UCONN’s 2023 NBA Prospects | Page 4 | The Boneyard

UCONN’s 2023 NBA Prospects

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ToolzieFan said:
Vecenie’s latest mock draft (which is different than his draft rankings) has Hawkins going #18 to Miami, Jackson going #31 to Detroit, and Sanogo going #45 to Memphis. I can’t wait for the draft.

theathletic.com

NBA Mock Draft: Wembanyama to Spurs (obviously), but questions begin after that

One week out, what will Charlotte do at No. 2? What about the Blazers at No. 3?
theathletic.com theathletic.com
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Both Vecenie and Ringer/Kevin O'Connor have Jett Howard going to Lakers at 17, that must be solid intel (Ringer is LA-based). Hawkins had previously been mocked there by a few people.
 
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Mike Honcho said:
Wow, Vecenie's write ups in that monster PDF (linked from the article) are really good and comprehensive. An excellent read and worth the price of an Athletic subscription.
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He is really good. I bet he could get hired away by a front office if that’s what he wanted but his life seems pretty good right now. Corey Evans is a scout for the Thunder and Brian Snow basically has the Baker Dunleavy role at Penn State. Not sure those situations provide a higher quality of life. Conversely Dave Telep is now an executive with the Spurs. Must be a fun time for him trying to help build that team.
 
auror said:
Both Vecenie and Ringer/Kevin O'Connor have Jett Howard going to Lakers at 17, that must be solid intel (Ringer is LA-based). Hawkins had previously been mocked there by a few people.
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I don’t really understand why Gradey Dick seems to be a tier above Hawk. He groups them similarly as movement shooters and I get that Dick has better positional size and versatility but Hawk seems like he has a better path to becoming a guy who can hold up in the playoffs. I would bet on him becoming stronger before I bet on Dick becoming more agile/developing better foot speed. And yes I know, it’s just easier to use his name than crack a joke or write around it.
 
runner11 said:
I don’t really understand why Gradey Dick seems to be a tier above Hawk. He groups them similarly as movement shooters and I get that Dick has better positional size and versatility but Hawk seems like he has a better path to becoming a guy who can hold up in the playoffs. I would bet on him becoming stronger before I bet on Dick becoming more agile/developing better foot speed. And yes I know, it’s just easier to use his name than crack a joke or write around it.
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Size, showed a bit more playmaking ability and got to the rim more.
 
CardiacAndre7 said:
Size, showed a bit more playmaking ability and got to the rim more.
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Yeah I get that and I get that these guys are infinitely more informed than me. But it kinda seems like they doubt he will be playable defensively in the playoffs. If one guys is better at x,y, and z but neither are good enough to utilize those skills in the NBA, who cares? If you heard the pod today, it’s the same idea with Cam Thomas. The guy is a top x percentile ISO scorer but if he isn’t the best on-ball creator on your team, which he was not close to, he has very little value.
 
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CardiacAndre7 said:
Size, showed a bit more playmaking ability and got to the rim more.
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Yeah, there are a bunch of guys from 11-16 or so that are all SG/Wings. Not clear which teams will prefer which guys. Different traits. Both Dick and Hawk need to get stronger.

@runner11 I think he's a bit frail. There are so many really strong guys like Harden that will just run him over. It makes him harder to play in a switching scheme.
 
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CardiacAndre7 said:
Size, showed a bit more playmaking ability and got to the rim more.
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yeah, Sam talked about how Hawkins needed to work more on his finishing ability and mid range game at the next level. He’s pretty much just a three point shooter right now. He’s the best in the draft. But it’d help to have more elements to his game.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
yeah, Sam talked about how Hawkins needed to work more on his finishing ability and mid range game at the next level. He’s pretty much just a three point shooter right now. He’s the best in the draft. But it’d help to have more elements to his game.
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It’s funny…every time someone here mentions mid range there is huge pushback saying it’s 3 pt and dunks—that’s it . Now someone is listing a lack of mid range as a weakness???
 
NJHusky said:
It’s funny…every time someone here mentions mid range there is huge pushback saying it’s 3 pt and dunks—that’s it . Now someone is listing a lack of mid range as a weakness???
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That's at a macro level, you can't have a team building their offense around mid-range shots because it's inefficient. That doesn't mean players don't need to have the ability to knock down the occasional mid-range shot when the defense closes out on a shooter.

Hawkins (or any player) is never going to take the majority of his shots from the mid-range. He's not going to go undrafted or be out of the league in 2 years if he doesn't develop a mid-range game. It's just the little boost that pushes him from being a 10+ year role player as a 3+D guy like Duncan Robinson or Joe Harris, to a piece you hope develops into a reliable starter and is a well-rounded player
 
navery12 said:
That's at a macro level, you can't have a team building their offense around mid-range shots because it's inefficient. That doesn't mean players don't need to have the ability to knock down the occasional mid-range shot when the defense closes out on a shooter.

