He will not make it to #4. He will go #2. He should go #1. Here is my case... Tonight he will be up against a team full of potential stars in the league. Davis, Taylor, Teague, Kidd -Gilchrist, Jones, Miller and Lamb are all slated to be drafted this year. Five of them(or more) will go in the 1st round. On some drafts the Jayhawks have only two players total in the whole draft( Robinson, Taylor). There are some mock drafts that have Withey going late in the second, although i think he will rise up a bit in the next week or so. So basically, Robinson has almost single-handedly helped his team make it this far. If the roles were reversed, i don't think Davis would have been able to do the same.
Considering they haven't defeated Kentucky, what relevance does this comparison have? It's not as if Kansas has beaten out teams that are loaded like Kentucky to get here. They've scraped by the mediocre likes of Purdue and NC State, then took out an injury-riddled UNC squad (no Marshall or Strickland, gimpy Henson). From there, Ohio State was a mirror image. Each team has an elite post player that's a top 10 NBA prospect (Robinson/Sullinger), a streaky veteran lead guard (Taylor/Buford), a wild card scorer (Thomas/Johnson) and a bunch of defensive-minded role players. It was a coin flip game, and it came down to the final seconds. It speaks well to Robinson that they won, but let's not act like this is Larry Bird lifting Indiana State on his back over the heavyweights. I don't think it's far-fetched to say Kansas would be this far if you swapped Robinson for Davis (or Sullinger). Oh, and Robinson is shooting 39% from the field in the NCAA tourney - not exactly ideal for a big man. The reason Davis goes ahead of Robinson, no matter what, is that he has an aspect of his game (defense) that will be elite from day one. Davis has a shot-blocking ability and defensive IQ that only a few players in the entire world have. Combine that with his hands and athletic ability, and the absolute worst-case scenario for Davis is prime Marcus Camby, but less injury prone and better outside shooting. More than likely, his offensive game develops to the point where Kevin Garnett (with better shot blocking) is the appropriate comparison. Robinson could be very good, but there's risk. If you watch him, he's not ready yet to compete in the post against NBA players. When he's matched up against a player of similar size, he usually turns and faces, starting about 17 feet away, and tries to beat them off the dribble (since most people of his size in college aren't as athletic) for a layup or foul. When someone of comparable speed - but less size - is on him, his go-to "move" is awkwardly throwing the ball toward the basket and crashing the offensive glass. In the NBA, against big men that have both size and speed, he's going to have to develop true post moves to be worthy of a No. 1 pick. He doesn't have that right now, which is why his shooting percentage has suffered in the tourney against better competition. It may develop, but it also might not. And if it doesn't, he doesn't have the elite defense to fall back on the way Davis does.
I wouldn't be shocked. He just looks more the part of a franchise player than Davis. Davis looks more like the second option type player.
I think he, Davis, is going to be the closest thing to the Dream the league has seen. He can guard all 5 positions and handle the ball like a pg while leading the NCAAs in blocks.
I concur with The Cat. Only way Robinson gets any #1 consideration at all is if he totally torches Davis tonight to the tune of about 30 points and 15 boards while getting Davis in foul trouble and single-handedly carrying KU to the trophy. Just don't think that will happen.
Agree. Davis is ridiculous. His upside is Kevin Garnett on offense merged with Hakeem on defense - and it's not at all far-fetched to see him getting there. Possibly the most valuable No. 1 pick since LeBron. Praying an Eastern team wins the lottery.
I'm praying the Hornets will trade us their lottery pick unprotected in exchange for taking on Okafor's contract and then we win the lottery and get him ourselves. If you're gonna pray, do it up right.
I would be a very happy boy. Davis is a beast, one of the few players that can get me to watch college.
Call me crazy, but when i watch him play, he looks like a raw Dwight Howard. As far as how he plays against players in college as opposed to the players he will play in the league, a good summer of improvement and a half of a season of play will fix that. I just see Robinson creating plays for himself more so than Davis, most of the time.
He seems much more of an offensive weapon than a defensive weapon. Dwight is a beast shot blocker but has had to work his butt off to get a better offensive game.
I think the next Hakeem on defense is already in the NBA... have you seen the Biyombo kid (youngest player in the NBA)... smh, the kid has a gift for blocking shots. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/He6F3qJ8EFM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> If Bobcats manage to get the #1 pick and draft Anthony Davis, they wil have one of the scariest shot blocking front courts in the NBA for the next decade.
Upside? Pre-injury Antonio McDyess. Robinson won't ever be a true force in the post, but his explosion and body control for a guy of his size is really good. Trying to develop a mid-range game, which he'll need at the NBA level. Could be a #1 on a decent team, but better suited as a #2 (Blake Griffin/Pau Gasol level, though not comparing Robinson's style to either) on a contender. My worry is his downside, which I see as Chris Wilcox. That is, a few decent years based on athleticism and power around the basket, but largely a role player, never a go-to option and not good for spacing the floor. Robinson also doesn't block shots, which can be a problem for a big man that plays around the basket. I think Robinson probably ends up somewhere in between those two, but the floor for Anthony Davis is a lot higher than Chris Wilcox. I think that's one of the biggest differences.
Ahhhhhh, the pre-injury Mcdyess. That's a good one. He's more ferocious than McDyess was though so I'd have to add in a couple slices of Xavier McDaniel to go with that McDyess pie. And no, he'll be better than Wilcox. Wilcox is/was a lamebrain. Robinson has got talent and smarts and drive. No way he turns into Wilcox.
