Early Underclassmen NBA Evaluation

by:asdfasdf04/19/12

Coach Ed Cutlip had an eye for evaluating underclassmen on the Wonder Years, and a decently funny twitter account

Men (and women), this week’s main topic is plain to see — the five underclassmen declaring for the NBA draft.  Before the season started, I expected all of these kids to probably leave for the league.  Winning a title only solidified that thought.  And they deserve it.  As much as I’d like to see them all come back and win another title, I’d do the exact same thing in their position.  When you can reach your dream, you grasp onto it before it slips away.  They accomplished one major dream by winning it all, and now it is time for another.  But I digress…

The general draft landscape has been discussed a bit, but in-depth professional evaluations aren’t exactly rife across the internet.  A good in-depth eval has emerged.  This one comes from former NBA scout Mike “Sweetchuck” Procopio, who is pretty well known for breaking down NBA games and players, just like he did for Kobe Bryant (and he’s even been referred by Rick Pitino while UK).  Sweetchuck breaks down the professional upside and downside of each of the five UK underclassmen going pro.  Procopio does your obligatory ‘here’s where this guy will go’ bit (Davis 1, MKG top 5, Jones top 20, Lamb top 27, Teague early second round at latest), but his real value comes in the detailed look at each player’s offensive and defensive game.

Sweetchuck things all five of these Wildcat heros will have the chance to play for a long time in the NBA, and he will tell you exactly why.  Please give this an article a read if you are interested in the dynamics of basketball and how certain things translate from college to the pros. He takes a close look at what each player does well on both sides of the ball, as well as whether they have the potential to do certain things better.  I’ll spare you the meat of the eval, as you should give it a read in full, but Sweetchuck does another cool thing: he predicts how each players career will/could pan out.  Check out each player’s career outlook below.

Davis:  Overall I expect Davis to have an impact on the NBA without question I think its unfair for some to compare him to Tim Duncan as TD is one of the best power forwards ever to play the game. I think he has a chance to be an all-star level player that will significantly impact whatever team selects him in June.

MKG:  I think Michael will really benefit from playing with a high level point guard. He’s one of those players that will struggle at times when he has to create on his own, so he needs a point guard to get him the ball where he can put his team in position to be successful. His game reminds me a lot of Gerald Wallace, a combo forward that can impact a game with his athletic ability.

Jones:  If he plays with Nash, maybe he can play that Boris Diaw role with them although hes more athletic. He needs to play in a style where it is up-tempo and you can roll him to the rim on screen roll. If he can keep focused and mature he can be a very good starting player in the NBA.

Lamb:  I see Lamb being a Jodie Meeks/Gary Forbes type of player. He can be a rotation player who can be an efficient shot maker. He’s a decent ball handler, but don’t think he can play point guard part time.

Teague:  His game reminds me a lot of Avery Bradley/Toney Douglas. He can be a guard that score points and be effective, especially in a two point guard system. He’ll be a solid player in time, but it won’t come over night.

Obviously, this is very subjective.  But it does come from a well-respected and season pro scout.  He sees Teague as the biggest wildcard, but all the guys have bright futures in his mind.

Agree?  Disagree?  Too busy celebrating @Bradley_YMCn2B’s and Ashley Judd’s birthdays to care?

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