the Q
Yowie Wowie. We’re gonna have so much fun here
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2017
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Someone asked for it so I'll deliver.
I'm also gonna start it off with an old tradition from a now defunct message board I used to frequent.
But this is about guys in the 2nd round who I found to be rather intriguing this year.
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This is something I used to do on the old board (KFFL) and it became a yearly thing.
Some of my past favorite hits have been: Danny Green, Khris Middleton, Jamychal Green, Brandon Bass, Milsap, Will Barton, Jae Crowder, Kyle O'Quinn, Allen Crabbe.
Sure there are plenty of misses in there. over the years too But that's the point, no one likes these guys. Last year McCaw and Brogdan were 2 of mine last year (I also had Onuaku for 2106, I was a Bobby Brown fan, a Darkari Johnson fan and Darius Morris too...so again, I don't claim perfection).
(I also didn't include guys who randomly fell to round 2 unexpectedly like Whiteside or DeAndre Jordan).
My whole thing with this is guys who are already projected to be round 2 picks who will likely out play that draft position.
For the purposes of this exercise I use the Draft Express mock. Anyone in round 1 is out.
Also, I encourage others to share their potential steals.
So without further ado:
The College Stars
Jordan Bell PF Oregon: In this modern era of "position-less basketball" Bell is exactly the kind of role player you're looking to find. He's long (6'11.5 wingspan) and has the ability to guard 4 or even all 5 spots on the floor in certain situations. With all the talk about "Death Lineups" he's a guy you can have on the floor to combat it defensively. Offensively he's alarmingly efficient from the floor, but his FT shooting is meh and his 3pt shooting is non-existent. he's probably never going to be a classic stretch 4. But his size, versatility and general offensive efficiency make him a very useful role player. I still don't think he ends up landing in round 2.
Josh Hart, SG, Villanova: 6'5 height and 6'8 wingspan give him the size he needs. Probably needs to bulk up a bit. I don't think he's a ball handler play maker 3 apg, 2 TO/g, but he can put it on the floor when he needs to. Again, very efficient player. decent FT shooter (75%), and 40% from 3 shows signs. He's a classic spurs type player. This is a Courtney Lee type profile. A little less on D though.
Devin Robinson, SF Florida: This is your classic 3 and D type player. He shouldn't be dribbling. Basically ever except on the break, but he's pretty good when he can get going there. But he found the stroke from 3. He's a 72% from FT line so that shooting still needs a bit of work. But has the tools be dynamite defensively, but still learning some of the nuances of team defense. This kid needs to go somewhere with a strong defensive coach like SA, Minny, Dallas or Boston. I'd love to see him with Minny or Dallas. Potential Jae Crowder situation here. But again, that's the high end.
Sindarius Thornwell, SG, South Carolina: This guy finally got to strut his stuff on the big stage and man he didn't disappoint. He's 6'5 with a 6'10 wingspan so he's got the length to cover some 3s. But he's ideally a 2 with length to really both your typical 2s. His game is pretty well rounded. Strong block and steal numbers (2/1pg) and shot 39% from 3 and is an 82% FT shooter, so that looks pretty legit. Averaging 7 rebounds per game as a SG is absurd. His defensive is his calling card. His biggest issue is the lower vertical leap makes him a low % finisher at the rim, dragging down his overall shooting %. For me he's a classic 3 and D profile. Those guys can be pretty freaking valuable.
Lesser Known Guys
Alec Peters PF Valparaiso: More of a classic stretch 4. The kid is a pretty good shooter (88% FT) which means his 36% 3pt shooting is likely for real. His defensive issues are value (less than a block or a steal per game) but I see him playing the poor man's Harrison Barnes on the Warriors role for a team. He'll stand in the corner, hit 3s, do some rebounding and try not to embarrass himself on defense. Again, not a star, but can be a very useful role player.
Cameron Oliver, PF, Nevada: Oliver probably has the highest upside of nay of these guys I have listed here. He's 6-8 1/4 in shoes, but a 7-1 1/4 wingpan gives him some absurd length. He also has a 39.5 max vertical, showing some elite level athleticism. His game is very strong almost across the board. 8.6 board per game, and 2.6 blocks and almost 1 steal per game showcase his value on defense. And offensively he's just fascinating. Shooting 52% from the field and 38% from 3 shows he has some talent, but the biggest concern is that 69% FT shooting %. It makes we wonder about this 3pt shooting (cause FT% is a better indicator of 3pt % than 3pt % itself). But he also did it on almost 5 3s per game average. This is the guy with the highest upside of anyone else out there on this list. He may be a little raw, but he's well worth a late first IMO.
Strong Longshot
Jake Wiley, PF Eastern Washington: This is a guy I'll be rooting for. 6'7 with shoes but a 7 foot wingspan is condor like. He's very long. He's a plus plus athlete with a 3.17 3/4 sprint (would've been top 5 at the combine) and a 37.5 no step vert, which is also strong. He's also known for a plus motor. His 80% ft shooting gives hope that he can expand his game out to the perimeter a bit. I'm not going to project him out to 3pt land with that, but it's intriguing. Defensively he averages almost 3 blocks a steal per game. Showing is defensive athleticism and motor. This is the kind of guy who can really surprise people when given a chance, but with only 2 years of D1 college experience (1 year at Montana, 1 at Eastern Washington) it's a tough situation for evaluation purposes. The biggest concern is why he quit basketball at Montana to run track (400 meters, so you know he's athletic lol). It's a legit question, but one I'd be willing to roll the dice on to find out.
