Fox Sports Opinion of Nolan Smith

I guess if people say he's a combo guard enough it will stick.

When he filled in for Irving he was leading the ACC in assists. He's a 1 that has converted his game to fit the 2 spot.

 

You're expecting Nolan Smith to be an AS?

 

It's not like a player stops getting better at 22. The prime years for most athletes is in the 26-32 range.

 

No, it's not that players stop getting better at 22. It's that the best talents leave school early because they want to draw a paycheck rather than starring for free in college. Players who aren't as good are better off staying longer in order to develop more polish and eliminate weaknesses that made them less interesting to NBA teams when they were younger. The players who left early still had weaknesses, but their overall talent still made them valuable picks at a young age.

So, it's not that playing four years in college makes you worse. It's that early entry players are a picked population of the better players. This is also a common dynamic in baseball drafts, where often the best talents enter the draft out of high school. Sure, some very talented players choose to go to college...but even those players (the most talented who do go to college) usually enter the draft before their senior year.

 

Speaking of the 2011 All-Star Game, where were those players drafted?

All except Rondo and Ginobli were drafted in the lottery, most in the top 5 picks, and Ginobli was one month shy of 22 when he entered the NBA.

It's a crapshoot after the lottery.

This whole episode after Smith being drafted is embarrassing to me as a Blazer fan.

 

A lot of it also is teams will draft a player that has a great frame or athleticism but it very raw when it comes to the game. That's nice, but I also like players that already know the game.

Btw, can anyone think of another 4-year player from the ACC that pretty much everyone said couldn't translate his skill to the NBA?

Hint - "Psycho T"

 

He's expecting Kenneth Faried (another 4-year player) and DeJuan Blair to be All-Stars, apparently.

 

DeJuan Blair was a better prospect than Faried anyways. He's pretty big for his height and put up the same numbers as Faried....in a major conference. He can bang down low with guys in the NBA. We'll see how Faried with a much lighter body holds up.

edit - Blair averaged 12reb/G in 27min/G his sophomore season in the Big East.

Faried put up 14.5 at Roast Beef University last year in 35min/G

 

Great point. Hansbrough has a career PER of 16 after losing most of his rookie year to injury and is a solid contributor for Indiana.

I still don't get what people expected at pick 21. The next Qyntel Woods, perhaps?

 

That's true. The beef with Blair were his knees, and how long they will last.

 

At 21 in a terrible draft no less

I wanted Faried at pick 21 yesterday, but after more thought, I'm actually happier with Nolan Smith.

 

I think alot of fans were disappointed in how big of a reach the pick was. If he were drafted in the same spot as Armon Johnson, everyone would be singing his praises. I already like him more than Patty or Armon.

Hopefully we can get some depth in Free Agency.

 

True. He wasn't a "combo" guard - he was a SG that filled in at PG because of an injury to the team's star.

Anybody want to bet that this kid makes Bayless look like John Stockton?

 

How many Duke games did you watch this year?

 

Nah. He's a better passer than Bayless, and he does move with his head up ... but he's just so damn turnover prone and really doesn't break people down off the dribble.

 

Smart kid.

A fan @tweets him:

Smith replies back:

 

Here's an interview with Bleacher Report's CEO.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/richard_deitsch/06/16/bleacherreport.qa/index.html