Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The first Top 10 Prospects list that I put out back in early March was a quick draft, and looking back at it, I only agree with a small portion of it. I felt the need to create a new list, because the first one clearly was off. 1. Greg Oden (Ohio State, Freshman Center) Oden has phenomenal shot blocking ability, and his timing is beautiful. He is a very strong man, and he gets position with ease. Hes an excellent rebounder on both ends. His combination of size, strength, and athleticism is outstanding, and very rare. He can finish with both hands well. The potential is unlimited. He does need to improve his offensive assertiveness and low-post arsenal, and maybe extend his shooting range to 10-11 feet, but this kid is a once in a decade opportunity. True centers like this just dont come along often nowadays. This is a once in a decade player. 2. Kevin Durant (Texas, Freshman Forward) His size and freak athleticism is unbelievable. He can score in any way, shape, or form. He has great range. His jump shot is unblockable due to his height, athleticism, and length. He is a very good rebounder. He is an above average defender who can block shots. He knows hes a star and he has a scorers mentality, but he is not a selfish player. He is a good ball handler. He runs the floor well. He has a lot of heart and expresses his passion for the game every time he takes the floor. Kevin Durant has NBA franchise player written all over him. 3. Brandan Wright (North Carolina, Freshman Forward) He is a freak athlete. He is very quick for a big man. Despite his lanky frame, he will be a good rebounder in the NBA due to the good positioning. He has large wingspan. Hes a smart player. He has a very soft touch but will also finish emphatically if he has an opening. He does need to add a little weight, improve defensively, and try and develop more of a killer instinct, however. I see him as the Chris Bosh of this draft. What I mean by that is that he is overlooked by the superstar talents in front of him, but he could very well be an multi-time NBA All-Star. 4. Yi Jianlian (China, Forward) Hes very long and athletic, and is very mobile for a 7 footer. He has a very soft touch, good shooting mechanics, and good shooting range. His ball handling skills are great for his size. Runs the floor very well. He must add weight and get stronger, he must improve defensively, and he must develop some kind of go-to move or two in the post. We are also not 100% certain what will be his primary position in the NBA (small forward or power forward), but he has boatloads of potential. That size mixed with those natural skills and athleticism will turn out to be at least something decent. Will he be more than decent? Only time will tell, but most people associated with him think that he will be a good player in this league. 5. Al Horford (Florida, Junior Forward) First off, hes a very hard worker. He is very strong and he is a very tough player. He is an excellent low post defender. He can score in the post, although his offensive game needs to be polished. He has great hands and is an excellent rebounder. He does need to work on his post game, he does need to develop some consistency, and he does need to maybe get a bit quicker, but Horford is hands down one of the most NBA-ready players in this draft class. 6. Corey Brewer (Florida, Junior Forward) He is a complete lock-down defender who was capable of shutting down virtually anybody at the college level, and that skill mixed with his length and athleticism should translate for him defensively in the NBA. Hes very long and athletic with a lot of speed and quickness to go with it. Hes a very unselfish player, moves the ball around well. Brewer is a good slasher, good finisher, and he can shoot the ball from the perimeter. He needs is work on his ball handling skills and he could get a big stronger, but he has the total package and can contribute in the NBA right away. 7. Mike Conley Jr. (Ohio State, Freshman Guard) He has an outstanding feel for the game and is a very heady player with an incredible basketball IQ for a point guard his age. Hes always aware on both ends of the court. Hes not going to boggle your mind with flashy passes, but he continuously makes the right play. Hes an excellent ball handler with either hand, and he can finish at the rim with either hand. He is capable of running a halfcourt or up-tempo team. Hes not an outstanding shooter, but you have to respect him. He may not be outstanding right away, due to the fact that hes coming out after just one year in college (and also has to work on his shot a bit, as well as his man-to-man defense), but in a couple years he will be one heck of a point guard. 8. Julian Wright (Kansas, Sophomore Forward) Julian is an absolute freak athlete and a great finisher. Hes an excellent defensive player who can lock someone down 1-on-1 or play the passing lanes, he also has great anticipation/reaction skills. His basketball IQ is off the charts. Hes a good rebounder. He is a very good passer for a forward. He is a solid ball handler who is very unselfish. He runs the floor very well. He must improve his consistency at the offensive end, he must improve his jump shot, and he must learn to try and take over offensively more than he does, but Julian Wright is an excellent all-around player that does everything well on both ends, and will be a very good player in the NBA. Think Andrei Kirilenko with a better offensive game and more coordination. 