New and Improved 2008 Draft Prospects Thread

[SunsTzu]

(i believe his family only allowed him to speak to one american journalist, and i cannot remember who it was).

Found the article from SLAM.

http://slamonline.com/online/2007/04/the-best-basketball-player-youve-never-heard-of/

There was one play where he snagged a loose ball (he leads the ACB in steals, by the way) and took off toward the basket down the left sideline. He had a defender on his tail, so Ricky made a right turn near the free throw line and headed across the court. One of his teammates stepped up to the opposite elbow of the free throw line to provide a pick. Ricky saw the guy step up and instead of just running around the pick, he took two steps away from the pick so that the guy setting the pick was at a more severe position to both him and his defender. When he slashed back and finally got to the pick, the defender was a step slow and at the perfect angle and got flattened. I’m not sure if he was somehow taught how to read developing picks and adjust the angles accordingly, but it was phenomenal.

The thing that finally clinched it for me was when I was talking to someone who knows Ricky well. They told me that they’d once asked Ricky what his favorite NBA move was. LeBron’s fadeaway? D-Wade’s crossover?

Nope. Ricky said his favorite move was the way that Steve Nash, when he’s using a pick on his left-hand side, generally takes one extra dribble with his left hand in order to create more space for himself. Seriously. 16 years old!

Found that comment intresting.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

While he is definitely someone to keep an eye on for a couple years, I dont think he would come to the US any time soon. Some euro team will lock him into a fat contract because he is too valuable over there to just let jump into the draft


Couple very impressive vids on youtube IIRC

 

[hafey]

He's been on the radar so long.... it wouldn't surprise me to see him get to the NBA early. The earlier he gets here and gets off the rookie scale, the earlier he starts making big bucks.

 

[SunsTzu]

Some euro team will lock him into a fat contract because he is too valuable over there

He is not draft eligible until 2010 and his contract with his current team is up in 2011. The european teams normally like seeing a return when they lose players so it is possible he comes over in 2010 so they can be provided with the buyout.

 

[mathbzh]

Rubio already makes the game change on defense when he is on the floor. And he does it against men in the best european league. This is amazing for a 16 yo kid. This kid should turn into a very special player.

 

[azirish]

I'm sold. Let's go for him in 2011 or 2012.

 

[mathbzh]

About players for the 2009 or 2010 draft.

There is a young french SG born in 1989 who is having stellar games in the U19 WC in Serbia:
Edwin Jackson (son of Skeeter Jackson a former member of the French national team - born American). In 4 games and 90 minutes he scored 81 points shooting at 58% and 50% 3P (12/24) 11/12 FT (20pts 2rbd 1ast and 2 stl per game)

He is 6'3 with a very strong body and great speed.

He signed is first pro contract with l'ASVEL a French proA team.
Last season he playe with the "Centre Federal" in the French third division (against men) and lead the league with 21 PPG. He became the first Centre Federal player to do it since Tony Parker.

After a tough start in that competition, Batum (SF) is playing better and is a true leader for France. He is really unselfish and makes his teammates better. His stats : 12pts/4rbds/4ast. We will see if he can do better against the Serbia and USA two of the contenders.

Other French player to follow:
Alexis Ajinca (PF): Still very skinny, great shot blocker thanks to his unbelievable length. Still very mobile for a player his size. Don't rebound well
(struggle against stronger player). No post move!!! he looks like he wants to play as a SF. Had a bunch of dunk including a Vince Carter one with the forearm in the basket. Should stop jacking up 3s.

Antoine Diot (combo guard): So far he is a bit disappointing. He is not the playmaker he should be. Maybe Batum playmaking just put him in the shadow.

Abdoulaye MBaye a 6'2 SG is very effective and a great finisher in the paint. With jackson he makes a great SG rotation (10pts (64%FG) 2rbds 1 ast in 16 minutes). 0/5 from 3pt line in 4 games.

Vaty: A very strong PF (he plays Center with France). He is having some nice games but doesn't dominate has expected. Fouled out against China receiving a couple of stupid foul but was the key factor in the first half. He is now playing with a pro team for one year and has some problems to adapt to the U19 officiating. The Serbia and USA games will be a big test for him.

Adrien Moerman: The best French big in this tournament with 13 pts and 6 rbds. He is an undersized PF who should not have a NBA future but has great energy and good moves.

