so he’s not transferring to Illinois? that’s weird
8 Likes
Mitchell being in the lottery looks to me like a huge mistake. I’m not sure I would take him over Ayo. His FT% is verrrry poor, he’s even older than Ayo and he’s significantly smaller. Think he’s a classic case of scouts not adjusting appropriately for age.
Bouknight is younger, bigger, and is likely a better shooter. That one’s fairly clear.
I have no idea what to think of Cam Thomas. Incredible shooter who may have no idea how to do anything else on a basketball court. I’m still scarred by watching him play defense. Insanely bad. I’m pretty big on basketball IQ and he looked like he has the worst possible score you could give on defense.
Agree on most accounts. Mitchell went from a 31% shooter from three to over 40% but his underlying bad FT numbers make me wonder if that was a hot streak more than an indication of figuring it out.
1 Like
Mitchell’s one good shooting season is still more impressive shooting wise than anything Ayo did in college. 45% on 141 attempts. Ayo shot 39% on half the attempts almost. Ayo’s shot is also a little funky, and I’m guessing that gives scouts pause as well. And so much of Ayo’s offense was transition and drawing fouls and that might not translate as well Mitchell’s very good half court play this year
1 Like
For the purposes of predicting NBA outcomes, being a better FT shooter is probably more impressive. And I would guess given the USG difference that they had pretty comparable performances in the half court.
IMO Mitchell had a wildly good tournament and that’s getting too much weight in folks’ minds.
I’m not having this argument again 
2 Likes
Ayo will do just fine in the NBA. He’s got the size and speed to compete and his shot is good enough.
1 Like
In my defense argument isn’t just contradiction no it isn’t yes it is no it isn’t
2 Likes
Dylan, what are your thoughts on that article? Do you agree with Jalen > Franz?
1 Like
I would be more interested in hearing about the supressed steal rate. Is that just a 2 year thing?? Does Juwan prefer players not to gamble?? Does Juwan still not have his ideal team in regards to players on defense and jumping in passing lanes??
As for Jalen Green vs Franz Wagner?? Neither player will play for the Pistons so it doesn’t matter to me. I think Green has far more upside and I am not 100% convinced that Wagner will suddenly be a great shot maker at the next level. Some of that is because Wagner isn’t a high volume shooter (that’s not a bad thing) but there might be more volatility in what he does. How much does FT% translate to success when you’re not a guy that shoots it a lot??
The author’s point was that Franz doesn’t need to be a high level shot maker, and that those players are often overvalued.
4 Likes
If you want a deep dive on Franz. I only watched a few minutes (the clips start at 12:20) but I actually learned a lot.
2 Likes
It’s a shame the draft is being held when it is. It would’ve been nice to see the Wagner brothers playing together in Tokyo.
4 Likes
Surprisingly I never saw his name anywhere about the draft (I didn’t look too hard either) but he is definitely a guy who still has NBA potential
6 Likes
He’s not playing in the NBA
1 Like
Yeah he’s playing at Florida.
11 Likes
He’s gonna need to actualize some of that perimeter skill he flashed in Hs. Otherwise he’s a skinny and not very athletic C that can’t shoot.
4 Likes
I was so high on him as a stretch five as a recruit. Surprised it has completely disappeared from his game.
2 Likes
Castleton pretty clearly can’t create his own shot but 64% true shooting on 23% usage and a 9.4% block rate despite fouling rarely is a pretty nice college player. He’s also a 76% FT shooter for his career and made 45% of his 71 2pt jumpers last year (per hoop-math) so you could definitely still see him add some stretch to his game.
The fact that he put up that stat line in the SEC as a 20 yr old and couldn’t even get a G-League Elite Camp invite is pretty rough.
1 Like
Behind a paywall:
ESPN’s Mike Schmitz is asked: Which likely second-round prospect are you highest on entering the draft? His first answer is Livers. Selected portion of the article below-
“Livers is 6-foot-7 and 232 pounds with a 6-foot-9 wingspan. He enjoys a career 41% 3-point clip and has a pure shooting stroke, strong feel and competitiveness defensively. And he was a key cog for one of the best programs in college basketball. Players like that have a market in today’s NBA. Watching forwards ranging from Solomon Hill to Georges Niang playing legitimate minutes in playoff rotations bodes well for Livers. While not quite as long or bouncy, Chuka Okeke is a good template for the 22-year-old to follow. Simply put, so long as the injury checks out, it’s easy to see Livers carving out a rotation on a competitive NBA team for years to come.”
29 Likes