Parker v Randle v Wiggins (1 Viewer)

[sporthenry]

Smart outplaying all 3 by a decent margin so far this season.

Don't feel like putting the stats up but Smart's numbers aren't much better, if at all, than Jabari or Randles. So not quite sure what you mean by a decent margin.

The other thing to think about in the context of the draft is he is 19 years old compared to Jabari, Wiggins, Randle, and company who are 18. That might sound silly but one year, especially at that age is pretty significant especially since Smart already played a year in college. He has had a year to get used to the college game and work on his strength so in some sense, it is expected for him to succeed more. Not taking anything away from Smart, he was a top 5 pick last year and will likely be a top 5 pick this year but if a guy like Wiggins or Parker stayed, they too would be expected to dominate even more as sophomores.

I agree that this draft will be mostly based off need since these guys are so close. Picking between Randle, Parker or Smart is ridiculous so might as well draft for need at that point. This draft will probably go 6 or 7 deep where you might not get a franchise guy but at least an all star type out of it. However, I'm sure one or two of these guys will flame out so this draft will likely make or break some GM's.

 

[fantasycurse42]

Smart outplaying all 3 by a decent margin so far this season.

Don't feel like putting the stats up but Smart's numbers aren't much better, if at all, than Jabari or Randles. So not quite sure what you mean by a decent margin. The other thing to think about in the context of the draft is he is 19 years old compared to Jabari, Wiggins, Randle, and company who are 18. That might sound silly but one year, especially at that age is pretty significant especially since Smart already played a year in college. He has had a year to get used to the college game and work on his strength so in some sense, it is expected for him to succeed more. Not taking anything away from Smart, he was a top 5 pick last year and will likely be a top 5 pick this year but if a guy like Wiggins or Parker stayed, they too would be expected to dominate even more as sophomores.

I agree that this draft will be mostly based off need since these guys are so close. Picking between Randle, Parker or Smart is ridiculous so might as well draft for need at that point. This draft will probably go 6 or 7 deep where you might not get a franchise guy but at least an all star type out of it. However, I'm sure one or two of these guys will flame out so this draft will likely make or break some GM's.

Smart 22/5/4/3 shooting almost 50%... Guy is playing lights out and looks the part.

I disagree about age making a positive difference... With Smart being more game ready, he can make a difference quicker while still being relatively cheap on a rookie contract.

 

[sporthenry]

Smart outplaying all 3 by a decent margin so far this season.

Don't feel like putting the stats up but Smart's numbers aren't much better, if at all, than Jabari or Randles. So not quite sure what you mean by a decent margin. The other thing to think about in the context of the draft is he is 19 years old compared to Jabari, Wiggins, Randle, and company who are 18. That might sound silly but one year, especially at that age is pretty significant especially since Smart already played a year in college. He has had a year to get used to the college game and work on his strength so in some sense, it is expected for him to succeed more. Not taking anything away from Smart, he was a top 5 pick last year and will likely be a top 5 pick this year but if a guy like Wiggins or Parker stayed, they too would be expected to dominate even more as sophomores.

I agree that this draft will be mostly based off need since these guys are so close. Picking between Randle, Parker or Smart is ridiculous so might as well draft for need at that point. This draft will probably go 6 or 7 deep where you might not get a franchise guy but at least an all star type out of it. However, I'm sure one or two of these guys will flame out so this draft will likely make or break some GM's.

Smart 22/5/4/3 shooting almost 50%... Guy is playing lights out and looks the part.

I disagree about age making a positive difference... With Smart being more game ready, he can make a difference quicker while still being relatively cheap on a rookie contract.

Parker 23/8/2/1.6/1.8 shooting 55.4% to Smart's 48%.

So Parker is scoring more and shooting better. Naturally, Parker rebounds more while Smart has more steals and assists.

As far as making a difference, most teams drafting 1st overall need the best player in 4-5 years, not the best player now. They are drafting first for a reason. Not to mention, even if a near playoff team wins the lottery, they probably have a PG and PG seems to take longer to come in and be successful.

