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Nowadays, NBA GMs will always draft a player based on what they believe the player can become, rather than what the player has already actually done. And while many/most players take a few years to get used to the NBA life, some will always break out their rookie years because, quite simply, they are more NBA ready than others.
The class of 2012 is hailed because of it’s potential (check out this piece I wrote covering just that) but many of the top players taken will need a good long time before we can really tell just how good they are. Expect high lottery picks like Harrison Barnes, Bradley Beal, Andre Drummond and Perry Jones to take at least a year or two before we can begin judging them. But there are a good number of players who are ready to come in and contribute immediately, and a good handful of those who are expect to go late first/early second.
Of course, there will always be players who are hailed as NBA ready who prove they’re anything but (hint hint, Jimmer Fredette) and players who we don’t expect to take off for a while who explode out of the gate (hint hint, Kyrie Irving). But for right now, let’s take a look at the top 10 players who I peg as most NBA ready.
10. SF Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure
The biggest questions about Nicholson was his mental approach to the game. After a dominant NCAA run, those questions were pretty much answered. His well-rounded skills and nice efficiency will make him a productive player right off the bat, but he lacks the potential that many big men (Robinson, Arnett Moultrie, John Henson) might have.
Hit the jump for the rest of Bryant’s piece…
Posted in College Basketball | Tagged 2012 NBA Draft | Leave a comment
Name: Dion Waiters
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Physicals: 6′ 4″, 215 lbs, 20 years old
College: Syracuse
NBA Position: Shooting Guard (Point Guard?)
Current Stats: 12.6 PPG, 2.3 RPB, 2.5 APG, 1.3 TPG, 1.8 SPG, 47.6% FG, 72.9% FT, 36.3% 3P
Syracuse super 6th man Dion Waiters will join teammate Fab Melo in the NBA Draft, and while he has been for months considered to be in the late-teens/early 20’s tier, he’s currently rocketing up the boards.
Waiters didn’t start a single game for the Orange last year, but was still their second best scorer, notching 12.6 points a contest in just over 24 minutes a game. He possesses an uncanny driving ability, and has strength and athleticism to score against smaller guards and bigger wings alike.
Hit the jump for the rest of Bryant’s scouting report…
Posted in Draft Prospects | Tagged 2012 NBA Draft, Dion Waiters, Syracuse Orange | Leave a comment
The 2012 Draft class is finally taking shape, and it is talented, for certain. But it is also very, very dangerous.
Tons of players, all the way from the top picks down to the end of the first round, have huge question marks, way more than usual. This isn’t a safe draft, by any means—this is a draft that can easily get GMs fired.
This class has a lot of unquestionable (and questionable) talent to sort through, and NBA teams won’t have a ton of time to focus on the draft. After all, in the NBA Finals go all the way to Game 7, and then there will only be three days in between the end of the Playoffs and the Draft. Not exactly a ton of time to get it right in a very, very complicated draft.
Luckily for the teams in the lottery, they aren’t playing in the Playoffs, so they can focus more on the Draft. While it’s fair to expect some of the deeper 2012 Playoff squads to struggle in scouting their players in limited time, lottery teams not only have the time, they NEED to get this right.
So let’s do those lottery GMs a favor and give them some names they should cross off their lists to begin with. Let’s take a look at bad fits for each of the lottery teams.
Hit the jump for the rest of Bryant’s piece…
Posted in Draft Prospects | Tagged 2012 NBA Draft | Leave a comment
Name: Quincy Miller
Hometown: North Chicago, IL
Physicals: 6′ 9″, 210 lbs, 19 years old
College: Baylor
NBA Position: Small Forward
Current Stats: 10.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.4 APG, .7 SPG, .6 BPG, 1.8 TPG, 44.7% FG, 81.6% FT, 34.8% 3P
Quincy Miller pulled a switch last week when we decided that he would, in fact, join the 2012 NBA Draft. While we’ll never know exactly what went through his head when he made his final decision, I believe it was a mistake to keep his name in the draft.
The class of 2012 is already stock full of midrange-late teens type talent, and unless Miller wows in the workouts, he’s not going to soar much higher. In fact, he’s actually been falling as the year went on. At the beginning of the NCAA season, he was expected to go in the lottery. Now, he’s probably around 18-20. Some mocks even have him going in the very late first round.
