Watching tape of several games today. Here are my notes. You are welcome to comment.
First game - Kentucky vs SFU
DeAaron Fox - WOW! He's super fast. Great defensive stance, quick feet on D. A bit out of control on the fast break. Another fast break - this time great pass to Gabriel for the alley oop. Another fast break - very quick but... again a bit out of control - travels on the attempted eurostep. Doesn't seem like his offensive game is very polished at all. Pulls up in semi-transition from 3... I'm not sure that's a good shot. Seems to be forcing it a bit. Attacks the closeout well... gets in the paint, good body control to finish at the rim. Nice pass to a cutter in half court... has nice first step, gets by his man, this time in control, hits a hard left handed floater. OK, that's better! You got my attention. Gets in the paint without a problem again, runs into defenders... out of control again. Hm... he will need to work on that. SECOND HALF - nice bounce pass to a cutter through traffic. Really nice burst in transition and good finish. What impresses me most right now is his speed and his passing - his passes are quick, strong and decisive, not soft like Dante's. Hits shooters on the perimeter right in their shooting pocket. Really nice! Splits two defenders(Dante doesn't have this type of handles and we need him to), nice alleyoop pass. Another great assist to a cutter, great vision and also showed off some handle. He's at 9 assists and it's the beginning of the second half. Great hands on D, strips opponent on a fast break. Behind the back pass on point to a shooter. He's chasing Wall's record(16) for most assists for Kentucky in his very first game. He's at 12 now, 7 more minutes to go. I wonder if Cal will pull him out in this blow out. Finished 12/12/4/3stl.
Bam Adebayo - Huge! Physical specimen. Second half - WOW! He's a freak(physically). Think Dwight Howard, think Drummond. I can not see him going out of the top 10 purely based on physical tools - 6'10'', 260 ALL MUSCLE! Freak athlete for his size(39.5'' max vertical at Kentucky pro-day). PFFFFF! Who would be the next GM letting him slip because he probably won't have the insane stats to back up a top 10 pick? I'd definitely pick him top 10 on tools and potential alone. Maybe even top 5? Need to watch him more. WOW! He moves so well on the perimeter! Doesn't seem to have much of a shot-blocking instinct. This might be a problem.
Malik Monk - Alec Burks disease? Passes up open 3 for a one dribble pullup 2. Monk has hops.
Wenyen Gabriel - interesting prospect, active movement on D, although a bit awkward... runs the floor well... good athleticism it seems. Oh, nice! He has a jumper, too. OK. I'm interested! Why is he not on the mock drafts? Real nice post defense... draws the foul. Hits another jumper at the other end. Seems a bit weak... has to gain some strength.
Briscoe - I don't like him. I can't really see him as a high-level NBA player(i.e. starter, or even high level rotation player). He's like a tank. No maneuverability, no wiggle, nothing. Bull in a china shop.
Summary: I loved Fox, absolutely loved him - started shaky, but as he settled in his vision, passing and decision-making shined. His length on D is awesome. I can't imagine him falling past top 10(I'd go as far as to say he's probably better prospect than Dante was 2 years ago). Gabriel is interesting and it will be interesting to see how he develops through the year. If we didn't have great bigs, I'd be licking my chop at the prospect of Adebayo falling to us. I imagine his stats won't be impressive this year(think Drummond type), but he has monster potential in the league.
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Second game - Pacific vs UCLA
Lonzo Ball - lol, his shot is ridiculous. Every time I see it I can't help but laugh. It falls though... He scored his first 3p shot for UCLA. Good anticipation on D, makes the steal. Ball another 3! And finishes an alley oop in transition. SWAG! And crisp passing. On the bad side - he doesn't seem to be in a stance on D. Seems a bit disinterested on that end. Damn, I like his unselfishness. I have a feeling I will be crushing over several PG prospects this year. Seems to be lackadaisical on D, but has nice instincts to interrupt the passing lanes. He's a big guard, I'm not sure his lateral quickness is great though. Sometimes looks good, sometimes not so much. Defensive fundamentals not too good. Oh wow, I didn't know he has this type of hops - one handed cocked back alley oop in transition. UCLA is on fire. They can be scary if they can shoot like that. I love his passing. This guy is running and passing ahead on the fast break. UCLA must have scored 20 points by him simply pushing the tempo and abusing early transition opportunities. Ball is going for triple double in his debut - 16/11/8 right now. 5 minutes to go. I love his offensive game. They took him out - 19pts, 11 ast, 8 rbs, 2stl... I want to see him against better opposition, but I like what I'm seeing so far.
Comments?