9. Jeff Green (Georgetown, Junior Forward) Green is very long and athletic. He possesses excellent ball skills and excellent court vision for a forward. Hes an above average defensive player. He can play in any style, due to his versatility and ability to play either forward position (although hes better suited for the 3 right away). He is a good finisher who can slam it home or lay it up with his soft touch, he has an above average mid-range game, and he has 3-point range (although he needs to work on his outside shot). The biggest knock on Green is that he is passive at times, and he will sometimes completely shy away from creating his own offense. He reminds me of Lamar Odom in a lot of ways, and he has a lot of potential. Another note: dont look at his college numbers and think he is overrated, because his individual success was held back due to the style of play Georgetown runs. Hes NBA ready, and hes going to be a fine player for years to come. 10. Spencer Hawes (Washington, Freshman Center) Hawes is a legit 7 footer who can really score in the post. He has the ability to knock down some 15-18 foot jumpers on a pretty consistent basis. Hes an excellent passer for a 7 footer. He is one of the most consistent freshman in the country. Hes a very solid shot blocker. He does need to get a bit quicker, he sometimes settles for outside shots rather than scoring in the post (which he can do), and he is just an average rebounder. You look at comparisons of this guy all over the place, and you see Brad Miller. To me, that is spot on, I think he will have a similar career and be a very similar player, but he also has potential to be better than Miller was. On the Bubble: Al Thornton (Florida State, Senior Forward), Roy Hibbert (Georgetown, Junior Center), Acie Law (Texas A&M Senior Guard), Joakim Noah (Florida, Junior Forward), Thaddeus Young (Georgia Tech, Freshman Forward).</div> Thoughts?
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited There's no way I'm reading through all that common knowledge bullsh**. I have a hard time putting Yi Jianlian that high on the list (His NBA position is PF). I'd put Spencer Hawes ahead of Green as well.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ May 14 2007, 03:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>There's no way I'm reading through all that common knowledge bullsh**. I have a hard time putting Yi Jianlian that high on the list (His NBA position is PF). I'd put Spencer Hawes ahead of Green as well.</div> "Common knowledge bullsh**" I'm talking about the players and their abilities. It would look like sh*t if I just made a stupid little list. EDIT: Just put some pictures in there as well, makes it look pretty.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited I would rate Horford above JianLian. Horford I think definitely is more NBA-ready and there are issues Yi has, including the confusion over his age..he may have maxed out his size/body frame and talent in general if he's like 24 and whether or not the talent level dropoff is that big from the Chinese leagues to the NBA.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited But the thing is, there's a difference when ranking the top 10 players and the top 10 prospects. Yi has a lot of potential (scary word, I know) and it has been said that the competition in the Chinese league Yi played in is better than NCAA competition, and it very well may be. I just think that the kid has a ton of potential, it's not a clear order, you could make arguments and switch more than one thing around.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>I see him as the Chris Bosh of this draft. What I mean by that is that he is overlooked by the superstar talents in front of him, but he could very well be an multi-time NBA All-Star.</div> CB32, you totally ripped that off from me.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ May 14 2007, 05:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>CB32, you totally ripped that off from me. </div> We actually agreed on it, and I put every sentence together on every one of our draft profiles. You helped with the comparisons and an addition once in a blue moon.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited It looks pretty good to me. I suppose I'll resize that yi pic tomorrow if nobody else has done it. I havnt seen much of yi enough to know how well he ranks. he has that video link from nbadraft.net but its such gay music to that video. Honestly, I dont see brandon wright making too big of an impact anytime soon. Maybe if he developes more later in the NBA but hes just very athletic and I dont see him showing his true ballin skills yet. I would ideallly like to see Roy Hibbert up there more because of size and strength and thats what the nba is all about these days, even if he cant really score that well yet. Julian Wright I think will be a rudy gay type of impact unless he goes to some team where he wont get enough minutes to show that hes that good. But im biased toward him because ive seen him ball in HS (homewood flossmore, IL) . As for Jeff Green, ive been all over his dick since his freshman year and I still think that hes an outstanding player and will make it successfully in the nba, unlike some other players drafted at the 9th spot (patrick obryant) jk, bryant could be good if he was healthy and played more.. actually now to think about it.. GS coulda really used him to guard boozer.... o well..
