Keeping our pick? This might be a Lottery year

I agree they have similar games.

Toppin is very strong & has great size when he plays.
When I've watched Murray - he's never stood out physically at the college level. I think he's going to be below average athletically/physically in the NBA. Smart player & good shooter -> I'm just skeptical that he'll be any more impactful than a Larry Nance type player.

 

Guess we’ll all gave to wait and see.

 

So?

 

One difference I think you have to take into account with Toppin and Murray is one is playing against a lot of pro-level guys in the Big Ten and the other played at Dayton. Murray will be less fazed by the NBA speed and strength level. I think Toppin's ceiling's higher but they're close.

 

I tried to tell y’all!!
Just take Sochan if it’s that or Jerami Grant… immediate impact because of his defense!

 

that may all be true, but I sure do remember people saying that the Blazers should not draft Lillard because he didn't play against good competition and wasn't prepared for NBA talent

 

Hardwood Central is great resource if you just want to watch synergy style clips of guys. Most of the top 1o are up and had videos for 70+ guys last year.

Here's Shaedon Sharpe...

 

Though I love the upset, was really hoping Ivey would dominate the tournament and jump himself up in to top 3 discussion(assuming we were not there) to push someone else down to us. Oh well

 

He looked better in the second half.

 

He dropped to 6, I think you'd agree, at least partially because of that, even after great workouts. And he turned out to be an exception for small-school guys but rooks in general.

I guess, I don't know, it just seems like splitting hairs. I think both Toppin and Murray will end up about the same level of player. I'd probably lean to Toppin being a bit better in the long run. But it's fair to expect a guy playing against other players who are bigger, faster, and a few of which will be in the NBA in the next few years three nights per week is going to better prepare one for that they'll encounter in the league and have a reduced learning curve than a guy who spent two years playing against opposition that will be joining the workforce once they graduate.

 

I think he's definitely in the top 3 discussion. I think he has been for a while now.

 

maybe my recall app is misfiring but I sure thought a lot of people believed Portland was stretching a bit to take Lillard at 6. Now, I also recall that was not a good draft outside of a half dozen people, at most, in the lottery. So maybe Dame at 6 wasn't a stretch. Some Portland fans, at least on RealGM though the Blazers could take Drummond at 6 and Dame would still be there at 11. I doubt that would have happened if Portland tried it

you may be right though in that for front court players, matching up physically with better players reveals more about NBA potential. Establishing position and holding it, getting rebounds, being effective in the paint, on both ends of the floor...those are just better tested against talent and size. I mean, there are a lot of college teams that trot out 6'7 C's and 6'5 PF's, and that's real common in the 'lesser' conferences.

for guards, it about speed. mostly, and skills. I think college ball is just more guard-oriented and that means guards are tested and more proven. It certainly hasn't been hard, over the lest decade, for the Blazers to keep the roster stacked with 6'4 and under guards. My recall app says there has been 189 of them in the last decade

 

Haven't watched much of Eason, but see him in the top 10 a few places.

Is he just a more athletic version of Watford?

 

Yeah. His athleticism lets him guard more positions, though, and he can play the 3 on offense although the jury's still out on his 3-point shot. But heady, like Watford. Kind of knows who he is.

More of a natural scorer than Watford.

 

I think i like eason more than sochan.

Also. I think i like mark williams more than duren.

Think being the key word. So much unknown in scouting these dudes still

 

Williams at this point anyway, is way better than Duren.

 

He's 2 yrs older than Duren but I'll still like him better as a pro prospect

 

I think sometimes it comes down to the situations they step into, too.

I'm not someone that thinks you need to absolutely have a bunch of vets to teach a rook, but I look at OKC and other teams like that that just keep trading for draft picks and they tread water.

Having one or two vets to almost be like player-coaches is really helpful, IMO. It just can't be a revolving door of players under the age of 22.

 

he seems very consistent and knows where to be on the court.

 

Williams is light years ahead of Duren but is close to his ceiling.

Eason and Sochan is interesting. I don't know what way I'd go there. I think Sochan is the better prospect defensively -- although Eason is a good defender -- and probably the better ballhander and passer. Although Eason is a streaky shooter, he's unquestionably the better scorer. Both look to be good character guys. It's like Sochan does more things better but he doesn't blow Eason away in any of them, but Eason has a big edge in the one thing he does better, scoring.