NCAA Tournament Prospect Tracker

No, I wouldn't. I have Ivey as the Rockets selection, it's possible that Banchero could surprise me, if he improves on defense.

 

Paolo narratives:

 

If Paolo is there at 3, take him and extend an olive branch to MDA and to recreate a new era Sacramento Kings

Sengun: Divac
Paolo: Webber

 

Just take Eason at 17 to negate Paolos "weaknesses" if he's there (or trade up if possible) or take another 3&D wing to take Tates starting spot if he's not on the board anymore ... Im over MDA. In your scenario why not go see what Rick Adelman is doing nowadays? Sengun is smart enough to make it work with anyone - I think he's going to come in next year and surprise alot of people that think he's a dud on defense.

 

Man I think we would have an easier time getting MDA back than Adelman. The former is still coaching while the latter retired 8 years ago.

 

Interesting takes from Eric Musselman...

Who should go No. 1 in the NBA Draft? We asked Eric Musselman to rank the top 3 candidates
...
“I could see a reason to pick all three of them,” Musselman told The Athletic this week. “They’re all legitimate top-three picks. If you’re drafting that high and there’s not much separation, trade the pick. But these guys are all worthy. The amazing thing to me about all three of them is what they can do at their size and age. These are freshmen. We aren’t talking about somebody in their fourth or fifth year who is maxed out. So now it’s what is their work ethic and what kind of organization do they end up with? That’ll determine how these three careers unfold. But they each have the tools you’re looking for at the top of the draft. In the NBA, it’s simple: What super skill do you have that sets you apart from others? If you don’t have one, then you’re just a rotation guy.”

Holmgren’s super skill is “shot blocking and length,” Musselman said. Smith’s is “being 6-foot-10 and an elite shot-maker.” Banchero’s is “being 6-10 and excelling in all three phases: off the bounce, mid-post and at the rim.” Bottom line: They all do something so exceptionally that Musselman is confident they will succeed as pros.
...
But one of them has to come off the board first. So in what order would Musselman go after scouting, game-planning and facing each of them? It’s Banchero, Smith, then Holmgren for him.
...
1. Paolo Banchero, Duke
On offense: “He was the one we just had no answer for. Our scouting report couldn’t take anything away from him. When they needed a basket, it went to him. He got the ball off where we couldn’t double-team or soft-trap him. He makes 3s and just kept improving as a 3-point shooter over the year. He knows how to draw fouls. He’s excellent in the midrange. He’s got a good jab-step, pull-up jump shot. Got a really good turnaround jump shot. Can run the floor. Actually, you know what? I think he might be even more athletic than Jabari. It’s probably about even.”

On defense: “We couldn’t get a mismatch because they had so many equal-sized guys and then they went zone, so I did not get a good feel for him as a defender. But we didn’t go at him a lot. We didn’t feel like we had an advantage to post him up at all and didn’t feel like we had an advantage off the bounce to try to go at him or get him in foul trouble. So we really just kind of stayed away from him.”

2. Jabari Smith, Auburn
On offense: “He’s so unique with his ability to make shots from so deep and doesn’t need a lot of dribbles to get them off. He can shoot over people. There’s just not a lot of guys his age or size who can shoot transition 3s off the run and catch like he can. It’s a little bit like Klay Thompson, who doesn’t dribble a lot and can be in a dead sprint, catch, plant and stick it. Jabari does that really well, which is a remarkable thing at 6-10. Our plan was just to crowd him, not let him go left at all. We felt like if he got the left-hand, 1-2 dribble, he was virtually unstoppable. He’s really unique, because you don’t often see a right-handed player love to put the ball on the deck with his left hand. We went through all his makes and felt like he was probably the most unique right-hand guy we’ve ever seen.”

On defense: “He’s so long, the only thing we tried to do is maybe get a switch where a smaller guy could try to attack off the bounce. Even then, you might have a lateral-quickness advantage with a smaller guy, but Jabari’s reach makes it really hard. I thought he was great at slapping and jabbing at the ball.”

3. Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga
On offense: “Tremendous upside with his length, shooting and passing. He’s really intriguing. For us, the game plan was to get up under him out on the perimeter, get as low as we possibly could and try to swallow up any dribbles that he might take. And then in the post, it was to use our low center of gravity and try to be as physical as possible. Any time he sets screens, just be as physical as we could and try to impede his path anywhere that he was on the floor. We wanted our strongest, most physical player on him.”

Arkansas assigned 6-foot-6, 225-pound Trey Wade, a journeyman who averaged six points per game at three schools and then got an NFL mini-camp tryout as a tight end, to guard the slender, 7-foot, 195-pound Holmgren. This highlights one major concern about Holmgren at the next level: whether he can hold up physically.

On defense: “We said no floaters when we went to the basket. Try to get him in rotations and attack his body physically on our dribble drives. We didn’t want to settle and take midrange shots against him. If he came over from the weak side, our goal was to score inside the restricted area, basically, and to go through his body and try to draw fouls. (Holmgren fouled out for just the third time all season.) No soft layups. It was a relentless attack at the rim if you saw him come from the weak side. We knew he would block a couple shots, but we wanted to be aggressive getting into his body on our last dribble into the shot. Right now, that’s going to be the way you go after him — but there’s just not many guys his size and age who can dribble, pass and shoot as well as he can. Plus, he’s a great shot-blocker with good ability and mobility at that size. There’s a lot to like about that kid, too.”

I think I trust this guy's opinion over most here...

 

You're definitely right, I have a hard time believing MDA comes back to work with Fertitta since that was the big issue to begin with, but stranger things have happened. I could see Banchero playing an Amare Stoudemire type role with more responsibility in his offense, but this team doesnt have the lights out PG that type of offense would require IMO or the requisite 3 point shooters. Watching the playoffs reminds me how important a midrange game is for winning big games.

Im ok with letting Silas steer the ship while these kids are developing and finding a more worthwhile coach down the line.

 

Is the difference in value between 3rd and 6th typically greater than the value between 1st and 3rd?

It seems like the discussion has gone from Paolo should be taken over Chet and Jabari to jubilation about getting the 3rd pick by the Banchero bus.

 

Amatuer analysts are a treat! The real basketball minds are starting to reach a conclusion.

 

Just like I said they would.

Banchero is the real unicorn here.

 

I am kinda on the fence about this.

I like the bravado but it kinda seems like he is kinda talking himself into that idea, covering up the doubts that he actually has.

 

Poor kid is going to get baptized by fire. It will be a nightly prop bet of who is going to drop him, punch on him, block him, run through him on screens. NBA is going to humble him quick like it did Jalen Green. Confidence >>> Cocky.

 

Not taking anything away from Paolo but that Arkansas/Gonzaga game was bad to watch. The refs called some BS fouls on Holmgren when all the kid did was just straight up to defend the rim. Musselman is obviously more experienced and knowledgeable than me but Chet couldn't get going because of foul trouble that night.