Thing is FTs are very good indicator of shooting ability but it shows only what player can do with set shots. When Tyreke runs with the ball and shoots while kicking and/or leaning backwards, that's totally different story.Originally Posted by bajaden
I think your making my point! I've seen players that have a beautiful fluid jumpshot, but looked like Charles Barkleys golf swing at the freethrow line. And vice/versa. As I said, thats why I gave it up as a tool to judge a players potential as a jumpshooter. I do take it into consideration, but I just don't put as much emphasis as I used to.
Its hard to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
My point actually was that sometimes Tyreke doesn't kick or lean back and suddenly becomes a very good jumpshooter. So if the guy shoots well from FT and is willing to put in work to improve his shooting motion there's certainly a promice. Smart seems that kind of player.
No, I don't disagree with that at all. There's no doubt that Tyreke is a much better shooter when he sticks to form. Old habits are hard to break, especially in the heat of battle. It can take years sometimes. I think anyone can improve with practice. However, some don't want to put in the practice. Durant was just an average jumpshooter in college, and shot a low percentage. But he's worked on his shot, and, his shot selection, and has improved dramaticly.
Lets take a look at Karl Malone. When he came into the league, he had no jumpshot, and was a terrible freethrow shooter. In his case, the jumpshot improved before the freethrow shooting improved. But in the end, through hard work, he became very good at both. We can look at form, or whether a player is a good freethrow shooter as a parameter of how good he might become at jumpshooting. But the biggest factor in my mind, is how dedicated the player is? How much work is he willing to put in? Of course, you and I have no way of knowing that, other than info that might be put out by their coach or teammates. Which is one of the reasons I'm higher on Oladipo than some others. First I read that his coach said he was a gym rat that is constantly working on his game. And then I saw amazing improvement this season over last in his shooting percentage, and also in his shot selection. When you put together talent, athleticism, and a great work ethic, your likely to end up with a good basketball player.
By the way. I read an article on shooting by a shooting guru, and he said the biggest single reason players are inconsistent shooting the ball, is that they lose sight of the target, or take their eye off the basket. Its very hard to hit something your not looking at. I know that when Coachie was working with Kevin Martin, the most important thing he emphasized, was to focus on the target from the moment you started your motion, and never let it go.
Its hard to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
woof. Kentucky looked bad today. Couldn't really take anything away from the game, aside from the fact that I want nothing to do with Poythress.
Cauley-Stein wasn't great either, but he never really had the ball on offense. Had some good moments on defense. I'm still interested.
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Had the ball enough times to be credited with 4 TOs. As with McLemore and Muhammad, I'm assuming, that, if they are not offering more offensively, doesn't mean they are held back by their coaches, but rather by their lack of skills. And his team only getting 9 defensive rebounds to 11 offensive for opponents doesn't speak volumes of his abilities either.
P.S. As for Poythress he would really fit in on mid-2000s Suns, where his lack of playmaking would've been hidden. Yeah, for now he's a pogo stick, who can shoot occasional jumper and has the body to be an excellent defender.
There's no doubt that Kentucky looked terrible today. But I don't think we should jump to conclusions about some of the players. Although, I think Poythress needs to stay in school for another year. He has a lot of talent, but in my opinion, lacks the aggressiveness needed to play in the NBA. Cauley-Stein is another issue all together. He's been coming off the bench and many times is on the floor with Noel. He's also just coming off of an injury, and some thought he should have taken more time. Anyway, now he's starting, and so is Wiltjer, which I'm not sure is a good idea. Wiltjer is a good shooter, but a terrible defender and just so so as a rebounder.
I think you have to give Calapari some time to work things out. Personally, I'd rather move Poythress to the PF position and let him start along side Cauley-Stein. Anyway, my point is, the team is going through a total makeover right now, and until everyone is on the same page, their going to struggle. Unfortunately, they have their game with Missouri coming up, and a loss to them, could knock them out of the tournament. The main thing Kentucky is lacking this season, is a true top PG.
Its hard to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
I mean't to mention the St. Mary's/Gonzaga matchup on thursday. It was a big game for St. Mary's. A win would have given them a chance to win the WWC outright. Unfortunately they lost. However, my boy Mathew Dellavedova showed up for the game. Unfortunately, the only other St. Mary's player that bothered to show up was Steven Holt. Dellavedova played 38 minutes and scored 22 points on 7 of 15 shooting, and 6 of 12 from beyond the arc. He also had 4 boards, 6 assists, 2 steal, and 1 blocked shot. Holt added 17 pts on 7 of 14 shooting. However, Young, Page, Giusti, and Walker went just 4 for 22 from the floor.