 

[Moe.]

I think Embiid could be the best player from this class. He could probably use another year at KU but he's gonna be something else in 5 years.

 

[sporthenry]

Smart with 12 points on 4-13 shooting. 0-5 from 3. 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 turnovers as OK State goes down.

Randle also struggling at the moment. 6 points on 3-9 shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Parker showed a little improvement in off-ball defense during the first half tonight. He was able to keep track of Robinson standing in the corner while clogging the lane to deter dribble penetration. When asked to play post defense or defend pick-and-rolls he got lost a lot, but he will play SF defensively in the NBA so that doesn't matter for his pro prospects.

Shot selection is still terrible. I counted six poor shot decisions, including the play where he received a skip pass on the left point with no one within 10 feet of him and got whistled for traveling while unguarded and within his shooting range.

 

[Prince Myshkin]

I am in no way saying he's as good as or will be as good as...but Randle reminds me of Barkley. Wide body, good hands, good positioning and footwork, fantastic on the boards, strength on the block with a mid-range game as well.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Really liked how Wiggins played in the second half tonight. Rushed 2-3 shots in the first half, but with the guards playing as if they had never seen a halfcourt trap before, it was the least of the team's offensive problems. He hit some jumpers in second half, including a couple of deep threes. Good position defense as always, and this won't be his last double-double of the season. KU will need him hitting the defensive glass at the cost of some transition offense, but the PFs just aren't boxing out the bad guys often enough.

Embiid is high enough on draft boards to talk about him here. Some possessions, he looks like another Olajuwon. But there are too many possessions where he looks like another Olowokandi. If he doesn't catch the pass cleanly, it affects his footwork and he brings the ball down low enough to get it slapped away by guards doubling down on him. He's got some fundamentals flaws that need work, but in spite of that he keeps pushing his ceiling higher every week.

 

[Sinn Fein]

I wonder who has cost themselves more money so far: Andrew Harrison or Andrew Wiggins.

 

[TLEF316]

Wiggins looked great last night. He does have a tendency to throw some really sloppy passes, but that's obviously nitpicking.

 

[Abraham]

I wonder who has cost themselves more money so far: Andrew Harrison or Andrew Wiggins.

Considering wiggins draft position hasn't changed id say HARRISON.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Wiggins looked great last night. He does have a tendency to throw some really sloppy passes, but that's obviously nitpicking.

Wiggins's lazy passes have reached a level where KU superfans are starting to gripe about it. He had one in the second half last night where he worked real hard to draw a double team at the left elbow and then threw a BRUTAL pass that didn't even come close to Ellis open on the left block.It makes me wonder how nbadraft.net came up with Scottie Pippen as a comp for Wiggins. I kinds see it defensively, though Wiggins is better at guarding players bigger than him than ones a lot smaller. But Pippen was a PG in college who became a lottery pick when he grew to SF size without losing any of his PG handles. From what I've seen so far of Wiggins, his second best position will be smallball PF, not overgrown SG.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

I think Embiid could be the best player from this class. He could probably use another year at KU but he's gonna be something else in 5 years.

http://media.247sports.com/Uploads/Assets/294/186/1186294.gif

The word is Embiid studies Hakeem Olajuwon highlight reels on his own, and shows up for practice trying to figure out the move the Hakeem move he rewound and rewatched 100 times the previous night. He's proving to be a much quicker study than most anticipated, including me. He was a lot more Olajuwon than Olowokandi against New Mexico.

In other top pick news... Wiggins did not play well offensively last night, but made up for it with good defense and attracting enough attention to open up the floor for Ellis and Embiid. And I think there's now about a 25% chance Randle's draft stock plummets from a broken hand injury suffered while punching the Harrisons in the face repeatedly.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Other than shooting 2-for-10, constantly getting confused by double-teams, dishing out zero assists, and several late defensive rotations resulting in opponent layups and dunks... Parker played a great game yesterday.

 

[TLEF316]

Other than shooting 2-for-10, constantly getting confused by double-teams, dishing out zero assists, and several late defensive rotations resulting in opponent layups and dunks... Parker played a great game yesterday.