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KCX @ May 15 2007, 02:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>It looks pretty good to me. I suppose I'll resize that yi pic tomorrow if nobody else has done it. I havnt seen much of yi enough to know how well he ranks. he has that video link from nbadraft.net but its such gay music to that video. Honestly, I dont see brandon wright making too big of an impact anytime soon. Maybe if he developes more later in the NBA but hes just very athletic and I dont see him showing his true ballin skills yet. I would ideallly like to see Roy Hibbert up there more because of size and strength and thats what the nba is all about these days, even if he cant really score that well yet. Julian Wright I think will be a rudy gay type of impact unless he goes to some team where he wont get enough minutes to show that hes that good. But im biased toward him because ive seen him ball in HS (homewood flossmore, IL) . As for Jeff Green, ive been all over his dick since his freshman year and I still think that hes an outstanding player and will make it successfully in the nba, unlike some other players drafted at the 9th spot (patrick obryant) jk, bryant could be good if he was healthy and played more.. actually now to think about it.. GS coulda really used him to guard boozer.... o well..</div> - Haha, yes the music on that video is ridiculous. - Brandan Wright can play, and he can come in and contribute right away. The kid can score, he's long, and extremely athletic. - Roy Hibbert can't score yet? What? - I LOVE Jeff Green too, but I just feel that Julian Wright has more potential than him, and he's an outstanding defensive player to go along with it (Wright, that is). - This isn't necessarily what oder I think they'll go in the draft, it's just ranking the prospects. I expect Hibbert to go in the Top 10, but I'm not so sure he should. It depends. I could very well see these two guys finding homes in Minnesota, Charlotte, or Chicago. We'll see. - Patrick O'Bryant on Boozer? Ehhh O'Bryant needs to get traded, because he will never get an ounce of playing time in Nellie's offense.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited I think Noah is a better prospect than Hawes, but other than that it's pretty spot on imo. When I see Noah I think he could turn into someone like Marcus Camby, whose better than Brad Miller. There's also less risk involved with Noah.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Living_Legend33 @ May 15 2007, 03:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I think Noah is a better prospect than Hawes, but other than that it's pretty spot on imo. When I see Noah I think he could turn into someone like Marcus Camby, whose better than Brad Miller. There's also less risk involved with Noah.</div> I think Spencer Hawes is the better prospect, he's 3 years younger than Noah and is lightyears better offensively in the post, has a much better jumper, has much better footwork...etc...I think Noah is quicker and is a better defender....but thats where I look at Noah/Hawes ages and give Hawes a break because he's much less experienced. Joakim Noah just reminds me of Anderson Varejao...Noah isn't nearly the shotblocker Camby is, but I get the general size/defensive comparison.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited Noah like Camby? No way. Noah doesn't have the presence and shot blocking ability Camby has. People didn't avoid going down the middle because of Noah in college. People do that because of Camby in the pros. Noah just has a better offensive game.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Camby23Land @ May 15 2007, 06:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Noah like Camby? No way. Noah doesn't have the presence and shot blocking ability Camby has. People didn't avoid going down the middle because of Noah in college. People do that because of Camby in the pros. Noah just has a better offensive game.</div> Noah doesn't have much of an offensive game at all, and I'd definitely say that Camby's is better than his right now. Noah does have Camby-like qualities, but I think NBADraft.net's comparison of Tyson Chandler is spot on. EDIT: Added a Yi picture, so he's not left out.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ May 15 2007, 05:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I think Spencer Hawes is the better prospect, he's 3 years younger than Noah and is lightyears better offensively in the post, has a much better jumper, has much better footwork...etc...I think Noah is quicker and is a better defender....but thats where I look at Noah/Hawes ages and give Hawes a break because he's much less experienced. Joakim Noah just reminds me of Anderson Varejao...Noah isn't nearly the shotblocker Camby is, but I get the general size/defensive comparison.</div>They both have a similar upside but Hawes could be a train wreck on the defensive end. Noah is a much stronger rebounder and defender; he'll always have those qualities. Being a great scorer isn't necessary anymore for big men, but rebounding and defending are. That's why Noah is the better prospect.As for the Camby comparison, Noah's not quite as athletic but he's a little bigger. Camby didn't have his current skills when he was a rookie. Noah could develop a similar shot-blocking ability over time.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited List looks pretty good, but I'm of the opinion that Hawes will be mediocre at best and more than likely get more splinters than playing time.lots of big white players have looked good in the NCAA's and have been absolute busts in the NBA.I won't go into details because I already have in a another thread.rest of the list is pretty bang dead on, you could swap a player with the one above him depending on your personal opinion but that's about it.well done CB32
