Best pro
- Thread starter Tim1515
- Start date
In order
Winslow
Parker
Okafor
Hood
Jones
Okafor being third is bc his stats may be good, but the NBA game is played less and less in the paint. He'd actually have a better career if he came into the league 20 years ago.
So I believe his impact won't be as great as it could have been.
Winslow
Parker
Okafor
Hood
Jones
Okafor being third is bc his stats may be good, but the NBA game is played less and less in the paint. He'd actually have a better career if he came into the league 20 years ago.
So I believe his impact won't be as great as it could have been.
Good thread!
I'm going Okafor with stats. Seems easier to rack up stats playing so close to basket.
Winslow as far as being best team player.
But I guess my answers would change depending on to what teams they get drafted to and if they are drafted to an NBA playoff ready team.
I'm going Okafor with stats. Seems easier to rack up stats playing so close to basket.
Winslow as far as being best team player.
But I guess my answers would change depending on to what teams they get drafted to and if they are drafted to an NBA playoff ready team.
Where do you put Kyrie in that discussion? He has a few years on everyone and playing with Lebron will experience alot of team success. Hard to say any of these guys will have a better career than KI.
I think Jahlil might have the highest ceiling. His attributes are so rare in this day and age for big men. But I think the poster above made a fair point about how the big man game is so different today than it was 20 years ago. That certainly has to play into the equation. But again, I just keep coming back to the skillset part. And for that reason I like Jahlil. I sure hope my Wolves get a chance to draft him.
I really like Winslow as an NBA prospect, but I think Okafor's a far safer bet for stardom than Winslow. If he stays healthy, I think Okafor's floor is a 20-8 type guy who's a bit of a liability on the defensive end -- with the possibility for greatness. I think Winslow's going to be a very good pro who makes a ton of money, but I think it's completely up in the air whether he ends up as a frontline offensive player or just a very talented role player / defensive stopper on a good team (i.e., the spectrum between a James Harden-type to Trevor Ariza / Andre Iguodola). The former is not out of the question, but that's really only speculative. At this point, I think he looks to be more of an AI-type -- which is quite good, but not nearly as good as what Okafor will be IMO.
As for the broader NBA discussion, I think Parker / Okafor could be as good or better than Kyrie if they stay healthy -- and Parker, frankly, looked pretty awesome pre-injury. But, you've got to worry about Parker's health at this point and it's too early to tell with Okafor.
As for the broader NBA discussion, I think Parker / Okafor could be as good or better than Kyrie if they stay healthy -- and Parker, frankly, looked pretty awesome pre-injury. But, you've got to worry about Parker's health at this point and it's too early to tell with Okafor.
I agree with Parker if he stays healthy. He's been unlucky the last few years with injuries and unfortunately that usually follows you. But if he's healthy, I can see him putting up 25/8/5 eventually. Jah to me is a little of a mystery. He would have a 15 rebound game then follow it up with 6 or 7. He has all the tools but he needs to find his motor and keep the key turned on the whole time he is in the game. If he does that, there is no limit for him. He could put up the numbers Cousins is right now, if not better if he maximizes his ability. And Winslow will just out-athlete people at the next level if you know what I mean. If I had to make a comparison, I would say Jimmy Butler has a similar game but Justise can get to the rim a little better. If he can knock down the NBA long ball with any consistency, he could turn into an all-star. Tyus and Hood will both be great role players and possible starters with long and successful careers IMO. After all that said, if I had to bet, it would be Jabari. He is just so smooth, and sometimes can make it look like he knows what the D will do before they do it. But what a great question to answer! We have turned into quite the program now after all these "Duke players can't play in the NBA" comments. You cannot argue our success in the league anymore, and especially a few years down the road.
If Kyrie is put in the discussion... In my opinion its Kyrie and then a drop off to the other players. Kyrie is on the all star level of play. I would love to see all the other Duke players get to that level. But for now I got Kyrie on another level.
Yes, I think Okafor's floor is close to Demarcus Cousins without the emotional instability / immaturity. Demarcus Cousins is a perennial NBA all-star who never makes the NBA all-star team b/c NBA coaches don't like him -- not b/c he's not an all-star caliber player.
I think Hood is a dark horse in this race. One of the reasons being that he is in Utah. Nobody cares about the Jazz outside of that state, including the media and TV coverage. He will not get much coverage but I can see him being a very productive player for many years. If he stays healthy of course.
Oak...the league will go back to the post player. There are a nice amount of post players coming out in the next 3 years. Then Parker, Hood and Winslow. If Jones goes to the right system, he's a close second.
There are certainly questions with Jah...he didn't do as well against big centers...he struggles from the foul line and teams will run a ton of pick and roll/pop against him with more court to cover.
To me Winslow is behind Parker and Jah with the ball but brings far more to a team without the ball defensively. For that reason and the transition in the NBA to spread the floor...Justice would be my #1 pick...even though the offensive numbers won't be as good.
To me Winslow is behind Parker and Jah with the ball but brings far more to a team without the ball defensively. For that reason and the transition in the NBA to spread the floor...Justice would be my #1 pick...even though the offensive numbers won't be as good.
I am really concerned about the injury to Jabari. I really hope he can play without further injury, and if he does, concerning just the players in the OP:
Parker - Winslow - Okafor
Go Duke!!
JC-OFC
Parker - Winslow - Okafor
Go Duke!!
JC-OFC
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We've got some great ones heading into the NBA. I'll go with Jah. His skills are immense. And barring injury he'll probably be playing till he's 40, or close to it.
It was mentioned that the big man game is so different today...and that's true. But a big part of why it's different is that there aren't many 'go to' back to the basket big men nowadays. He also showed he could score facing the basket...a few 12-14 foot jumpers, etc. I think he'll make a big impact, and if he's able to improve defensively he'll be a monster.
OFC
It was mentioned that the big man game is so different today...and that's true. But a big part of why it's different is that there aren't many 'go to' back to the basket big men nowadays. He also showed he could score facing the basket...a few 12-14 foot jumpers, etc. I think he'll make a big impact, and if he's able to improve defensively he'll be a monster.
OFC
KI has a shot at being known as one of the best players in his generation. I won't put that loft on these guys yet.
I think Oak has skills that are so specific and so refined for his age. None of the others in this thread have that. Here's my list minus KI:
Oak - Once in a generation skills
Parker - NBA ready size and skill set and a playoff level team that needs him
Jones - He doesn't need to shoot to be great and he'll be drafted by a playoff bound team so presumably he's getting drafted on need not hope.
Hood - Great size for a shooting guard and is now getting his shot with a bad team. Good skill set too
Winslow - He's not going to get the base amount of shots he got at Duke. He's a solid shooter but still not super consistent. His second contract will tell his NBA
1 winslow, 2 winslow, 3 winslow, 4 winslow, 5....winslow
I think those 5 cover it....would probably swap 2 for 3, but yeah.
Let's just hope that all of them stay healthy and avoid the things that happened to Grant, Hurley and Jay Williams. Would have been nice to see how good they would have been. OFC
So hard to say. With CP3 getting older and with the injuries to Rose, it's not hard to imagine Kyrie being a top 3 PG for a 5-8 year stretch in the very near future. Many hailed Parker and Wiggins as the best prospects since Lebron. Oakafor likely had the most offensive tools of any big-man freshman to ever play college basketball. And Winslow has quality NBA player written all over him, especially with what we've heard of his work ethic.
In short, I have no idea.
In short, I have no idea.