Julian Wright - The best prospect on this team. Wright is a legitimate 6 ft 8 with albatross like arms and excellent agility. Very quick feet for his size and can move well laterally. Extremely quick reactions and anticipation ability, which allows him to disrupt passing lanes, alter s shots and grab loose balls and rebounds outside of his area. Possesses a solid handle, but not necessarily a creator off the dribble. handle the ball . Ambidextrous athlete who can finish comfortably with either hand. A very intelligent player, who anticipates the floor action and player movement a step ahead of everyone else. Excellent passer because of his great timing and location of the passes--he can anticipate where his teammate wants the ball before his teammate even makes an offensive move. On offense, he seems more comfortable operating out of the post, both high and low, where he can find cutters or quickly pass out of double teams. Can defend well at multiple positions. His shooting form looks fine, and he should have no problems improving its accuracy in the future. This is a player who truly has a great upside, not just because of his physical traits, but because of his intelligence, reaction timing, and work ethic.
NBA Comparison - A cross between Lamar Odom, because of his passing ability, and all around skills for someone of his height, and Shawn Marion, because of his comparable quickness (both off the ground and covering the ground) and disruptive ability as a defender.
Brandon Rush - An outstanding athlete with long arms and good agility. Already is a solid jumpshooter. There is a good reason to believe that he can be very productive as an outside shooter in the NBA. The important thing to note about jumpshooters is how well they would be able to get their shot off unaltered against NBA defenders. Players tend to improve their shooting accuracy as they get older and polish their skills, so shooting accuracy isn't as much of a concern for college prospects (so long as hand-eye coordination and shooting touch seem adequate). However, a player must be tall enough to get his shot off in the NBA, or else he must develop a quick release and sufficient lift on the jumper, which are skills that are much more difficult to change at that stage of a prospect's career. In this respect, Rush will have no problems. More often than not, he will improve his accuracy in the NBA. Rush has good lift and would probably have no problem shooting it in the NBA. Springy athleticism, can get off the ground very quickly. More of a slasher than a natural creator. Like his teammate Wright, Rush can cover a lot of ground very quickly and has a chance to be a good defender at the next level. Doesn't demonstrate outstanding passing skills or court awareness, but makes good decisions most of the time.
NBA Comparison - Matt Barnes. Long and lanky, can shoot the 3 , can finish very well on the break, be disruptive because of his quickness and length, and hit open jump shots. Perhaps not as active as Barnes though.
Sasha Kaun - legitimately 6ft 10, but certainly not a 7 footer. Is relatively agile for someone his size, and plays defense and rebounds with intensity. An above average athlete for a man his size, but he is not particularly long, tall, or explosively athletic. Therefore, he will have to develop some strength and polish to become a significant contributor in the NBA. Doesn't have much of a chance on this team to showcase his offensive abilities, but possesses decent hands and solid hand-eye coordination to finish around the hoop.
NBA Comparison - Jeff Foster, because of low post grit, solid strength and size.
Mario Chalmers - An athletic undersized shooting guard, who is very fast up and down the floor. Like a lot of his teammates, has very long arms and a good motor. Has a reputation for being an excellent outside shooter, but also has the ability to take the ball to the rim. A prototype combo guard who doesn't necessarily possess point guard vision and leadership abilities. He seems like an intelligent player, isn't selfish, and can make good decisions, so he should have a spot in the NBA as a combo guard.
NBA Comparion - Tony Delk, because of his comparable build and scoring ability.
Darrell Arthur - A freshmen big man, who is still early in the development of his game. Possesses above average athleticism, but not particularly quick or explosive. Right now, he is strictly a pot player, but is still not comfortable creating from the post. His turnaround jump shot seems mechanical and not in one motion. Looks to be about 6 ft 8 or 6 ft 9. Right now, he isn't ready to be a factor on an NBA team.
NBA Comparison - Not enough information thus far.
Sherron Collins - built like a bulldog and possesses an explosive first step. Possesses above average passing skills. Loves to take the ball to the rim, and can usually get by his defender. However, he would have a difficult time finishing in traffic because of his relatively short arms and reliance on a two-foot plant to get off the ground.
NBA Comparison - Will Bynum, because of his size, explosive athleticism, and focus on getting to the hoop.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Scouting reports from the Ohio State v. Wisconsin game- 2/25/07
OHIO ST.
Greg Oden - while not obviously explosive, Oden gets off the ground quickly and his extremely long arms and hands make it difficult to get a shot around him. Not as light on his feet as one would hope for a "once in a lifetime" player. Has a right handed hook shot from out to 10 feet, this shot will be an unstoppable go-to move if he can improve on its consistency. A physical player who has strength to maintain position against bigger centers. Great timing and reactions as a shot blocker. Has a soft touch around the rim, can catch and finish off theglass while twisting. Great body control, at one point got in the passing lane, tipped the ball and was able retain his balance and save the possession with a pass before falling out of bounce. While he is practically a can't miss prospect, he is not a perfect prospect: On offense, has to gather himself to jump and get to the hoop. Is not always the most active player on the court, so his rebounding numbers may not be as high in the NBA as one may expect.
