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Following Potential 2018 Draftees

I have only seen a little of Trae Young. He looks like a more score-first version of Tyus Jones from Duke. Probably he's a backup for most teams.
IDK how you can say a Freshman who dropped 43 in his 4th game (against a P5 team) is probably a backup.
 
i honestly have no clue how good Bagley is, but he is tall, very, very, athletic and he plays as hard as any big i've seen. oh, and he's ridiculously aggressive. that's why he gets numbers. dude just never stops. runs the court constantly, is all over the offensive and defensive glass and is always looking to attack. i don't know how skilled he his, but dang, for a hyped player, he plays like he's playing for his life. in that sense he sounds like Julius Randle, but he has 3-4 inches on Julius. just don't know what to think of Bagley right now - glad we have all season to figure him out.

also, just finished watching the oklahoma game - Trae Young is pretty special. I don't think he even tries to defend at this point, but he's a wizard offensively. not sure if he's a better scorer or passer. he's great at both.
 
i honestly have no clue how good Bagley is, but he is tall, very, very, athletic and he plays as hard as any big i've seen. oh, and he's ridiculously aggressive. that's why he gets numbers. dude just never stops. runs the court constantly, is all over the offensive and defensive glass and is always looking to attack. i don't know how skilled he his, but dang, for a hyped player, he plays like he's playing for his life. in that sense he sounds like Julius Randle, but he has 3-4 inches on Julius. just don't know what to think of Bagley right now - glad we have all season to figure him out.

also, just finished watching the oklahoma game - Trae Young is pretty special. I don't think he even tries to defend at this point, but he's a wizard offensively. not sure if he's a better scorer or passer. he's great at both.

The thing he really has on Randle is fluidity (Randle has always kind of been more herky/jerky bulldozer) and a super quick 2nd jump. But yeah, his production is undeniable and he is starting to hit his FT's. Looks like he can guard pretty well on the perimeter too.

But yeah, too early to place anyone, but especially with Bagley I'm still on the fence of who I like him over/under.
 
Several of the draft sites have or had Bamba as consensus top 5. I think he's more likely to go in the 8 - 11 range. His length is off the charts, but his influence on the game waxes and wanes. His motor seems pretty average, and he's pretty raw.
 


I don't care about his deficiencies. They are what they are and should be worked on... If our coaching staff cannot develop and make this^ into a star, it's our coaching/development staff that is the problem.
 
I just became aware that Michael Porter's younger brother also plays for Missouri and he has been playing well.
Apparently Michael may be back before the end of the season now. Should be a good battle between him, Doncic, Bagley, and Ayton for the first pick. Doncic has cooled off a little since the start of the season. 3pt shooting not been as good in particular.
 
I swear by Anfernee Simons btw. If thats the Jazz pick, it's a homerun.

Sleeper PG to keep an eye on is Malachai Flynn 6'1" Sophomore at Washington State.
Yeah, he was real good vs St Marys, but St Marys has been shown to be a poor defensive team so see how he does in Pac12 play.
 


I don't care about his deficiencies. They are what they are and should be worked on... If our coaching staff cannot develop and make this^ into a star, it's our coaching/development staff that is the problem.


He's got a motor, that's for sure. He's trying to use his athleticism to overpower his opponents on every play. It won't work as well at the next level. He's going to have to settle down, develop some patience and learn some fundamental moves. If he can do that he does have tools to be an impact player. Right now, he's all raw energy. He doesn't really handle, pass or shoot at more than a rudimentary level.
 
That's the difference between how I see him and how others seem to see him - raw energy and motor with nothing else vs energy and motor + raw and unpolished skill, that can become special. And I truly mean special. I mean it like... top 5 player in the league level... not just a starter type. I think people underestimate the variety of things he does, simply because he misses a lot of the shots that would make him from the motor guy to a bona fide superstar. He does much more than a motor guy. He just doesn't seem to have those things refined and misses a lot on those more advanced moves. What happens when a good development team gets his hands on him and most of those start falling? What's the chance he never improves at those things?

You don't go for 30+/15 several games in a row against good competition as a freshman just on raw energy and motor. Just my 2 cent...
 
That's the difference between how I see him and how others seem to see him - raw energy and motor with nothing else vs energy and motor + raw and unpolished skill, that can become special. And I truly mean special. I mean it like... top 5 player in the league level... not just a starter type. I think people underestimate the variety of things he does, simply because he misses a lot of the shots that would make him from the motor guy to a bona fide superstar. He does much more than a motor guy. He just doesn't seem to have those things refined and misses a lot on those more advanced moves. What happens when a good development team gets his hands on him and most of those start falling? What's the chance he never improves at those things?

You don't go for 30+/15 several games in a row against good competition as a freshman just on raw energy and motor. Just my 2 cent...
I'd say he has an outside shot at top 20. Never see him becoming top 10, much less top 5.
 
I'd say he has an outside shot at top 20. Never see him becoming top 10, much less top 5.
Well, top 5 is outside shot with pretty much any prospect. Too much uncertainty and variance. I think he has the chance to become that as much as anybody else in this draft.
 
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