C'mon Madison - at least spell Jarace's name right. He's "from" Houston. Got to give him credit, though, for being one of the only people, maybe the only one, who put Ausar above Amen. lol.
"Jerrace" lol. Like the word "terrace" with a J. I've been seeing these "Ausar over Amen" takes primarily from smaller online-only outlets, and I'm just not seeing it. Yes, Ausar is the better shooter right now, but when you drill a little deeper into the numbers one thing pops out at me: Amen shot an obscene 66.2% on two-point attempts, while Ausar shot a much lower 56.2%. That's where the higher athleticism from Amen becomes apparent--that's not from outside shooting, that's from Amen being insane at finishing around the rim. I think Amen's driving and finishing abilities play right away in the NBA while simultaneously giving him greater upside down the road. I don't think either of these guys are likely to contribute as perimeter shooters for a few years, although Ausar is more likely to develop a jump shot at all. I also think Amen is the better fit for the Rockets. Ausar is a wing in the NBA, but I think Amen can legitimately play as oversized point guard with serious mismatch potential.
What you like about Ausar is how his shooting improved in just 1 year. That shows his work ethic and shows a glimpse on how he could be a good shooter some day. With Amen you have to wonder why his shot hasnt improved the same way Ausar has. I rather take the top 30 athlete with 3 pt shot over the top 10 athlete with 0 shot. The mismatch potential is gonna be on opponents when they play zone and load up on other defenders in the playoffs. If you look at Ben Simmons for example, yeah he was an all star bt even when he was good people were posting vids on how other teams defended him and the Sixers in the playoffs.
Think this kid is going to be NICE! Bilal Coulibaly, France (VW teammate) SF 18 yrs 6-8, 195 7-2 Wingspan Via NBA Draft Room... Coulibaly is an upside athlete with awesome physical tools. He’s a long, springy, bouncy athlete with great open court speed and above the rim ability. While his game is still raw and unrefined he’s starting to put it all together and putting up nice numbers. On the offensive end Coulibaly is a slasher, cutter and instinctive scorer. He’s developing the ball handling/driving ability to take advantage of his impressive speed and hops. He loves to get downhill and has impressive deceleration ability, letting the defender fly by, before going up to score. Has a great euro-step in the lane and creative finishing ability. His outside shooting is an area that will need improvement. He can hit the 3 but needs to sped up his shot and get more consistent. Coulibaly is a versatile and disruptive defender who uses his elite athletic tools and freaky length to pester ball handlers and disrupt passing lanes. Easily passes the eye test. Glides around the court with smooth athleticism, making other players look like they’re moving in slow motion.
I don't agree with dropping Jarace Walker to #8, I think he will likely provide star-level value just with his defense and doing the little things on offense--otherwise I love everywhere he went against consensus. Amen at #3 feels right, Cason Wallace, Taylor Hendricks, and Derick Lively as late risers feels right.
Personally yes, I think Hendricks will also be a very good defender, but I don't think he will be as elite on that end nor as good of a rebounder or passer. I can see the argument for Hendricks on the basis of his shooting, but there's a world where Jarace develops into almost as good of a shooter.
Interesting analysis. I feel like some of these numbers don't align with actual shooting percentages, but apparently they're from Synergy, which tends to be pretty accurate. Jarace Walker and Taylor Hendricks are very close in catch and shoot efficiency. Jarace struggled on pull up shots. Julian Strawther as 1st rounder makes more sense now. Jalen Hood-Schifino is a good shooter off the dribble, below average on catch and shoot.
Big fan of Cissoko or Dariq Whitehead as a developmental wings to be groomed as Eason's backup. I think both guys could also be risers and would, potentially, give the Rockets more offensive punch behind Eason down the road.
Why does Henderson have such a disappointing FT rate if he's such a physical beast / special athlete? Why was Lin averaging OVER double the FTA's in the 2010-11 D-league? Scoot scares me
Jeremy Lin played in the D-League at age 22-23. It's really not a fair comparison to talk about a high schooler versus a guy the age of a college senior. Completely different stage of player development. It was also a completely different era of the league where it was still in its infancy. I don't know if the competition level was even similar. Kind of a strange comparison to make regardless. I have no concerns about Scoot's physicality. But a lot of what puts him there is not that he's a generational athlete (although he's very, very good). Amen Thompson is a better athlete than he is. It's more that scouts absolutely love his feel for the game, basketball IQ, competitive attitude, playmaking and court vision, creativity around the basket, etc. He is the complete package skills-wise except for his shooting, which is still a WIP but looks like it will be at least average in the long term.
