Minnesota Sports Forum

Hicks123 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:Right now I am thinking Russell is the best player in this draft.

If he truly was, his team wouldn't have been beaten by 24 points at home today. Best players in a given draft year don't allow that to happen.

I was actually going to bring up something related today. That Ohio St team, outside Russell, is pretty terrible. This is not a fair statement at all. There is certainly nothing historically that backs up your comment. There have been plenty of players that went on to have great careers that were on putrid teams. Also, IMO, Wisconsin is a final 4 team...if not a final 2. Ohio Stae, with or without Russell, is not in the same class.

I think you're twisting what I said a little bit. I didn't say he couldn't have a great career. I just can't remember any past #1 picks that would allow their college team to be blown away on their home floor. If you can come up with an example I'd like to know who. Maybe all the way back to Olowokandi?

I'm pretty sure Wiggins/Embiid and Kansas got obliterated last year by my Florida Gators. I don't remember the final deficit, but Wilby and those boys put it on them. Had to have been a win by 15-20 points. I'm not looking at the box scores from last year, though, so I may be wrong.

I get your point, though, Cool.

Camden wrote:I'm pretty sure Wiggins/Embiid and Kansas got obliterated last year by my Florida Gators. I don't remember the final deficit, but Wilby and those boys put it on them. Had to have been a win by 15-20 points. I'm not looking at the box scores from last year, though, so I may be wrong.

I get your point, though, Cool.

In Kansas?

My primary reservation with Towns is he has a Beasley level of physical advantage over his opponents when he plays the 4 and WCS plays the 5. That advantage completely goes away in the pros. Kentucky still sicks WCS on the opposing team's best player when that guy needs to be shut down, not Towns. Watching him, he has athleticism but most of his numbers are due to his length against much smaller competition and not necessarily his ability to go up and get the ball when it is contested by someone of equal size. At least I didn't see all that much lift out of him when he was crashing the offensive glass against Georgia. He just seemed too big for the other team to deal with and that isn't the case in the pros. I guess the combine will answer that question for me. I don't like the AD comparisons because AD has a guard's athleticism with freakish length in a big's body. I see Towns as more grounded than that. 7 footers should be able to dominate at the college level because 95% of teams don't have the size to compete on the boards and teams that can't hit the 3 have to try to go to the bucket against him which without the needed size is very difficult. I think he can be a good player in the pros, but I think the hype is getting too high considering how stacked his team is with size against teams that don't have the size to do anything. I still keep him in my top 3 because his numbers aren't that far off from Embiid's last year. My question on him comes down to how much of a basketball player is he. If you give him Okafor's athleticism, does he still put up similar numbers or does he struggle? I ask that because his height and athleticism will be much better equalized at the next level. Also, lets slow the roll on the passing big part. He's only getting 1.2 APG's in college. Gasol is at almost 4 APG's and Horford is at 3.5. How does Towns more than double his assist numbers going to a harder level of competition? Embiid put up better numbers in every category except 3% and FT% in just 2.4 more MPG's so does that not put him in the list with those other bigs you mention? That's part of my thought that the hype for Towns is way too high right now if you're already putting him in a list with 3 bonafide all-stars before he plays a game against NBA size.

Marc Gasol that's an interesting comparison that I haven't heard for Towns yet, but I think you may be onto something there Cam. Similar well rounded offensive & defensive games that has some sneaky athleticism for a big bodied player. They find a way to have an impact on the game. I've got Towns #1, and Russell #2 for the Wolves. I think Russell's game would flourish with more talent around him. After watching the OSU game today I felt that as the game progressed Russell started to press to try and make plays for his teammates because they couldn't make anything happen on their own right which led to him having a subpar game. Whether it was teammates mishandling passes or not converting leading to the huge deficit Russell pressed to either score himself (forcing outside shots) or hit his teammates in an easy scoring position (forcing passes into tight windows).

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 5 Finalists: Bobby Portis, Jahlil Okafor, Willie Cauley-Stein, Rakeem Christmas and Frank Kaminsky.

About to watch Portis vs LSU on this fine morning.

His final stat line from that game: 21 pts (10-17 FG), 15 rebs, 4 ast, 2 blks in 34 mins.

One of the most consistent big-time producers in college basketball. Turned just 20 last month. Carries his team night in and night out. Okay, enough of the hype. Let's see what the video says.

Camden wrote:About to watch Portis vs LSU on this fine morning.

His final stat line from that game: 21 pts (10-17 FG), 15 rebs, 4 ast, 2 blks in 34 mins.

One of the most consistent big-time producers in college basketball. Turned just 20 last month. Carries his team night in and night out. Okay, enough of the hype. Let's see what the video says.

Yikes, that's an impressive line, especially against a pretty good LSU team that ranks 14th in the nation in rebounding. He's scored over 20 points 3 of the past 4 games, and even put up 15 and 8 against Kentucky's trees, He's moving up in the mocks faster than just about anyone, and now sits just outside the lottery in most. May work himself into the lottery with a good tournament run. I still see a chance of him being a viable option for us if Flip doesn't like the players available at 4, 5 or (gasp) 6. and elects to trade down. I don't have any specific deals in mind, but say for instance we ended up with the 5th pick and Flip didn't see any game changers...I would be receptive to trading the pick in exchange for a pick somewhere in the mid-teens plus a future first if Flip thought Portis would be available.

No arguments there. I've been as high on Portis as anyone (if not higher). He's got the full package, though he doesn't have fantastic physical tools (strength, leaping, overpowering size, etc.). Just a really, really good basketball player.

I have read a lot about the top 4 prospects, watched a lot of games this year with each of them... And I still wonder if WCS might not be the best fit for the wolves. He guards anyone and everyone. He is a fantastic athlete and plays a team game. I see a lot of Tyson Chandler. Wouldn't a lunch pail type fit well with Rubio, Wiggins, Bazz, Pro? He would allow pressure defense to be played by the Wolves. Do we really need a guy that, in order to score, needs the ball a bunch? He would be my choice... And what about Kaminsky? He looks like a high IQ player that could be a great stretch 4.