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticFan @ May 16 2007, 05:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>List looks pretty good, but I'm of the opinion that Hawes will be mediocre at best and more than likely get more splinters than playing time.lots of big white players have looked good in the NCAA's and have been absolute busts in the NBA.</div> Lots of big black players have looked good in he NCAA's and have been absolute busts in the NBA. Seriously, don't come into the draft board and spew that garbage, race has never held anyone back and since you probably have never watched/don't know anything about Spencer Hawes.....it's even more pathetic. Spencer Hawes skills transfer to the NBA. He's not some stiff who made by because he's tall.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>- Roy Hibbert can't score yet? What?- This isn't necessarily what oder I think they'll go in the draft, it's just ranking the prospects. I expect Hibbert to go in the Top 10, but I'm not so sure he should. It depends. I could very well see these two guys finding homes in Minnesota, Charlotte, or Chicago. We'll see.</div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS">Sorry, I mean he can score but I just dont think he will score all that much in the NBA because he kinda has a difficult time playing against big athletic players. However, dont get me wrong because I would welcome him with open arms in Chicago. </span><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>- Patrick O'Bryant on Boozer? Ehhh O'Bryant needs to get traded, because he will never get an ounce of playing time in Nellie's offense.</div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS">Well I mean, hes just someone to use a body and O'Bryant isnt that bad, I think he just needs to settle in and get more playing time before we actually see what he is made of. He doesn't way that much less than Boozer and I think it would have given harrington or whoever a break from guarding him because boozer did dominate the boards at given points of the game. It's hard to say for me though because the only time I saw O'Bryant play was during last years tournament.</span>
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KCX @ May 16 2007, 08:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS">Sorry, I mean he can score but I just dont think he will score all that much in the NBA because he kinda has a difficult time playing against big athletic players. However, dont get me wrong because I would welcome him with open arms in Chicago. </span></div> Hibbert did a fine job against Ohio State and UNC in the tournament, who both had two very athletic big man combos (Oden/Hunter for OSU, Wright/Hansbrough for UNC). I also remember watching him dominate Uconn's bigs earlier in the year (Adrien, Thabeet). I'm not worried about Hibbert's ability to score in the NBA. He will have trouble keeping up with quicker bigs, but he won't have a problem scoring. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS"> Well I mean, hes just someone to use a body and O'Bryant isnt that bad, I think he just needs to settle in and get more playing time before we actually see what he is made of. He doesn't way that much less than Boozer and I think it would have given harrington or whoever a break from guarding him because boozer did dominate the boards at given points of the game. It's hard to say for me though because the only time I saw O'Bryant play was during last years tournament.</span></div> Again, O'Bryant will have a very hard time getting on the court in Golden State as long as Nellie is coaching, and Nellie has publicly stated that about 4 times this year.
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ May 16 2007, 06:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Lots of big black players have looked good in he NCAA's and have been absolute busts in the NBA. Seriously, don't come into the draft board and spew that garbage, race has never held anyone back and since you probably have never watched/don't know anything about Spencer Hawes.....it's even more pathetic. Spencer Hawes skills transfer to the NBA. He's not some stiff who made by because he's tall.</div>surrrre they will.but this is what I said April 12th"I'd take Hibbert over Spencer.Spencer = big white guy who can score in college.and that usually = D-U-D in the NBA unless you're from europe. (although not always true)Just ask Rafael Araujo (2004 #8), Darko Millic (2003 #2), Chris Kaman (2003 #6), Nick Collison (2003 #12), Nikoloz Tskitshvili (2002 #5), Chris Mihm (2000 #7), Joel Przybilla (2000 #9), Frederick Weis (1999 #15)<-- couldn't leave him out!, Raef Lafrenz (1998 #3) and Bryant Reeves and Todd McCullough <-- like I spelled that correctly!here's the good big white men drafted early in those years;Dirk Diggler (1999 #9), Pau Gasol (2001 #3), Andris Biedren (2004 #11) <-- well starting to come around, Andrew Bogut (2005 #1) <-- jury is still out actually.So, that's 4 whole good big white players and only 1 player who played in college that have been drafted early in the draft. Any others have been sleeper/surprises.I ain't getting my hopes up with Hawes.Hibbert will be the better pro IMO."I'll go with the % that say even if he is drafted in the top 10, he'll be a mediocre starter/bench guy and not a solid/near all-star player.you can spout whateva you want, my opinion ain't changing until he plays for a few months.so just wait and see.do you think he'll be as good a pro as christian lattener or better? (and let's just say Lattener was average at best, especially for a #3 pick)
Re: CB32's Top 10 Prospects: Revisited Your such an ignorant fool. Why don't you look into players and read about them, instead of spouting stupid stereotypes. It's not Spencer Hawes' fault that stupid GM's have drafted average-talent center's very high because of their size in the past. How and hell can you be so sure about a guy when you've never watched him or know little about him? Ignorance is bliss.
