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Following potential 2012 draftees

Gonna be honest: seeing the amusing, yet quite enlightening discourse here on the "Following potential 2012 draftees" thread between PKM, Cyrone Torbin, Spycam1, orangello and Hantlers is probably one of the main reasons why I obsessively frequent this board. Consider yourselves all honorarily repped, gentlemen.
 
dalamon said:
Gonna be honest: seeing the amusing, yet quite enlightening discourse here on the "Following potential 2012 draftees" thread between PKM, Cyrone Torbin, Spycam1, orangello and Hantlers is probably one of the main reasons why I obsessively frequent this board. Consider yourselves all honorarily repped, gentlemen.
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Include yourself, dalamon. Any attempt to distance yourself will be futile. I assure you.
 
Thanks PKM and everyone else's thoughts on Kanter and Burks. I was thinking Kanter would've gone around 7-10, because it's a deeper draft, and Kanter would've been a much bigger risk in a deeper draft having not played for so long. I agree that Burks would be harder to gage where he fits. My best guess would be 12-20
 
I've spent a lot of time finding out as much as I can on Marshall, Rivers, Miller, and both lamb's, and Jones that I personally have overlooked Beal. I've never seen him play, reading a little about strengths and weaknesses he seems intriguing. Nbadraft.net has compared him to Ray Allen. For those that have seen him play is this a decent comparison?
 
Thee jazz fan said:
I've spent a lot of time finding out as much as I can on Marshall, Rivers, Miller, and both lamb's, and Jones that I personally have overlooked Beal. I've never seen him play, reading a little about strengths and weaknesses he seems intriguing. Nbadraft.net has compared him to Ray Allen. For those that have seen him play is this a decent comparison?
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That was the popular comparison coming out of high school. He hasn't lived up to that comparison in college, imo. But it's not too late. I still like him a lot and think he could be similar to Eric Gordon.
 
I am with spycam on beal is a lot like Eric Gordon. I can't put my finger on it but for some reason I do not like beal. Then again I did not like Hayward coming out either his piss poor 3 pt shooting scared the hell out of me.
 
Brad Beal is not even remotely close to living up to his hype coming into this year. His shooting is awful so comparing him to Ray at this point is ridiculous. He's a great rebounder, though ..

IF he gets his shot going, I see him as having a good career, but just don't see greatness (as I did in high school). As I've said before, he's playing like a slightly poor man's Xavier Henry.
 
PKM said:
Brad Beal is not even remotely close to living up to his hype coming into this year. His shooting is awful so comparing him to Ray at this point is ridiculous. He's a great rebounder, though ..

IF he gets his shot going, I see him as having a good career, but just don't see greatness (as I did in high school). As I've said before, he's playing like a slightly poor man's Xavier Henry.
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Wow, way to destroy any confidence that he might have. That was just plain mean!
 
PKM said:
Brad Beal is not even remotely close to living up to his hype coming into this year. His shooting is awful so comparing him to Ray at this point is ridiculous. He's a great rebounder, though ..

IF he gets his shot going, I see him as having a good career, but just don't see greatness (as I did in high school). As I've said before, he's playing like a slightly poor man's Xavier Henry.
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The hammer has been dropped!
 
It's not that I don't like Beal. I do. It's just that he had the hype of a potential best player in the entire class ... I think it has hurt him that Florida plays such a funky gameplan and has, most times, at least 3 and as many as 4 guards on the floor at all times.
 
A few days ago, I brought up Darius Miller as a late 2nd rounder to watch; Here's a very nice article on him in Sports Illustrated .. explains a lot.

The date: Feb. 1, 2011. The place: Oxford, Mississippi. The game: Kentucky at Mississippi. On a critical possession in the final minute, with Kentucky clinging to a one-point lead, Darius Miller, the Wildcats' 6-foot-8 junior forward, twice had the ball in his hands with a clean look at the goal.

He passed. Both times.

The possession ended with a rushed, errant three-pointer from Miller's teammate, DeAndre Liggins. Twelve seconds later, Ole Miss guard Chris Warren buried a game-winning three-pointer.

Fast forward a year later. Feb. 21, 2012. Kentucky at Mississippi State. The Wildcats faced a 13-point halftime deficit and trailed by seven points with eight minutes to play. Kentucky coach John Calipari, who had benched Miller early in the game after he passed up an open shot -- "My coach never had to take me out because I didn't shoot," Calipari cracked later -- had just put Miller back into the game. Miller responded by drilling a three-pointer to cut Mississippi State's lead to seven. Two minutes later, Miller attempted another three and was fouled. He made all free throws to cut the lead to four. He hit two more threes down the stretch to propel the Wildcats to a 73-64 victory.

Miller's name didn't appear in many headlines the next morning, but that was nothing new. Throughout his career in Lexington, Miller has been overshadowed by flashier, younger teammates. But there was one prominent witness who offered righteous testimony to what the kid had just done. "Miller is the fiber that holds that team together," Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. "He has got one thing nobody else on the team has. He has got experience....All those other guys deserve what they get, but Miller is their most valuable player."

