Who is the best NBA ready PF, that is to say the top PF's who have the size and skills to be top rebounders, defenders, intimidators, and garbage men in college today that should be in the next draft? Looks like to me: 1. Shelden Williams 2. Pops Mensah 3. Paul Millsap Aldridge ain't comin out.
What do you mean Aldridge isn't coming out. He's a consensus top 3 pick, possibly 1st overall. If he's saying that he's going back to Texas, we all know that 99% of the time that's crap if they're a top pick.
Josh Boone could probably be a good garbage guy from the start. Taj Gray can really bang on the inside, but he is a touch undersized. Hilton Armstrong too, though he's probably rawer but has higher upside.
I like Paul Davis from Michigan State. He seems like the second coming of Darius Songalia (whom the Rox could have and should have drafted in the second round a couple of years ago). He hustles. He runs the floor. He competes. He's 6' 11"...
from pretty much all of the reports and quotes coming out of austin, aldridge is more than likely going to stay at least one more season at texas. lamarcus and coach barnes both know that he needs more work to be "nba ready" and make an impact from day one in the league. with that said i have a list of some guys that i've seen that look to be ready to step in and play right away in the nba and make an impact. shelden williams -- won't be a star but will be a guy that plays for a long time averaging around 12 ppg, 9 rpg, 2 blocks Paul Milsap -- undersized but a tenacious rebounder and a good scorer. in the kenny thomas, udonis haslem mold but could very well better than both of them. Brad Buckman -- not the greatest of pure athletes but is a smart, tough player who has an excellent understanding of how to play the game. very good rebounder, shot blocker and catch and release shooter. his jump shot out to 20 ft. is extremely beneficial in pick and roll game used in the nba. will play for a long time even as a 2nd round pick. Craig Smith -- undersized but like milsap extremely tenacious and an excellent scorer on the block with average range out to about 16 ft. or so. won't be the scorer he was in college but will be a good player at the nba level. Paul Davis -- remarkable improvement over his career. looked like bust after his first couple of seasons but a light turned on and he became an excellent post player for the spartans. defense is very questionable and needs to be improved for him to be effective in the nba, but offensively he is solid in the block and has a nice jumper.
Players say that all the time, but VERY FEW actually go through with it when they're a top pick. I'll believe that when I see it.
No offense, but Williams hasn't impressed me when I've watched him. 99% of his post moves are "lower shoulder and ram into opposing 7" awkward white center", which won't work at all in the NBA. I think Nick Fazekas from Nevada is pretty good.
With all due respect, the motive behind my question is a finding a forward that best suits our team. While I like Davis, I don't think he is at all a fit. He's another big, slower type player that plays the post. We've already got the best player for that type of game. I'm trying to find players that make us more athletic, that can run the floor, rebound, play good, fast, rotating defense, and maybe hit the outside jumper a little bit with the jump shot being the least important factor there. I haven't seen Shelden play a lot but he seems to be rather consistent and maybe an improved version of Carlos Boozer at a much smaller price tag. He is at the top of a short list of rebounders and shot blockers so he does bring the physical presence. I don't care about his post scoring as long as he can bang the boards and rebound. Even the outside shooting from a PF is not necessary provided you've got good shooters at 2 of the 3 perimeter spots. What other players are out there that would come close to being that kind of player: Physical, long, with good size in the 230 to 250 range, with brains that can run and jump? Has anybody seen Pops from GW play? Does he fit this mold?
Aldridge can say he'll stay or whatever, but when scouts are telling him that he'll be a Top 3 pick, I'm pretty sure he'll leave. Don't get me wrong, I would love for him to stay since he would make next seasons team virtually unstoppable. Abrams-Gibson-Durant-Tucker-Aldridge But like I said, the guy is already a Top 5 pick and a good showing in the tourney could move him into the Top 3, a great showing could propel him all the way to the top. That's too much to pass up.
Hilton Armstrong and Lamarcus Aldridge are the players that most closely fit that mold. Armstrong is an athletic shotblocker who's 6'11", 250. He can run the floor like a guard and hit the midrange jumper. However, he's still raw and isn't exactly a bruiser...which is why he's projected as pick 15-18 on most draft sites, though I'm very high on him. Pops from GW is a bit undersized and could be an offensive liability on the NBA level.
Tyler Hansboro (sp?) from UNC looks ready, even though he's definitely not coming out. He plays hard every game too.
What about, going from nbadraft.net Andrea Bargnani 6-11 240 PF Italy 1985 Tyrus Thomas 6-9 218 PF LSU Fr. Aaron Gray 7-0 270 C Pittsburgh Jr. Tiago Splitter 6-11 240 PF Brazil 1985 Oleksiy Pecherov 6-10 232 PF Ukr. 1985 Kevin Pittsnogle 6-10 255 PF WV Sr. Anyone know anything about any of these guys?
I've had a good look at three of those guys Tyrus Thomas is what Stro was supposed to be. He's not as athletic but his basketball IQ is much much higher. He'll be a top 5 pick and hopefully will become the type of player that Swift was projected to be. Aaron Grey is your average white guy center. Decent post game, can rebound fairly well. Decent prospect but his upside is somewhat limited. Kevin Pittsnogle is the ultimate 3 point shooting center. Guy has a quick and amazing release with incredible range. Not a Van Gundy player though. His lateral speed and quickness is suspect and he's not a great rebounder. He has a somewhat limited post game but he's not the kind of player that Van Gundy would use properly.
Tyler is a straight up stud, but I expect him to stay all four years. UNC supposedly has the best draft class in HISTORY coming in next year, so Tyler's next three years should be pretty fun.
He strikes me as a guy who could be a great college player for a long time. However, I'm not so sure his game translates to the NBA. His body and skills remind me of Antawn Jamison in college: a good post player who is too small to be a true post player in the pros. I also see him staying in school for a while because he has to develop some outside skills in order to make it in the NBA. It took Jamison a while to really adjust.