I'm also gonna start it off with an old tradition from a now defunct message board I used to frequent.
But this is about guys in the 2nd round who I found to be rather intriguing this year.
=======================================================================
This is something I used to do on the old board (KFFL) and it became a yearly thing.
Some of my past favorite hits have been: Danny Green, Khris Middleton, Jamychal Green, Brandon Bass, Milsap, Will Barton, Jae Crowder, Kyle O'Quinn, Allen Crabbe.
Sure there are plenty of misses in there. over the years too But that's the point, no one likes these guys. Last year McCaw and Brogdan were 2 of mine last year (I also had Onuaku for 2106, I was a Bobby Brown fan, a Darkari Johnson fan and Darius Morris too...so again, I don't claim perfection).
(I also didn't include guys who randomly fell to round 2 unexpectedly like Whiteside or DeAndre Jordan).
My whole thing with this is guys who are already projected to be round 2 picks who will likely out play that draft position.
For the purposes of this exercise I use the Draft Express mock. Anyone in round 1 is out.
Also, I encourage others to share their potential steals.
So without further ado:
The College Stars
Jordan Bell PF Oregon: In this modern era of "position-less basketball" Bell is exactly the kind of role player you're looking to find. He's long (6'11.5 wingspan) and has the ability to guard 4 or even all 5 spots on the floor in certain situations. With all the talk about "Death Lineups" he's a guy you can have on the floor to combat it defensively. Offensively he's alarmingly efficient from the floor, but his FT shooting is meh and his 3pt shooting is non-existent. he's probably never going to be a classic stretch 4. But his size, versatility and general offensive efficiency make him a very useful role player. I still don't think he ends up landing in round 2.
Josh Hart, SG, Villanova: 6'5 height and 6'8 wingspan give him the size he needs. Probably needs to bulk up a bit. I don't think he's a ball handler play maker 3 apg, 2 TO/g, but he can put it on the floor when he needs to. Again, very efficient player. decent FT shooter (75%), and 40% from 3 shows signs. He's a classic spurs type player. This is a Courtney Lee type profile. A little less on D though.
Devin Robinson, SF Florida: This is your classic 3 and D type player. He shouldn't be dribbling. Basically ever except on the break, but he's pretty good when he can get going there. But he found the stroke from 3. He's a 72% from FT line so that shooting still needs a bit of work. But has the tools be dynamite defensively, but still learning some of the nuances of team defense. This kid needs to go somewhere with a strong defensive coach like SA, Minny, Dallas or Boston. I'd love to see him with Minny or Dallas. Potential Jae Crowder situation here. But again, that's the high end.
Sindarius Thornwell, SG, South Carolina: This guy finally got to strut his stuff on the big stage and man he didn't disappoint. He's 6'5 with a 6'10 wingspan so he's got the length to cover some 3s. But he's ideally a 2 with length to really both your typical 2s. His game is pretty well rounded. Strong block and steal numbers (2/1pg) and shot 39% from 3 and is an 82% FT shooter, so that looks pretty legit. Averaging 7 rebounds per game as a SG is absurd. His defensive is his calling card. His biggest issue is the lower vertical leap makes him a low % finisher at the rim, dragging down his overall shooting %. For me he's a classic 3 and D profile. Those guys can be pretty freaking valuable.
Lesser Known Guys
Alec Peters PF Valparaiso: More of a classic stretch 4. The kid is a pretty good shooter (88% FT) which means his 36% 3pt shooting is likely for real. His defensive issues are value (less than a block or a steal per game) but I see him playing the poor man's Harrison Barnes on the Warriors role for a team. He'll stand in the corner, hit 3s, do some rebounding and try not to embarrass himself on defense. Again, not a star, but can be a very useful role player.
Cameron Oliver, PF, Nevada: Oliver probably has the highest upside of nay of these guys I have listed here. He's 6-8 1/4 in shoes, but a 7-1 1/4 wingpan gives him some absurd length. He also has a 39.5 max vertical, showing some elite level athleticism. His game is very strong almost across the board. 8.6 board per game, and 2.6 blocks and almost 1 steal per game showcase his value on defense. And offensively he's just fascinating. Shooting 52% from the field and 38% from 3 shows he has some talent, but the biggest concern is that 69% FT shooting %. It makes we wonder about this 3pt shooting (cause FT% is a better indicator of 3pt % than 3pt % itself). But he also did it on almost 5 3s per game average. This is the guy with the highest upside of anyone else out there on this list. He may be a little raw, but he's well worth a late first IMO.
Strong Longshot
Jake Wiley, PF Eastern Washington: This is a guy I'll be rooting for. 6'7 with shoes but a 7 foot wingspan is condor like. He's very long. He's a plus plus athlete with a 3.17 3/4 sprint (would've been top 5 at the combine) and a 37.5 no step vert, which is also strong. He's also known for a plus motor. His 80% ft shooting gives hope that he can expand his game out to the perimeter a bit. I'm not going to project him out to 3pt land with that, but it's intriguing. Defensively he averages almost 3 blocks a steal per game. Showing is defensive athleticism and motor. This is the kind of guy who can really surprise people when given a chance, but with only 2 years of D1 college experience (1 year at Montana, 1 at Eastern Washington) it's a tough situation for evaluation purposes. The biggest concern is why he quit basketball at Montana to run track (400 meters, so you know he's athletic lol). It's a legit question, but one I'd be willing to roll the dice on to find out.
