@Spooner kudos for the post. Keep'em comin! These are the type of quality posts that separate Clutchfans from other sites and these types of posts are what's kept me coming here almost daily for 20+ years. Also, , I would love to see your draft board and encourage you to post it in the BBS.
Spoiler: Quality post i agree with a lot of points. Haven’t quite watched the whole scrim through. I’m really intrigued by Wiescamp and Grimes, both could help the rockets
Marcus Bagley seems to be one of players that "pundits" are hating on the most at the moment. I think because he just kind of looks like the guy you'd cast to be an NBA small forward in your movie, but when you watch him actually play for a bit the illusion might be shatteted. Im coming around on him just because everybody is singling him out as a "falling prospect". He might require a year or two of polish, but seems like a good bet in the middle of the second round.
Game 3 Joe Wiescamp - Can shoot further out than I thought he could. He could really develop into a sniper off ball. Knows how to box out very well with positioning and is always active trying to pull down boards. Can still get pushed around but man, if he added some more weight to his frame he could be a really good 3&D rebounding wing. His off ball activity is what I like most about him. He always knows where the ball and his man are. He made some really nice passes today. Always in control and never takes bad shots or ill advised drives. Keeps the ball moving. The kid knows how to play and knows his role. Great patience with pump fakes. Great, smart cuts to the basket. Can really read what’s going on around him and finds spots to score depending on what the defense is doing. Wiescamp plays the passing lanes so well sometimes resulting in easy steals. He just knows where to be. Wiescamp made some physical baskets in the paint against bigs. Some nice post moves. Every time he gets the ball you just know he is going to do something smart and when he’s around the basket you just expect it to go in with his propensity for shot fakes and footwork. A few times Wiescamp got a tough rebound, dribbled the length of the floor and made the right pass on the break. Excellent shooter wow. Drained 3’s off the catch all over the perimeter. Yesterday I said Shane Battier, but he has some Chandler Parsons in his game as well. Jerico Sims - Moves his feet better than I thought on defense. Good rim running but he is the biggest guy out there. I’m not sure he will get such easy dunks consistently at the next lvl. Can hit a floater which pleasantly surprised me. Rolls hard. Also able to push around bigs going against him pretty easily. Hukporti played much, much better on both ends when he wasn’t going against Jerico Sims. That should tell you something about Sims. I liked Neemias Queta more than Sims and while Queta is probably a more refined player, Sims probably fits the current NBA better due to his quickness. Set some great screens. I didn’t like how he positioned himself for rebounds. He let people box him out even though he was bigger and stronger. As the biggest guy out there he should have dominated the boards today and yesterday but he didn’t the way he could have. Can really run the floor and some great dunks. Seems like he has pretty quick feet which could be good for his development. He can jump crazy high. Really good at finishing alley oops. I’d be very surprised if Sims is not drafted after this showing. Daishen Nix - Looks like a bust and makes me sad. If the best player of the scrimmages was Wiescamp and his team gets blown out every game at least some of that should fall on Nix. Bad turnovers. Missed a few bunnies at the rim. Doesn’t seem to have the right demeanor. Just looks bad. Couldn’t hit a shot in the last game and today he actually looked worse. Trendon Watford - Reminds me of otto porter jr. Can handle the ball a little bit for his size. Passing was a little erratic and he got into trouble a few times on drives. His defensive positioning wasn’t great and he was bullied in the paint. Did not shoot the ball well from close or from 3. Tried too much to force things resulting in some very ugly shots and turnovers. Still, his presence was felt in some way the last two games but perhaps that was because he was a bit of a black hole when he got the ball. The team played better with him on the bench I thought. Julian Champaigne - Lighted up from 3 today. Maybe he was hot. Still impressive. Some nice defensive plays as well including a block on Wiescamp. Yves Pons - Made some good passes and seems to not force anything/plays within the flow of the game. Played solid defense again for the most part but the team wasn’t passing to him. Didn’t get involved as much as I wanted him to and kind of disappeared down the stretch. Didn’t seem to do too well on the boards either. He also got brutally dunked on by Sims a few times but I liked that he at least tried to contest the shots and not just get out of the way. Disappointing day for him today and he played a little soft at times but the potential is there to be maybe a decent role player off the bench. AJ Lawson - had some really nice moments. Hit a step back and a nice dunk. He showed a few flashes in both games but never took over or found other ways to impact the game imo. At least he wasn’t getting beat on defense from what I saw. Standout of the game - Joe Wiescamp Honorable mention - Jericho Sims
