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David Thorpe has an article talking about the Top 20 NBA "Sophomores."

I was curious to know if he had anything enlightening to say about Kemba, and where he ranked him.
 
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Thorpe has Walker at #4.

He speaks highly of his offensive game and PG skills. On the negative side, Thorpe says he's a liability on defense, but also plays on the worst defensive team in the league.

Closes with "On a better team, his talent would stand out more."
 
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Thorpe has Walker at #4.

He speaks highly of his offensive game and PG skills. On the negative side, Thorpe says he's a liability on defense, but also plays on the worst defensive team in the league.

Closes with "On a better team, his talent would stand out more."
Thanks.

I'm sure he has Irving ahead of him. Not sure who else. Leonard? Thompson? Faried?

Anyway, 5-for-5 did a "2011 Re-Draft" and a couple of the commenters picked Walker going at 3rd.

I really enjoy following Kemba's career--so few players have ever been as fun to pull for.
 

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He had Faried at 2 and Parsons at 3

Pretty fair, I might quibble about Parsons. Kemba's defense is actually very good. The inside game sucks at defense on the Bobcats.
 
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He had Faried at 2 and Parsons at 3
Hmm. I hadn't even thought of Parsons. He's having a good year, so it's hard to quibble.

I'm glad Kemba is rated more highly than Knight. Some still aren't doing that...
 
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Hmm. I hadn't even thought of Parsons. He's having a good year, so it's hard to quibble.

I'm glad Kemba is rated more highly than Knight. Some still aren't doing that...


He had Knight at 9.

In his current rookie rankings Drummond is #4 behind Lillard, Davis and MKG.
 
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Here's his write up on Kemba (wasn't in a good spot to copy/paste before):

"Walker is a great example of how different the pro game is from the college version. He is an excellent mid-range shooter with exceptional dribbling skills and dynamic attack moves. He's also become a steady hand at the point, with few turnovers and a decent feel for when and how to move the ball. But he can't come close to dominating the game the way he did at the college level, one small reason why his team has been so horrific since he's been there. He's proven to be a defensive liability on the worst defensive team in the league, which is also problematic. But there's no getting around the fact that he is surrounded with mostly "not ready for the NBA" teammates who hurt his overall cause, and despite them he is still a better-than-average player. On a better team, his talent would stand out more."

As a tangent, does anyone remember the 2 guards Doug Gottlieb was high on before the 2011 draft? I remember they were smaller school guys and that Gottlieb felt strongly they would be better pros than Kemba.
 
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Here's his write up on Kemba (wasn't in a good spot to copy/paste before):

"Walker is a great example of how different the pro game is from the college version. He is an excellent mid-range shooter with exceptional dribbling skills and dynamic attack moves. He's also become a steady hand at the point, with few turnovers and a decent feel for when and how to move the ball. But he can't come close to dominating the game the way he did at the college level, one small reason why his team has been so horrific since he's been there. He's proven to be a defensive liability on the worst defensive team in the league, which is also problematic. But there's no getting around the fact that he is surrounded with mostly "not ready for the NBA" teammates who hurt his overall cause, and despite them he is still a better-than-average player. On a better team, his talent would stand out more."

As a tangent, does anyone remember the 2 guards Doug Gottlieb was high on before the 2011 draft? I remember they were smaller school guys and that Gottlieb felt strongly they would be better pros than Kemba.

Charles Jenkins & Norris Cole
 
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Charles Jenkins & Norris Cole

Cole is in almost the exact opposite situation as Kemba.. his team is too balanced/skilled for anyone to really figure out how good he is. He lit up the Celtics early last year and has been pretty irrelevant since. I still think Kemba would be contributing more to Miami than he is
 
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