Good thing Wiggins hasn't had any bad games yet....

Seriously man, did Parker nail your sister or something? I get that you think Wiggins is better and that everyone is overlooking Parker's faults (which is absurd, because EVERY SINGLE commentator has brought up his defensive shortcomings within the first 5 minutes of every game for the past month) but your obsession with this kid is really kind of weird at this point.

Parker played like absolute dog #### yesterday. He was painfully bad. Can't dispute it. Honestly, I'm shocked your post wasn't up within 5 minutes of the game ending. Were you out yesterday or did you just come up for air after a 19 hour "Jabari had a bad game" beat off session?

 

[Abraham]

I don't think any of them is going 1 overall.

 

[Sinn Fein]

I wonder who has cost themselves more money so far: Andrew Harrison or Andrew Wiggins.

Considering wiggins draft position hasn't changed id say HARRISON.

I don't think any of them is going 1 overall.

Update?

Wiggins not going 1 will be costly. Harrison still has a shot at becoming a top-7 pick, albeit in 2015. Though, despite many scouts thinking he should stay another year, Harrison will come out this year. So, he is going to need a great run in March to make up for his current free fall.

 

[Popinski]

Although there is a lot of talent in this upcoming draft, I don't see an elite, superstar level player. Embiid's ceiling could be there, but hard to say.

 

[Abraham]

I wonder who has cost themselves more money so far: Andrew Harrison or Andrew Wiggins.

Considering wiggins draft position hasn't changed id say HARRISON.

I don't think any of them is going 1 overall.

Update?Wiggins not going 1 will be costly. Harrison still has a shot at becoming a top-7 pick, albeit in 2015. Though, despite many scouts thinking he should stay another year, Harrison will come out this year. So, he is going to need a great run in March to make up for his current free fall.

Oh, wiggins is going to be 2. But the emergence of a 7 footer has changed things. Jay hawks will have the first two picks.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Other than shooting 2-for-10, constantly getting confused by double-teams, dishing out zero assists, and several late defensive rotations resulting in opponent layups and dunks... Parker played a great game yesterday.

Good thing Wiggins hasn't had any bad games yet....

Seriously man, did Parker nail your sister or something? I get that you think Wiggins is better and that everyone is overlooking Parker's faults (which is absurd, because EVERY SINGLE commentator has brought up his defensive shortcomings within the first 5 minutes of every game for the past month) but your obsession with this kid is really kind of weird at this point.

Parker played like absolute dog #### yesterday. He was painfully bad. Can't dispute it. Honestly, I'm shocked your post wasn't up within 5 minutes of the game ending. Were you out yesterday or did you just come up for air after a 19 hour "Jabari had a bad game" beat off session?

Whoops. I think we hit a nerve.

 

[TLEF316]

Other than shooting 2-for-10, constantly getting confused by double-teams, dishing out zero assists, and several late defensive rotations resulting in opponent layups and dunks... Parker played a great game yesterday.

Good thing Wiggins hasn't had any bad games yet....

Seriously man, did Parker nail your sister or something? I get that you think Wiggins is better and that everyone is overlooking Parker's faults (which is absurd, because EVERY SINGLE commentator has brought up his defensive shortcomings within the first 5 minutes of every game for the past month) but your obsession with this kid is really kind of weird at this point.

Parker played like absolute dog #### yesterday. He was painfully bad. Can't dispute it. Honestly, I'm shocked your post wasn't up within 5 minutes of the game ending. Were you out yesterday or did you just come up for air after a 19 hour "Jabari had a bad game" beat off session?

Whoops. I think we hit a nerve.

Not quite. I really don't care. Parker played like crap and deserved to lose. I just think its strange you take so much pleasure out of the "failures" of Parker. You felt the need to gloat about it in a thread that nobody besides you had posted in since December 11th. Its odd.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Other than shooting 2-for-10, constantly getting confused by double-teams, dishing out zero assists, and several late defensive rotations resulting in opponent layups and dunks... Parker played a great game yesterday.

