I have always been a big fan of the NBA draft, and young upcoming basketball players. The sport is extremely projectible compared to most sports. With COVID I have had an opportunity to follow and study the amateur players more closely, especially with the Rockets have high draft picks for the first time in years. Below are my personal rankings as of 1-10-22. I have watched 90% of these players play, and those that I haven't seen multiple games of, I have seen a fair amount of film on them. I don't like simple numeric lists, I prefer tiers but will list them as that is what most people prefer. 1. Chet Holmgren C Still have a very high ceiling and overall has played very well as a freshman. Has had to play with a ball dominant post player next to him. Defensively he is the elite of the elite and will be an all defensive type player. Does all of the little things well and communicates very well. Teams are starting to value the players that make few mistakes and play hard. That fits Chet to perfection. His weight concerns are valid but over blown. A team that takes him has to understand that his scoring make take a few years to come around. He is someone that has the upside of changing how the game is played, the down side if he stays healthy is a role player as a scorer and an excellent defender, at his position that is still an all star. 2. AJ Griffin SG/SF The most overall talented and polished player in this draft. He has few weaknesses. He only played 12 games of high school basketball after his sophmore season. He is very young (will be 18 on draft day). He has an awesom body and is a strong 6'6" with a wingspan over 7'0". He comes from arguably the best basketball family in the world. His sister is an elite player in college, his other brother is playing professionally and he has a number of others in his family playing at a high level. His dad is an NBA coach and former player. A.J. learned the NBA game at a very early age. He is strong and long and smart. He can defend all 5 positions and has All NBA Defense upside. He is a very efficient offensive player that is an under rated passer and shooter. Need rebounds? He can do that too. He is just a winner, and as long as he remains. As long as he remains healthy he will be a 15 year pro with franchise player upside. Most places have Griffin in the 10-12 range, I think he is possibly the best player in this draft. 3. Jabari Smith SF/PF He is the safest player at the top of this draft. He is long, his high steal frequency shows he has quick hands and has the upside of being a good defender and possibly more if he works on his body. He will be able to switch with ease. Offensively he is an excellent shooter that can take and make in volume. He is learning to come off of screens well. His ball handling is only meh, but he can improve somewhat. He will be appealing to a lot of teams because of the high ceiling. 4. Jaden Ivey COMBO Best athlete in the draft with an ability to explode to the basket and plays very well with contact. His numbers are lower than they will be in the NBA because the spacing he has at Perdue is a joke. Defensively he has high upside with his wingspan and quickness. He is still developing as a playmaker, but is going to end up as a ball dominant combo guard most likely. Considered a hard worker and good person. 5. Paolo Banchero PF/C With Paolo there is a lot to like. You get what you see with him. A strong body and acceptable measurables. He has all star potential and is a work horse. 6. Johnny Davis SG Solid athlete that can stop on a dime and has great body control. Very crafty player that loves to compete. His upside is a top scoring shooting guard. 7. Kendall Brown SF Lots of upside, and a very good athlete. He is still developing but the measurables are still there. 8. Kegan Murray SF? Highly productive, strong but with limited upside compared to some other players on this list. 9. JD Davidson PG Has the potential to be a long term starter. A little raw at this point but has the ability to be a real quality starter on a playoff team. 10. Nikola Jovic PF/C Lazy, moody and immature but a very skilled and gifted player. If he matures he can be a real weapon in the NBA for a long time. 11. TyTy Washington PG Quick and has a good feel for the game. Has Ty Lawson vibes. 12. Benedict Mathurin SG Sometimes looks like a 10 year NBA starter and other times looks like aG-League washout. 13. Dyson Daniels SG All the tools are there for an Eric Gordon type career but questions linger about his maturity. 14. Jean Montero PG Have only seen film of him but looks strong and has physical upside.
Thanks for the breakdown nook. Can you add their positions by their names? Some of them I know and some of them I can guess by the summary but not all of them. I don’t follow college sports so I appreciate the insight. Is there a pg or 2 in the later first or second you think we should keep an eye on?
Dang Dwight Howard 2.0 didn't make it on your list @Nook Ouch And he's supposed to be a top 5 talent haha
Am I the only one who saw Nikola Jovic and thought I was in a different spider-verse? Griffin seems intriguing after reading your write up on him.
Just bad decisions all the way around by him. He may well turn out to be a productive player as a role player in the NBA... I just think there is limited appeal for what he does. He will likely come out early, but he would be better suited spending another year in college showing that he can do the things needed in the modern game. He doesn't really have the skill set of someone that is a starter in the NBA.
Jovic is someone that a lot of scouts in Europe think highly of from a talent and ability perspective. In general the scouting from Europe has been solid and better than the NBA scouting of Europe has been.... I believe it is because scouts in Europe watch more NBA games than NBA scouts watch the European game. With the rule changes over the last 15 years, we have seen the differences between the two places decrease as far as style of play. The European game in general has also become more athletic with a lot of the kids in Europe seeing Europeans do well in the NBA and believe they can thrive in a similar style.