Hawkins (or any player) is never going to take the majority of his shots from the mid-range. He's not going to go undrafted or be out of the league in 2 years if he doesn't develop a mid-range game. It's just the little boost that pushes him from being a 10+ year role player as a 3+D guy like Duncan Robinson or Joe Harris, to a piece you hope develops into a reliable starter and is a well-rounded player
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So we’re trying to prepare guys to be fringe role players?
 
CardiacAndre7 said:
No, @navery12 is saying that adding to his game will push him past guys like Harris and Robinson.
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Oh I misread that part. Still think it’s more than just a little boost though.

The proof has already been shown that a majority of star players rely heavily on the midrange game.

Hawkins used to have a pretty good mid range game his freshman year from reports too. I don’t think deliberately having guys not put an emphasis on it is actually helpful to their NBA potential. Unless we’re just preparing them to be role players and everyone is cool with that.

Don’t think a guy like Castle is here to be a 10 year 3 and D guy.
 
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Over at the Ahtletic, in his latest mock Vecenie has Hawk to the Heat at 18, AJax to the Pistons at 31, and Sonogo to the Jazz at 47.

Whitmore goes to the Rockettes at 4.
 
Hawkins can make midrange shots. He’s proven in his 2 years at UConn that he can make 1-2 dribble pullup jumpers at a pretty reliable rate

Imo, if he can work on his dribbling then the midrange will come by default. When he gets to his spots, he’s automatic. Just struggles to get to his spots off the dribble right now because he lacks that skill.

But that’s a MUCH better problem to have, than the other way around
 
REB1094 said:
Hawkins can make midrange shots. He’s proven in his 2 years at UConn that he can make 1-2 dribble pullup jumpers at a pretty reliable rate

Imo, if he can work on his dribbling then the midrange will come by default. When he gets to his spots, he’s automatic. Just struggles to get to his spots off the dribble right now because he lacks that skill.

But that’s a MUCH better problem to have, than the other way around
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He shot 29.2% on 2 point jumpers as a freshman and 31.0% as a sophomore, so he really struggled with those shots both years
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
So we’re trying to prepare guys to be fringe role players?
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No, but trying to develop guys to be elite role players is pretty smart, especially the way the game is changing.

Until we recruit more Castle’s.

I would rather be great at a limited role than solid all around. If Hawk can put on enough strength without screwing up his shot he will make 100 mill.
 
Rich said:
Over at the Ahtletic, in his latest mock Vecenie has Hawk to the Heat at 18, AJax to the Pistons at 31, and Sonogo to the Jazz at 47.

Whitmore goes to the Rockettes at 4.
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There is value to being the outlier opinion and hitting. The fear is being a KOC (whatever his last name is) from the Ringer with his Killian Hayes take. Whitmore has an insane ceiling but this take seems to bet a ton on his USA bball performance last year.
 
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Jazz, Lakers, Heat, & Warriors specifically named to have Some Degree of Interest in Jordan Hawkins:​

Jordan Hawkins mocked to Heat at 18
His range starts at No. 12 with the Thunder, so he could be off the board by this point. The Jazz, Lakers, Heat and Warriors are all also thought to have some degree of interest in the No. 16 to No. 19 range.
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auror said:

Jazz, Lakers, Heat, & Warriors specifically named to have Some Degree of Interest in Jordan Hawkins:​

Jordan Hawkins mocked to Heat at 18
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I think Hawk goes higher than 18. I’d say 11-15. That three he hit at top of key to put us back up 8 in final was one of the bigger shots in UConn history. If that was our first title, it would be the biggest. It sealed the game.
 
runner11 said:
No, but trying to develop guys to be elite role players is pretty smart, especially the way the game is changing.

Until we recruit more Castle’s.

I would rather be great at a limited role than solid all around. If Hawk can put on enough strength without screwing up his shot he will make 100 mill.
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Just not sure that’s the way. I guess I’ll have to see it in action. Im just of the opinion that you have to have something else to fall back on when your shot inevitably goes cold.

Jeremy Lamb was further along at this point but Hawkins stroke is generational if he lands in the right spot. Really rooting for OKC to pick him up at 12.
 
runner11 said:
No, but trying to develop guys to be elite role players is pretty smart, especially the way the game is changing.

Until we recruit more Castle’s.

I would rather be great at a limited role than solid all around. If Hawk can put on enough strength without screwing up his shot he will make 100 mill.
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You mean specialize in a specific part of the game? Hawkins wouldn’t have a limited role,
 
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