As a team, France is having a very good start in the WC. They had one tough game in the opener against lithuania (85-82) blow out Brazil (98-73), Lebanon (100-58) and China (106-57). The only concern is about the rebounding area.

 

[hcsilla]

Rubio is already a fantastic player. I wouldn't exclude that he could play in the NBA some minutes. I mean, right now.

Despite his age he is already getting heavy minutes as a bakcup PG for a solid Euroleague team. He is a fantastic ballhawk and a matured shock playmaker.

Right now he seems to a be a top3 pick whatever year he comes out.

 

[mathbzh]

Right now he seems to a be a top3 pick whatever year he comes out.

+1

 

[SunsTzu]

Rubio is already a fantastic player. I wouldn't exclude that he could play in the NBA some minutes. I mean, right now.

Despite his age he is already getting heavy minutes as a bakcup PG for a solid Euroleague team. He is a fantastic ballhawk and a matured shock playmaker.

Right now he seems to a be a top3 pick whatever year he comes out.

I'd really like to see him play, I'll be keeping my eye for his team when NBATV shows Euroleague.

 

[Russ Smith]

Clarifications on John Riek who I mentioned earlier in the thread a 7'2" African kid who's tearing up the summer AAU circuit.

He's actually from Ethiopia not Sudan, he's graduated HS already there, will be at Winchendon Academy next year, and is now part of the 08 recruiting
class, saying he wants at least one year of college to improve his English. Has Duke, Georgetown, Florida and UCONN on his list. Article says it's quite possible he'll wind up in the next NBA draft anyways, he'll be draft eligible.

No word on what his real age is yet but people seem convinced he's draft eligible right now being a foreign kid.

Scout has a premium article on him so I won't cut and paste premium stuff but they have him rated the top overall post grad prospect for 08 and said if he were part of the normal HS class of 08 he might be the top rated prospect there too ahead of guys like Greg Monro, Brandon Jennings and Jrue Holiday.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

okay, can shut down this thread too? it's only a matter of time before we sell the atlanta pick.

 

[SunsTzu]

okay, can shut down this thread too? it's only a matter of time before we sell the atlanta pick.

Just wait until the Suns pick is used to draft Rubio in 2010.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Just wait until the Suns pick is used to draft Rubio in 2010.

omg, i will vomit. save it in a cup. and send it to sarver's house.

 

[MastersofCombat]

Cash....

 

[Sunsman44]

If SUNS are looking for their future point guard, they better hope ATLANTA ends up stinking really really bad so they can get the first pick in the draft:

DERRICK ROSE, 6-4 PG (comparison: Dwayne Wade)

He is so good that his weakness in nbaDraft.net is a strength for the Suns: "More effective in an up-tempo game, understands tempo but his speed obviously makes running logical and is still less effective in the half court."

And here is his strength from nbaDraft.net: "An absolutely dazzling dunker with blinding speed ... Likely to be the most athletic PG in the league for years to come … A point guard in the truest sense of the word."

Wow. It is a match made in heaven. Amare-Rose duo = dynasty.

Just hope the Hawks stink, people. Cross your fingers.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Check out his youtube clips if you really want to jump on the Rose bandwagon. The guy looks like he has springs in his ankles

The crazy thing is, with all these dunks and crazy drives he is still considered a pass first PG. Thats amazing news.

 

[MastersofCombat]

Memphis no doubt will have the player of the year but according to http://scoutingthenba.com (click on 2008 upcoming)that player may be Chris Douglas Roberts which many people have never heard of and most scouting services dont even have him in the first round

 

[hcsilla]

Sorry, but I just stopped reading the site when I saw Shakur as a projected lottery pick and Hibbert as a potential 1/1 and franchise player.

 

[azirish]

Sorry, but I just stopped reading the site when I saw Shakur as a projected lottery pick and Hibbert as a potential 1/1 and franchise player.

They certainly do have some odd projections. Hibbert projects to be the top big man in next summer's draft, but he's hardly a franchise player.

 

[MastersofCombat]

Also has Chris Douglas-Roberts as player of the year. Not one scouting service has him in the top 60 next year. This should be interesting...

Memphis winning national title..

The prior years is pretty accurate... Had DJ Strawberry #17 overall that I found interesting and when DJ led the summer league in assist maybe theres something to it??

 

[panfolk]

Russ Smith:
What's the story on K. Love?

 

[Russ Smith]

Russ Smith:
What's the story on K. Love?

He keeps saying he'll stay 2 years but Mayo says that too and I doubt either means it.