Good thing Wiggins hasn't had any bad games yet....

Seriously man, did Parker nail your sister or something? I get that you think Wiggins is better and that everyone is overlooking Parker's faults (which is absurd, because EVERY SINGLE commentator has brought up his defensive shortcomings within the first 5 minutes of every game for the past month) but your obsession with this kid is really kind of weird at this point.

Parker played like absolute dog #### yesterday. He was painfully bad. Can't dispute it. Honestly, I'm shocked your post wasn't up within 5 minutes of the game ending. Were you out yesterday or did you just come up for air after a 19 hour "Jabari had a bad game" beat off session?

Whoops. I think we hit a nerve.

Not quite. I really don't care. Parker played like crap and deserved to lose. I just think its strange you take so much pleasure out of the "failures" of Parker. You felt the need to gloat about it in a thread that nobody besides you had posted in since December 11th. Its odd.

You should have a doctor check that. It might be infected.

 

[TLEF316]

Ok. You got me, I guess. Congrats on your great success.

 

[tdoss]

Other than shooting 2-for-10, constantly getting confused by double-teams, dishing out zero assists, and several late defensive rotations resulting in opponent layups and dunks... Parker played a great game yesterday.

How cute...Bruce hates a Duke player...how novel.

We get it bro...Duke is evil...the horse is dead...stop beating on it.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Other than shooting 2-for-10, constantly getting confused by double-teams, dishing out zero assists, and several late defensive rotations resulting in opponent layups and dunks... Parker played a great game yesterday.

How cute...Bruce hates a Duke player...how novel.We get it bro...Duke is evil...the horse is dead...stop beating on it.

So all the commentators and analysts who say Parker has a lot of learning to do on defense and is still adjusting to college-level shot selection are only saying that because they hate Parker and think Duke is evil? Is it possible to think a player's game has flaws without making it personal?

I don't hate Parker. I think he's a lot of fun to watch. IMO how he responds to his poor performance yesterday is a lot more important to his draft stock than how he actually played against Notre Dame.

You and TLEF are reading waaaaaaay too much into my posts. I'll give TLEF a pass on this one because he's a great guy who contributes a lot of great material to this board. He just got a little emotionally hijacked and said some stuff he knows isn't true. It happens.

 

[TLEF316]

Emotionally hijacked. LOL.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Lousy first half for Wiggins. He's getting in the lane but not finishing.

Embiid is making some plays but got turned around on defense a couple times.

SDSU is a good, aggressive team and is controlling the game.

 

[tdoss]

Other than shooting 2-for-10, constantly getting confused by double-teams, dishing out zero assists, and several late defensive rotations resulting in opponent layups and dunks... Parker played a great game yesterday.

How cute...Bruce hates a Duke player...how novel.We get it bro...Duke is evil...the horse is dead...stop beating on it.

So all the commentators and analysts who say Parker has a lot of learning to do on defense and is still adjusting to college-level shot selection are only saying that because they hate Parker and think Duke is evil? Is it possible to think a player's game has flaws without making it personal?

I don't hate Parker. I think he's a lot of fun to watch. IMO how he responds to his poor performance yesterday is a lot more important to his draft stock than how he actually played against Notre Dame.

You and TLEF are reading waaaaaaay too much into my posts. I'll give TLEF a pass on this one because he's a great guy who contributes a lot of great material to this board. He just got a little emotionally hijacked and said some stuff he knows isn't true. It happens.

In your own words "all the commentators and analysts who say Parker has a lot of learning to do..."

So...if I am to understand what you're saying...there's a LOT of people who think Parker needs work...yet, you feel it necessary to come in and chirp it continuously as if someone has been arguing with you on this point. That was TLEF's point...mine is, when I saw you were going to post anything in this thread...I knew where you'd land. I've refrained from checking you on it until now though...my bad, continue with your Duke bashing clothed in "honest analysis" that no one is really arguing against.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Wiggins did not help his draft stock today. He missed ten shots. Only a couple misses IMO were from poor shot selection, but at some point those shots need to start going in. Probably not his best game defensively, but certainly not his worst. The team defensive effort was excellent at preventing and contesting shots, but got killed on the glass.