Rather, he could have returned to Baylor , and, out of the shadow of Perry Jones, he could have proven once and for all if he was a true #1 option in college. He’d probably have found more favorable draft odds next year. Of course, he could have gone back, floundered as the top option and found himself no better off next year.
Hit the jump for the rest of Bryant’s scouting report…
Posted in College Basketball | Tagged 2012 NBA Draft, Baylor Bears, Quincy Miller | Leave a comment
One of the most under-appreciated days of the NBA Draft process was yesterday, when the ties in the standings were broken. The improved chances at the picks are, of course, tiny at best, but the tiebreakers make a significant difference if teams don’t jump into the top 3.
The biggest news is the celebration in Golden State, where the Warriors won their coin flip with the Raptors and have a 72.6% chance of being 7 or higher – if they end up with pick #8, they ship it to Utah and all of their tanking in the past month (when they lost 17 of their last 20 games) is for not.
As for the lotto itself – let’s take a quick look at our updated teams. Included with each team is the chances the teams have at the top pick, as well as a top three selection.
1. Charlotte Bobcats (7-59): PF/C Anthony Davis, Kentucky
Chances: 25-percent chance at No. 1, 64.3 percent at top three
There is no question to the top pick in this draft. Davis would be number one in nearly any draft… he’d have been #1 in 2011 (Kyrie Irving went #1), in 2010 (John Wall went #1), 2009 (Blake Griffin went #1) and maybe even 2008 (Derrick Rose went #1).
Hit the jump for the rest of Bryant’s mock draft…
Posted in Draft Prospects, Mock Draft | Tagged 2012 NBA Draft, Mock Draft | Leave a comment
Name: Arnett Moultrie
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Physicals: 6′ 11″, 225 lbs, 21 years old
College: Mississippi State
NBA Position: Power Forward
Current Stats: 16.4 PPG, 10.4 RPG, .8 BPG, 2.4 TPG, 59.4% FG, 78.0% FT, 44.4% 3P
Moultrie officially declared last week, to the surprise of no one. After an excellent season (and a disappointing end) at Mississippi State, the 6’11 junior is wise to cash in on his athleticism now. What is a surprise is how quickly he’s leaping up the draft boards.
While most early mocks have Moultrie going in the late teens/early twenties, according to Chad Ford, scouts and NBA executives think he might go a bit higher.
A sizable group of scouts and execs think we have two players ranked too low on our Big Board: Syracuse’ Dion Waiters and Mississippi State’s Arnett Moultrie.
A handful of teams have both players ranked in the lottery and a few others in the mid-first round. Waiters’ ability to get to the basket at will and Moultrie’s size, athleticism and rebounding abilities seem to be tipping the scales.
It’s true that Moultrie has a ton of things that GMs and scouts normally fall in love with. He’s got great size, excellent athleticism and already possesses a nice touch. He’s best moving off the ball, and it makes sense considering that he transitioned from being a small forward to being a power forward. His back-to-the-basket game needs improving, but when he’s off the ball and moving around, he’s a smart player and found ways to get to the basket.
Hit the jump for the rest of Bryant’s scouting report…
Posted in Draft Prospects | Tagged 2012 NBA Draft, Arnett Moultrie, Mississippi State | Leave a comment
Name: Terrence Ross
Hometown: Portland, OR
Physicals: 6′ 6″, 200 lbs, 21 years old
College: Washington
NBA Position: Shooting Guard
Current Stats: 16.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.3 SPG, 2.0 TPG, 45.7% FG, 77.4% FT, 37.1% 3P
Washington sophomore Terrence Ross had a season pretty much like the rest of his team-lots of ups, and lots of downs.
He came into the year a favorite to break out, but, like much of his Huskies teammates, failed to perform to his expectations.
That isn’t to say that Ross is a bad player-far from it. He’s got everything you look for in a very solid NBA level wing. He’s a great shooter, with deep range and a consistent stroke. He’s solid when he has his feet set, he’s solid in transition pull-ups, and he’s solid when coming off a pick and roll screen. Pretty much, he’s solid from anywhere.
