Why is Hanbrough project to be a mid-1st while Pendergraph hasn't been in a 1st of any mocks I've seen? The only advantage that Hansbrough has on Pendergraph is their college stats, but how significant is that really? Hansbrough v. Pendergraph Stats: 20.7 PPG v. 14.5 PPG 8.1 RPG v. 8.2 RPG 0.4 Blk v. 0.9 Blk 1.2 stl v. 0.5 stl 1.9 TO v. 1.2 TO 51% FG v. 66% FG 85% FT v. 77% FT Keep in mind looking at those stats, UNC was playing at a much higher tempo than Arizona State. You can argue that Hansbrough was the man at UNC, but when he gets to the NBA he's going to be a role player. Pendergraph has already been playing 2nd fiddle to Harden these last 2 years, and has found a niche doing the dirty work inside. Really I don't see much of a difference once they get to the next level, but lets throw in other factors for prospects. Here is a run down of their combine results. Hansbrough: 23.5 yrs old 234 Ibs 6'9.5" w/ shoes 6'11" wingspan 27.5 no step vert 34 max vert 18 bench press 11.12 lane agility 3.27 3/4 court sprint Pendergraph: 22 years old 240 Ibs 6'10" w/ shoes 7'1" wingspan 31 no step vert 35 max vert 15 bench press 11.98 lane agility 3.14 3/4 court sprint So if you look at their measurements, and other factors you take in of the prospects, Pendergraph has the advantage there, plus he's a year and half younger than Hansbrough. So concluding all of this, why is Pendergraph project to go in the 2nd round rather than a team like Utah, Portland or Sacramento where he would fit in to a nice role?
I've liked Pendergraph for a couple of years now. I keep thinking to myself how well he'd function in halfcourt sets at the next level. I think he doesn't receive the fanfare because of the school he played, the conference he played in, and he never had any breakout games. He's just a steady 15/10 type player who plays with a lot of efficiency.
Hansbrough was a star at one of the biggest programs in college basketball so hes got a major hype advantage. I'm sure many would argue as well that hes just one more in the long line of the "great white hope" players that do awesome in college and get overrated then go to the league and turn out to be busts (liuttle to the surprise of most). In short, Hansbrough was a big time star for four years at UNC while Pendergraph was a good role player at a relatively overlooked bball program. I agree with you that Pendergraph will be better in the pros though, dudes solid.
Here's a stat that I know you Tyler Hansbrough lovers will like. Out of the top 50 scorers in D-1 hoops, Hansbrough was 2nd in FT's made with 259 to Stefon Jackson who had 312. Hansbrough shot FT at 85% a clip, so he makes his free throws pretty easily. Here's what my question is, do you think he's going to get the calls when he runs in flailing where he got "star" calls in college on? Hansbrough took over twice the free throws Pendergraph attempted this year which I doubt will be there in the NBA. I think this UNC hype is crazy. Compare some fellow teammates between Ellington and Danny Green. They did the same thing except Ellington was given more of a bigger role and attempted more shots. But if you compare their stats, Danny Green put up the same %'s shooting practically and did much more on defense. Green also measure out a bit bigger than Ellington but Ellington did 1/10th a better on the 3/4 sprint and lane agility. Green has improved each year also while Ellington has seemed to be the same one dimensional player. But the difference is the hype of being a star player like Run BJM brought up.
I just go back to Psycho-T's matchup with Blake Griffin to get an idea of how he's going to struggle in the NBA. Hansborough couldn't do anything against Griffin and the majority of power forwards in the NBA are stronger and just as athletic at Griffin. I think Hansborough can be a nice role player off the bench, but I don't see him having a major impact for the team drafting him. I'm sure he'll be a fantastic practice player and he tries hard on the court, but he was completely overmatched against a superior athlete.