Overall IMO the frustrating thing about Wiggins is he hasn't seemed to improve much since November. There's a lot of excuses available, but it's not like Self players to plateau. Hopefully he expands his game during conference play, and at least his improvement curve hasn't been like Wayne Selden's, who has yet to have a game even approaching his performance against Duke.

Embiid helped his draft stock today. He got turned around on defense a few times, but his good possessions outnumbered his poor ones, his offensive footwork is improving, and his overall play is more consistent. SDSU has some size and played aggressively, but Embiid handled it alright.

I've just been stunned by how quickly Embiid's game has come along, and it's made Wiggins's relative lack of improvement stand out even more.

 

[tdoss]

It really does make you wonder just how much more Embiid can improve...just where is his ceiling?

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

removed to get thread back on track. tdoss, I'll just say that your version of the events differs from the actual version of the events. If you want to discuss it further, PM me.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

It really does make you wonder just how much more Embiid can improve...just where is his ceiling?

First of all, thank you for making a post in this thread about basketball.

Embiid's ceiling is the next Hakeem Olajuwon. Seriously. He's that athletic and that skilled. Watching high-school video of Embiid is like watching the Peace Corps scene from Airplane! There are freakish parallels between Embiid's background and first college season with Olajuwon's.

I don't know how close he will get to that ceiling. Maybe he ends up having the career an injury-free Andrew Bynum would have had But by all accounts he's a great kid and a quick, willing study.

Embiid's floor is the next Michael Olowokandi. I think he's going to eclipse that.

 

[Abraham]

Embiid is probably going first overall. His "bust" floor is Tyrus Thomas where he is just crazy athletic but never gets a real game. His realistic potential is Anthony Davis, who is already one of the 10 most valuable players in terms of age/remaining career. His extreme upside might be dream but that's a long way off. Regardless, his skill set and potential put him above everyone else. For now.

 

[Frostillicus]

If I'm drafting first overall, I take Andre Hollins. Failing that, I'd go with Embiid over any of the others. Seven footers with his athleticism and coordination don't come around often.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Embiid is probably going first overall. His "bust" floor is Tyrus Thomas where he is just crazy athletic but never gets a real game. His realistic potential is Anthony Davis, who is already one of the 10 most valuable players in terms of age/remaining career. His extreme upside might be dream but that's a long way off. Regardless, his skill set and potential put him above everyone else. For now.

You're probably right, but the team that drafts him will regret not taking someone else. You just don't win many championships with elite big men anymore.

 

[the moops]

You just don't win many championships with elite big men anymore.

Garnett, Gasol, Nowitzki, Duncan, Shaq were elite big men on 12 of the last 15 champion teams.

 

[Abraham]

You just don't win many championships with elite big men anymore.

Garnett, Gasol, Nowitzki, Duncan, Shaq were elite big men on 12 of the last 15 champion teams.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Embiid is probably going first overall. His "bust" floor is Tyrus Thomas where he is just crazy athletic but never gets a real game. His realistic potential is Anthony Davis, who is already one of the 10 most valuable players in terms of age/remaining career. His extreme upside might be dream but that's a long way off. Regardless, his skill set and potential put him above everyone else. For now.

You're probably right, but the team that drafts him will regret not taking someone else. You just don't win many championships with elite big men anymore.

Re: your first sentence... of the four names on the short list for the #1 pick, IMO Embiid carries the most risk because he's the farthest away from his ceiling. Embiid seems to have the tools to be an elite rebounder and rim defender and makes a couple of jaw-dropping plays per game on offense, but he's so far from a finished product he might be still developing when his rookie contract ends. Wiggins, Randle, and Parker don't carry that risk.

But here's the thing... In the NBA, Wiggins and Parker will need an elite lane defender as a teammate to win a title. They might not need a defender who also plays offense as well as Tim Duncan did in his prime, but they will need at least their generation's equivalent of Tyson Chandler. And those guys are in smaller supply.

