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joec32033
Posts: 30641
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Joined: 2/3/2004
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Post said Isiah is looking to the draft to get a shooter. Figured the Bulls pick was going to be 19 or 20(right now it is 19, according to NBAdraft.net) so here's a look at some potential candidates. Guys with College knowledge please enlighten us:
-All reports from NBAdraft.net unless otherwise specified.
Aaron Afflalo, 6-5, 215, Projected 14:
NBA Comparison: Raja Bell
Strengths: Possesses an NBA ready body, blessed with excellent upper body strength … Moves extremely well without the ball in his hands, understanding how to free himself for shots … Works well running off screens where he is a capable shooter … Has three point range on his jumper … Good finisher in transition … Body strength enables him to convert difficult shots with ease as well as the ability to finish after contact … Plays the game with poise and maturity rarely found on the college level … Shows great patience, rarely does he play out of control or force the action … Simply allows the game to come to him … Leadership qualities and the mental toughness he brings each game sets the tone for his team … Unselfish player who possesses solid court vision … Does a great job of feeding the post … Excellent basketball IQ, makes great decisions during games … Uses the mid-range jumper with the best of them … Despite the coverage if you give him enough daylight his quick release allows for more than enough time to shoot … Underrated rebounder capable of making an impact on the glass … Defensively he does an admirable job of staying in front of his man … Shows good body control when he penetrates the lane … Quality free throw shooter … Extremely coachable player whose work ethic is among the best in the NCAA … Fundamentally he is as sound as them come … Despite his struggles in the Final Four last year, he has proven to be a very clutch player ...
Weaknesses: Afflalo is a decent athlete but not a great one capable of dominating defenders with his explosiveness … Lacks the first step to gain full separation from his defender … There are times where he becomes too perimeter oriented offensively … Would benefit more if he attacked the basket where he can put pressure on the defense … Ball handling is okay but could stand to be refined as he isn’t comfortable when pressure is applied … Some have questioned if Afflalo has the ability to create scoring opportunities for himself … Due to his athleticism, he is closer to reaching the ceiling … Can go through periods where his jumper is inconsistent … May struggle in an up-tempo offense where quickness is a bigger factor than a half court set … Doesn’t always look to dominate opponents, has a habit of being too passive although he is improved … Despite being a solid free throw shooter Afflalo’s style of play rarely allows for him too draw fouls, and get to the free throw line … lack of lift limits his ability to finish on the break and shoot over athletic defenders ...
Marco Belinelli, 6-5, 190, Projected 16:
NBA Comparison: Ray Allen
Strengths: Despite his age he plays the game with maturity and intelligence, and has a great deal of experience … Ball handling ability is top notch as he can lead the fast break or take opposing guards off the dribble … Belinelli is one of the best shooters off the dribble anywhere in his age group … Even more impressive is that he needs little time to get his shot off thanks to his ultra quick release … Moves extremely well without the ball using an assortment of cuts and fakes to get open … Works very well off of picks and screens where he is superb off the catch and shoot … Possesses legit three point range … Mechanically he does everything well no matter if he is off balance he always keeps his body fully squared … Defensively he possesses great anticipation skills and quick hands which enable him to disrupt passing lanes … Does not get intimidated by pressure situations nor when facing physical defenders … Mid-range shooting has improved as he is starting to fuse this with his long range shooting and slashing ability …. Extremely coachable player who has a solid work ethic … Athletically he shows solid leaping ability and quickness … A great finisher in the open court …
Weaknesses: Defensively he may struggle to defend more athletic shooting guards as his lateral quickness is average at best … Tends to get caught up in shooting from the perimeter instead of driving the lane and drawing fouls. Should concentrate on becoming more aggressive using his athleticism to attack the basket … Ball protection is a work in progress as Belinelli can get careless with the ball … Does not make much of an impact on the glass … Needs to continue to work on conditioning as he shown the tendency to get worn down as the season progresses … Court vision leaves a little to be desired … Doesn’t convert shots when contact occurs on his drives due to his lack of upper body strength … Belinelli can go through streaky periods where he struggles with shooting consistency …
Alando Tucker, 6-5, 210, projected 18
NBA Comparison: Josh Howard
Strengths: Possesses an NBA ready body that is strong enough to absorb contact in the lane and finish … Has three point range on his jump shot … Back to the basket skills are highly developed … Owns a nice turnaround jumper … Excellent finisher who is blessed with cat like body control to get off even the most difficult shots in traffic … Tough minded player who enjoys physical play and will not back down from a challenge … Unselfish player with the willingness to set-up open teammates … Physically he has all the tools needed to be a quality defender: quickness, good hands, long arms and intelligence … Crafty scorer who uses a number of fakes and his leaping ability to create scoring opportunities for himself … Solid rebounder due to his athleticism and body strength … Smooth player on the floor who lets the game come to him rarely forcing things … Coachable player with a great work ethic to improve … Does a great job of creating contact to draw fouls … Excellent finisher in transition where he will finish with flair … Emerging as a player who understands how to effectively move without the ball …
