The Kevin Loves of the basketball world are very rare. You can always compare guys to players who vastly improved and exceeded nearly everyone's wildest expectations once they got to the NBA, but that is so rare. Not saying it couldn't happen with Sullinger, but I doubt it very much. He can try all he can to emulate Kevin Love but it's just talk.
A funny thing about Kevin Love: At the draft combine, his max vertical was measured to be 35 inches. He is sneaky athletic. Does Sullinger have the same physical ability in him (maybe if he loses some more weight)?
I am pretty torn on this guy. Has he regressed since his freshman year? He only averages 9 rebs per 30 minutes, which is pretty bad given his size. He really should be dominating the boards given how big and wide he is. I like his post moves, but he won't be able to guard any quick 4s in the league.
Sullinger is a very smart kid, but will be a bust He would be star is Europe though, because of how skilled he is
This draft is so deep that he can go anywhere from 6-15. He'll be an excellent pick in the bottom of the lottery, but man, I have no idea what he'll be like in the NBA. His offensive potential is similar to Demarcus Cousins/Kevin Love in my opinion, but I just don't see ANY defensive potential. I think it's great value to pick a "Boozer' with say the 10th pick.
If Davis is the consensus top dog and mkg, Robinson and Drummond our the most likely next 3 gone, we're does sully rank out of the next group of prospects? as I think he's in the 5-14 range. Part of me really likes sully cause he's polished offensivly and is a very mature and smart kid but when I saw him play against Kansas It became very clear to me that he was not the same type of prospect as Robinson even though he is more polished on offense. The points made about there being more space in the nba for big men is true but its hard for me to imagine sully becoming a kevin love type only becuse he is going to be facing even better defenders than withey who gave him problems in the final four.
What? LA is a beast offensively. We had no answer for him last year even when Chuck Hayes was guarding him. The problem is his average defense and lack of rebounding; he should be rebounding at a much higher rate given his physical attributes.
I pretty much saw the same thing. He needs to get quicker and learn quickly how to play defense, or else he'll be a Tractor Traylor or Maurice Taylor.
This. Kevin Love was going to be a stud. Most people knew that he would be good. Maybe not first team all NBA material, but other than a Durant, you just can't be sure. Sullinger is less athletic than Love, and his range is about 5ft shorter than Love's was. It's Westbrook I thought was a reach.
Sullinger is going to be a beast I value him because he has the combination of basketball skills, size (6'10" in shoes), work ethic, and motor. If you're more down on him because you think he's shorter, that's fine. But here's the thing: You're wrong. He's not shorter. He's ideal size for an NBA power forward. He's as big as the smaller range of NBA centers.
Sullinger is not going to be a good or decent pro. I'm sorry, but he's gonna eat his way out of the nba. Even if he does kep the weight down, he doesn't have a special skill.
Why the hell would he do that when he already worked extremely hard to slim down considerably, kill body fat, add muscle? We have no evidence that he is going to get fat, we do already have evidence that he is willing to work hard to be in good shape. Sullinger has multiple elite skills: 1) Post moves, footwork 2) Soft hands, great touch 3) Passing, ballhandling, decisionmaking 4) Ability to establish position in post and on the other end, prevent opponents from backing him down I don't care who exactly you want to compare him to... Even if you want to say his game is like Luis Scola or Dejuan Blair let's not forget he's 2 inches taller than those guys.
The problem I have with Sullinger is his vertical and lateral. He's not very athletic. That doesn't guarantee failure but it's a good indication he won't be special. At a minimum, he has to develop a reliable jumper and he needs better post moves that can shake NBA defenders. He won't be scoring at the rim against bigger, longer, stronger NBA defenders like he did in college.
