http://badmanbureau.com/2014/04/01/pre-final-four-2014-nba-draft-prospect-rankings/ Obviously a lot will change in the upcoming weeks/months
Have up you seen him play before or are you basing this off just the fact he is considered tall for a starting PG?
I've obviously seen him play. I'm a big proponent of not having your #1 scoring option play at the PG spot, and that plays a role here as well (as he's a scorer first, no matter what you think of his playmaking ability). He doesn't play with much center-of-gravity (stands upright) and his handle is not compact enough to deal with the CP3s of the world for 48 minutes. He'd be better suited to be a playmaking 2, like Harden (only if he proves himself to be the star he's hyped up to be, of course).
i have seen him play that many times and played against him, that i cant not fathem him as a 2. he controls the court like a true point guard and he can get to his spots by often shooting over the smaller defenders, i cant see him guarding the heavier guards atm so he may be forced to play his true position
thats the guy from basketball jones right or am i mistaken? i have played against him maybe 4 times and watched him countless more times. seems like an ultra competitive guy and decent guy off the court but i have no relation with him off the court unfortunately
After watching some of the tournament, I don't see all the hype on Julius Randle. His arms are not that long. He is strong as hell for an 18yo, but that's how he scores most of his points. He is not as athletic as Terrence Jones, and I don't think I have seen him take a jump shot. Double double sure, but I just don't see much offensive ceiling on the guy, what am I missing? Charles said it first, Jame Young was the best player on that Kentucky team. I think Marcus Smart will be one of the most interesting players to watch at the next level, he could be Terrence Williams, he could be Chauncey Billups. Jabari is Jabari, and he looks like he is pretty close to maxing out his potential, which should be good in the NBA, but not someone to build around. You never know, Elfrid Payton could be the next Rajon Rondo. They have similar scouting reports coming into the draft, but Payton will go in the second round most likely, this guy ranks him pretty high.
Actually, he didn't say it first. An analyst for the SEC Network made a similar argument earlier in the season. In any case, it's not true. James Young is an above-average shooter, but the rest of his game has significant holes. He made several mistakes defensively that led to baskets, and he is neither the ball-handler or passer that Randle is. Many of Young's shot-attempts were created by Randle passing out of double-teams, looks he would not have been able to create on his own. Randle's offensive game is extremely limited, but he's much more of a factor on both the defensive and offensive glass, and though his defensive awareness needs to improve, he's better at defending the pick-and-roll than Young, who repeatedly loses his man because he doesn't know how to fight through screens or rotate properly on defense. --Captain Decker
Randle is an interesting case, and as the season wore on, I became more and more wary of his faults (many of which were put under a microscope). Like it's been mentioned, his short arms, his lack of defensive effort (and tools, partly related to his length), and his bully ball game on O were all concerning. But despite his subpar championship performance, I've come to appreciate that Randle has a standout skill or two (he's a fantastic rebounder, finisher and an explosive face-up threat/driver), while the more well-rounded Noah Vonleh doesn't. That being said, #4-7 on the big board are all very close, and constantly shifting around for me. James Young helped his stock quite a bit, but his impressive performances don't erase questions about his shot-selection, defensive effort and decision making. But he is young, and shows quite a bit of offensive