NBA Comparison - A young Dikembe Mutumbo but with more of an offensive game.
Mike Conley - quick and small., but makes great decisions and plays with a maturity of a college senior.
NBA Comparison - Tyus Edney
Daquan Cook - very quick athlete with a beautiful stroke. A little undersized, but makes up for it with speed and athleticism.
NBA Comparison - JR Smith, but seems like Cook would play with more discipline.
WISCONSIN
Alando Tucker - very good looking catch and shoot jump shot-- has good rise and consistent, tight shooting form. Not that tall, Looks about6 ft 4 to 6 ft 5 and doesn't possess particularly long arms. Currently is used in the post, but won't have those opportunities in the NBA. Question will be whether his skills will translate well in the NBA (although I disagree with some scouting reports that consider him an undersized power forward--Tucker clearly has more perimeter skills to warrant such a statement). He might not be able to post up against taller shooting guards and small forwards. Hasn't showed the ability to create for himself from the perimeter, nor does he seem like a guy who can cut. A 2 footed jumper, a la Jason Richardson or Harold Miner. Doesn't have a lot of weaknesses, but also doesn't seem to do anything exceptionally well. Plays with a lot of heart, which is a quality that shouldn't be underestimated.
NBA Comparison - a smaller Jason Richardson, because of his solid jumper, strength, but lack of elite foot speed and quickness.
Greg Oden - while not obviously explosive, Oden gets off the ground quickly and his extremely long arms and hands make it difficult to get a shot around him. Not as light on his feet as one would hope for a "once in a lifetime" player. Has a right handed hook shot from out to 10 feet, this shot will be an unstoppable go-to move if he can improve on its consistency. A physical player who has strength to maintain position against bigger centers. Great timing and reactions as a shot blocker. Has a soft touch around the rim, can catch and finish off theglass while twisting. Great body control, at one point got in the passing lane, tipped the ball and was able retain his balance and save the possession with a pass before falling out of bounce. While he is practically a can't miss prospect, he is not a perfect prospect: On offense, has to gather himself to jump and get to the hoop. Is not always the most active player on the court, so his rebounding numbers may not be as high in the NBA as one may expect.
NBA Comparison - A young Dikembe Mutumbo but with more of an offensive game.
Mike Conley - quick and small., but makes great decisions and plays with a maturity of a college senior.
NBA Comparison - Tyus Edney
Daquan Cook - very quick athlete with a beautiful stroke. A little undersized, but makes up for it with speed and athleticism.
NBA Comparison - JR Smith, but seems like Cook would play with more discipline.
WISCONSIN
Alando Tucker - very good looking catch and shoot jump shot-- has good rise and consistent, tight shooting form. Not that tall, Looks about6 ft 4 to 6 ft 5 and doesn't possess particularly long arms. Currently is used in the post, but won't have those opportunities in the NBA. Question will be whether his skills will translate well in the NBA (although I disagree with some scouting reports that consider him an undersized power forward--Tucker clearly has more perimeter skills to warrant such a statement). He might not be able to post up against taller shooting guards and small forwards. Hasn't showed the ability to create for himself from the perimeter, nor does he seem like a guy who can cut. A 2 footed jumper, a la Jason Richardson or Harold Miner. Doesn't have a lot of weaknesses, but also doesn't seem to do anything exceptionally well. Plays with a lot of heart, which is a quality that shouldn't be underestimated.
NBA Comparison - a smaller Jason Richardson, because of his solid jumper, strength, but lack of elite foot speed and quickness.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Scouting reports for Texas A&M and Oklahoma players
Notes from Texas A&M v. Oklahoma (2/17/07)
TEXAS A&M
- Acie Law: A speedy 6 ft 1 point guard who loves to push the tempo. He can also shoot off the dribble effectively and get his shot off whenever he wants, but prefers to involve his teammates. Physically similar to Tony Parker, although right now he is not as adept at finishing among the trees as Parker. Despite his speed and quickness, his defenders show decent success at stopping his penetration, which may be because for a college point guard, he does not demonstrate an above average ability to quickly change directions while dribbling. Law also has a slight frame, which may hurt him defensively in the NBA.
NBA Projection: Jason Terry. While Law is a nice player in college, he is a combo guard who hasn't demonstrated the ability to consistently create scoring opportunities for his teammates. Right now his speed and ability to shoot off the dribble can help some teams, but probably won't be a career starting point guard.
