RHJ was invited to the NBA draft combine. Ranked #63 on ESPN’s big board.
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That video supported the narrative I’ve had around Diabate this whole time - give him space to move and he’s a pretty dynamic athlete. Ask him to leap in traffic or without a run up and he’s pretty average. That’s not necessarily uncommon and doesn’t mean he won’t be successful…but for a big who’s biggest advantage is his athleticism, it is a concern.
He needs to overcome that either with training…or developing other skills like a jump shot or better handle.
Frankly…I’m not sure what that drill is really doing. I guess conditioning? Isn’t really developing a skill.
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It’s conditioning related. More of a workout than anything
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No surprise here. Whoever gets RHJ in the second round will be making out like bandits.
There are few bits on here I enjoy as much as your RHJ love.
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It’s interesting that the Pistons subreddit are in love with Sharpe but that’s due to Sharpe not playing against D1 competition and not playing in a competitive basketball environment for a year. I still think it’s crazy that they preferred him to Sharpe. Yes, Sharpe was the #1 overall recruit in '22 class but it’s hard to see what he can do without seeing him play live. If the Pistons somehow doesn’t get a top 4 pick, I might be okay with Weaver swinging for Sharpe but that’s risky.
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They were going gaga for Jaden Hardy last year. If you don’t follow college basketball, you never reach the point where you learn how useless high school tapes are at demonstrating preparedness at the next level. You take Kobe Bufkin’s tape from hs you’d think he’d be Kobe Bryant. Chet and Paolo’s HS highlights were just as if not more impressive than Sharpe’s.
This isn’t to say Sharpe can’t be this all world prospect but it’s literally impossible to know without watching him against college or Gleague competition and I wouldn’t want the Pistons to take that risk. Everyone seems to think Sharpe is better and more athletic than Ivey but one thing is doing it on the court and another thing to jump during drills.
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I trust ESPN, B/R and The Athletic. And it looks like they have a consensus Top 7 which is perfect since the Pistons can’t fall lower than that.
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I don’t think Sharpe’s lack of college film will hurt him if everything else checks out. It wasn’t long ago that it was the norm for players to be drafted out of high school, and typically the #1 overall pick had no college tape. Kobe, Lebron, Garnett, etc weren’t falling in the draft due to lack of college tape.
As an armchair analyst I definitely can’t say whether Sharpe is that kind of prospect, but it’s not crazy that NBA evaluators would make that conclusion absent a year at Kentucky.
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Keegan Murray……DO NOT WANT. I swear if we pick Murray before Benedict Mathurin I’m going to pop an eyeball
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Well Sharpe hasn’t played live competition in a year so that is a big factor. It’s one thing to get drafted straight out of HS and it’s another thing to get drafted straight out of HS but haven’t played in a year.
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James Edwards is a huge fan of him taking at #3/4 even over Ivey. Ivey is a best prospect from the B1G conference. I don’t want Murray at top 4.
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Right, if the Pistons are out of top 4-5, I can consider Sharpe in the 5-7 range.
Sharpe athleticism is theoretical while Ivey has proven in D1 competition plus Ivey is considered to be an elite athlete so it’s hard to top it.
What does it matter if he sat out a year? Jamarr Chase sat out a year. Almost every minor league baseball player did in 2020. If he has elite talent, that’s all that matters. All it means is that amateur draft evaluators like us are in the dark.
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Yeah in the grand scheme I didn’t think Sharpe’s decision at UK is going to matter at all.
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Why? You are drafting him for many years. Doesn’t matter if he’s rusty.
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Because it’s the unknown factor where you pretty much have known quantities from other prospects. You don’t know how Sharpe can play against a much bigger jump from HS to not playing a year to NBA. Yes, I know you draft long term but for the Pistons, I rather not gamble because you need to find a 2nd star to go with Cade.
It’s not rustiness that I’m worried about. It’s not being able to evaluate against D1 players which would reduce the risk of drafting a bust. Sharpe is clearly a talented player but I’m letting someone else gamble on him at top 4 if they liked him a lot.
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Jamarr Chase has elite tape in the SEC. Sharpe only has HS tape to go off by and he hasn’t played in a year. It’s too much of an unknown factor for Sharpe for me to gamble on him to be picking him over Ivey at 4. To compare both are apple to orange IMO