If the team picking #1 this summer eventually wins the title with their pick on the roster, how they drafted the year before and the next two years after will also be major factors in how close they come to contending. Maybe they also get it done with some free agency and trading wizardry, but it's very difficult to acquire those top three players you need to win a title without drafting at least one of them. So the team drafting won't just be evaluating this draft class in a vacuum: they will also be looking at how likely they will be able to find the equivalent player, or an 80-90% comp to that player, down the road. And there are elite perimeter scoters in every draft.

Agree to disagree on your second sentence. Further discussion of it probably best served in another thread.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Wiggins has helped his draft stock a lot in the last 72 hours. After some hot shooting and highlight reel plays against K-State on Saturday, Wiggins had 17 points and 19 rebounds in one of the toughest road environments in the Midwest in a big win for Kansas. Wiggins also played good D on Ejim in the first half, switched to Kane for a few possessions down the stretch, and overall avoided foul trouble that was easy to find in Hilton.

Wiggins's shot selection was a little frustrating. He hit a few shots early, which gave him the confidence to ill up for a couple of long jumpers early in the shot clock. Shots that were in his range and not closely guarded, but shots that easily could be found late in the possession after exploring layup and lob options. He also had a couple of dazzling drives that went unfinished, either from contact that went uncalled or expecting contact that never hit. He seems to have 2 plays like this every game, and it's a problem.

Embiid is on an unfortunate streak of two straight games with flagrant fouls. Now that he's famous, opposing bigs are getting chippy with him, and he's been goaded into retaliating. Disappointing, but fixable. His flagrant tonight came early when KU was dominating the action, and the free throws and delay killed the momentum and allowed ISU to get back in the game. Self was furious with him. Then in the second half, he had a sequence that showed where the Olajuwon comparisons come from: he pinned a shot against the glass, swallowing it whole, then hit a spinning layup in traffic at the other end. At one of the KU boards, fans were popping "Emboners".

If tonight was the first time you'd seen the KU freshmen play, you would understand why so many hyped Wiggins as the top pick next summer, figured if Embiid learns how to play the game he could be the #1 pick in 2015, and wonder why Selden was in the RSCI 100.

 

[TLEF316]

Parker straight sucked again tonight. No 2 ways about it. He's legitimately hurting Duke right now.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Parker straight sucked again tonight. No 2 ways about it. He's legitimately hurting Duke right now.

Not hurting his draft stock, though. DX has Parker #2 behind Wiggins. NBADraft.net has Parker #2 behind Embiid. Jeff Goodman says Parker is easily the #1 pick, especially in terms of immediate contributions.

 

[Daywalker]

Embiid just a monster on defense so far today.

 

[Premier]

My God, these Kansas uniforms.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

My God, these Kansas uniforms.

This season, Adidas did IMO their worst "regular" uniforms for the team since they took over the contract, but both of the retro alternate uniforms they did are fantastic.

Today's uniforms are officially called the "Chalk" alternates. The Jayhawk on the shorts is from the 1940s. The gray ones they wore at Iowa State are the "Phog" alternates. I think we will be seeing a lot more of the Chalk and Phog the rest of the way.

My favorite feature on the retros can only be seen up close. The "pinstripes" aren't stripes; it's text. "Pay Heed. The game you love began here. Respect those who came before you. Make their legacy their own. Because destiny favors the dedicated. And rings don't replace work. In this game you don't get what you want. You get what you earn. We are Kansas. Together we rise. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!"

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Embiid just a monster on defense so far today.

I can't think of a player I've ever seen improve so much during the course of a single season. He pretty much killed OSU's penetration offense; they had been shooting 30 FTs a game. He's adding some high-post offense to his game. He's not a great passer yet, but he can high screen and shoot from the elbow now. His shooting form is good enough now to potentially be a 70% foul shooter in the pros.

