There are many other "underrated" prospects out there. But these are some that I have watched and seen regularly: Marcus Dove-F, 6-9,Oklahoma State In my opinion (and in most experts' opinion), he is the most versatile defender in the country. At 6-9, he can guard all five positions! He's a strong body, along with excellent lateral and foot quickness, allowing him to shutdown even smaller guards. He has also vastly improved his jumpshot, and is now pretty dependable. Pretty good handles for a player his size too. High basketball IQ. Projected late 2nd round-free agent. If we can pick him up we will improve INSTANTLY on defense Jordan Hill-F, 6-10, Arizona Two words: Amare Stoudemire. Except a little taller and just as long. Didn't play organized basketball until the 10th grade, but that is also a blessing, as he hasn't picked up any bad habits. He has worked on his post game from his freshman season, and now has a very solid post game, particularly his jump hook. Very quick and good feet. Good hands. VERY athletic. Btw, Arizona has three projected 1st rounders on their team, including two lottery picks in Jerryd Bayless and Chase Budinger (he's actually my favorite player right now)-maybe we can get him somehow, if he drops into the middle to late first round.
I have never seen them play,but I would like to ask you why would a versatile defender like Dove be projected to go as a late 2nd rounder?
Because of his pretty average ball handling and his still inconsistent jumpshot: Marcus Dove's DraftExpress Profile Just in case I don't wanna sound like a hypocrite, I said, he can be a threat, but his jumpshot is not consistent enough to warrant him a full-time perimeter threat.
http://www.nbadraft.net/ Dunno what your definition of underrated is, but how would you feel with 7-2 Roy Hibbert taking Dikembe's roster spot next year and backing up Yao? Hibbert's stock has fallen the past year, but that may just make him underrated (a dangerous line of thinking: see McRoberts, Josh; but also Davis, Big Baby, two different sides of a coin there). Hasheem Thabeet was in our range earlier but he's moved too high now. As far as college prospects that will do better than people believe...you can look at my other post for Hollinger's favorites. DeJuan Blair of Pitt is a big name there, so is the Blake guy from OK State. I propose Bambale Osby of Maryland also. Their sophomore Greivis Vasquez (6"5 PG) is also underrated but unlikely to leave yet. I also like Patrick Patterson of Kentucky, the big guy for Florida, and finally DeMarcus Nelson of Duke. Right now, to me, there hasn't been a better defensive player in college bball than DeMarcus, and he had a few years dealing with injuries so people don't realize that he is California's all-time leading scorer out of high school. He shoots the three a lot better than he used to although he still sucks at free throws, and he can penetrate as well, but his main asset to an NBA team I think would be his defense. I could definitely see DeMarcus to the Suns or Pistons in the late first round, he fits those guys' styles and matches the kind of player they have drafted of late.
I would love to have another 7 footer with a post game backing up Yao. But, he's still very much within the national scene. And btw, that "Blake guy" is Blake Griffin, from OU, not OK State. Don't tarnish the name DeMarcus is a good defender, but probably not the best. As far as position goes, Darren Collison is the best point guard defender in the nation. Btw, have you seen any of the players I've mentioned play? If you haven't, well, then that proves my point. I don't know why a player like Chase Budinger or Jordan Hill is getting some national love. Its been long time since we've had an athletic freak like Chase who can also shoot lights out. He can also run like a deer too, imao, perfect for a fast break team like us. If we can draft up to him somehow.
I don't watch the Pac-10 (sorry, principles) but from what I heard on the radio, Chase Budinger was getting knocked by a scout because thus far much of his production has come off the high screen with jumpers, aka his ability to penetrate was being called into question. There is a reason that freshman Jerryd Bayless is rated higher now on most draft boards; I think Budinger would have gone higher had he left laster. As far as the other Arizona player, I haven't heard a thing about him.
But most scouts also think that he will be a better pro than he is in college because of the larger spacing. But I think his biggest weakness is probably his softness, which explains why he doesn't attack the basket as much as he should. But he has improved this year though. But trust me, when he does attack the basket, its like poetry in motion when he gets a little separation lane. I saw him play against Standford, at one point he crossed over two defenders, weaving through the lane, then scored an up and under over Brook Lopez. And btw, why don't you watch the Pac-10? Are you an ACC guy? Because the Pac 10 is probably the best conf. (basketball)
Well, there's the issue of the Pac-10 playing late games. And about the quality of conferences, let's go over the NCAA champions this decade: ACC (3): Duke 2001, Maryland 2002, UNC 2005 Big East (2): Syracuse 2003, UConn 2004 SEC (2): Florida 2006, 2007 Big Ten (1): MSU 2000 Big 12 (???) Pac-10 (???) It's true the Pac-10 has the best RPI of the conferences so far this year, but RPI can be falsely manufactured by not playing a strong road non-conference schedule and just beating up on each other in conference play. Tourney play usually sorts things out.
Well, I meant to say that the Pac 10 is the strongest so far this year, as they basically have 7-8 teams that can contend in the tourney. The Big 12 is also very strong and very underrated this year too.
been a fan of this guy since he was a freshman. does everything well, nothing great. reminds me of brandon roy w/o the ball skills
We don't need to worry about finding underrated prospect, our GM/coach produced Brooks/Landry in the last draft. They will produce again this draft. It's a great feeling knowing that you have a good drafting GM.
For where he's going to be drafted he had better be more talented. If you told NBA execs they'd be drafting Kareem if they picked Brandon, he wouldn't be picked until the second round.
Btw, to bring back the point-forward thing, Chase Budinger is set to be the point guard today (yes he will apparently start as the point guard). He doesn't have great handles yet, but he will nevertheless bring the ball up and start the plays-a la a "point forward."
Jordan Hill is good/underrated but he's nowhere near as athletic as Amare. If he were, he'd be a top 3 pick.
"In my opinion (and in most experts' opinion), he is the most versatile defender in the country. At 6-9, he can guard all five positions! He's a strong body, along with excellent lateral and foot quickness, allowing him to shutdown even smaller guards. He has also vastly improved his jumpshot, and is now pretty dependable. Pretty good handles for a player his size too. High basketball IQ. Projected late 2nd round-free agent. If we can pick him up we will improve INSTANTLY on defense" Reminds me of Carl Landry!