Weaknesses: Defensively Tucker could stand to improve on his intensity … Doesn’t seem to possess great anticipation skills nor the awareness to play the passing lanes … Ball handling, while improved, still isn’t great … Perimeter shooting remains prone to streakiness … Not a great shooter coming off screens … Solid three point shooter when his feet are set but struggles to hit with regularity due in part to his slow release … Despite being a great athlete, Tucker rarely explodes off the dribble due to his average first step … Doesn’t always use the mid-range jumper to his advantage, often he’ll slash to the basket or shoot the three … From a position standpoint there is concern about what position he will play in the NBA … While blessed with athleticism, he may struggle to shoot consistently enough to play shooting guard and his height might be a detriment at small forward … While his game has progressed considerably over the past 5 years, one has to wonder how much more he can improve … Below average free throw shooting limits his ability to take full advantage of the contact he creates …
Daquean Cook, 6-5, 210, projected 20
NBA Comparison: Larry Hughes
Strengths: Unlike many young players he possesses an excellent mid-range game … Moves well without the ball, and understands how to fully utilize the entire floor to get his shot off …Has an NBA ready body that has shown development from his senior year of high school … Explosive scorer who can reel off big points in a hurry … Above average upper body strength and body control which enables him to finish after contact … Possesses legit three point range on his jumper … Unselfish and shows solid court vision to get teammates involved in the offense … Is a good athlete who contributes on the boards nightly … Has the ball handling ability and quick first step to break his man down on drives … Excellent finisher in transition and can end plays in dramatic fashion … Has a tremendous amount of confidence in his ability, rarely does he get rattled by the moment … Has all the physical gifts needed to emerge as a defensive presence … Underrated shooter off the dribble as well as catch and shoot …
Weaknesses: Has a tendency to force shots when opposing defenders pressure him on the perimeter … Has tremendous confidence in his offensive ability which can make him a little trigger happy when the ball is in his hands … Defensively Cook has a habit of gambling too much and being impatient … This exposes him to pick up quick fouls by reaching in or defending his man too aggressively … Needs to work on protecting the ball better as he can get careless … Settles too much for the jumper instead of driving to the basket to draw fouls …While he’s an above average mid-range shooter he is a surprisingly below average free throw shooter for his position … His overall game can be disrupted if he struggles offensively …. Can at times go for the spectacular pass or shot which can lead to turnovers …
Nick Young, 6-6, 200, projected 21
NBA Comparison: Josh Howard
Strengths: Young is a throwback player who really understands how to employ the mid-range jumper … Ball handling ability is above average … Will use a number of spins, hesitation moves and crossovers to gain separation for his pull-up jumper … When he moves without the ball he shows solid ability to work off screens and convert catch and shoot plays … Creative player who makes even the most difficult shots look easy … Has three point range on his jump shot … Not a bad finisher when he drives to the basket … Has an good set of physical tools to be a competent defender on the next level with long arms, size and decent athleticism … Possesses an solid understanding of the game and is very fundamentally sound … Post up skills are advanced as he welcomes the opportunity to shoot his turnaround jumper … Defensively when motivated Young can be a real force playing the passing lanes for easy steals … Fearless player with a great deal of confidence in his ability … An above average rebounder for his position thanks to his long arms …
Weaknesses: Goes through periods in the game where he will settle for the jumper instead of driving to the basket and drawing fouls … Doesn’t get to the line as much as he should because of this … Doesn’t always maintain a high level of intensity on defense … Some questions have been raised as to weather he has the killer instinct and toughness to consistently compete … He isn’t a mind blowing athlete, but above average … Has a bad habit of standing around at times instead of moving without the ball … When guarded by a great athlete Young lacks the explosive first step needed to get full separation from his defender … Could stand to work on adding more upper body strength to his frame as he doesn’t always finish after contact … While he has three-point range he can go through periods of inconsistency … Defensively he has a bad habit of reaching for steals instead of concentrating on his footwork … Often Young can get himself into foul trouble …
Marcus Williams, 6-7, 207, projected 22
NBA Comparison: Penny Hardaway
Strengths: Versatile player who creates mismatches at his position … Excellent ball handler who uses his crossover to get past defenders … Moves well without the ball … Decent finisher around the basket … Possesses great court awareness and understands how to utilize his versatility to attack opposing defenses … When motivated, Williams can be a very good rebounder … Excels at taking one or two dribbles and pulling up from mid-range … Talented passer who sees the floor extremely well … Showed great composure even as a freshman ... Has three point range on his jumper … Has a scorer’s mentality and can put up points in bunches … Uses mismatches to his advantage as he is capable of using decent post up skills against smaller players … When Williams is driving he does a great job of drawing contact and getting to the free throw line … Has played the game this year with a better attitude and has worked on being more mentally tough … His combination of a 7 foot wing span and his skill set with the ball is illegal ...