potential, and that pushes him up into that group of prospects after the top-7. Here's my updated big board: Excluding these guys, under the assumption that they're returning: SG W.Selden SG M.Hezonja C D.Johnson PF B.Portis C K.Tarczewski PF B.Johnson SF R.Hollis-Jefferson C C.Ridley SF S.Dekker SG S.Dinwiddie C/PF F.Kaminsky PG/SG J.Grant PF C.Walker SG R.Sulaimon The Top-70: 1. C J.Embiid 2. SF A.Wiggins 3. SF J.Parker 4. PF J.Randle 5. SG/PG M.Smart 6. SG D.Exum 7. PF N.Vonleh 8. SG J.Young 9. PF D.Saric 10. PF A.Gordon 11. SF T.Warren 12. C J.Nurkic 13. PF C.Capela 14. C W.Cauley-Stein 15. SG G.Harris 16. SG N.Stauskas 17. PF M.Harrell 18. SF/PF D.McDermott 19. PF A.Payne 20. SF R.Hood 21. SG/SF P.Hairston 22. SF/PG K.Anderson 23. PG T.Ennis 24. PF/SF J.Grant 25. SG Z.LaVine 26. PG E.Payton 27. SF K.McDaniels 28. PG S.Napier 29. SF/PF C.Early 30. PG V.Micic 31. SF/SG G.Robinson III 32. C A.Hammons 33. C/PF M.McGary 34. SG J.Adams 35. PF/SF A.Poythress 36. SG B.Bogdanovic 37. SG A.Harrison 38. PF C.Jefferson 39. PF/C J.Stokes 40. SF/PF D.Daniels 41. PG/SG D.Kane 42. PG D.Burton 43. SF/SG F.Edwin 44. SG J.Brown 45. SG C.Wilcox 46. SG J.McRae 47. PF/C S.Long 48. PG/SG S.Christon 49. PF D.Powell 50. PG/SG J.Clarkson 51. PG B.Weber 52. C/PF P.Young 53. SF M.Ejim 54. SG A.Dawkins 55. PG/SG R.Smith 56. PG/SG N.Johnson 57. SF T.Antetokounmpo 58. C W.Tavares 59. C J.Bachynski 60. PG J.Carson 61. PG/SG A.Harrison 62. PF/C K.Birch 63. SG R.Marble 64. C/PF I.Austin 65. SF L.Ross 66. SG M.Brown 67. SF/SG L.Patterson 68. C M.Jaiteh 69. PG R.Boatright 70. SG/PG O.Hanlan
Good call on K.J. McDaniels. He's a freakish specimen. Led Clemson in nearly every major statistical category on the way to 1st-team All ACC & ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. He's going to be a big-time defender at the next level.
Sen: I know it's early to be thinking about this, but do you have a rough idea of who the projected top prospects for 2015 will be? I've been reading various scouting reports on Cliff Alexander (committed to Kansas) and have been extremely impressed with him. His ability to play in the low-post needs to improve, but he's an outstanding finisher in traffic and runs the floor well, getting a significant number of his points in transition. He's a better passer and decision-maker than I expected. Power forward is his natural position, but with Embiid leaving and Myles Turner still undecided, do you foresee Bill Self using him in the pivot? --Captain Decker
Thanks, I'd have McDaniels near or at the top of Rockets' targets with our #25th pick. His perimeter game and J aren't particularly developed, but he'd be a great 3rd wing to have behind Harden/Parsons. Luckily for us, there should be quite a few solid wings available around that pick. I just hope we value defense over more offense this time around. I've actually just made a rough big board for 2015. It's incredibly early, and like with most sites, it probably overrates the incoming Freshman (assuming their transition is smooth), but here's what it'd look like right now: * = Incoming Freshman ** = Foreign Prospect *** = Assuming they return to school 1. Jahlil Okafor* | C | 6'11" 270 | Duke | 18 A rare blend of size, skill, length and post-upside. Motor could improve. 2. Myles Turner* | C/PF | 7’0” 230 | Undecided | 18 Developing on O (shows promise) but already dominant on D. Needs to assert himself on O. 3. Stanley Johnson* | SF | 6’7” 230 | Arizona | 17 Incredibly well-rounded physical wing who plays both ends. J is still developing. 4. Emmanuel Mudiay* | PG/SG | 6’5” 200 | SMU | 18 Freakish Westbrook-like PG who’s an unstoppable penetrator. PG skills are still a work in progress. 5. Cliff Alexander* | PF/C | 6’9” 255 | Kansas | 18 Bull in the paint with athleticism, strength and nastiness. Needs offensive polish. 6. Wayne Selden*** | SG | 6’5” 225 | Kansas | 19 I expect a breakout year. Well rounded, big 2 who just needs to assert himself more. 7. Rashad Vaughn* | SG | 6’6” 195 | UNLV | 17 Athletic 2 with all the tools to be an elite scorer. Needs maturity, strength and polish. 