Game 4 Josh Christopher - The dude can really attack the basket. Doesn’t always take the best shot though. I like that this game he attacked from the start, building on the second half of last game. Doesn’t seem like a good shooter and really forces things. Kicking the ball out of drives was a little bit better today partially because the defense became more geared to toward stopping his drives. Very good first step but I’d like to see him refine his dribbling a little more so its not so much of the same kind of straight line drives. His drives are a little predictable and he was blocked more than a few times. Was able to hit an open 3 today so that was encouraging but he also airballed a 3. Some very nice passes but also some really bad turnovers again. He would benefit from a euro step or something to help get to the cup more efficiently and fake out defenders in the paint. Very, very athletic. He also played much better defensively and on the boards today and was very active. He’s a little bit of a black hole and forced way too many shots. Didn’t seem very efficient and that would only be worse at the next lvl. I liked him before these scrimmages and still do because the talent is undeniable. However, I don’t think he can rely on just his athleticism in the NBA. He desperately needs to diversify his moves getting to the rim and his handle is not good enough yet to fully unlock his athleticism and aggressive mentality. With his style of play he really needs to at least be a respectable outside shooter to maximize his driving ability. Quintin Grimes always found Christopher with a pass but Christopher rarely passed to Grimes who was the hottest player today. A bit of a black hole but maybe he had something to prove. (12 points…) He did make some beautiful passes on the break so the potential is there but it seems like more of a mindset thing with him. There is a chance he could be really good so I can see the appeal in reaching for him in the late 1st round but he has just as high of a chance at being a complete bust imo. He’s still pretty raw outside of his go to driving move to the same spots. Still see a lot of Terrence Williams in him but Twill had better handles. Greg Brown - He is just crazy athletic and amazing extension on some of his dunks. He gave it his all today which is great to see after how bad he was last game but as active as he was, he was equally very out of control. Way worse ball handling than I thought he would have. He jacked some really dumb 3 pointers throughout the game that were real head scratchers including a contested airball from the corner. At least he made a good effort at boxing out and running the floor for easy dunks. Some really nice putback dunks although no one was really blocking him out. Made some nice simple reads out of the post today. He is easily the most athletic guy in any of these scrimmages. Good to see him give effort because last game he didn’t seem to have any urgency for the moment. Played pretty good weak side defense today in the paint and blocked a few shots but he was out of position a lot. On offense he didn’t have a lot of moves driving to the rim and tried to force it very out of control resulting in some easy charge calls. Doesn’t seem to have the best feel for the game at this point and bigs like that bust out more often than not. Undeniable how athletic he is though. Very aggressive finisher. Blocked a perimeter shot like it took no effort at all. He did make more of an effort to box out but didn’t particularly rebound the ball well. Didn’t fight through screens allowing for easy baskets. Was beat off the dribble numerous times by players who are probably slower than him. No discipline on shot fakes and tried to go for blocks instead of getting in a better position to contest a shot. He seemed to burn out a bit as the game went on and didn’t do the little things like fighting through screens and cutting to the basket that you’d hope for in a winning player. He’s disappointingly raw to me. Athletic players come and go and he is certainly a physical beast but how many of them actually pan out? I was thinking he could be Josh Smith but at this point I’d be happy with Kenneth Faried. I dont know about you guys but I don’t really want to watch another Thomas Robinson or Jordan Hill develop. Having said all that, he had a good game today and I’m happy for him that he got to show his stuff a bit. Kessler Edwards - Really versatile defensively. Great footwork on defense. Can block shots and is very disciplined with his timing. Stays in front of his man extremely well. Did not allow larger players to bully him. Fantastic on ball defense. Can steal the ball from his man or in the passing lanes. No one could get by this guy today. Smaller guards could not go by him and bigger players could not out muscle him. Always