orangello
Well-Known Member
FIBA.U19.W.C.Q.Final - Spain vs Australia - Dante…: https://youtu.be/-IBvtMkkEdA
Watch "FIBA.U19.W.C.Q.Final - Spain vs Australia - Dante…" on YouTube
- Thread starter orangello
- Start date
He drew as many FTs in the first minute of this video as he has for the Jazz since Christmas.
Jamezz
Well-Known Member
Be patient with Dante, I still see the 'special' in him. When he overcomes this rookie wall things will start slowing down for him and will start trying new things. This video is proof that he CAN drive to the basket successfully and lightning quick. Lakers fans gonna hate us for years to come mark my words, and Bill, etc...
Look at what the added muscle did for Hayward's confidence, especially on the drive. Dante dominated in the U19 game because everyone was roughly at his same level of strength. Clearly, he's intimidated by A) playing against huge *** grown men, B) getting hurt (likely because he's both really skinny, not fully in control of his body, not perfectly conditioned, and also because he's seen other rookies go down for the season), and C) hands are much quicker in the NBA and he isn't as good at ball handling as he needs to be to really break down a defense.
The intelligence is there, the speed is there, and the shot is there - and will only get better.
Add some strength and conditioning this summer, alongside the confidence that will come with it, and he's going to be a star.
Couple of side notes:
1) Per Tony Jones, Dante is the second-youngest player to have 5 made 3s in a game. The other? LeBron.
2) Another player who at age 19-20 was criticized for his ball-handling, particularly his ability to dribble and go left? Jordan.
Not saying that Dante will ever reach the levels of superstardom embodied by those two GOAT-caliber players. Only cite them to say that 1) there's obviously tremendous potential in the kid, and 2) that even the greats struggled at his age.
The intelligence is there, the speed is there, and the shot is there - and will only get better.
Add some strength and conditioning this summer, alongside the confidence that will come with it, and he's going to be a star.
Couple of side notes:
1) Per Tony Jones, Dante is the second-youngest player to have 5 made 3s in a game. The other? LeBron.
2) Another player who at age 19-20 was criticized for his ball-handling, particularly his ability to dribble and go left? Jordan.
Not saying that Dante will ever reach the levels of superstardom embodied by those two GOAT-caliber players. Only cite them to say that 1) there's obviously tremendous potential in the kid, and 2) that even the greats struggled at his age.
Dammit this is getting old. LeBron put up a 18+ PER and 3.1 VORP in his 19-year-old rookie season.
https://www.basketball-reference.co...at=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=per
https://www.basketball-reference.co...t=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=vorp
That is far from "struggled".
Meanwhile Dante is down at the bottom with Marvin, Biyombo, and Zach Levine.
Of course you'll keep saying this season is just a throwaway for Exum since he's "just 19". Look again at those lists. They are all teenagers. The best players are at the top. The busts are at the bottom. That is just a coincidence?
Can a player just jackpot thru a rookie season and still turn out to be a great player? Sure, anything is possible. But every game he plays he gives us more information about what kind of player he is. And it doesn't look good so far. The longer this goes on, the more of an outlier his eventual success will be.
framer
Well-Known Member
98% of the people on this board would have traded Rudy Gobert for a #8 draft pick last year. Gobert had 7 assists the entire year, and he was 21 meaning his ceiling was likely lowering. Dude has come a LONG way since his rookie season. The biggest worry about Exum was his outside shooting. I'm not really worried about Exum in that area any longer. Now that he is scouted as a perimeter player, the middle should open up more for him. It will also keep teams from teeing up on his drive like they would have at the start of the season. You can see him taking the next step with the drive and kick. It will be interesting to see if he continues to get the start in games that aren't nationally broadcast in Austraila.