Jump to content

Best NBA Ready Freshman


Cavamatic
 Share

Recommended Posts

Probably Irving or Barnes.

 

Barnes is already very skilled and has a great understanding of the game.

 

Irving has NBA athleticism and skill set (just needs to learn to run an offense better).

 

Jones may have the highest ceiling of them all, but he is definitely a work in progress. I also really like Sullinger, but you have to wonder about his size at the NBA level. He won't be able to bully people around like he has done in high school and so far at OSU.

 

I haven't seen enough of guys like Selby and Knight to comment on them.

 

Way too early to tell, though.

Edited by Built Ford Tough
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember a scout saying Barnes is probably the most skilled offensive player we've seen since Carmelo Anthony at that age. He has a great work ethic and I'm sure his talents will translate to the NBA.

 

After Barnes it's probably Perry Jones.

 

After Jones, I'll go with Kyrie Irving. The NBA is geared towards PG's now, he's just the kind of dynamic guard that can get anywhere he wants on the floor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Owner

I want to mention Selby, but like Sean said, there's just not enough to look at yet. I have to see him this season before I judge how well he may do in the pros.

 

Harrison Barnes is a great pick here.

 

Kyrie Irving...I think he's going to be that type of NBA point that needs a good, demanding coach to tell him how he's going to play in a particular system. Otherwise, I'm worried that Irving is going to go into scoring mode, when actually, his best feature is passing the ball and getting his own looks when necessary.

 

Sullinger needs to work on that defense, and this is a college big who has a lot of trouble around the rim, putting up shots against players taller than he is, although there aren't really very many significant players on a college level that can contest that shot of his due to his strength + wingspan. In the NBA? Big difference. Someone like Gasol (who is a seven-footer and has a long wingspan) will turn him into an irrelevant player quickly.

 

Perry Jones isn't more NBA-ready than the top players in college basketball, but he has the most potential out of all of them, including Barnes.

 

Terrence Jones is another to consider, but again, he may be in the same boat as Perry Jones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Sullinger will be playing the 3 in the NBA

 

Really?

 

I don't see it. I know he has a decent mid range jumper for a guy his size, but I just can't see him having the quickness or ever developing the perimeter game to be a full time small forward in the NBA. He is definitely a natural post scorer with his skillset and even his body frame, but he just doesn't have ideal height for it in the NBA. That may not even be an issue, though, as guys like Elton Brand have shown the ability to be an All-Star caliber player despite giving up size to his opponent basically every night.

 

I see him as a Paul Millsap type of 4. Not as athletic, but probably more skilled. I just don't know if he has the lift to score against legit NBA bigs around the rim.

 

I remember a scout saying Barnes is probably the most skilled offensive player we've seen since Carmelo Anthony at that age. He has a great work ethic and I'm sure his talents will translate to the NBA.

 

After Barnes it's probably Perry Jones.

 

Yeah, I love Barnes game. Granted I've seen limited amount of action from him (a couple high school games, the All-American game and parts of his debut at UNC), but I just love the way he plays. I don't know how much upside he has, but he definitely is a legit talent and is going to be a very good pro.

 

Curious as to why you think Jones is the second most NBA ready freshman? I don't think that is the case at all and think out of the big three of this draft (Barnes, Jones and Irving) he is far and away the least ready, but has the potential to be the best.

Edited by Built Ford Tough
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Owner

Sullinger would get killed at the three, especially when he's asked to defend guys like LeBron, Durant and Granger. He would have to shed a lot of weight and gain a ton of lateral quickness, because he's super slow right now if we're comparing him to other college SFs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to mention Selby, but like Sean said, there's just not enough to look at yet. I have to see him this season before I judge how well he may do in the pros.

I have a feeling Selby will be staying in Kansas for the next 2-3 years. He comes off as the type of player who wants to win, and he seems pretty dedicated to the program.

 

I see a lot more Garnett in Perry Jones than the Tmac or the Durant comparisons. He's bulked up and is going to be asked to play a lot in the post this season, especially without Udoh being there. We'll see but even if you watched Garnett and Bosh in high school, they were spending a lot of time on the perimeter since they were also quicker than anybody they faced.

 

And BFT, I guess I got caught up with potential, and forgot what the thread really asked for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perry Jones is going to be great. I wish we could see Enes Kanter this year, he seems like a real stud.

 

Thoughts on Brandon Knight?

 

I like his game, but he just doesn't have the athleticism or upside that a guy like Irving does. Great shooter, capable of taking over a game scoring wise, but I just don't see the point guard in him. He screams undersized two guard to me, but Calipari is great at working with guards so maybe he find the playmaking instincts inside of him. I don't think he has the innane playmaking skills and will be more of a Gilbert Arenas type of point guard, which isn't bad, but not exactly the kind of player that I would want as my point guard.

 

I like Irving the best out of all of the guards in this years class, followed by Selby and then I'd probably put Knight third (although I really like Kemba Walker as well, but he obviously isn't a Freshman).

 

As for Kanter, I agree. I haven't watched him play, but from everything that I've read about him he seems like a very solid player. One comparision I've heard thrown around is a more athletic Marc Gasol type of player, which would be amazing as I love Gasol's game. I don't know if that is accurate or not because, like I said, I've never watched him play, but he sounds very impressive.

 

Since Kanter can't play can't he enter the NBA right now or does he have to wait or what?

 

Nah, he has to wait until the draft. He can't just sign anywhere.

 

 

 

EDIT: In a somewhat related note, is it just me that is really high on this class? A lot of people are saying that it is weak outside of the top 3, but I honestly love what I see from this class. The European prospects all sound like they could become solid players and I like this years Freshman class more than last year, outside of Wall. Is it just a case of me overrating them because Toronto has a high pick, or does anybody else feel the same way as I do?

Edited by Built Ford Tough
Link to comment
Share on other sites

EDIT: In a somewhat related note, is it just me that is really high on this class? A lot of people are saying that it is weak outside of the top 3, but I honestly love what I see from this class. The European prospects all sound like they could become solid players and I like this years Freshman class more than last year, outside of Wall. Is it just a case of me overrating them because Toronto has a high pick, or does anybody else feel the same way as I do?

 

I love this class as well. The PG crop is outstanding and I think Barnes and Sullinger have superstar written all over them. Sullinger is a beast.

 

The European guys are very solid this year. I'm not a fan of Motiejunas and I think he's a reach in the top 10 especially in a class like this. However, I absolutely love Kanter and Vesely. Both of those guys seem like future stars.

 

Next years class may be even better too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Definitely Barnes but Perry Jones is just gushing potential, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he is in the conversation for the #1 pick (assuming he puts together a solid season).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After watching Wil Barton actually get playing time and leading the team out of a tough spot, hes a talent and should be thought of here. The coaches love him, but hes been hurt and hasn't gotten the time to work on the offense these guys wanna run, even with that he puts up 20 plus in his third game. Pretty impressive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed with the Harrison Barnes pick, he's a really polished offensive player. His natural scoring ability makes up for lack of psychical size. Similar to what we said about Kevin Durant when he was drafted, he has got to gain weight but that will come over time. He's a really discipline shooter, he's great at squaring up to the basket and shooting with a consistent motion whether it's a shot off the dribble or a open jumpshot.

Edited by Confidence
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...