Love is special but it's unclear how it translates to the NBA. He is the best passing bigman UCLA has had since Walton, not saying he's the next Walton he's not nearly the defender Bill was, but as a passer he's really good.

Amazing at grabbing the board and whipping a half court outlet pass. College teams will be dropping guys back to stop that. Depends on the minutes he plays but I could see him averaging near a double double as a freshman. Very good shooter, great footwork, strong, great hands, uses the glass well. not super athletic but actually jumps better than you think. He's reportedly lost 12-15 pounds already since arriving at UCLA for summer school so he's in the best shape of his life.

He recently went up against Garnett in the pickup games in the mens gym, Garnett schooled him but people said Love was able to score on him enough that after the games ended Garnett pulled love aside and spent about 30 minutes showing him low post moves and little tricks. One of the other NBA players there said something like he must really like the kid because it's not like Kevin does that sort of thing very often(the coaching thing).

I'm trying not to have too much expectation and be let down but I think 18 and 10 is quite realistic if Love plays enough. he needs to work on defense to get to the level Howland demands but he is just what UCLA needed on offense. 2 final 4's in a row with no post scoring and now they get a kid who can not only score in the post but drift out and shoot, the pick and roll options are going to be fun.

I suspect strongly he's one and done, but I hope not.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

He keeps saying he'll stay 2 years but Mayo says that too and I doubt either means it.

Love is special but it's unclear how it translates to the NBA. He is the best passing bigman UCLA has had since Walton, not saying he's the next Walton he's not nearly the defender Bill was, but as a passer he's really good.

Amazing at grabbing the board and whipping a half court outlet pass. College teams will be dropping guys back to stop that. Depends on the minutes he plays but I could see him averaging near a double double as a freshman. Very good shooter, great footwork, strong, great hands, uses the glass well. not super athletic but actually jumps better than you think. He's reportedly lost 12-15 pounds already since arriving at UCLA for summer school so he's in the best shape of his life.

He recently went up against Garnett in the pickup games in the mens gym, Garnett schooled him but people said Love was able to score on him enough that after the games ended Garnett pulled love aside and spent about 30 minutes showing him low post moves and little tricks. One of the other NBA players there said something like he must really like the kid because it's not like Kevin does that sort of thing very often(the coaching thing).

I'm trying not to have too much expectation and be let down but I think 18 and 10 is quite realistic if Love plays enough. he needs to work on defense to get to the level Howland demands but he is just what UCLA needed on offense. 2 final 4's in a row with no post scoring and now they get a kid who can not only score in the post but drift out and shoot, the pick and roll options are going to be fun.

I suspect strongly he's one and done, but I hope not.

russ, i know you're excited for the kid at ucla, and he might put up good numbers at the college level, but you know my thoughts . . . he's very limited athletically and he's not really that big. he's only 6'9 and not muscular (though with your comment about his workouts that may be changing), rather he looked doughy to me. he's an excellent passer, yes, but i don't see his talent or size translating into the nba. he'd be a fool imo to come out after a year.

 

[Russ Smith]

russ, i know you're excited for the kid at ucla, and he might put up good numbers at the college level, but you know my thoughts . . . he's very limited athletically and he's not really that big. he's only 6'9 and not muscular (though with your comment about his workouts that may be changing), rather he looked doughy to me. he's an excellent passer, yes, but i don't see his talent or size translating into the nba. he'd be a fool imo to come out after a year.

Love has said over and over for months now he's been measured at 6'10" at multiple camps. I'm skeptical too he doesn't look that tall but it's been debated to death on UCLA boards and multiple sources say 6'10".

He's in better shape but yes he's not a great athlete and never will be. Sort of a combination of Dave Cowens and Wes Unseld an old school kind of game.

We'll see but if he has a chance to be a lottery pick I can't see him staying. He has said he's really excited about playing with the guards UCLA has coming in for 2008(Jrue Holiday, Malcolm Lee, Jerime Anderson) but tha'ts a long way off and turning down a shot at the NBA to wait a year and play with incoming freshmen seems pretty far fetched.

If he plays as well as we expect he'll at least test the waters.

Also depends on how strong the draft is, he might decide he will go higher as a soph?

I'd love to see him stay more than one year but right now my expectation is he won't.
Remember last year Romar was quoted as saying Love was a much better player than Spencer Hawes(who Romar was coaching), and look how high Hawes went.