He’s also an above average defender. He’s not a ball hawk, but he’s very solid, getting 1.3 steals a contest. He’s a bit undersized weight wise, and needs to add a bit of strength so he doesn’t get posted up by bigger guards. But he’s quick enough and athletic enough to keep up with most wings in the league.
Hit the jump for the rest of Bryant’s scouting report…
Posted in Draft Prospects | Tagged 2012 NBA Draft, Terrence Ross, Washington Huskies | Leave a comment
Name: Tyler Zeller
Hometown: Washington, IN
Physicals: 7′0″, 250 lbs, 22 years old
College: North Carolina
NBA Position: Center
Current Stats: 16.3 PPG, 9.6 RPG, .8 APG, 1.5 BPG, 55.3% FG, 80.8% FT
Tyler Zeller is old school. He stayed at North Carolina for four years, but returned each year better than he’d been before. And even in a league hungry for the younger players with more potential, it’s likely we’ll still see the 22 year old big man in the early stages of the first round.
I wrote last week that nearly all of the players in this draft were, in varying degrees, boom-or-bust type players. That is not the case with Tyler Zeller. He’s the lone senior in this class considered a lock for a top-20 pick, and whatever team picks him knows exactly what they are getting.
He’s an incredibly smart player, and there really isn’t any part of his game you can’t like. He’s very comfortable around the basket, both with his back to it and facing it up. He’s got a decent jump shot, although he was never really asked to utilize it at North Carolina, so it’ll be interesting to see how he’s used as an offensive weapon in the pros.
Hit the jump for the rest of Bryant’s scouting report…
Posted in Draft Prospects, Uncategorized | Tagged 2012 NBA Draft, North Carolina Tar Heels, Tyler Zeller | Leave a comment
Name: Jared Sullinger
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Physicals: 6′ 9″, 280 lbs
College: Ohio State
NBA Position: Power Forward
Current Stats: 17.6 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 1.2 APG, 1.9 TPG, 53.1% FG, 76.8% FT
Jared Sullinger has to be kicking himself for returning to Ohio State last year.
If he had stayed in the 2011 NBA Draft, he’d have lost the chance for a National Championship and would have had to endure months of the NBA Lockout, but he’d have been a lock as a top five pick. Most likely, he’d be playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers right now, as the Cavs had the 4th overall pick and it would be hard to see them passing on the hometown hero.
But now? He’s no longer a lock for a top 10 pick, let alone top 5.
First, the good stuff. Sullinger is easily the best low post scorer in this draft. Not that that is a huge thing in itself – Thomas Robinson is a bit raw, Perry Jones stays away from the post, and even Anthony Davis needs to work on his interior scoring skills. But Sullinger has, in the last two years, been the best big in the nation in terms of scoring ability around the basket. He’s very comfortable with his back to the basket and facing guys up. He’s even got fairly consistent range, and can even hit from three.
Hit the jump for the rest of Bryant’s scouting report…
Posted in Draft Prospects, Uncategorized | Tagged 2012 NBA Draft, College Basketball, Jared Sullinger, Ohio State Buckeyes | Leave a comment
Name: Perry Jones III
Hometown: Duncanville, TX
Physicals: 6′ 11″, 235 lbs, 20 years old
College: Baylor
NBA Position: Power Forward
Current Stats: 13.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.7 TPG, 50.0% FG, 69.9% FT, 30.3% 3P
In this NBA Draft class, it seems the players either have a work ethic of the Gods, or are melancholy to the whole game of basketball. Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Thomas Robinson all have well documented work ethics, and you see it in each of them when they played. But on the flip side, you have Andre Drummond and Terrence Jones, who contain so much talent yet often can’t even bothered to care.
And then there is Perry Jones, an ultimate head case. As quoted by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, Jones is “deemed by many scouts as the prospect with the highest upside of any player in college basketball.” So why do the mocks have him falling as far as #10? He doesn’t only look uninterested at times, he looks downright terrified. It’s one thing to be Kwame Brown type bored, it’s another to be bored and Karl Malone type terrified when the game is in the clutch.
Realistically, he looks like a young Lamar Odom. He’s got all the necessary skills – a decent game around the basket, a good jumper with very solid range and the ability to drive and finish at the rim. He’s a good rebounder, a capable and willing passer.