- Josh Carter: shows a good stroke from deep. Fits the eye test. Sometimes a non-factor when he isn't scoring. Very comfortable spotting of for 3, but not much of a shot off the dribble. Excellent in the open court.
OKLAHOMA
- Longar Longar: 6'11 - shows range to 15 ft. Long, active and very quick off his feet. Longar enthusiastically patrols the lane and will swat smaller players who try to drive to the rim. Demonstrates outstanding timing on his shot blocking attempts. Also an adequate passer out of the post. Has shown the ability to hit the 10 foot jumper. Doesn't have a lot of strength and may not be able to defend bigger guys in the post. More worrysome is that his frame doesn't appear able to add much more weight. On offense, he sometimes has difficulty finishing around the basket. Moves in the post are still mechanical. Surprisingly, he seems more comfortable making a move from the wing while facing the basket.
NBA projection: Francisco Elson. A tall, springy PF/C who can deter easy buckets inside by the opposing team. Can hit the occasional J if left wide open. Won't shutdown other teams centers or power forwards .
TEXAS A&M
- Acie Law: A speedy 6 ft 1 point guard who loves to push the tempo. He can also shoot off the dribble effectively and get his shot off whenever he wants, but prefers to involve his teammates. Physically similar to Tony Parker, although right now he is not as adept at finishing among the trees as Parker. Despite his speed and quickness, his defenders show decent success at stopping his penetration, which may be because for a college point guard, he does not demonstrate an above average ability to quickly change directions while dribbling. Law also has a slight frame, which may hurt him defensively in the NBA.
NBA Projection: Jason Terry. While Law is a nice player in college, he is a combo guard who hasn't demonstrated the ability to consistently create scoring opportunities for his teammates. Right now his speed and ability to shoot off the dribble can help some teams, but probably won't be a career starting point guard.
- Josh Carter: shows a good stroke from deep. Fits the eye test. Sometimes a non-factor when he isn't scoring. Very comfortable spotting of for 3, but not much of a shot off the dribble. Excellent in the open court.
OKLAHOMA
- Longar Longar: 6'11 - shows range to 15 ft. Long, active and very quick off his feet. Longar enthusiastically patrols the lane and will swat smaller players who try to drive to the rim. Demonstrates outstanding timing on his shot blocking attempts. Also an adequate passer out of the post. Has shown the ability to hit the 10 foot jumper. Doesn't have a lot of strength and may not be able to defend bigger guys in the post. More worrysome is that his frame doesn't appear able to add much more weight. On offense, he sometimes has difficulty finishing around the basket. Moves in the post are still mechanical. Surprisingly, he seems more comfortable making a move from the wing while facing the basket.
NBA projection: Francisco Elson. A tall, springy PF/C who can deter easy buckets inside by the opposing team. Can hit the occasional J if left wide open. Won't shutdown other teams centers or power forwards .
Scouting Reports for Georgetown and Villanova players
Notes from Georgetown v. Villanova (2/17/07)
GEORGETOWN
- Roy Hibbert (C): The thing that stands out about Roy Hibbert (besides his towering height at 7 ft 3) is how sturdy his frame is for a center. He also has quick feet for his size, and is nimble enough to step out and even stay in front of college-level guards without getting blown by. In fact, Georgetown prefer to keep Hibbert out on the perimeter on a defensive switch off the pick and roll where he can use his length and relative quickness to defend perimeter players while never losing his defensive stance. On the otherhand, Hibbert doesn't get much lift, and has a hard time getting clean looks on the offensive end despite his height. Part of the problem is that he doesn't utilize his height--rather than rising over his defender, he plants and leans forward which makes his shot susceptible to being blocked.
NBA projection: Built like Andreis Biedrins but plays like Kwame Brown.
- Jeff Green (SF/PF): Green's game is best characterized as smooth. He never seems in a rush. Green has an old school game, like a player from the '80s who doesn't necessarily have a highly developed one-on-one game, but would fit well with a team by making the right passes, hitting shost in the flow of the offense, playing under control and executing plays. Green is a tweener--Georgetown utilizes him in the post, but Green is built more like an NBA SF because his frame is slight for a post player, and he lacks a lower center of gravity that a shorter PF would need. Adept at making a jump hook shot from post from about 6 feet. Also has the ability to step out to the college 3 point line. While he has above average athleticism for a college player (at one point, Green threw down a dunk in traffic while still rising) Green is not an athletic freak-- Green lacks an explosive first step and wouldn’t beat an NBA small forward off the dribble. Also lacks lateral quickness, which may hurt his ability to defend SF's in the NBA. Plays very upright, which is a bad habit for defense if he projects to play as a SF in the NBA. Shows the ability to perform in the clutch. In this game he hit a go-ahead wing jumper with 20 seconds left in the game, utilizing a pumpfake from the college 3 to get his defender in the air, and took one dribble with his off-hand to step by the defender, and pull up for the jumpshot in one motion off the dribble.
