Ostensibly Hoops

[hedge]

“Great athlete, no way he’s the top pick in the draft. Julius Randle is better."

I've been saying that for awhile...

[crotch]

Not impressed with Randle yet. Let's see how he does against a tough opponent first....like Michigan State. Playing against these HS teams doesn't do much for me.

[Owlman]

The only real risk to Kentucky this year is going up against a senior laden team with a great PG. Don't trust Harrison yet to really run this team long-term

[Jungle Rat]

Basketball doesn't start until football is over. All football.

[aTm]

Kentucky and North Cackalackey are special places where they just want to forget football ASAP.

[Jungle Rat]

Fair.

[T Dot O Dot]

“Great athlete, no way he’s the top pick in the draft. Julius Randle is better."

I've been saying that for awhile...

The Wiggins Hype Train really started rolling when he matched up with Randle last year, guarded him for half the game as a post defender and outplayed him, when the lights are on Wiggins comes to play & becomes a menace

not going to judge him on a game against UL-Monroe, just as much as Randle shouldnt be judged against UNC-Asheville

In any case, NBA-Wise, I believe tanking for Wiggins is a good move.

Yah, you may not win the lottery, so instead you wind up with Randle, Parker or Gordon?

Pretty good haul if you ask me.

[T Dot O Dot]

the picture would be clearer if he had gone to FSU

there would be nowhere to hide & not time to coast, at least when conference play starts

[hedge]

The thing is, you see a high school guy who is so clearly better than everybody else on the court (and does that consistently for a couple of years), really the most you can say about the guy is "He's going to be an NBA player". Unless it's some freak of nature like LeBron or Dwight Howard, I don't pay any attention to "the next Jordan" or "next Lebron" comparisons anymore. Everybody said that about Harrison Barnes, and it was unfair to the kid. He was a very very good player for Carolina and he's turning into a good pro, but he didn't live up to his hype (nobody could) and so some Carolina fans didn't really appreciate him as much as they should have, and I got caught up in it myself. You get a kid in high school that you know is going to be in the league soon and figure he's probably going to be good in the league, what the fuck more needs to be said? Why does everyone have to tout him as the next greatest player of alltime? That will never be known until they actually step onto an NBA court and prove they can not only play with the best, but dominate them. There's no way to predict a high school player (or even a college player) is going to be that guy, unless, again, they're some kind of genetic freak as well as a great baller. But your basic 6'9" post player or 6'6" wing player, no way. That's not saying they're not a great player that any college or even pro team would love to have, but that's a far cry from the next Jordan or next LeBron...

[T Dot O Dot]

Lebron comparisons are silly, and I dont mean to nitpick but most people say he's the best prospect "since" LeBron, which semantically makes it a more reasonable comparison

As for Barnes, I'm still butt-hurt that the Raptors won a bunch of meaningless games during a lost season 2 years ago, wound up tying Golden State for the 7th worst record & lost a coin toss resulting in GSW taking Barnes & the Raps taking Terrence Ross

Barnes would be absolutely studly as Raptor, as opposed to being with Klay Thompson & Dell Curry Junior.

I can see Wiggins following a similar path as Paul Pierce, super amazing high schooler, standout collegian but not 1st pick caliber... then becoming a better pro than he was a college player

[T Dot O Dot]

In the end I think Barnes will be a better pro as well

[T Dot O Dot]

And if the Raptors draft Barnes I dont think they bother trading for Rudy Gay

[eCat]

Anthony Davis is having a great start for his second year in the league.

After watching UK, I'm only concerned that they are looking for the alley oop play every time down the court. All of them are competing for time and they all want a sportscenter moment.

I'm confident Cal will balance it out.

I like Randle - he isn't as flashy as the other guys but he's all about getting it done. We're going to have to show some serious improvement over the next couple of games otherwise Michigan St is going to give us a serious reality check.

[Bklyn]

Couple purely personal hypothesis on Wiggins.

1. When I saw him in the Jordan Classic he did drift and then finished with a boxscore packed to the gills. I think he's the real deal, but he's too relaxed at times

2. I don't know if he wants to be picked #1. I have no real evidence of this, it's just a feeling after seeing how he managed his LOI process

3. The play of Bennett so far this year could color exec's opinion of Wiggins and his aggressiveness

[eCat]

I don't even remember Bennet last year and now he's like 1 for 17 or something crazy like that in the league.

[eCat]

btw, Randle was 6-7 and 10 - 14 from the line for 29 points against NKU

[Bklyn]

Somewhere Kwame Brown and Michael Olawokandi are smiling.

[AugustWest]

Everybody said that about Harrison Barnes, and it was unfair to the kid. He was a very very good player for Carolina and he's turning into a good pro, but he didn't live up to his hype (nobody could) and so some Carolina fans didn't really appreciate him as much as they should have, and I got caught up in it myself.

That was an unfortunate situation that I blame on ESPN. They built Barnes up to be Jordan's and Lebrons legitimate love child. I had several U*Nc fans tell me he was going to be the best college player ever. Obviously the kid did very well for himself, but there was no way he was going to live up to the hype.

[T Dot O Dot]

Anthony Davis is having a great start for his second year in the league.

After watching UK, I'm only concerned that they are looking for the alley oop play every time down the court. All of them are competing for time and they all want a sportscenter moment.

I'm confident Cal will balance it out.

I like Randle - he isn't as flashy as the other guys but he's all about getting it done. We're going to have to show some serious improvement over the next couple of games otherwise Michigan St is going to give us a serious reality check.

what's up with Kidd-Gilchrist?

The only time I see his name is on the free agent list of my 12 player fantasy basketball league, and we added extra bench spots to prevent streamers, dude not even worth a fantasy pickup

[DooKSucks]

Barnes doesn't have it between the ears like the elite players do. He has the skills, build and athleticism, but he lacks the killer instinct.