Minnesota Sports Forum

Take a look at Russell's games against teams ranked in the top 25. If you look at the 7 games against teams rated in the Top 25 of the USA Today poll, here's what you get; 32.2% shooting (Yes, feel free to check my math--that's 37 out of 115 shots). His 3 point shooting percentage in these 7 games is 27.5% (14 of 51).

Arizona 3 for 19 (1 of 7 threes)
North Carolina 4 for 17 (3 of 10 threes)
Louisville 6 for 20 (0 of 6 threes)
Michigan St. 4 for 13 (2 of 7 threes)
Michigan St. 7 for 16 (3 of 8 threes)
Wisconsin 7 for 18 (1 of 7 threes)
Maryland 6 for 12 (4 of 6 threes)

Didn't Russell say nobody can guard him? Hmmm look at the numbers above. Also Iowa held him to 4 for 16 shooting, Nebraska to 3 of 19, Indiana to 3 of 15, Penn St. 4 of 13, Purdue to 7 of 18 and JMU to 4 of 12. This guy scares me. He's a volume shooter and if his shooting percentages against top teams are any indication, he'll be a well below average shooter at the next level. I am afraid he'd take touches away from Wiggins,Towns/Okafor who should be much more efficient scorers. Building a team around an Inefficient scorer who doesn't play good defense is not a recipe for a championship.

That definitely concerns me, TeamRicky, but I still keep him at No. 3 on my big board because of his skill set and overall body of work, despite the poor showings in 13 games. It's an excuse, but being the lead dog on a team without sufficient options is harder than it's being made out to be. I don't buy that he's a legitimate option at No. 1 because I think Towns will have a bigger impact on the game than anyone in this draft and Okafor's more elite offensively than Russell. I can see Okafor's game translating more than I can Russell's, to clarify.

Your points are valid. I just think numbers alone are silly. You gotta watch the games.

I just don't think you comprehend what Russell was to the Buckeyes. He was their entire team. It takes more than 1 guy to be able to beat good college teams. Russell was in the equivalent role of Lebron on this Cavs team. This is a 7 game sample size in which you're basically flagging him because he couldn't carry his team against top 25 teams so how could he do it in the NBA right? I think way too much stock is being put into 7 games of a college season just because it was his toughest competition. You could do the same for Towns throughout the year and Okafor. I guess I don't consider it a red flag when he struggled against the best competition who just had to solely focus on him defensively. Unless there is eye test support that says they played him man on man with no help and he struggled, I'm not flagging him based on numbers alone.

(maybe also include his stats from those games other than shooting because his shooting percentage shouldn't be the primary factor in determining if he had a good or bad game)