Eddie Basden This guy would be a steal even at the end of the first round in my mind. All the mock drafts have him at mid-late 2nd round, but I'm sure he'll be gone by early 2nd round. He is a tremendous defender and has done pretty well offensively this past season. He is Conf. USA player of the year and his numbers are 15.2 pts, 8.4 rebs, 3.2 stls, 49% FGs, and 39% shooting 3s. At 6'5, he may be undersized, but he is a smart player with a rock solid body like Ron Artest. He has shot very well the last 2 seasons, but he still needs to improve on his range. I've only seen him a few times on TV, but he seems to be very aggressive. This guy is basically a poor man's Ron Artest. I know everybody wants us to pick a PF or PG, but I wouldn't mind us drafting Basden with our 24th pick. If Simien, Diogu, or Jack are still on board, I'd definetly go with one of them....but if not, then we should pick up Basden.
More like Adrian Griffin lite. Basden's nothing special. He's projected in the late second round because he has late second round talent and potential. He might be a decent bench player for someone, but it would be a tremendous waste to use the 24th overall pick on him.
I agree with post number two. I haven't seen him a whole lot but there's a reason why he's projected to be a late pick. there'll be plenty of great players at 24 even if those guys are gone. they'll be some good role players in the mid second round also which is why the rockets are working out projected second rounders and obviously either have a trade ready or working on acquiring a second rounder. I like the idea of moving up to get diogu if he stays in the draft and getting a second rounder and getting a pg like daniel ewing or nate williams. salim stoudamire wouldn't be a bad second rounder either.
Are you serious? Basden is a better defender one on one and in team defense. He is a better rebounder, has a much better shot, and is quicker. Comparing Basden to Griffin is like comparing Tmac to Eddie Jones. You obviously has never seen this guy play. The knock on him is that he's too short, played in a weak conference, and can't shoot. He's improved his shot the past 2 years and is looking great in individual workouts. He was in the bottom of the first round earlier in the year on nbadraft dot net, but there was just never any hype about him. Picking 24th is not that far off from picking in the early 2nd round, so would this really be a "tremendous waste"? Remember Arenas, Josh Howard, Mobley, etc were all projected to be in the 2nd round due to size or shooting issues. I'm not saying this guy would be Ron Artest or anything. I just wouldn't mind us drafting him because I think he's a mid first round talent that would fit our system.
Tell that to Josh Howard, coincidentally also a Conf. Player of the Year, and had similiar college stats (Howard was a little bit better) and amazingly similiar career improvement profiles at college. Now I haven't seen more than 5 minutes of Badsen play, really, and am not saying he will turn into a steal...especially as some mocks have him going very late in the 2nd round, if at all.
Shoot, Got Em, I agree, Eddie Basden is going to be a stud. My best friend has called Ben Wallace, Andrei Kirilenko, and Michael Redd. His next pick is -you got it- Eddie Basden. Therefore, Eddie Basden = stud. On the other hand, I agree with not taking him before your listed players. But, if Basden turns into half the player those others did, he would be a steal. Basden had 3.7 assists last year from the swing position. He also had 3.2 steals. "Eddie has always been a good penetrator and finisher on offense and he will continue to be one of our best defenders. He does a lot of the little things that help you win games that not everybody sees or appreciates." interview with Basden: "In the NBA, I’ll probably play the shooting guard position and I’d like to develop into a defensive specialist who can check some of the premier wing players in the league." Talk about the NBA guys who you look up to or model your game. "The two that come to mind are Bruce Bowen and Ron Artest because they play such great defense. They play defense with a lot of pride and energy. They are always in your face and nothing is easy with them. Back a little, I like Ron Harper and David Wingate, guys that did what was necessary to help their teams win. Gary Payton is also a guy I have studied a lot.” Basden earned the nickname "Superman" from his AAU teammates because of his explosiveness and ability to dunk.