8. Mario Hezonja** | SG/SF | 6’6” 200 | Croatia | 19 Big time scorer who has fairly complete skillset. Lacks length and needs work on D. 9. Kelly Oubre* | SF/SG | 6’7” 190 | Kansas | 18 Has the explosiveness and outside stroke, but is he ready? 10. Dakari Johnson*** | C | 6’11” 260 | Kentucky | 18 Big physical 5 who’s advanced offensively, but he’s not explosive and he needs work on D 11. Justise Winslow* | SF | 6’6” 215 | Duke | 18 Strong athletic glue-guy who can do it all. Does he have the mentality to be more than a role player? 12. Tyus Jones* | PG | 6’1” 185 | Duke | 18 Advanced shoot-pass PG with impressive skillset. Isn’t overly impressive physically. 13. Brice Johnson*** | PF | 6’10” 210 | North Carolina | 19 Long athlete with some offensive upside. Needs muscle and polish. 14. Kristaps Porzingis** | PF | 6’11” 215 | Latvia | 19 Active, long 4 man with range and athleticism. Also needs muscle and polish. 15. Karl-Anthony Towns* | C/PF | 7’0” 245 | Kentucky | 18 Incredible skills for size, but he screams underachiever to me. 16. Bobby Portis*** | PF | 6’9” 230 | Arkansas | 19 Solid but unspectacular young 4 who checks most of the boxes. 17. Jabari Bird*** | SG | 6’6” 205 | California | 19 Smooth 2 with size and solid stroke. Needs to develop ball skills and consistency. 18. Nikola Milutinov** | C | 6’11” 225 | Serbia | 19 Mobile C with developing offensive game. Still a bit of an unknown. 19. Theo Pinson Jr.* | SG/SF | 6’6” 185 | North Carolina | 18 Athletic and energetic wing who needs to add muscle and a consistent J. 20. JaQuan Lyle* | PG | 6’4” 220 | Oregon | 19 Underrated PG who’s huge and a solid playmaker/shooter. Not a great athlete however, and like many others here, he needs polish. 21. Delon Wright*** | PG/SG | 6’5” 175 | Utah | 21 Big, stat-sheet filler at the 1 spot. Lacks range and bulk. 22. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson*** | SF | 6'7" 215 | Arizona | 19 Long slashing wing with great defensive ability. Lacks explosiveness and range. 23. Cameron Ridley*** | C | 6’11” 275 | Texas | 20 Huge body with solid post game. Conditioning and consistency are questions. 24. Marcus Lee*** | PF/C | 6’10” 210 | Kentucky | 19 Raw athletic big with defensive upside. Needs lots of work on O. 25. Rysheed Jordan*** | PG | 6’4” 195 | St. John’s | 19 Big penetrating 1 with athleticism. Jumper and PG skills are still developing. I like Alexander as well, and he's far more advanced than other “concerning 6’9” athletic bigs” were at his age (see: Thomas Robinson). He looks like a physical NBA-4 that could be a force in the paint for a half-court, defensive team. Right now he still plays more like a 5, and he's going to have to expand his bully-ball style (which will likely work at the CBB level), to become a better NBA prospect. I think he can man the 5 spot at the college level, but he definitely projects as a 4 in the NBA. His 7’3” wingspan and overall nastiness erase most questions about his height. I think he’s the most likely to put up big numbers next year (of the top bigs), but I like Okafor and Turner more as prospects at the moment. If Myles Turner commits to KU, I expect Self to start Ellis at the 4, Alexander at the 5, and bring Turner off the bench for around 20-25 mpg.
The next few guys after that would be: Sam Dekker (SF, Wisconsin) Caris LeVert (SG, Michigan) Isaiah Whitehead (SG/PG, Seton Hall) Kasey Hill (PG, Florida) Juwan Staten (PG, West Virginia) Chris Walker (PF, Florida) Zak Irvin (SG, Michigan) Jarrell Martin (PF, LSU) Sindarius Thornwell (SG, South Carolina) Terran Petteway (SF, Nebraska) Isaiah Taylor (PG, Texas)
Kevon Looney (PF/SF, UCLA) and Chris McCullough (PF, Syracuse) are two more freshman to watch for 2015. Both guys have the talent to jump up boards (both 5* prospects by Rivals), but right now I'm not convinced they're ready to declare.