Meanwhile Gonazga rolled on, with Kelly Olynyk the 7 foot center, scoring 17 pts, and hitting 2 out of 3 from beyond the arc. He added 7 boards 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots. Bottom line is that Gonazga shot 50% while St. Mary's shot 38%. I honestly can't predict how Dellavedova's game will translate to the NBA. But he's a tough hardnosed player with very good BBIQ, and decent athleticism who playes hard on both sides of the floor. He's another Aussie following in the footsteps of Patty Mills. He also played on the national team, so he has played against NBA players.
A player that I find interesting is Chris Obekpa, the 6'9" PF from St. Johns. He has little or no offense to speak of. But defensively, he has tremendous potential. In his last game, he played 29 minutes, and scored zero points on zero shots, but grabbed 12 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots. He's averaging 4.4 blocked shots a game. He's extremely raw, but if he can develop just a little offense, he could be a great defensive stopper under the basket. The dude has a 7'4" wingspan
Last edited by bajaden; 02-16-2013 at 03:41 PM.
Its hard to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
Oladipo looks like a good player. Wouldn't mind having him on the Kings. High BB IQ, quick hands, athletic, and tough.
Sulaimon, Porter, McLemore also look good, in no particular order.
Last edited by Kingster; 02-19-2013 at 05:47 PM.
He shot .47/.40/.81 at Texas, and he averaged 5.8 3pt attempts a game. That's well above average.
McLemore, Bennett, Porter, and Burke are the players I like so far this year, but overall this draft could be as bad as 2011, except without a Kyrie Iriving.
Also a big fan of Trey Burke. I think he's going to rise up the boards closer to the draft. I don't see any way he won't be able to play in the NBA.
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He's one of, if not the most underrated player in the draft so far.
Amidst all the Robinson nonsense, I was able to catch most of the Kentucky / Vanderbilt game on ESPN 3 today. At this stage of the NCAA season, Kentucky is the only team I'll go out of my way to watch. Something about that team is so fascinating to me.
Anyway, Cauley-Stein played really well. I can't tell you how good or bad Vandy's frontcout is, but I'm assuming its pretty bad based on their record. WCS was the best player on the court. He scored 20 points, 7 REB, 3 BLK, and was able to play at a high level for 32 minutes. I even saw a few really nice post moves out of him, which surprised me because I'm mostly interested in him for his defensive potential. It was a really good effort from him.
Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginnings End
My entrepreneurial endeavor - 2nd Story Syndicate
Calapari has nothing by high praise for Cauley-Stein. He said he's a very quick learner, and that appears to be correct. He's still pretty raw, but has a lot of potential. He had a nice game, but against a pretty poor team. However, he did what he was susposed to do.
Its hard to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
I guess the question would be, underrated by who? Certainly not by me, and not by most of the scouts I suscribe to. I guess if your going by the mock draft boards it might be correct. I personally think he's the current best overall PG in the draft. There are others that may be better long term, but right now, if I wanted to draft a PG, I'd draft Burke.
By the way, my reference to Durant was based on what I saw with my own eyes and not stats. When he was at Texas, his shot selection was not very good, and he basicly shot the ball if he got the ball. The fact that he made a high percentage of them was irrelevant to me. I figured that he had to change his approach if he was going to be successful in the NBA. If you look at his first year in the NBA, in Seattle, I believe he only shot around 28 or 29 percent from long range. However, he worked on his game, improved his shot selection, his passing and ballhandling, and made himself into a superstar.
Its hard to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
I'm on board with all four of those guys. I'd add Marcus Smart to the list. A guy thats rising rapidly up my board is Victor Oladipo. The burning question, is whether his shooting is an abberration or not. According to people in the know in Indiana, its not. He's simply put in the time and work to improve. He still needs to improve his ballhandling, but he's a terror on the defensive side of the ball. Here's the question. If Noel drops to us because of his torn ACL, do you draft him? Bearing in mind, that he probably won't be ready for the start of next season. I would, but what would the rest of you do?
Its hard to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
Here's a pretty accurate scouting report on Oladipo:
Its hard to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
Wow, huge game today for Otto Porter. He is such a smooth player, and if he's not careful, he'll end up being considered for the first pick in the draft. Today against Syracuse he had 33 points on 12 of 19 shooting overall, and was 5 of 10 from the three. He added 8 boards 2 assists, and 5 steals. Its like a catch 22. You want him to play well so you know he someone you want to draft, but at the same time, if he plays too well, he moves up the draft board and out of our reach.
Its hard to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
I'm liking that PG from Ok, state, whats his name...Smart.(He's a pass first PG)
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