[bigbabyjesus]

I'd say he's already better than Joey Graham.

He's deceptively quick (could shed some pounds though), and is quite crafty at getting to the basket, unlike Joey. His handle is also lightyears above Joey's.

Let's hope his stock doesn't rise too high, although I think I'd prefer Tyler Smith anyways.

[A_wildstabatanything]

I'm hoping BC tries to get into the lottery. This team desperately needs a goto player on the wing. Taking present performance & future potential into account who would you rather have?

Parker, Moon, & Delfino OR

J. Johnson, J.Smith, & M.Williams.
R.Allen, Pierce, & Posey.
G.Wallace, JRich, & Morrison.
Gordon, Deng, & Nocioni.
Lebron + does it really matter?
J. Howard, Terry, & Stackhouse.
Iverson, Melo, & J.R Smith.
R. Hamilton, Prince, & Stuckey.
S. Jackson, Ellis, & Pietrus.
TMac, Battier, & Head.
Dunleavy, Granger, & Daniels.
Maggette, Thornton, & Mobley.
Kobe, Odom, & Ariza.
Gay, M. Miller, & Navarro.
Wade, Marion, & R. Davis.
Foye, McCants, & Brewer.
Carter, Jefferson, & Nachbar.
Peja, Wells, & J.Wright.
Crawford, Balkman, & Richardson.
R. Lewis, Turkoglu, & Bogans.
Igoudala, Green, & T.Young.
Hill, Barbosa, & Diaw.
B.Roy, Outlaw, & Webster.
K.Martin, Salmons, & Artest.
Ginobli, Bowen, & M.Finley.
Kirilenko, R.Brewer, & Korver.
C. Butler, Stevenson, & N.Young.


Absolutely disgusting... we need to add one of E.Gordon, Mayo, Batum, Gallinari, Randolph, or D.Greene at this year's draft.

[southeasy]

tyler smith is probably more likely, i really like randolph alot too, one of those two, realistically, could really help this team, i really think smith reminds me of one of my favourite players in josh howard as someone already said,

also, damn, bill walker killed that game tonight, i wish he was coming out this year.

[SkywalkerAC]

has walker confirmed that he'll come back or something? dude's getting older by the day and needs to jump to the L when he can. he looked pretty solid tonight. will need to put in a lot more work on that jumper. i like his look of intensity and his body movement is very similar to VC's but he's not a dribble drive guy, i'm not sold on his slashing abilities, and he's got pretty short arms. could he start alongside Moon were he drafted? doubtful.

building around B&B necessitates that we get more powerful athletes at the other positions. i think Moon fits quite nicely in this regard and would like to pair him with a wing that can get to the basket. he needs to be able to defend, rebound, and finish around the basket. oh yeah, he'll probably be hard pressed to find playing time if he can't shoot. a post up game would be nice too.

Beastley would be so sick with BB and Jam. I think Batum has starter potential with BB and Jam. From what I've heard, Tyler Smith might fit on this toast but can he guard or make moves on NBA 2/3s?

[billfindlay10]

Walker is a nice prospect, but at 6'6" is he our answer at small forward? I like his frame and he looks like he can shoot the ball 3/4 from 3 vs. USC, does he have the ability to play the 2?

[bigbabyjesus]

^ i think he doesn't RIGHT now (at least fulltime), but when he works on his handle a bit, improves his range, and sheds a few pounds he will be able to no problem.

i still think he's a small forward though, he's pretty much the same size as gerald wallace, and both have decent wingspan, athleticism, and in walkers case, great strength.

i do believe he will come out this year, although it would be in his best interest to stay and prove he can lead kansas st by himself.

..but yeah tennessee beat american in a tough fought game despite what the score says

tyler smith with 14 (4-8 FG, 6-7 FT) pts, 7 reb, 6 asts

this guy is a triple double threat every time he steps onto the floor.. without tyler smiths playmaking ability and defensive versatility, tennesee is pretty much nothing lol

as for your question sky, whether he can guard 2/3's.. without a doubt.. the guy guards 1-5 in college with no problem, and what i like most is how physical he is (might struggle a little bit at first in the nba, but his potential on defense is big)

also he's definetly got the craftiness and smarts to slash on nba wings, he just needs to work on his handle which has already improved.

his stats are eerily similar to iguodalas last years stats at arizona.

[southeasy]

you know who is really coming on strong in the NBA, a very underrated Al Thornton of the LA Clippers... IMO, he is exactly the type of player we should be looking for in this draft... amazing control in the air & physical attributes, also a very good rebounder for his size. Another guy that really reminds me of Josh Howard.

