Napier to the draft?!?

[upstater]

With his handle and moves, Napier is plenty fast enough. I'm only concerned about his outside shot and his defense. Otherwise, I think he'll be able to penetrate in the NBA and run an offense well.

 

[Excalibur]

Really? How come Drummond is the fastest person on the team? Napier's speed is very limited. Boatright and Kemba both have/had him covered in terms of that.

He was playing on one foot most of the year. Freshman year he was obviously quicker to anyone with eyes.

 

[NHUConnfan]

Tangent: It seems to me that this talk of Drummond being the fastest person on the team is just nonsense. Does anyone know what was the source for this statement? Calhoun hyperbole?

Calhoun said it - but if you watched the games when Drummond ran up the court, he clearly was the fastest player. Also, ESPN picked this up and would repeat it back constantly. I don't think its hyperbole. If you look at any mock draft site, they have it down as part of his freak athleticism.

 

[wpq4elamin]

Really? How come Drummond is the fastest person on the team? Napier's speed is very limited. Boatright and Kemba both have/had him covered in terms of that.

from all accounts, drummond might be the fastest man in college basketball when he wants to be.... not being the fastest guy on the team isn't saying a whole lot when you have drummond and boat (2 freak athletes) on your own team.... and kemba was about as quick as they come as well...

drummond is being projected as a top 2 pick because he's fast and can jump.... and he can't do much else right now..... so that's a very silly argument in terms of bazz not being quick...

 

[bpear1600]

one of the best point guards in the country? comparing him to DJ Austin and Rajon Rondo?

am i in fantasy land right now?

he's has had 2 sub par seasons, is undersized, not a great defender and not fast. if we had any other options i think it'd be fair to ask to move on to Boatright and a different 2 guard and bring Nappier off the bench.

i feel like just because someone puts on a UConn jersey this board thinks they are great players. there are 50 Shabazz Napiers running around the NCAA right now and thats probably an understatement. if you get minutes and take shots, you're going to put up numbers (hence his points and assists), if you don't do it efficiently then you aren't good. Shabazz shoots 38%, we run an awful half court offense in which he's the pg and he makes some boneheaded passes.

These must be the same posters that predicted an NBA career for Ricky Moore. Why isn't it enough for Napier to develop into a really good college player?

 

[wpq4elamin]

These must be the same posters that predicted an NBA career for Ricky Moore. Why isn't it enough for Napier to develop into a really good college player?

totally off topic here, but is that Kenny Powers in your picture? haha

 

[swami7774]

No offense, but this is a terrible comparison. Nothing about his game is like Rondo whatsoever. He's not in the same galaxy as Rondo as far as passing is concerned, not on the same planet as an athlete, and overall he'll never be 10% of the player that Rondo is in the NBA. I'm not trying to kill Shabazz here, but you're comparing him to one of the five best point guards in the NBA.
.

Reread where I said "a poor man's Rondo."

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Reread where I said "a poor man's Rondo."

Poor man's Rondo suggests that although they are on different talent levels, they have a similar skillset, and I think that's what champs disagreed with (and for that matter I do to). Rondo is a pass-first, shoot last PG with incredible court vision, who is very active on the court. Shabazz is a shoot-first PG who takes just about half his shots from beyond the arc, really doesn't move all that much when running the half court offense, and has been bashed numerous times on here for some of the decisions he's made. They just are not similar players. Someone brought up the name D.J. Augustin and I think poor man's Augustin is a much better comparison.

 

[huskymagic]

one of the best point guards in the country? comparing him to DJ Austin and Rajon Rondo?

am i in fantasy land right now?

he's has had 2 sub par seasons, is undersized, not a great defender and not fast. if we had any other options i think it'd be fair to ask to move on to Boatright and a different 2 guard and bring Nappier off the bench.

i feel like just because someone puts on a UConn jersey this board thinks they are great players. there are 50 Shabazz Napiers running around the NCAA right now and thats probably an understatement. if you get minutes and take shots, you're going to put up numbers (hence his points and assists), if you don't do it efficiently then you aren't good. Shabazz shoots 38%, we run an awful half court offense in which he's the pg and he makes some boneheaded passes.

lol this is the most honest assessment of Napier probably since my assessment of him well done. Every team in the Big East has a Shabazz Napier so people get a little carried away with how good Napier is, but he has a toughness, and the confidence to take and make some big shots which is a good quality about him. However, all though I agree with everything you just said and have said this for a while myself, Napier can and probably will be a backup point guard in the NBA and probably will get drafted. He is similar to Chris Duhon and AJ Price, and DJ Augustin. These are all guys who are not very fast or athletic but have certain skills that make them somewhat useful in the NBA.