Taylor Hendricks | F | UCF | 19 years old | No. 6 "Hendricks being up to No. 6 might be a pretty real stunner to people, given that he entered college with very little excitement regarding his potential as a one-and-done. But he emerged quickly as a likely top-20 pick in the class back in November. And he’s risen up the board throughout the course of the process to where I think I’d be a bit surprised if he didn’t hear his name called in the top 12. I wrote in the most recent big board that Hendricks was the name I’d heard most from executives when I ask, “What player will go higher than currently projected?” Indeed, scouts are very much in on Hendricks as a lottery guy. Why do I currently have him as a top half of the lottery player? It has to do with how translatable his game looks toward playing in the playoffs. Hendricks is a monster defensive prospect. He has immense length for being 6-foot-9 with something in the ballpark of a 7-foot-2 wingspan. He’s a good weakside rim protector. His sense of timing on that end is tremendous. He goes up mostly off two feet and is ready to meet his man at the rim with strong hands and a balanced center of gravity. On top of that, he has awesome anticipation for when his services are needed to clean up messes. He’s a terrific scrambler. Beyond that, I also like his switchability. He can straight up switch ball screens as a four. He has really good feet and is a very fluid mover. He gets a bit upright at times, but it doesn’t really impact how well he moves and can change direction because he can also bend and flip his hips with ease. Consistently, he gets his chest in front of his man and uses his length to bother opposing players and contest every shot. But he is also enormous for how quickly he moves, allowing him to just envelop his man in his chest and length. Every NBA team is looking for guys who are this big and athletic on that end who can also play on the offensive end. And indeed, I buy Hendricks on the offensive end. He made 40.9 percent on over 130 catch-and-shoot 3s this past season. The mechanics are easy and basic in the best way. He has a high release point that allows him to shoot over the top of his defender with ease. That makes him reliable over tight closeouts. He can cut backdoor and be an elite level finisher if a shot is being created for him there. What are the worries? He is very limited right now in what he can do off the bounce. He can attack a closeout and is comfortable doing so, but I don’t really trust him as a self creator in a substantial way at the moment. He needs to improve his touch at the rim on the move, and I think he needs to improve his feel as a passer and playmaker on those drives as well. There are some real holes here. So why do I have Hendricks over someone like, say, Jarace Walker at the moment? I think Hendricks profiles a bit better in the NBA as a switchable defender, and I like his jumper drastically more. Walker is better right now as a passer, and I think his feel for the game is a bit more naturally developed. But I buy Hendricks’ movement skills more as a big, long four, and the most important thing a player like this can do with those skills is shoot. Walker strikes me more as a four/five type of power forward in terms of movement, whereas Hendricks is more of a four/three type. And I like the latter archetype more than the former. At the very least, you’re talking about a plus shooter who will fly around, protect the rim, scramble well and switch. I might go back and forth on that duo a couple more times through the process, as there will be some real conversation there between teams in the lottery. But right now, I can’t quite get past Hendricks and his potential in the playoffs." @Medicine N Music
Nightmare scenario spat out by Tankathon here--Rockets fall to #6 and Utah, Dallas move into the top 4. Yuck. But his top 6 in this mock are: 1. Wemby 2. Scoot 3. Amen 4 Miller 5. Walker 6. Hendricks Which is a top 6 I'm honestly okay with. At #6 there isn't a lot of clarity if Walker is off the board, IMO. I can see Hendricks, I can see Ausar Thompson, Cam Whitmore, Anthony Black, or even Cason Wallace.
I have a feeling this kid will be one of the sleepers in this draft class. His defense isn't discussed enough. If we fall to 5 or 6 he would definitely be in play for me. He took a sizable leap in athleticism from high school to his freshman year. I think he has tremendous upside. His length, playmaking, and IQ have me intrigued.
