by Rickhouse on February 12 at 4:15PM
Cream of the crop
F Michael Beasley- Kansas State, Fr.
It’s hard to find a fitting comparison for Beasley, who has done what some considered unthinkable: dominate the college game as a freshman the same way Kevin Durant did a year ago. While their games are very different, both are cold-blooded scorers with great size and versatility. Draft Express compares Beasley to a more athletic version of Zach Randolph (a scary thought considering Beasley also has maturity issues) while NBA Draft dot net predicts he’ll turn out like Carmelo Anthony. I envision him as a Shawn Marion-Paul Peirce type of hybrid. Still, I may not be as high on Beasley as some people, and I certainly don’t think he’s as good as Durant. At 6’9, he’s usually the tallest player on the court and does the majority of his scoring in the post for Kansas State. In the NBA, that won’t work. He’s shown some ability to shoot the ball, but that will need to improve as he’ll be a small forward, not a power forward in the NBA.
Prognosis: top two.
PG Derrick Rose- Memphis, Fr.
In a dream world for all NBA fans, Rose would land in Seattle and team up with Durant to form the most exciting pair of young players the league has seen in a long time. It could happen too, as the Supersonics currently have the third worst record in the league. The NBA is cluttered with good young point guards right now, but Rose has the ability to join the Chris Paul-Deron Williams stratosphere. He’s huge for a point guard, think Baron Davis, and is known for his unselfishness. He’s actually scoring a lot more at Memphis than most thought he would, but Rose’s top attribute may still be his unselfishness. Comparison’s to Jason Kidd may be a little much for any college freshman, but I’d be shocked if Rose turns out to be anything less than Deron Williams.
SG OJ Mayo- USC, Fr.
No one has been their stock drop as much as Mayo, but most of it could be attributed to unrealistic expectations. Mayo has been considered the top player in his class since rankings came out (7th grade), but he simply isn’t LeBron James, as some expected. What I like about Mayo is his size. He’s a legit NBA two-guard in a league that is becoming increasing filled with combo guards. He also has a scorers mentality, almost to a fault. Still, I don’t see Mayo ever hitting hot and cold streaks in the NBA, like, say, Ben Gordon does. He’ll consistently be around 22-25 points a game from the minute he gets the chance. Mayo’s stock as fallen so much in the eyes of some that NBA Draft dot net now ranks him the ninth best freshman this year. To me, that’s shocking and inaccurate. I’d love to see Mayo is Bulls uniform.
Better college players than pros
G Eric Gordon- Indiana, Fr.
In another era, where kids stayed in school for four years, I think Gordon could go down as one of the Big 10’s all-time greats. Unfortunately, he’ll almost surely leave after this season, and why not with the way he’s been playing. If Gordon were two or three inches taller, he may just be the first pick in this draft. As it is, he’ll still be a high pick (probably top 5) and a very productive pro player. It’s just that he’s a combo guard- too small to play the two-guard and not a good enough passer or decision maker to play the point. Draft Express’ view of Gordon seems dead to me: a rich man’s Ben Gordon. If Eric turns out to be like Ben, maybe even a little better, he’ll be a very nice player. It’ll just take a team with the right supporting cast for EJ to be a championship type player.
C Roy Hibbert- Georgetown, Sr.
By all accounts, Hibbert is a great dude, and he will almost certainly be a starter in the NBA. The question is whether he can be a dominant post player, somewhere around 20/10, and I just don’t see it. We know Hibbert has a soft touch around the rim, but his lack of speed will be hindrance to any team that doesn’t like playing 4 on 5 at the beginning of possessions. I don’t like Hibbert as a top-5 pick at all, maybe from 9-15 he makes sense for certain teams.
Don’t believe the hype
Chase Budinger
Tyler Hansbrough
Hasheem Thabeet
Mid to late round sleepers
Tywon Lawson / Darren Collison
Bill Walker
Tyler Smith
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Comments
Mayo would make the Bulls instantly better. I don't think he'll be as good as D-Wade or someone like that, but he'll take a lot of shots (which the Bulls need) and he scores a lot more consistently then Gordon because he can get to the line.
As for Thabeet, first of all one of my buddies is facebook friends with him and in all his pics he's surrounded by tiny white girls. For that alone i should like him. I've seen him play a couple times and his scoring ability is comparable to Chandler or Wallace. He'll be nice defensively, but you need to flank him with a low post scorer, i would think.
Hey you spelled Mayo's first name wrong. It's JOSH Mayo, and it's not USC, it's UIC.
This is off the topic but it appears Devean George will be murdered sometime soon.
Yeah I saw that, I bet he caves but it's still kind of fascinating.
Also, Sampson is gonna get canned which is marvelous.
Remember that A-Rod kid that went to our high school? Doesn't he look exactly like Sampson?
1) Mayo MUST become a Bull
2) Now, I don't want to sound like I think I know anything, but doesn't Thabeet have enough size and rawness to not warrant the "Don't Believe the Hype" tag? His ceiling is still pretty high, right?
3) Awesome post.