The Memphis program hasn't been the ideal program for development tbh. Penny and co recruit so many high level kids to the point where it's just overboard. Penny is probably a solid coach and obviously his recruiting is up there but there's so many locker room egos in that program and its been that way since hes been there. That's just natural when you have a team full of highly recruited kids who are use to being primary options. They obviously don't do a good job of managing it and guys just walk on eggshells wondering why the guy next to him get more minutes. There's a reason why they never take the steps to the next level and improve. The fact that he has failed to qualify for the NCAA tourney with so many for the casuals "5 stars" is pretty bad. That's why i always laugh at the folks that say just get as many "5 stars" as you can and you just win. Nah it doesn't work that way. I've heard Kelvin Sampson say over and over, he'd on any day rather have a 3 star dog over a 5 star content/lazy
He is a very intriguing player that is starting to perform at a high level with very little experience and at a very young age. He was injured at the end of his junior season in high school, he sat out his senior season and stayed working out with his dad and other NBA type coaches. Then when he started practicing at Duke, he got hurt and that slowed him down. Now he is healthy and is starting to really show how good he is. He is capable of being a lot better as well as he really hasn't shown his ability to drive to the basket and create for other. He is someone that coaches will love having on the court. Very well educated, very well coached and has been surrounded by the game at a level few get... It's not just his dad, but his entire family and it is just their culture. Outside of a really messy divorce by his dad a couple years ago, there has been few distractions for Griffin and his family. He reminds me of Grant Hill, Danny Granger and Jimmy Butler.... but he has a higher upside than Butler and Granger. He isn't quite the passer Hill was, and he is a couple inches shorter (but is still growing). He has a lot of the marker that elite franchise players like Duncan, Robinson, Curry, Hill and Kobe had.
I don't have any proof other than what I hear from some around that program - but I am convinced there is shady stuff going on there. Also I don't think Penny is an especially good coach. He has had talent and he hasn't won and kids that should still be there have transferred away. The potential is obviously there but it always looks like Hardaway just rolls the ball out several times a week and tells them to play.
Oh I don't doubt with memphis track record of what they've been able to recruit in such a short period of time, that shady stuff came along with it. But that's just a different discussion. The fact that his rosters have been loaded with apparent talent and yet he gets mediocre results is a testament to a not so great program. A lot of these kids also have a tough time buying in. Whether thats on Penny or more on the kids depends on who you ask. But there is a huge gap there every year so far Emoni honestly should have stuck with Michigan St before Penny swooped in. Maybe he'll transfer next year (which he should). But Izzo and that program would be much better for his development. Much better conference by far in the B10 and the AAC is losing UH, Cincy, and some other programs to the Big12 so the AAC is looking pretty bad next year and beyond
Mine (which is limited to mostly players I see fitting the Rockets) Smith Chet Paolo Ivey Griffin (flip flopping between him and Ivey) Benedict Mathurin Johnny Davis Keegan Murray This is not meant as an exhaustive list as I've likely glossed over some guys.
Nice write up, and I need to look at Griffin in more depth. My issue is I think you are overvaluing what Holmgren is and what people want in a Franchise type player, Teams value scoring ability way more than defensive ability and will draft for that. Can you name a player like Chet that was taken over a guy like Smith or Griffen? Offense is what sells. Too many guys who can be focal points on Offense for Holmgrem to be the top guy IMO, but we will see how things change during the season. Maybe things change, but teams usually take the highest upside offensive player over the highest upside defensive guy, and that's Smith so far. Do you agree that last year's draft is better than this year's?
He's been hurt for a while and his mintues were limited early. Since he joined Duke's rotation about a month ago, he's making 75% of 2 point shots, 50% behind the arc, and 13 ppg in 24 mpg. A very fast riser.
It's still a huge question mark whether he declares for the draft. AJ is coming off offseason injury and he also comes off the bench and only plays about 16 mins a game. He's been getting more of an opportunity recently though. So whether he returns next year to improve his stock to top 10/top 5 potentially is on the table but lets remember Coach K won't be there
I see him now on their 2023 draft. This guy stands out with his name. just sayin https://www.nbadraft.net/players/kok-yat/
AJ Griffin Duke YEAR Freshman POSITION Small Forward HEIGHT 6'6" WEIGHT 222 lbs ESPN 100 #29 | 2021 AGE 18.39 yrs DRAFT AGE 18.82 yrs BIRTHDATE Aug 25, 2003 NATION USA HOMETOWN White Plains, NY HIGH SCHOOL Archbishop Stepinac High School
Take out body type, and I can think of one time the Rockets selected a defensive monster over the dynamite scorer out of the ACC.