Does anyone feel a twinge of embarrassment...

[Dogdeacon]

Dudes... Drummond goes no lower than #2... his potential is off the charts and teams drafting that low have to take a risk on getting a franchise player... Drafting guys with lower ceilings just doesn't do much for those franchises that are in the dumps... Drummond is a huge risk at this stage, but at least he has the potential to be a franchise player... Who else can you say that for in this draft ? Only Davis

Wow. I can see 4 or 5 based SOLELY on potential, but top 2 is nuts and arguably Drummond could really drop. There is no question that for his future development as a basketball player he is best served by staying in college. He cannot play with his back to the basket at all and his free throw shooting is atrocious. Sometimes players should go early because they've had rapid rises and no one has dissected their flaws, but the parts of AD's game that need work are so obvious that IF he declares now they would become the story moreso than the positive of 'potential'. AD's a very risky high lottery pick right now and he could easily drop if GM's are concerned about his downside.

More simply I want him to have both a great UConn and pro career, so staying in college is unquestionably the best route for his long-term basketball success.

 

[caw]

Dudes... Drummond goes no lower than #2... his potential is off the charts and teams drafting that low have to take a risk on getting a franchise player... Drafting guys with lower ceilings just doesn't do much for those franchises that are in the dumps... Drummond is a huge risk at this stage, but at least he has the potential to be a franchise player... Who else can you say that for in this draft ? Only Davis

There are perhaps 4 players that could be franchise players and they are leveled.

All have question marks next to their names, even Davis.

Davis: His question mark is his weight/strength. Upside for Davis could be the best of both worlds, KG's offense and rebounding with Camby's blocking ability. The downside is Camby.

Drummond: His question mark is his ability to learn and be aggressive. He has the upside of Shaq/Howard/Amare with the downside of Kwame.

Barnes: Huge question mark in athleticism. Call me crazy but he just has so much ability and already has a very good shot. Upside is probably Paul Pierce/Deng but his downside is probably Danny Granger.

Lamb: Question mark about him being the guy and about his handle. Upside of Ray Allen, downside of Kerry Kittles.

Beal? Some say he has a great shot, his actual shooting numbers don't support this.

I consider Pierce and Allen to be franchise guys in their prime, Deng may not be but he is borderline.

 

[jibsey]

Potential is what the draft is about. Bynum is just coming into his own 5 years later.

 

[James]

I'm sorry andre can't come in and average 20 and 10. What do you think Bynum would have done his freshman year? No matter how much you dislike it, both him and lamb are going to the league next year as top 10 picks; and with practice will contribute.

 

[tzznandrew]

I'm sorry andre can't come in and average 20 and 10. What do you think Bynum would have done his freshman year? No matter how much you dislike it, both him and lamb are going to the league next year as top 10 picks; and with practice will contribute.

If they go (and I think Lamb is more likely), Drummond will certainly be Top 2-3, Lamb will be lottery.

 

[James]

In AD's three games against syracuse he's averaged 14.6 points, 10 boards, and 2.6 blocks a game.

 

[Scot-e]

I am so proud of our team from last year I could not even fathom being upset with this team.

My expectations were higher but that is the nature of being a fan.

 

[Ricky1Moore]

For the record... I think Drummond stays... Lamb is gone... But these are things to discuss after we win the championship.

 

[Kitaman]

That's a question for the 2 lottery picks, I don't.

 

[johnhuskies95]

How should Lamb standing in place be his fault? There are only two things JC does coaching wise that annoy me: one is when we slow the offense down to an absurd pace late in games with the lead. The other is not defending the three point shot very well.

So Lamb not moving on offense late in the game is more about the coaching philosophy, not him. Also, he averages 18 points a game on nearly 50% shooting. That's pretty damn good.

 

[Fishy]

I usually experience a tinge of embarrassment whenever I read this board, but I can't say that the preseason rankings have anything to do with it.

 

[Gurleyman]

Sometimes, when a player is "just standing there" there's a reason for it. On the play when he was getting ripped for standing still, it looked to me like UConn was trying to get into some sort of a set for a quick-hitting play, where Lamb was waiting for the ball to reverse to the opposite site before making a cut (either along the baseline or a flash to the paint - who knows) towards the ball. Syracuse overplayed that passing lane, and UConn never reversed the ball, and Napier took a long three rather than kill any more clock.

Lamb really had nowhere to cut, since he was in the corner on the strong side and all he would have done would have been to bring his man into any potential driving lanes. I don't know if he kept standing after the shot went up - you could fault him for that if he did, but the whole possession was just what Bill Simmons would call a clogged toilet.