active on the boards even if it didnt translate to stats. Boxed out larger players numerous times. Good help defender stopping some easy baskets when his teammates were beat. He seemed like he blocked a ton of shots. I know his shooting hasn’t been great and he seemed afraid to take a perimeter shot but he shot a surprisingly decent percentage in college so the potential is there. I also appreciated how he didn’t force bad shots to try to get in some kind of rhythm ie Josh Christopher and Greg Brown. Really liked what I saw from him today. Played bigger than his size. Can switch really well. Great overall awareness on defense. Excellent man defense all day. Wouldn’t mind him on the Rockets at all. He reminded me a bit of Shawn Marion but could just as easily be MKG. I really liked how he took massive improvements every year of his college career. Seems like he wants to improve. Quentin Grimes - looks great and has the it factor. Comes in the game and immediately drains a contested 3. Fights for rebounds which is a nice touch. Was really impressed with his defense today. Sometimes he would get beat laterally but would find ways to compensate with effort like rotating quickly to another man or boxing out for a rebound. Beautiful cuts off ball. Really good at hitting contested 3’s. Made some very unselfish passes where he was open but found a better shot. Almost came up with a few steals. Played both ends very well. Hard to be mad at him for chucking shots because they were heat checks. Some nice dribble moves and turnaround jumpers. Can create space very well. Really looked like a stud today and yesterday. I remember he was a projected lotto pick at one point, I never understood what brought his value so low. Nice blow by and finishing through contact. He has so many ways to get a shot. His dribbling his way ahead of where I thought it would be and he has an array of shots in his arsenal. Can shoot in traffic and also finish with contact. He was so much better than Josh Christopher imo. He played with poise, unselfishness and still found a way to be the games leading scorer. He really looks good from a mental perspective. Excellent demeanor. He could have been on a heater these last two days but the defense he played was encouraging. He has that alpha mentality you see in stars and played like he didn’t need to prove anything. Makur Maker - Didnt have the best defensive awarenesses today. Struggled on defense against Queta and Mobley. People also blew by him pretty frequently. Really, really good second jump. His ball handling is impressive for a guy his size and he makes some really nice passes. Some great post moves using quickness to get by defenders in the post. Very nice footwork. You’d have to think with his footwork he could eventually become a versatile defensive presence if he puts it together mentally. Still needs to put on weight though. Had a bit of trouble securing rebounds in traffic. Allowed players to drive past him for easy baskets. His team played much better when he was inserted into the game. Part of it was that it brought Queta out to the 3 point line allowing players to drive to the paint a little more freely. The other part was that he is infinitely better at defense over Sandro. Easily boxed out by Queta and Mobley. I was a little disappointed with him today after such a strong showing last time but he still played well and hustled very hard. The potential is definitely there. His feel is really good. Neimas Queta - Altered shots because of his size but easily bit on pumpfakes. Couldn’t stay in front of faster players and that includes larger forwards and some quicker centers. He still altered a ton of shots. Could not deal with Makur’s quickness but on the other side Makur couldn’t really deal with Queta’s strength. Has a nose for getting steals. Some really nice passes to cutters. Shows a pretty good basketball IQ. I like him but I’m not sure he’s suited to todays game as much as some of these other centers. Isiah Mobley - Nice touch around the rim. Finished well through a lot of contact. Good handles. Finishes well on the break. Much more active today contesting shots and rebounding. Smooth 3 point shot. Caught a little out of position on defense a few times where he would lose his man on the perimeter but nevertheless an impressive outing. He’s really athletic for his size. Fast with fluid movements. Needs to add weight. He really showed some flashes today. He was definitely one of the more skilled big men of the day and is a pretty quick and fluid athlete. Still needs to be a little more physical but boxed out Makur pretty well today. I actually think he shrinked a bit yesterday because Jerico Sims is very strong. Today we got to see more who he is, especially on the break where he can both handle the ball and finish well. I could see him being decent contributor one day at the 4 spot. He might actually be a little underrated. Johnny Juzang - TERRIBLE Standout performer - Quentin Grimes Honorable mention - Kessler Edwards
I was talking about the way Maker has transformed his body. Did you see those guns?? Wood needs to put that kinda work in.
