<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Looks like Ike Diogu is a lock to be a first-round draft pick, taken somewhere between the 16th and 25th pick depending on who you talk to. And word is, his stock cannot get better. And that he can only hurt himself by coming back to Arizona State, which is why he's leaning toward coming out. Although no decision has been made yet, Diogu would be one of the few big men in the draft who play a power game. The European big men coming in are all jump shooters. By going back to an awful situation at ASU, Diogu may hurt his stock - like Lawrence Roberts of Mississippi State did - by staying in school too long. Roberts would have been a first-round pick last year but will likely be a second-round pick this year after coming back for his senior year and giving the scouts more chances to pick apart his game.</div> Source
Ike Diogu was amazing in his days with Arizona State, because he usually was the one that took the team on his shoulders and won a lot of games for them. A very interesting stat on Diogu is he scored in double digits in every single game at Arizona State! He probably has one of the best post up moves in the NBA draft and is very fundamentaly sounds on the block. His game is solid for the two-man pick and roll game that is so prominent in the NBA. I just cannot wait to see what this kid can do at the next level!
I'm not so sure if Ike Diogu is a first round lock as this article suggests. There are more than thirty players who have that "first round lock" label on them. This draft is just a lot deeper than people realize. There will be a lot of people who will question whether or not this kid can compete as a Power Forward at 6-8, an inch smaller than even Sean May and Wayne Simien. He's bulky, but he's not as bulky as Sean May. I'd pick him in the late first round if I needed a Power Forward and Simien was off the board, but otherwise I'd take a pass on him. He's too big of a gamble.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm not so sure if Ike Diogu is a first round lock as this article suggests. There are more than thirty players who have that "first round lock" label on them. This draft is just a lot deeper than people realize. There will be a lot of people who will question whether or not this kid can compete as a Power Forward at 6-8, an inch smaller than even Sean May and Wayne Simien. He's bulky, but he's not as bulky as Sean May. I'd pick him in the late first round if I needed a Power Forward and Simien was off the board, but otherwise I'd take a pass on him. He's too big of a gamble.</div> Look up his stats,compare some of the alleged lottery guys and reconsider. Some team has the sense to grab him in the lottery. He led the NCAA in FT's made,is the top college scorer in this crop,from a major college,he rebounds,defends and has an Amare-like intensity. I'd take him ahead of a lot of thes "upside" types who have yet to prove a thing. Shawn Marion is currently playing PF. Barkley played PF. Diogu is bigger than them. 6-8 K-Mart was the top pick in a recent draft,6-8 Elton Brand a few years earlier. 6-8 D Rodman led the NBA in rebounds several years. High energy+6-8 is bigger than Soft/lazy + 6-10.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting REREM:</div><div class="quote_post">Look up his stats,compare some of the alleged lottery guys and reconsider. Some team has the sense to grab him in the lottery. He led the NCAA in FT's made,is the top college scorer in this crop,from a major college,he rebounds,defends and has an Amare-like intensity. I'd take him ahead of a lot of thes "upside" types who have yet to prove a thing. Shawn Marion is currently playing PF. Barkley played PF. Diogu is bigger than them. 6-8 K-Mart was the top pick in a recent draft,6-8 Elton Brand a few years earlier. 6-8 D Rodman led the NBA in rebounds several years. High energy+6-8 is bigger than Soft/lazy + 6-10.</div> Firstly Diogu played at arizona state so he didnt have to play against great players as much as if he had played at n.c, michigan st, etc. Diogu has great effort, but hes not going to be a good nba player. hes like a ton of other guys who are good ncaa players but bad in the nba. At best it think he can maybe be a 8th or 9th man. Just to name a couple of big men who'll be better then him: Marvin Williams, Wayne Simien, Hakim Warrick, Sean May, Martynas A., Ronny Turiaf, Chris Taft and many more
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting REREM:</div><div class="quote_post">Look up his stats,compare some of the alleged lottery guys and reconsider. Some team has the sense to grab him in the lottery. He led the NCAA in FT's made,is the top college scorer in this crop,from a major college,he rebounds,defends and has an Amare-like intensity. I'd take him ahead of a lot of thes "upside" types who have yet to prove a thing. Shawn Marion is currently playing PF. Barkley played PF. Diogu is bigger than them. 6-8 K-Mart was the top pick in a recent draft,6-8 Elton Brand a few years earlier. 6-8 D Rodman led the NBA in rebounds several years. High energy+6-8 is bigger than Soft/lazy + 6-10.</div> Those are some great points, but I still wouldn't take him over Wayne Simien or Sean May. Diogu averaged 22.6 ppg, 9.8 rpg, and 2.3 bpg on 57% shooting in 36.4 mpg. May averaged 17.5 ppg, 10.7 rpg, and 1.0 bpg on 57% shooting in 26.8 mpg. Simien averaged 20.3 ppg, 11.0 rpg, and 0.6 bpg on 55% shooting in 34.3 mpg. May's stats don't look better at first glance, but look at the minutes per game. May put up better rebounding numbers and only slightly worse scoring numbers in ten less minutes per game. Simien's stats are about the same. It depends on what you value more, scoring or rebounding. Diogu also had an advantage over May and Simien, he was the main option 99% of the time. He wasn't playing with Rashad McCants, Marvin Williams, Jawad Williams, Raymond Felton, Keith Langford, J.R. Giddens, Aaron Miles, etc. Also, May and Simien are both bigger than Diogu. Look at their sizes compared - Diogu: 6-8, 255 lbs. Simien: 6-9, 255 lbs. May: 6-9, 260 lbs. While the advantages that Simien and May have are slight, every little inch and pound matters when you are undersized. I suppose I agree with you now that Diogu could be a very good player in the NBA, but I still stand by my statement that there is just too much talent to be calling him a "first round lock".