NBA Projection: Danny Granger
- Patrick Ewing Jr.(SF): has a jumpshot that looks similar to his father, about 6’6 to 6’7, strong vertical off 2 feet (at one point, Ewing Jr. flew into the lane for a rebound and effortlessly dunked it in one motion). Seems comfortable shooting the 3. Extremely long arms like his father, which could make him an extremely disruptive defender. An energy guy, who I'd like to see more of down the road.
- Dajuan Summers (SF): has good height and explosive athleticism. Has a good frame and strength for being a freshman. Seems relatively comfortable as a perimeter player and shows nice form to his jumper, but his offensive game doesn't appear to have much sophistication. At this point in his career, he is not a main option on offense. Summers needs to develop polish and consistency to his game, but has the coordination and athleticism to be one of the top SF prospects in the country.
VILLANOVA
- Curtis Sumpter(SF): Looks like a proto-type NBA SF. Has good size and frame-- legitimately 6 ft 7- 6ft 8. A solid small forward who still has surprising quickness for is size given the numerous injuries to his knees throughout his college career. His offensive perimeter game seems well developed--has a nice stroke out to 3 point range and has a quick first step, long arms, which would make him attractive. Can score in a variety of ways--shooting a jumper, getting to the lane to draw shooting fouls, finishing off the glass, etc.
NBA projection: Ruben Patterson
GEORGETOWN
- Roy Hibbert (C): The thing that stands out about Roy Hibbert (besides his towering height at 7 ft 3) is how sturdy his frame is for a center. He also has quick feet for his size, and is nimble enough to step out and even stay in front of college-level guards without getting blown by. In fact, Georgetown prefer to keep Hibbert out on the perimeter on a defensive switch off the pick and roll where he can use his length and relative quickness to defend perimeter players while never losing his defensive stance. On the otherhand, Hibbert doesn't get much lift, and has a hard time getting clean looks on the offensive end despite his height. Part of the problem is that he doesn't utilize his height--rather than rising over his defender, he plants and leans forward which makes his shot susceptible to being blocked.
NBA projection: Built like Andreis Biedrins but plays like Kwame Brown.
- Jeff Green (SF/PF): Green's game is best characterized as smooth. He never seems in a rush. Green has an old school game, like a player from the '80s who doesn't necessarily have a highly developed one-on-one game, but would fit well with a team by making the right passes, hitting shost in the flow of the offense, playing under control and executing plays. Green is a tweener--Georgetown utilizes him in the post, but Green is built more like an NBA SF because his frame is slight for a post player, and he lacks a lower center of gravity that a shorter PF would need. Adept at making a jump hook shot from post from about 6 feet. Also has the ability to step out to the college 3 point line. While he has above average athleticism for a college player (at one point, Green threw down a dunk in traffic while still rising) Green is not an athletic freak-- Green lacks an explosive first step and wouldn’t beat an NBA small forward off the dribble. Also lacks lateral quickness, which may hurt his ability to defend SF's in the NBA. Plays very upright, which is a bad habit for defense if he projects to play as a SF in the NBA. Shows the ability to perform in the clutch. In this game he hit a go-ahead wing jumper with 20 seconds left in the game, utilizing a pumpfake from the college 3 to get his defender in the air, and took one dribble with his off-hand to step by the defender, and pull up for the jumpshot in one motion off the dribble.
NBA Projection: Danny Granger
- Patrick Ewing Jr.(SF): has a jumpshot that looks similar to his father, about 6’6 to 6’7, strong vertical off 2 feet (at one point, Ewing Jr. flew into the lane for a rebound and effortlessly dunked it in one motion). Seems comfortable shooting the 3. Extremely long arms like his father, which could make him an extremely disruptive defender. An energy guy, who I'd like to see more of down the road.
- Dajuan Summers (SF): has good height and explosive athleticism. Has a good frame and strength for being a freshman. Seems relatively comfortable as a perimeter player and shows nice form to his jumper, but his offensive game doesn't appear to have much sophistication. At this point in his career, he is not a main option on offense. Summers needs to develop polish and consistency to his game, but has the coordination and athleticism to be one of the top SF prospects in the country.
VILLANOVA
- Curtis Sumpter(SF): Looks like a proto-type NBA SF. Has good size and frame-- legitimately 6 ft 7- 6ft 8. A solid small forward who still has surprising quickness for is size given the numerous injuries to his knees throughout his college career. His offensive perimeter game seems well developed--has a nice stroke out to 3 point range and has a quick first step, long arms, which would make him attractive. Can score in a variety of ways--shooting a jumper, getting to the lane to draw shooting fouls, finishing off the glass, etc.
NBA projection: Ruben Patterson
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