In what sense is Cain a poor man’s GR3? Cain is literally better at every single ball skill attribute in relation to GR3 at the same stage, and I think most would concede that. I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong about Booker. And yes, Zak was EXTREMELY overrated. No way was he a top 20 guy, and EVERYONE here acknowledges that. Hell, LA is the biggest UM homer you will ever find (no offense LA), the guy can find the good in ANYTHING UM related, and even he openly admits that Irvin was wildly overrated. But you have to be honest, you said Cain=Watson, which is extreme, and even you’ve admitted that Cain is a top 80 type.
You haven’t seen Cain in PnR because you don’t want to, and I’m not trying to be rude, but that’s a fact. I’ve posted a ton of previous footage, and some of it has clearly reflected Cain excelling as a passer in PnR situations. Then you went on to say you’ve never seen footage of Cain as a shooter - I posted it again (despite posting it previously) just to get your reaction. Also, he was used as the handler on PnR (and I posted here about this very thing) a few times for The Family, you just refuse to acknowledge it. If you don’t like Cain’s game, that’s obviously your opinion, but when you fabricate, you tend to lose credibility.
If you’re going to call people out, I’m fine with that, but at least be honest with your approach.
I know the conversation just above is about comparisons to GRIII, but above people were talking about Tim Hardaway, and I got to wondering how he looked then. GRIII was a very late bloomer, as I recall, and Timmy was a little bit, too. This is during the summer before he entered UM:
I never said anything about not seeing Cain shoot and I even said his shot doesn’t look bad it just doesn’t go in often. Same with GR3, his form isn’t bad it just isn’t consistent at all. I have not seen him run pick n roll at all in the three games I have watched, I may have missed something but I haven’t seen it, these next few weeks I’ll make sure to try and catch a few games and see what he’s got or if he runs pick n roll at all. Cain will be equal to Watson in terms of his production at Michigan. They both will do different things, but the production will be about the same in my eyes. Irvin was ranked about where i’d have him, he came to a team with an NBA back court and was used as a bench scorer and did very well at that. Again, before his injury and the way he finished 15’, he would probably be heading to the NBA about now. No chance at all Cain will average 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists at any time in his college career, he’s just not that type of player. I say Cain should be between 80-100, but I also believe Watson should be rated higher as well. Watson needed to attack the rim more to be a complete offensive player, and he has done just that. He is going to be on par with what I see Cain doing in his college career. Only time will tell, but we clearly see things differently and that is alright.
Watching THJ’s Draft Express video, one of the most impressive things is his straight-line slashing ability – he could get to the rim in one or two dribbles (say what you will about his ball-handling, but he was fast in the lane). I don’t remember GRIII really developing that over his career. @MattD how does Cain project as a slasher?
No way Cain will be a 17, 6, 4 type in college says the guy who explicitly stated we can’t predict anything lol.
Nobody thinks Cain is equal to Watson in any fashion exclusive of you. The offer lists and rankings reflect that, and there will be more of a disparity when the new rankings are released.
Just to be clear, your position is that Cain is as athletic as GRIII was and better than him in every other way at the same stage, and that most objective observers would concede as such?
I didn’t say that. My point in all this is that he is not a number one guy on a team. He is a 3/d type guy and I expect that’s how he will be used wherever he plays. What’s his college production in your eyes?
If JB plays at the 4 (which is criminal), then his game will suffer. As a 3, think he has the potential to be 13-14 ppg scorer, 4-5 Rebs, a few assts, a steal, and the occasional block while shooting 44%+ and 35% from deep
By the way, one thing to keep in mind is that while we have three spots in addition to Poole, keeping Donnal for a fifth year could be a pretty enticing option. And I don’t see a lot of likely early entry or transfer candidates for next year. Not that JB wouldn’t fill the spot if a great option came along, but that a singing class of 3 in the fall might be a likely scenario.
Interesting - I see a ton of similarities between GRIII and Cain. Anyone remember where GRIII was ranked at this point (April before senior year)? I know he shot up the ranking boards during his senior year in HS to a top 30ish player, no?
PItt Jam Fest (where I shot that video) was basically his coming out party. He was still ranked around the 100-150 range before then if I remember correctly, then he blew up in Pittsburgh and kept playing well and ended up in the top-30 range at the end of the summer.
This looks to show that Poole shot 40% from three as a sophomore in HS on 160 attempts.
And you can find video after video of him draining threes in all manners, off the dribble, with a man in his face, etc. I wouldn’t worry about his shooting abilities.
I’m not disagreeing with you here but highlights are actually a terrible way to evaluate someone’s shooting. If someone is taking all types of 3’s and making them, my guess is that he has missed his fair share as well.