Wiggins was a non-factor in the second half. He drew so much attention in the first it opened up the low post for the bigs and driving lanes for the PGs, and always plays great defense. But when OSU got their trap working, KU had to put both PGs in together, and Wiggins isn't a great open court dribbler.

BTW, if today is normal behavior for Marcus Smart, he is going to be a hated player in the NBA. What a drama queen. He had the "fall like you've been shot after shooting an uncontested three" down pat. While tumbling to the ground after getting fouled in a dunk attempt, he pulled Embiid on top of him then pulled his arms way back to sell Embiid as the aggressor. He curled off a screen and threw himself to the ground to draw Wiggins's second foul in the first half. While guarding Selden on one late play, he slapped Selden in the stomach, then slapped him in the nuts, then fell like he was Michael Spinks after a Mike Tyson uppercut when Selden cleared out the space with his elbows. And he was #####ing to the refs constantly.

I don't remember that kind of attitude from him last season, but it's not isolated; at K-State a couple weeks ago, he slapped the backboard after a dunk, drawing a technical for his 4th foul early in the second half, triggering a K-State rally in a game OSU should have won easily but lost.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Alley-OOP!

 

[tdoss]

Here's an interesting take on Wiggins and who should go first...

http://msn.foxsports.com/college-basketball/story/forgrave-let-s-enjoy-wiggins-for-what-he-is-not-what-he-could-be-012114

 

[Cyclones]

Randle has hurt himself with 2 main things - he tries (and actually succeeds sometimes) to beat triple teams when he gets the ball on the block, which leads to way too many turnovers - the last few games he has been quicker to pass the ball out of that situation, but he still needs to recognize the triple team before there are 6 arms in his personal space slapping at the ball.

The other is the problem with cramps in the 2nd halves of games. He took Louisville to the woodshed in the first half of that game but missed most of the 2nd half due to cramps. Same thing has happened twice since then. I still think this UK team can make a deep run if James Young doesn't shoot them out of games (the Harrisons are improving quickly,) but Randle needs to be on the floor in crunch time of tough games. I think he is an ultra safe top 5 pick - his floor is really high - but I think his chance at going #1 has passed.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Other than leading his team at both ends of the floor with high energy and improved efficiency to an easy win in a building where his team got blown out last year... Jabari Parker sucked last night.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Randle has hurt himself with 2 main things - he tries (and actually succeeds sometimes) to beat triple teams when he gets the ball on the block, which leads to way too many turnovers - the last few games he has been quicker to pass the ball out of that situation, but he still needs to recognize the triple team before there are 6 arms in his personal space slapping at the ball.

The other is the problem with cramps in the 2nd halves of games. He took Louisville to the woodshed in the first half of that game but missed most of the 2nd half due to cramps. Same thing has happened twice since then. I still think this UK team can make a deep run if James Young doesn't shoot them out of games (the Harrisons are improving quickly,) but Randle needs to be on the floor in crunch time of tough games. I think he is an ultra safe top 5 pick - his floor is really high - but I think his chance at going #1 has passed.

As an NBA prospect, there's good news for Randle. NBA teams won't have the luxury of triple-teaming him. He will still have to improve his recognition of approaching help defense, but everything else that's good about his game suggests this is something he can learn.

Also, early in his pro career Kevin Garnett battled cramps. Part of it was his body was still growing at 19, but he made it worse by getting so hyped up at game time his body would seize up from getting so amped. It's fixable, but damn it must be frustrating as a fan or teammate to see that happen three times in a season.

Randle's #1 pick odds are probably close to zero because of Embiid's emergence. The positive side for Randle is now instead of going 1.01 in a loaded draft, his pro team will be thrilled to land so much value at 1.04-1.06 when he gets taken. I know there's a LOT of actual basketball left, but Randle also might help himself during the predraft evaluation process. Embiid and (especially) Wiggins are pretty laid-back guys, so a team looking for a vocal leader on and off the court might value Randle a bit more, much like how Oladipo's draft stock zoomed up after the season ended last year. He plays both ends well and should be able to play both traditional and small-ball PF, so there's some value there at a high-value position.