So, assuming everyone comes out, the top 7 looks like in TBA order...
Fultz
Ball
Smith
Tatum
Jackson
Fox
Monk
That is pretty loaded and all freshman.
Fultz
Ball
Smith
Tatum
Jackson
Fox
Monk
That is pretty loaded and all freshman.
Oh hey, we may have a top 3 pick then!Doncic isn't responsible for the hyperbole. There's quite a bit of film and other info on this kid, and if he continues to develop I believe he will be a top 3 pick in the 2018 draft.
I don't remotely think ball is better than the next three. Remotely. I think the Celtics might be a good spot for him. But an it ball backcourt works defensively. And I don't think fox is a lottery pick.So, assuming everyone comes out, the top 7 looks like in TBA order...
Fultz
Ball
Smith
Tatum
Jackson
Fox
Monk
That is pretty loaded and all freshman.
Brandon Roy is his high school coach. That is a nice fit for a future NBA player.To the extent people are looking into the 2018 draft at all, Michael Porter Jr. supplants DeAndre Ayton as the #1 high school prospect. Porter Jr. is going to WA.
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/recruiting/basketball/mens/story/_/id/18518785/espn-100-rankings-new-no-1-player-class-2017
Interesting. More interesting is that Porter's father was hired as assistant to Romar last year, although mitigating this is that Romar apparently is Michael Porter Jr.'s godfather.Brandon Roy is his high school coach. That is a nice fit for a future NBA player.
2018? Now we are really into guessing games. The name I see being mentioned very, very highly by fans who post about European players always put Luka Doncic at the top of the list. He is a 6'8" guard.To the extent people are looking into the 2018 draft at all, Michael Porter Jr. supplants DeAndre Ayton as the #1 high school prospect. Porter Jr. is going to WA.
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/recruiting/basketball/mens/story/_/id/18518785/espn-100-rankings-new-no-1-player-class-2017
Similarly to Simmons whose godfather had been an assistant at LSU for the two previous seasons. Recruiting begins earlier and earlier in this game. Whatever it takes to gain an edge.Interesting. More interesting is that Porter's father was hired as assistant to Romar last year, although mitigating this is that Romar apparently is Michael Porter Jr.'s godfather.
In addition, the younger brother Jontay, is going to UW the next year. Wonder if Michael will stay an extra year to play with his younger bro.
What national championship is that?I don't think there's much doubt that he's a better prospect than Brown was. He does everything better, except FT% and FTA rate, while turning the ball over less, and has a much better defensive reputation, along with nearly double Jaylen's steal and block rate to back it up.
Though I'd be surprised if he goes #1. Regardless of what he does in the tourney, I think his shot will remain a concern, and Fultz has a ton of upside with no significant red flags. GMs should recognize that he just doesn't have much talent around him. Simmons didn't end up getting dinged for LSU's failures last year while Ingram won the national championship.
Yeah, I tripped up on that one. And after watching the Nova thriller earlier today, too. The last couple of years are kind of a blur.What national championship is that?
Fuglier than Ball's?Very nice all around player, which means he will have a high floor as a prospect, but, man, that release is just fugly. There's no way in hell I take Jackson over Fultz but he's definitely in the mix when we miss out on the top pick.
I think I hate their jumpers equally. Jackson's shooting from the line (55%) is also troubling. He needs a lot of improvement just to get to a passable level.Fuglier than Ball's?
The release is horrible to watch if the ball doesn't go in the basket. But if it goes in the basket enough during the NCAAs and workouts, man thinking about and Jaylen with both hitting 35+% of 3Ps, and that's something special.
A guy can dream. . . .
It wasn't a question with Murray, but it is with a lot of them. Pretty much all 19yo players are unfinished products.Would the Huskies win even 3 games if Fultz wasn't on the team? They are so bad it really makes it hard to even figure out how Fultz himself is playing.
On a more general note - I feel like all I ever read about top prospects are concerns about their shooting. Any thoughts there? Are these kids so good at the high school level that they never need to learn to shoot? Was this always a problem and I just never read these types of reports before because of the Cs were always stuck in the middle of the draft?
I realize that a player like Fultz who was also hitting 80% of his FT as a freshman would be a megastudprospect, it just feels to me like all the under 20 types near the top of the draft have questions about their shooting lately.
A couple of factors at play. The lottery is increasingly dominated by one and dones, who by definition have spent less time in college working on their games. By and large its athleticism or size or both that makes someone a lottery talent. You're right that that athleticism/size means that they could dominate in high school and to some degree in college without needing a reliable jumper. But I think an even larger factor is the evolution of the game. Having a non-shooter at a position other than the 5/rim protector is increasingly untenable.On a more general note - I feel like all I ever read about top prospects are concerns about their shooting. Any thoughts there? Are these kids so good at the high school level that they never need to learn to shoot? Was this always a problem and I just never read these types of reports before because of the Cs were always stuck in the middle of the draft?
A phrase that has been uttered about every single generation and will likely continue until the ends of timeBasketball IQs are at an all-time low these days.
Magic might not be the best example because as a 19 year old he destroyed the NCAA tournament. But it's true his shooting was a question mark.I kind of left the question out there for discussion, but there are a few things I think about:
1) simply put, at least for top of the draft, the NCAA is no longer the NBA developmental league, which affects a couple of things:
- because of the one and done, players don't have time to develop skills before they were drafted. What would Jordan or Magic's 19 year old scouting report have looked like, in other words.
I think Josh Jackson is awesome. He's the number 3 prospect for me in a much better draft, vs Brown being a non consensus 3 in a much weaker.So Josh Jackson puts up 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals line against KY and hit 2 key 3Ps to start the 2nd half. Perhaps more importantly, he is 8-14 from 3P range over the last three games. Below are highlights. One thing that immediately strikes me is his handles.
Seems like he's a better prospect than Jaylen Brown was at the same stage? Also, since he will be leading his team in the tourney and Fultz will not, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes #1.
is it on TV? I mean other than the Pac-10 network?UCLA vs. Washington tonight at 10:30pm ET. Ball vs. Fultz.
Must-see TV. #netspick
TV: Pac-12 Networks National, Los Angeles and Washington with J.B. Long, Don Maclean, and Jill Savageis it on TV? I mean other than the Pac-10 network?
TxsTV: Pac-12 Networks National, Los Angeles and Washington with J.B. Long, Don Maclean, and Jill Savage
Stream: Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app