OT: Everything About Sabonis's Son at Gonzaga

Repost.

 

Yep. In the other thread I said that Poeltl was higher than Sabonis in all mocks I'd seen. I've seen Poeltl projected as a top 5 pick. I think by the time the tournament is over Poeltl will fall out of the top 5 and Sabonis will work himself close to top 5, maybe 7-8.


Kings have the 7th pick, Nuggets with the 8th.

 

Domantas Sabonis will be a solid NBA player. Tremendous fundamentals.

 

Intruiging...

It would be interesting to know if any of you complained about Nicolas Batum playing for France...

 

We could have used this kid ah well

 

Not sold...good college level player...lacks muscle and lower core strength. Good hands, good shooting touch, decent passer and rebounder at the college level..in the pros...he's going to get destroyed

 

I watched a few minutes of him for the first time yesterday, and I can't say I liked how he moved. Up and down the court, he was very reminiscent of broken down old Arvydas. Is he always like that, or did I just catch a bad snippet and he was just pacing himself? Or is he hurt?

 

It kind of reminds me of the hype Nolan Smith was getting when Nate drafted him...I loved the kid's dad but sorry, I think it's hype and I came to that opinion after watching about 6 of his games. He's destined to be a Euro star. I hope for his sake that he stays in college and hits the weight room

 

Did you watch him play or go to bed with him?

 

Were you or were you not on board with Nicolas Batum playing for France every season? You know for a fact that there's evidence and we can check your posting history. Don't come in here talking shit about how we need an asset when I'm sure that you were not on board with Nicolas Batum playing FIBA every Summer.

Sabonis will play for Lithuania EVERY Summer. People can't talk shit about Batum playing and then out of the same side of their mouth say that they want Sabonis.

 

Good hands... Lacks lower core strength...

 

what? I watched him play enough to see that he's not NBA ready but is getting a lot of hype. The guy I work for is a huge Gonzaga fan so I watched 6-7 full games. I remember one game, I think it was against UCLA where a much smaller but stronger guy named Parker owned Sabonis in the paint. He's got Will Barton arms for a big guy.

 

This notion is silly to me. NBA teams have the best training programs. From what you say he just needs to get stronger. Why would he risk Millions to stay another year? This is probably as high as his draft stock will ever be. Go get those millions and work on your game at the same time.

 

For the record, I'm completely on board with international competition be it FIBA or Olympics or Davis Cup Tennis. Most great players want to represent their country on the world stage. They make the big bucks with their day job in the league but these guys are supposed to be elite athletes or at least are paid to be. If they aren't playing in the world competitions, they are going to be playing in numerous basketball camps or pick up games all summer anyway if they love the sport. Tennis champions play four hour long singles matches and have a match everyday or other day in Grand Slam competition...then play Davis Cup for the country in the offseason. Basketball players play shorter matches with 4 other guys to shoulder some of the load. I don't get the hate for athletes playing sports whenever they want to. Injuries can happen in the shower or driving a car. They are rich and young and don't need to be coddled..owners know what they pay for. If they're too burned out, they can come off the bench and not get a big contract next time around.

 

I understand your logic, but I'm a firm believer in athletes with college scholarships finishing school...Sabonis is a freshman. Schools spend big to acquire them and it's the least they can do plus the degree that comes with it. If it's a money grab while you're healthy, that's a viable concern

 

You need to do some research on student-athletes. CJ McCollum did it the right way but he is certainly an outlier. He is the exception to the norm. Usually that college degree is some bullshit. Colleges also if you get injured can just wipe you off the roster and you never hear from the player again. The whole student-athlete thing it has been bullshit from its inception.

 

Domantas is a Sophomore but I would mostly agree with the rest. A lot of players can graduate in 3 years if they go for it.

 

What you're saying is that I should lobby for change, but as it is, I stand behind my belief that 4 year players are more NBA ready and more ready to contribute in other areas if they don't make it in the league...I taught for over 20 years so there's that in my opinion. I think players who don't value higher education should be able to enter the league through the D league coming out of high school. College isn't for everyone, but to spend money on guys who don't want an education is a problem to begin with. Let them get drafted without college. Use the D league for that purpose.

 

QFT

Also, after finding out that you are a teacher I have an all-new respect for you Riverman. That's the hardest job in the country.

 

No it's not. It's a toss-up between D-League game commentator and referee/rapper.