Weaknesses: Not a cloud piercing athlete like most at his position … This has led some to question if he can guard NBA shooting guards … Defensively he doesn’t always play with enough intensity … Rarely disrupts the passing lanes and doesn’t show great defensive footwork … Settles for jumpers too much at times instead of driving into the lane … Not a big fan of physical contact, which can bring up the question of his toughness … Shot selection is questionable … Could stand to gain more upper body strength … Doesn’t finish after contact occurs … Has battled this year with consistency as his jump shot has been streaky … Tends to be a little careless with the ball … Is prone to making poor decisions during crucial points of a game … Has really struggled this year shooting from the free throw line …
Rudy Fernandez, 6-6, 172, projected 24
NBA Comparison: Manu Ginobili
Strengths: Possesses legit three point range on his jumper, and excels at catch and shoot … Moves extremely well without the ball as he is constantly moving, never settles … Really understands how to get by opposing defenders by using his quick first step and ball handling ability … Creative slasher when driving to the basket as he can finish with a multitude of reverse lay-ups, dunks or switching hands to get his shot off … Athletically he owns above average leaping ability, solid quickness and excellent body control … Needs very little time to get his shot off due to his quick release … Passing ability is solid but not spectacular… Plays very composed rarely looks out of control or unfocused on the floor … Shows a high basketball IQ … Reportedly a very coachable player who owns a good work ethic … Fernandez improved his perimeter defense this past season … Solid free throw shooter … Unselfish player who looks to get teammates involved …
Weaknesses: Could really stand to bulk up and gain more upper body strength, how much he’ll be able to is questionable … This lack of upper body strength presents itself in games as he struggles to finish after contact occurs … Defensively he lacks great lateral movement and intensity and while he has improved he remains a work in progress … He tends to overcompensate by overplaying the passing lanes … Ball protection must improve as he can get a little too careless with the ball … Mid-range game is undeveloped as he focuses on slashing and shooting three point shots … Despite his athletic ability Fernandez remains a below average rebounder … Shot selection is average due to the fact that he can get caught up shooting threes instead of driving … Has improved but is still not a great shooter off the dribble … Defensively he doesn’t always fight through picks … Some have questioned his toughness …
Morris Almond, 6-6, 214, projected 25-Anji brought him up a while ago on this board.
NBA Comparison: Kevin Martin
Strengths: Almond possesses an NBA ready body capable of handling contact … Explosive and crafty scorer who can put up big points in a matter of minutes … Has legit NBA three point range … Does a great job of utilizing the mid-range on his pull-up jumper … Excellent rebounder who makes a great impact on the glass thanks to his long arms and awareness … Basketball IQ is very advanced, understands the game’s nuances … Despite his scoring mentality, Almond remains unselfish as he continually looks for open teammates … Moves extremely well without the ball, usually gets open by working of screens and picks … When slashing to the basket, he has no problem converting due to his body control and strength … Shows a good post up game to take advantage of mismatches … Because of his scoring prowess, Almond constantly looks to attack his defenders and draw fouls … Superior free throw shooter … Finishes well after contact due to his body strength … Defensively he does a solid job of playing the passing lanes for easy steals … Underrated athlete who may not make breath taking plays but certainty isn’t below average …
Weaknesses: While an unselfish player at times, Almond will force passes into the post resulting in most of his turnovers … Ball handling remains an issue of concern, while decent he can be uncomfortable when pressure is applied … Opposing teams have adopted the philosophy of defending him by being very physical. While he doesn’t back down it’s not unusual for him to need a period of adjustment … Must approach the game consistently with toughness and the killer instinct to dominate … Defensively Almond would benefit by playing defense with the same intensity that he uses on offense … While greatly improved from last year, Almond’s jumpshot can go through periods of streakiness … Due to his team’s personnel there are times where he will force shot out of shear frustration … Would benefit greatly by working on his overall quickness and foot speed (plyometrics etc.) …
Derrick Byars, 6-7, 225, projected 30
NBA Comparison: Brandon Roy
Strengths: Complete player with good lateral quickness and athleticism … Defensively Byars does a great job staying in front of his man … Fundamentally there are few guards in the draft that have his array of tools … Plays the game with a good level of moxie and toughness … Excellent ball handler who has played point guard several times during his collegiate career … Above average passer with solid court vision … Has legit three point range on his jumper that he can hit with regularity … Great finisher on the break where his body strength and athleticism allow him to finish with some flair … Adequate rebounder who does a good job of getting rebounds out of position … Has the ability work off screens for the quick jumper … Is an explosive scorer who has the mentality and skill to take control of a game … Possesses an NBA ready body that is strong enough to absorb contact and finish … Unselfish almost to a fault as he will often look to pass off to open teammates … Intelligent player with a good feel for the game … Will be viewed as one of the most complete prospects in the draft …