 

[21Huskies]

yes, but those players were all successful in college.

if i'm not mistaken as a sophomore Augustin won the Cousy award, was all big 12 1st team, an all american (on some lists) and scored like 20 ppg on like mid 40's % shooting.

Bazz didn't even make all big east 3rd team, did he?

(i'm certainly not suggesting that the awards matter either, just pointing out the difference in their successes)

 

[huskymagic]

yes, but those players were all successful in college.

if i'm not mistaken as a sophomore Augustin won the Cousy award, was all big 12 1st team, an all american (on some lists) and scored like 20 ppg on like mid 40's % shooting.

Bazz didn't even make all big east 3rd team, did he?

(i'm certainly not suggesting that the awards matter either, just pointing out the difference in their successes)

21 yes I know those players were successful in college but it doesnt really matter. The point is Napier has similar skill set as those guys and will get drafted just because he is hyped by the media as a star already and some scouts think that he has good vision and can be a decent backup in the NBA. There are a lot of Napiers in college basketball, and its usually the ones that are hyped by the media that play for big programs that get drafted as thats the society we live in. What I fin ridiculous is none of the buffoon experts or scouts talking about guys like Peyton Siva who deserve to get drafted and who have good potential to get better still despite already being very quick and extremely athletic.

 

[UConn990411]

I think no one is talking about Siva because he has not improved - and in many ways has regressed - in three years now, despite playing in a big time program and conference. That typically sends a red flag or two.

But of course you have a 6th sense for these types of things, so I'm sure Siva will go on to become a Hall of Famer.

 

[caw]

The funny thing about Siva is that Napier pretty much had a better statistical season than him (in almost every statistical category). Napier was better from 3 (36% > 24%), better from the foul line (74% > 73%), PPG (13 > 9.2), RPG (3.5 > 3.2), APG (5.8 > 5.5), BPG (.3 > .1), TOPG (2.8 < 3.5). The only two things Siva did better are 2P% (42% < 46%) and SPG (1.6 < 1.8). Napier commits fewer fouls as well (2.6 < 3.0). Of course if you adjust for MPG things are closer, though I believe UL plays at a faster pace.

I would say Siva was better than Napier but, aside from head-to-head, there is no statistical basis for saying that.

Aside: I think Boatright could be better than Siva down the line because Boatright can actually shoot the ball.

 

[21Huskies]

i'm not a big Siva fan either so i'll stay out of that debate but Boatright is absolutely going to be a stud. he has the quickness and the ability to get where he wants with the ball. freshman make mistakes, so his inconsistencies weren't shocking this year, but he's going to be a stud. he should only improve on his 42% shooting as well as he gets more consistent minutes and this year of craziness is past him.

your team is only going to be as good as the performance of your players who have the highest usage rate. i'm hoping next season we have the ball in Boatrights hands a lot more than we have the ball in Bazz's hands and i think we'll see much better results.

 

[UConn990411]

Siva was not better than Napier - not this year at least.

He was pretty much a disaster all season.

 

[Sean]

Alright, let's all calm down for a minute.

Draft Express rates Napier as the 54th best SOPHOMORE. There are only 60 picks in the draft, including non collegiate players and all four years of college players. Right now, he isn't even looking at being one of the top players in Europe. He's staying, if he doesn't transfer.

I also can't believe that some people think he'd be the 2nd best PG in the draft. Lillard, Marshall, Wroten are all clear cut first rounders, IMO, and there are plenty of other guys you could talk yourself into trying to develop if that's what your after. If you want to REALLY roll the dice, why wouldn't you gamble on someone like Scott Machado?