Where do you think Wiescamp gets drafted after combine? I thought the consensus before was 2nd rounder with maybe a slight chance at bottom of the first. Now I’d say bottom of the first should be the area. I think he could be a little bigger Donte Divincenzo, perfect glue guy that can shoot and is athletic.
That's a great question. Before the Combine, he was projected as a late 2nd or UDFA, but his measurables, testing and play probably have most pundits and teams rethinking that assessment. I'll include a few links that I found helpful, but if you look at Corey Kispert against Wieskamp it's an interesting comparison. Both are 6'7"+ in shoes, but Kispert has a 6'7" wingspan, while Wieskamp's is 6'11". Kispert is in the 220 range, while Joe is 205. Athletic testing was interesting... Joe: Vert-42" (#5); Shuttle-3.18 sec; Lane Agility-10.7 sec (#4); Standing Vert-30" Corey: Vert-37.5"; Shuttle-2.99 sec (#3); Lane Ag-10.91 sec; St Vert-30" Here's a link from Chad Ford commenting on the testing... https://www.nbabigboard.com/p/draft-combine-athletic-testing I'm likely in the minority, but I haven't been a big Kispert fan. While Ford seems excited by how well he tested athletically, I don't personally see a Lottery pick. However, when I look at a guy like Wieskamp I get more excited because of his length and how that will translate at the next level. Looking at their college stats are also interesting... Joe: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/stats/_/id/4397033/joe-wieskamp - I've seen some draft reviews ding him for FT%, but the year before he shot 86% on more attempts, which tells me that maybe there was an issue (concentration maybe). As you look at his stat line, he never missed a game (97) and if he can tune his shooting percentages together he could be an elite shooter. Corey: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4280151/corey-kispert - He's clearly improved each year scoring wise. Purely looking at 3pt% last season, Joe finished 15th in nation with 47.3%, while Corey was 60th at 44.4%. I know there are a lot more factors to consider here, but interesting to see the difference... http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics/player/_/stat/3-points To your question, mainly from just a fan's eyeball test, I'd rather invest in a player like Wieskamp than Kispert. They're both great shooters and really smart/team players, but Wieskamp's length and just the way he plays attracts me more than a player like Kispert. Complicated to ascertain what that means to NBA teams, but if I'm a contender in the late first (say Nuggets) and I can add a smart team player with great shooting skills to my roster versus a more developmental player than I have to consider it. I was talking to a Western Conference team Director of Player Personnel last weekend who was in Chicago for the Combine. Although most of the conversation was around my day job, I did ask a few questions. Teams look at the Combine as a way to validate what they've seen, but more so to see how guys react in an environment that is level set and not geared to anyone. They look for who adapts and thrives in a new environment and for those that do the opposite. With that said, Spooner's scrimmage assessments are an interesting view into who could rise (just takes one team) and who could fall. He also said, that "team culture" and a player's ability to fit into their team means much more to his team than maybe some others. Really wanted to ask him a thousand questions, but had to hold back.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndic...their-stock-after-fridays-scrimmages.amp.html Players raising their stock after Friday/end of combine.
Every time Senior speaks, I think to myself - this guy isnt very smart but HOF so he gets jobs in the media. Makes sense
I can see Joe Wieskamp and Quentin Grimes going late first/early second round after the combine. I would love the Rockets to pick one of them.