Weaknesses: Shot selection at times can be questionable … Would benefit his game if he utilized the mid-range shot more … Settles too much with shooting from the perimeter mostly from the three point shot … Needs to work on taking care of the ball better as he can get careless … Has a habit of getting out of control on his drives … Needs to move better without the ball has a tendency to stand around a little … Defensively Byars is solid but can reach a little too much on defense trying to get the quick steal … Doesn’t explode on his first step which could be the reason why he doesn’t always get full separation from his defender … Byars isn’t always consistent in games as he can go through periods where he is aggressive and dominates and then there are times he isn’t … Surprisingly despite his shooting touch he is a below average free throw shooter …
Demetris Nichols, 6-8, 212, projected 2nd rounder
NBA Comparison: Rasual Butler
Strengths: Moves well without the ball working off screens and picks … Has legit NBA three point range on his jumper … Has the potential to be a quality defender … Excels shooting off the dribble from mid-range … Smooth player who makes difficult plays look easy … Solid athlete who has good leaping ability with long arms which allow him to be a adequate shot blocker … Excellent free throw shooter … Does a decent job of using fakes and hesitation shots to draw fouls … Patient player who doesn’t force the action, simply lets the game come to him … Nichols is an explosive scorer capable of putting up big points … Athletically he is sound but not what you would call explosive … Although not dominating, Nichols does a solid job of rebounding the ball … Coachable player with a solid work ethic and has improved greatly over the course of four years … Has really become a much more confident player in his abilities … For his size there are few who have his ability to shoot from the outside …
Weaknesses: Needs to work on strengthening his upper body strength … For now, Nichols struggles to convert after taking contact in the lane … Struggles with consistency as his jumper can go through periods of hot/cold streaks … Ball handling has improved but is still in need of improvement … Settles for the jumpshot too much, seems to base his whole game around his outside jumper. His average first step could have something to do with him not be able to drive to the basket consistently … Because of this he struggles to gain full separation from his defender … Defensively Nichols can loose focus and play without much intensity … Will need to work on his shooting mechanics, right now he takes too long to release his shot … When catching a pass, Nichols will gather his feet and bring the ball from below his waist and then shoot. This delay allows the defense to recover so improving on this would be a bit benefit … Despite being bigger than most of his opponents, Nichols has little to no post up game … His passing ability is average due to his lack of court vision …
Reyshawn Terry, 6-6, 232, projected 2nd round
NBA Comparison: Stephen Jackson
Strengths: Terry has a good amount of quickness to create separation from his defender … Athletically he is among the elite level athletes at his position in the college game … Physically he has all the tools one looks for in a defender … Long arms, quickness, and size … Underrated ball handler who can take opposing players off the dribble … Great help defender who gets a number of shot blocks by rotating over … Has three point range and can convert off the dribble or with his feet set … Unselfish player who looks to teammates often for offensive opportunities … Is capable of slashing to the basket and finishing in traffic with flair … When Terry gets going, he has the ability to put up big points … Great rebounder who uses his athleticism and long arms to make an impact … Though already a senior, he appears to have poential ... Has a great body that is NBA ready with good strength … Solid slasher who uses his leaping ability and body control to produce amazing finishes …
Weaknesses: Has struggled some this season getting his confidence going … Looks at times as if his focus is elsewhere instead of in the game … Has always been a bit of an inconsistent player who goes through periods of streaky play … Has a tendency to gamble too much on steals which can leave him out of position giving his man the open look … Prone to making mental mistakes during games … Isn’t a big fan of physical contact and lacks a certain amount of mental toughness … Defensively he is still learning how to play the passing lanes and anticipate passes … Doesn’t put enough pressure on opposing defenses … Settles at times for the long range shot instead of taking the ball to the basket and drawing fouls … Needs to find a comfort level and better utilize the mid-range jumper … Has a bad habit of standing around on offense instead of moving around to get open …
These are updated scouting reports. Give me some thoughts, guys.
~You can't run from who you are.~
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2/23/2007 9:19 AM