That sentiment is popular around the league. "He's a killer," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "When it's the moment of truth, he makes so many critical plays." Florida coach Billy Donovan said he has "always loved" Miller. He added: "I just think he's a 'steady Eddie.' He's an incredible core guy that probably in a lot of ways is overshadowed....I always just see him doing whatever he has to do to help his team win."

Miller may be overshadowed in most places, surrounded as he is by all those one-and-done lottery picks, but there is one venue where a player of his ilk casts the biggest shadow of all. For his clutch shooting, his toughness, his maturity, his versatility, and most of all his passion for doing whatever it takes to make Kentucky a winner, Darius Miller has been selected as the captain of SI's 13th annual All-Glue team.

Miller is a genuine throwback, which is ironic considering he plays for the program that has been the very embodiment of one-and-done recruiting. (To great success, I might add.) Miller is a senior (yes, a senior at Kentucky) who has gotten a little bit better each year. He possesses the classic glue guy's blend of power and finesse. At 6-8, 225 pounds, he has the body of a power forward, yet he strokes threes as well as any two guard in America. He also has the requisite mentality to be a glue guy. Most seniors would bristle at having to play a supplemental role in their final season, but Miller has chosen to embrace it.

He admits that mindset hasn't come easily. As Calipari has adjusted his lineup multiple times this season, Miller has had to adjust right along with him. He started UK's first game, came off the bench in the next nine, was reinserted into the starting lineup on Dec. 20, and was yanked for a good 10 games later. "I guess I was shocked," he says of that last decision, "but there's a great amount of talent on this team."

Instead of resenting his younger teammates, Miller mentors them. Point guard Marquis Teague said Miller even checks to make sure the freshmen get up in the morning so they're not late for class. "He's taking care of us," Teague said. "He's making sure everything goes as it's supposed to go." Added another headline-grabbing freshman, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, "I love Darius Miller for who he is. He's a brother to me now."

Miller understands that starting a game is not nearly as important as finishing it. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, during games in which Kentucky has entered the final 10 minutes leading by five points or fewer this season, Miller has been on the floor for 80 out of 100 minutes. He shot 75 percent from the floor and made 13-of-14 free throws during those spans. Not for nothing does Calipari say of his senior, "He doesn't compete. He completes."

That road game at Mississippi State is not the only example. During UK's 69-63 win at Vanderbilt on Feb. 11, Miller scored all five of his points in the final 10 minutes and made a critical late assist to sophomore guard Doron Lamb. When Vanderbilt came to Lexington on Feb. 25, Miller broke open a close game by scoring seven quick points midway through the second half to give Kentucky its only double-digit lead of the night. The Cats went on to win, 83-74. "I admire him as a player," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "He's a big shot maker and a really good player for them. He really, in my opinion, appears to have sacrificed himself for the benefit of their team."

That has been a slow but steady process, as evidenced by the way he handled those games at Ole Miss last year and at Mississippi State this year. "I've always thought I was good enough to play here, but there were times when I was too laid back because the other guys were so talented. So I felt like I didn't have to do much," he says. "I kind of limited myself in that respect, but now I'm much more confident."

During a period of great change at Kentucky, Miller has been the constant. A former Mr. Basketball at Kentucky from Maysville's Mason County High School, Miller has had two coaches and 40 different teammates in Lexington. If Kentucky wins the NCAA championship, Miller will be the first player from the Commonwealth to be named Mr. Basketball, win a high school state championship, and then win an NCAA title for UK. That would be quite a legacy for a guy who has had to be ordered to take big shots.

Miller's character shines through as much as his talent. He won't be remembered in Lexington for putting up great stats, but regardless of what happens these next four weeks he will go out a winner. That's what glue guys do. "He's a wonderful young man," Calipari said. "He's one of the best human beings, he cares about people, he's humble. I'm happy he's on my team, and our players are happy he's on their team."

Herewith, the rest of the 2012 SI All-Glue team, followed by a complete list of the 12 past teams and captains:



Read more: https://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/seth_davis/03/05/glue.guys/index.html#ixzz1oM7cPX7V
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https://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/seth_davis/03/05/glue.guys/index.html?xid=si_ncaab
 
Every time I watch UK, I find myself saying,"Why don't more people talk about Darius Miller?" He has a sweet stroke and seems to always make big plays. I would love it if he were brought in to replace CJ. Do the Jazz get the NJ second round pick this year? PKM, I think Darius has a little Eddie Jones in him. What do you think?
 
cowhide said:
Every time I watch UK, I find myself saying,"Why don't more people talk about Darius Miller?" He has a sweet stroke and seems to always make big plays. I would love it if he were brought in to replace CJ. Do the Jazz get the NJ second round pick this year? PKM, I think Darius has a little Eddie Jones in him. What do you think?
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We only have our 2nd round pick this year. I see a little Eddie Jones. He's just such a glue-guy (that article has him as "Captain" of the all glue guy team). It's just weird. UK fans have been loving him since he arrived, but also a little frustrated that he let's the youth outshine him every year. He's good enough to lead this team in scoring, but it's just not important to him to do that. Great teammate, but I wish he was a little bit more selfish/aggressive.
 
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