He has all the physical gifts you look for in a star – he’s amazingly athletic, has great length and reach and is strong enough to fight off most NBA SF/PFs. He can run the floor like a guard, dunk like a wing and rebound like a center.
But the sad truth is, he’s just not all that tough a player. He shies away from contact, often refusing to use his size against his opponents. Despite his athleticism, he doesn’t get many blocks (just. 7 a game last season). He stays out on the perimeter too much, refusing to go inside where his size and athleticism could have best been used. He flitted at times between looking lost, bored, and nervous. Except for when Baylor was in the NCAA Tournament… then he was downright petrified.
His fear of contact is worst on the defensive end, where most of the time he just stands flat footed. He’s got great reach, which helps, but he is, at this point, a downright poor defender.
Of course, to his credit, Jones didn’t exactly disappear in Baylor’s biggest games. He just didn’t dominate, or even try too. He had 17 points and eight rebounds on 6-14 shooting against Kentucky, which was actually his best game in the NCAA Tournament (he averaged 10 points, seven rebounds and 47.2% shooting in four games).
At Baylor, he played Center, where he really should have been playing PF at the most. Chad Ford quoted one NBA GM recently in a breakdown of Jones’ game – “He really has the game of a two guard or a small forward,” one respected NBA GM told ESPN.com. “Baylor used him as a center for the past two years, so you rarely got to see him comfortable. It’s like, what if UConn had tried to play Rudy Gay at the 5? I think people would’ve had a very different opinion of him on draft night.”
So is the whole problem just that he was out of position? I can buy that, to a point. He wouldn’t have to face as much contact as a wing. Remember, Kevin Durant played shooting guard his first year, and Jones is certainly fast enough. But does that fix his work ethic? Does it make him suddenly WANT to dominant, especially if he’s being guarded by 6’4 guards? I doubt it.
But here is something I still do not understand. Scouts and mock experts everywhere are dropping Jones down the mocks because of his work ethic. Yet they have Andre Drummond, who has the exact same concerns as Jones, as a top four pick. Why is it a deal breaker on Jones, who has as much talent as anyone, when it isn’t a deal breaker on Drummond?
This isn’t a defense of Jones, of course. The NBA’s history is littered with the bodies of high-potential-turned-bust players who didn’t have the mental framework necessary to rule in the NBA. Will Jones be another shoulda-coulda-woulda been in five years? It sure looks like it.
Current Mock Draft Rankings:
Draftexpress.com: 9th Overall
NBADraft.net: 13th Overall
ESPN.com: 7th Overall
Draft Watch: Much like Drummond, you’ll have a hard time finding a team in thedraft who couldn’t realistically take and use Jones well—outside of the top five, of course.
Toronto needs wing help, and with Jones/Andrea Bargnani and the incoming Jonas Valanciunas, they’d have three sharp offensive weapons who could score from anywhere. But with Bargnani and Jones, you’d have two players who refuse to use their height as they should.
Detroit needs talent of any size. Greg Monroe and Perry Jones would give the Pistons two very smart big men and if Detroit added in a shot blocker then that big man core would be downright scary.
New Orleans needs talent, period. Taking a flyer on Jones with their second first round pick (currently notched in at #10) would be a smart move, especially if they got Thomas Robinson at #3. Jones wouldn’t be all that far from home, either.
Milwaukee has Epke Udoh, who would help elevate many of Jones’ defensive problems. Aside from Udoh, they have no size to speak of.
Phoenix seems the ultimate floor for Jones, and they currently have the #13pick. The further and further down he goes, the less and less risk teams would be taking on drafting him. At #13? He’s a steal.
Conclusion: He’s a dream physically and skill set wise, but he lacks the mental focus to win. He shies away from contact, seemingly refuses to play tough defense, and at times look like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming semi. As he falls down the draft boards come June 28th, it’ll be interesting to see who gambles on his potential, but it won’t be a top 5 pick… which is sad, because he has the talent to be a top three selection.
Posted in Draft Prospects | Tagged 2012 NBA Draft, Baylor Bears, Perry Jones | Leave a commentBut The Game Is On Sports Network
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