[SkywalkerAC]

Thabeet sure can block shots. The rest of his game is horrible at this point. He was blocked twice today and his rebounding didn't look better than Andrea's.

[billfindlay10]

Originally Posted by SkywalkerAC

Thabeet sure can block shots. The rest of his game is horrible at this point. He was blocked twice today and his rebounding didn't look better than Andrea's.

He may block shots but he can't guard a pick and pop or pick and roll to save his life...he got torched!

[narrator]

Originally Posted by ATM

Kevin Love is also being projected as a 15-20 pick, not top 5 as you claimed.

My bad. I'm big enough to admit when I'm wrong: he's being projected as anywhere from 10-17 right now. I, however, think he's a top 5 pick because of what he brings to the table. I don't know that he'd fit here. Hopefully my local CBS will decide to show me some more UCLA games in the next three weeks.

[narrator]

Originally Posted by bigbabyjesus

Well apparently 6 rebounds in college translates to 5 offensive rebounds a game, and 10 total rebounds a game in the best league in the world

You know how it is, the better the league, the more rebounds you get.. because theres more shots going up. It doesn't matter that the game is way faster, athletic, and more talented [/sarcasm]

Okay, I'm going to go slow: I picked 10 because it's a nice, round number. I picked 5 because it, too, is a nice round number (metaphorically speaking). If Hibbert has position, and if the game is 8 minutes longer and if he plays more minutes, there is no reason why his rebounding numbers won't go up. Combined with the Raptors missing a lot of shots (even taking into account long rebounds from missed 3s), he should average more numbers. If the Raptors emphasize offensive rebounding with at least 3 players (Bosh, Hibbert, small forward/shooting guard [whoever's closer to the bucket]), there is no reason why he shouldn't get more offensive boards. There is no reason why he can't get 4.4/game like Chandler.

Re: the bolded sections: why does the game slow to a crawl in the playoffs then? Then again, maybe Hibbert should just go to San Antonio and win 5 rings there with Duncan.

I suppose there's no point going on with this line of argument since you're never going to change yours and I'm unlikely to change mine. I suppose, if BBB is still around in 10 years, we can revisit this then and decide who was right.

[southeasy]

speaking of rebounding, NBA draft & defense aside.. jamario moon might just be one of the top 5 rebounding small forwards.. in the entire league.

back on topic, based on thabeets performance in Uconns loss today, he looks like he will drop in the rankings, also Hibbert is now ranked from anywhere between 12-19

[SkywalkerAC]

the draft is a cheap way to pick up a backup center but i think almost all of the elite teams in the L have built their backup big collection based around veterans and you've got to compensate for AB with a veteran presence.

thabeet is a freak i guess. like, what's he got hiding under that t=shirt? does this guy even know how to hold a basketball yet? but what project centers have worked in the past decade? do you remember pavel podkolzine?

the draft is really fun/unpredictable at this stage of team development. we're deep enough to question the playing time available to any rookie yet we're in need of an upgrade at any position. yes, even point guard - duh duh duuuuhhhhh

the most irrelevant draft in raptor history, as we've never had this much talent depth (sad, i know) will also be our most important? can BC turn around the team with this draft? is this the draft that his legacy is based on?

i firmly believe that this pick will define BC's era in toronto. the t.dot scouting team is among the best in the L and BC has the wherewithal to get the guy he wants. the draft is where the rich get richer and we stand to benefit nicely from any injection of young talent. just see how other young talents seem to blossom in Sams's system.

i saw a nice interview with Calipari today regarding the evolution of the game and the unguardable nature of the dribble drive. he called it (his system) the Princeton offense on steroids. ball movement is important but more important is where the ball is being driven from.

we've all seen space for Sam's players to put the ball on the floor and move into the lane. Bonner and Kapono were both encouraged to put the ball on the floor and take the shot off the dribble. jamario and andrea often get the space to step in and shoot. a guy that could step in, fake the shot, dribble into the lane and create/finish would be invaluable at this stage of our development.

fact is, we'll be hard pressed to find a wing in the draft better than Joey going into next year. that's not a knock on the draft class - i genuinely think that JG has rounded into a strong, kinda-veteran player. yet i think think that's the position we need to look at most closely.

the team i'm worried about selecting in front of us is the Nets. they too have point guards and bigs, i think they're the team that will take a chance on batum.

maybe that will leave ty smith for us though...