Baseball rules.
That said, anyone have any college players they're particularly enamored with this year?
I have a few hometown favorites.
Jeff Green is going to be a hell of a pro. He has an absurdly high ceiling which he's unlikely to ever reach because of a general lack of aggressiveness, but he has an awful lot of positives. He's athletic, tall for his position, quick on his feet, great wingspan. He's a smart player who hardly ever makes a bad decision or turns the ball over. He has a versatile skill set; he handles the ball well enough to play some point-forward and he has the strength and post-skills to play some 4 in a small ball lineup. He has great conditioning and his fundamentals don't break down when he's tired. He has a nice shooting touch. He's a high quality and versatile defender who can guard players of almost any size (think Shawn Marion).
His versatility makes it tough to predict what sort of player he'll end up being, as it largely depends on what he's asked to focus on early in his career, but I'm confident that he'll be very good regardless. I see him as a sort of Shane Battier on steroids. I'd expect him to wind up averaging 15+ points, 7+ rebounds, 4+ assists, 2+ combined blks/stls, playing heavy minutes, playing tough defense, etc.
Sadly, I think he's best suited, at least at first, to play on a good team. He'd be perfect for the Spurs. They already play a team-oriented style of basketball and wouldn't require him to carry the scoring load, and they desperately need a shot of youth and athleticism on the wing. Maybe the Cavs. He'd be a great replacement for Shawn Marion if the Suns were to get rid of him (maybe try to pick up that 5 pick from Boston? Turning Shawn Marion into (say) Jeff Green, Al Jefferson, and Theo Ratliff's contract would be a steal. Too bad it won't happen).
D.J. Strawberry is also capable of being an NBA player. If the guy gets drafted, it'll be close to the end of the second round, which is too bad, because he has the talent to stick around. His problem is that he's not skilled enough to play full-time point guard, and not athletically gifted enough to play full-time shooting guard, and so it's tough to want to invest in the guy. His shot, first step, and ball handling are all average at best for a guard who'll be expected to have the ball in his hands frequently.
That said, he still has value. He's a great defensive player, and that will carry over into the NBA. He's big enough to guard most 2 guards (although he'll run into problems against big lineups if he's forced to guard monsters like Kobe or LeBron or T-Mac). He's small and fast enough to guard any point guard. He's strong and tough. His shot and his drive aren't great, but are good enough that he can keep defenses honest and prevent them from cheating off of him. Similarly, his ball-handling isn't great, but if he's not being asked to carry the point guard load, then it's more than adequate to allow him to make good plays here and there. He's a hard worker who doesn't get into trouble and has improved drastically with experience. If he gets a chance, I think he'll eventually be a bench player who pulls about 20 minutes a game, plays tough defense, gets on the occasional offensive hot streak, and can be inserted or removed in different situations to create or alleviate matchup problems. I'd take him on my team and I think he'd be useful just about anywhere.
Some other opinions of mine:
Oden > Durant. I wouldn't even spend a minute thinking about this. Oden has made a few plays that hint at his potential. Do you remember that sick game saving block he made in the NCAA's against someone or other? What about that monster dunk he nearly put in against Georgetown in the final four? It seems like there's sentiment out there which says that he's only thought of so highly because his body filled out quickly, and a few years down the line he won't seem much more special than any other athletic 7 footer. I disagree. The guy's a fucking beast. The idea that Oden is the safe pick and Durant is the high ceiling pick is preposterous to me. I don't know if I've ever seen a young guy (keep in mind that I've only been paying attention since 2000 or so) with such a high ceiling. Oden is both the safe pick AND the high ceiling pick.
Other guys I like: Corey Brewer, Al Thornton.
Guys I don't like: Spencer Hawes, Josh McRoberts,
I'll admit it, I'm inherently distrustful of white American players. Why? Name the best one currently in the NBA. Go on, take a guess!
- [Show]
- It's Mike Miller. Or Kirk Hinrich, depending on what you like.
In order for Spencer Hawes to justify his likely draft position, he would need to become the best white American player in the NBA. It's possible, I guess, but I don't want to throw any eggs into that basket.
Josh McRoberts is ranked low enough that he'd be acceptable even if he didn't become the best white American player in the NBA. But seriously: He's a white kid from Duke. I know that Duke has had a few NBA successes lately-- Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Shane Battier, Luol Deng. Notice something? They're all black! (at least I think Battier is black). And this from the school that turns out more star white players than anywhere else. Christian Laettner? Mike Dunleavey? J.J. Redick? No thanks, I'll take the safe road and wait until Gerald Henderson or Nolan Smith come out.
By the way, I'm not trying to be intentionally inflammatory. The bottom line is that white American basketball players are in the shitter right now, the same way black American baseball players were in the shitter for awhile (now we have a little bit of a comeback with Ryan Howard, C.C. Sabathia, et all). If anyone has an explanation for why white American players suck so god damn badly, I'd love to hear it. The U.S. National Team's obsession with having at least one white player is becoming a sick joke. You'd rather have Kirk Hinrich than Gilbert Arenas, Allen Iverson, Mike Bibby, Mo Williams, Baron Davis, Andre Miller, Ben Gordon, Jason Kidd, T.J. Ford, Mo Williams, Jason Terry, Deron Williams? You'd rather have Brad Miller than Carlos Boozer, Marcus Camby, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, fucking anybody? Come on...
Also, I like Julian Wright, but not Brandan Wright. Why? Dunno, gut feeling.
I agree with Boogahz: I would prefer Charles Barkley and Moses Malone to Karl Malone. Tim Duncan's much better than any of them, regardless of which position he's at. Karl's a great player, I just don't think he's the clear-cut best (or the best at all, really).
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