"Attempting to build off a Sweet 16 appearance, the Wolfpack improved to 14-2 when Leslie scored 25 points in a home win against top-ranked Duke. He was a national darling after lifting wheelchair court-stormer Will Privette to safety following the upset victory, even appearing on "The Today Show" with Privette, but Leslie again faced heavy criticism after committing six turnovers in the first 14 minutes of a road loss to North Carolina in late February.

Leslie made the All-ACC third team, and N.C. State dropped its NCAA tournament opener to Temple.

"When he plays with effort and energy, you can tell how he belongs on an NBA floor," one NBA scout said. "The biggest question marks for him would be finding a true position, whether his shooting develops and then the consistency to mentally bring it every night. With that N.C. State team, I would say they underachieved with the talent they had, and he was the reason why."

Leslie performed well at the pre-draft combine in Chicago, ranking first among all prospects with a time of 10.19 seconds in the lane agility drill and placing second with a time of 3.10 seconds in the three-quarter-court sprint, but a sprained shooting hand prevented him from participating in basketball drills.

He worked out in early June for Phoenix, which had the last pick of the first round. Two days after working out for New York, he only interviewed with Indiana because of the hand injury, and he sat out a June 17 workout for Brooklyn because of a hip issue.

C.J. Leslie averaged 15.1 points and 7.4 rebounds as an N.C. State junior

"It's difficult to find many small forwards in today's NBA who aren't threats to make shots from outside the arc, which is why Leslie is very much stuck in between positions considering he only made two 3-pointers this season, and 13 (of 48 attempts) his entire career."

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2XVlng3Tb
http://www.draftexpress.com

misterearl wrote:Stacy Augmon Anyone?

In Wojnarowski's report, he mentioned that one league personnel director told him that Leslie and Nerlens Noel "rate as the two most explosive athletes in this year's draft class." While Anthony Bennett might have something to say about that, it just goes to show how much the NBA values athleticism.

Leslie's most glaring red flag is his lack of a true position. Though his specific game is built for the power-forward role, he measures in around 6'8'', 200 pounds, and he's never averaged more than 7.4 rebounds per game.

His size suggests he plays small forward at the next level, however, his skill set does not. Leslie struggles playing on the perimeter, without the ball-handling or outside stroke (only 13 made threes in three years at NC State) that most NBA wings require.

His Length is intriguing with the 7' 2.25" wingspan. The inability to hit outside shots though is bothersome.

misterearl wrote:jmpasq - never watched him play. Therefore, his past is in the past.

Summer League is a good time to start making assessments.

Full games NC State

vs Duke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7YluriA2lw

vs VT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCbhIWI8AU0

BRIGGS wrote:How does this guy slide through this draft? This was the strangest draft of all time not even close. This is a very good pick up--to me this is first round talent.

He shut down his process after 2 visits. That probably didn't help.

BRIGGS wrote:How does this guy slide through this draft? This was the strangest draft of all time not even close. This is a very good pick up--to me this is first round talent.

U think he is better then Hardaway

Jmpasq wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:How does this guy slide through this draft? This was the strangest draft of all time not even close. This is a very good pick up--to me this is first round talent.

U think he is better then Hardaway

He could be a better pro player. His game translates at the pro level much more so than college. He was developed as a 4 but hes a 3. He can handle the ball and he has a good shooting rotation. If he develops range on that shot--he will go down as one of the steals of all time in term s of no draft status. How about him guarding PGs in the halfcourt with his 7-3 wingspan and 6-9 length and agility?

Jmpasq wrote:Undrafted N.C. State forward C.J. Leslie has reached agreement on a deal with the New York Knicks"

GREAT MOVE... He may be more valuable to NYK than our selection at #24. Now go get Myck Kabongo @ PG