Current Roster's NBA Potential

[Donyell 360]

Newton had good positional size making it hard for smaller guards to shoot over him. He had good defensive instincts making him a good defender, not a great one. Fortunately we had Jackson and Castle to lock down the other team's best perimeter scorers.

As for Demary, he's a very good defender, though was slowed
early on due to a calf injury where he missed some games. He went a long stretch getting into foul trouble that kept him on the bench, but also limited his aggressiveness. The past 2 games he only picked up 2 fouls in each one. It's no coincidence that he had 5 and 3 steals the past 2 games.

I think he's finally figuring it out.

I hope you are right about Demary figuring it out and the thus the best is yet to come. I am certainly bullish on him too. But you didn't really argue against my questioning Demary's athleticism. I associate athleticism with: vertical leap, quickness, explosiveness, acceleration, coordination, anticipation, balance. Maybe those last 3 apply to Demary but that's not what stands out to me when I watch him. His strength is what stands out most to me.

 

[thekollieman]

I hope you are right about Demary figuring it out and the thus the best is yet to come. I am certainly bullish on him too. But you didn't really argue against my questioning Demary's athleticism. I associate athleticism with: vertical leap, quickness, explosiveness, acceleration, coordination, anticipation, balance. Maybe those last 3 apply to Demary but that's not what stands out to me when I watch him. His strength is what stands out most to me.

I remember watching his UGA highlights after he committed to UConn and there were tons of powerful throw downs, so I feel like he’s got it in him but maybe with our offense/options it’s not there for him as naturally.

 

[aceboon]

I've watched the Kings knock off the Rockets and Lakers in back to back nights with 6'10", 250lb Dylan Cardwell playing a role in real minutes both nights. He played 5 seasons at Auburn, never averaged more than 5pts and 5rebs, and made 4 3s in 5 years, folks who think Tarris doesn't have a chance of playing in the NBA really aren't paying attention to what end of the bench/back end rotation bigs look like.

 

[3rdbass]

I hope you are right about Demary figuring it out and the thus the best is yet to come. I am certainly bullish on him too. But you didn't really argue against my questioning Demary's athleticism. I associate athleticism with: vertical leap, quickness, explosiveness, acceleration, coordination, anticipation, balance. Maybe those last 3 apply to Demary but that's not what stands out to me when I watch him. His strength is what stands out most to me.

Alot people were surprised how athletically gifted Steph Castle was after her left UConn. They felt like they didn't quite see that when he was playing. I do think our offense doesn't really promote good athletic one on one moves that you will see in the NBA so I would be a little hesitant to say Demary isn't that athletic. He clearly is way more athletic than Newton.

 

[imno1]

I would compare Jayden Ross to Tyrese Martin in terms of build, which explains why some see him as having NBA potential. But Ross has a long way to go to show he can do what Martin did at UConn. But with one more year after this, anything is possible. I'm not sure who a good former Husky comp for Jalyn Stewart would be. Maybe Tyler Polley? He plays in Europe which is where I imagine Stew ends up.

Polley I believe is in the G League. I don’t really see much similarity between the 2. TP was a 3 point specialist but didn’t have much game beyond that.

 

[IndyLives]

If you asked this question at the beginning of the year, many would have said Reed had a very good shot.

Kind of shocked over his lack of improvement. Even Danny has called him out. You can make an argument his game has actually regressed. At this point, I doubt he gets drafted at all.

 

[HW611]

I've watched the Kings knock off the Rockets and Lakers in back to back nights with 6'10", 250lb Dylan Cardwell playing a role in real minutes both nights. He played 5 seasons at Auburn, never averaged more than 5pts and 5rebs, and made 4 3s in 5 years, folks who think Tarris doesn't have a chance of playing in the NBA really aren't paying attention to what end of the bench/back end rotation bigs look like.

All you have to do to be an NBA center is rebound well, protect the rim, and finish.

Playing in the high hedge here is probably prepping him to guard pick and rolls at the NBA level. Even though he still gets a little lazy here with that.

 

[superjohn]

I've watched the Kings knock off the Rockets and Lakers in back to back nights with 6'10", 250lb Dylan Cardwell playing a role in real minutes both nights. He played 5 seasons at Auburn, never averaged more than 5pts and 5rebs, and made 4 3s in 5 years, folks who think Tarris doesn't have a chance of playing in the NBA really aren't paying attention to what end of the bench/back end rotation bigs look like.

Wait, they're not all 7'1 athletic Europeans who drain threes?

 

[Gurleyman]

I think Emeka won defensive player of the year and was a finalist for Naismith but did not win it. No doubt Emeka could have had a better career if not for injuries, but avoiding injury is part of the test of greatness IMO. Ben Gordon was a nice player, but he didn't live up to expectations for a #3 draft pick.

Donyell is my favorite Husky all-time as you might guess. But he was considered one of the greatest busts in the NBA draft history because he was the last draft class without a rookie salary cap. $42M at the time was a lot of money for a marginal player. I don't know this for a fact, but I suspect his lopsided deal was a significant catalyst for the rookie salary cap. His contract really handcuffed the Timberwolves. He hung around the league though and salvaged his career turning into a decent starter, though not an all-star.

I'm still waiting for UConn to have a top 3 draft pick that turns into a bona fide superstar. The way it is structured now, not sure I will see it happen. But as long as UConn keeps winning, I couldn't care less really.

Jameer Nelson won all the npoy awards that year for an undefeated St. Joe’s team. It was probably a reasonable vote at the time (pre-tourney vote) - Emeka missed a couple games and was hampered in others. And we were a 2 seed in the tourney, whereas SJU was overall No. 1 with a small ball offense and Nelson running the show.

 

[Donyell 360]

Polley I believe is in the G League. I don’t really see much similarity between the 2. TP was a 3 point specialist but didn’t have much game beyond that.

Do you have a better comp? Someone similar to Stewart who made it to the NBA? I couldn't think of one which is why I have a hard time seeing Stewart in the NBA.