him as a pass option from day 1.
As I stated above, if Agbaji was a freshman he would be a lottery pick, but he's a senior. He's the complete package! Elite athlete who can play above the rim. He has good handles and is a good passer. He's a smart player, and unlike Buddy, doesn't take a lot of bad shots. He's shooting 50.3% overall and 43.7% from three. He's also an excellent defender. I think he's more of a SG than a SF but at 6'5" and with long arms he can play the SF position at times depending on the match up. Agbaji is one of the players in this draft that's ready to step in and play right now.