Thornton Mellon: In response to Roman numeral … section three, part two…of
subset D…of the question… the answer is…
The answer is… four?
Professor Barbay (stunned): Right.
— “Back to School,” 1986
In today’s NBA, the answer is also four.
What ballhandling position separates good offensive teams from great ones, and
great ones from lethal ones? Four.
How can a team play small and still defend every position on the floor, despite
seeming mismatches down low? Four.
What position, whether in screen-and-roll action or parked in the corner,
becomes nearly impossible to keep from scoring with the spacing available in
today’s game, with the rules the way they are and the point guards as dynamic as
they are? Four.
So if you’re going to get anything done in the NBA these days, you better have a
legit four. Draymond Green is the gold standard at the position now — capable
of spotting up and shooting 3-pointers, playmaking, getting switched on guards
and keeping them out of the paint, snuffing fools at the rim — and everyone is
in search of a similar unicorn.
It probably does not exist in one package anywhere else. But there are a lot of
fours in this Draft who can provide a little of everything — elite shooting,
scoring, defense, rebounding — and who could help teams right away and down the
road. There is an international flavor to this class, too, including players
born here that lived somewhere else, and players from somewhere else who went to
college here.
The evaluations go in this order:
• Point guards
• Shooting guards
• Small forwards
• Power forwards
• Centers (May 15)
When we’re not doing these Big Boards, the the regular Morning Tip column will
appear.
And so you can mark your calendars, the NBA’s Draft Lottery is on May 16.
A note on the rankings:
This is not a predictor of when these players will be taken. These rankings,
based on discussions with dozens of NBA and college coaches, and NBA college
scouts and team executives, address the question of how ready players are to
play the position which they are assigned: In other words, if there was a game
tonight, who would play better at that position tonight, not in three years.
Players are ranked based on the position that the coaches and scouts believe is
their best NBA position, and even then, there is always disagreement between
teams.
We include underclassmen that are expected to declare for the Draft, or are at
least thinking strongly about it. No one who hasn’t thought about declaring is
going to be swayed by seeing his name on a Draft board. So we include everyone.
Players are listed at the position at which NBA people believe they’ll play as
pros.
For example, the consensus of almost (not every) personnel person we spoke with
is that Kentucky freshman Malik Monk is more likely to be a shooting guard in
the pros, not a point guard. So, for our purposes, Monk will be listed as a two
on the Big Board.
Players who declare for the Draft can pull out within 10 days of the end of the
NBA Combine, scheduled this year for May 9-14 in Chicago, as long as they don’t
sign with an agent. This rule was instituted last year to give players more time
to make a more informed decision about their potential Draft status after
talking with and working out for NBA teams at the Combine.
Also, the NCAA’s rule change — enacted last January — that gives underclassmen
more time after declaring for the Draft to withdraw and return to college (the
deadline is now 10 days after the Chicago Combine, running this year from May
10-14) will certainly increase the number of underclassmen who declare.
Previously, underclassmen only had until the day before the college spring
signing period in April to withdraw after putting their names into the Draft.
The new rule also allows college players to continue practicing with their
college coaches after entering the Draft if they’re invited to the Combine,
which colleges hope will encourage players to continue going to class and
remaining eligible in case they decide to return.
Again: This is not a mock Draft (though one of those is, sadly, coming). They
are a complete waste of time, especially this long before June. No one has any
idea what will happen between now and then; we don’t even know all the teams
that will be in the Lottery, much less when they’ll be picking. We don’t know if
there will be a major injury that will impact what a team wants or needs. What
follows is a rough consensus of what NBA personnel people, GMs and coaches, and
college coaches that I trust — and that, obviously, can’t be quoted by name —
believe is the pro potential for this year’s crop of college and international
players.
• “Sleepers” are players almost certain to go in the second round but who may
have first-round talent or otherwise have an impact on the teams that select
them if they overcome perceived shortcomings.
• “Some Scouts Like” will refer to players whose intentions are not yet known
for certain, but who are viewed as potentially draftable if they do. Emphasis on
“potentially.”
• The height and weight measurements are from each player’s respective team or
school. Once the Combine takes place, we’ll update this list with official
numbers from there. If a player is not invited to the Combine, his height and
weight is his listed one from his school and/or his pro team if he’s an
international prospect.
* * *
David Aldridge’s Big Board 2017: Power Forwards
Rank | Name | School/Team | Class/Age | HT | WT > Projected
1. Lauri Markkanen | Arizona | Freshman | 7-0 | 230 > Mid Lottery
2. Zach Collins | Gonzaga | Freshman | 7-0 | 230 > Late Lottery
3. John Collins | Wake Forest | Sophomore | 6-10 | 235 > Mid-first round
4. Isaiah Hartenstein | Zalgiris | 19 | 6-11 | 249 > Mid/late first round
5. Ivan Rabb | California | Sophomore | 6-11 | 220 > Mid/late first round
6. TJ Leaf | UCLA | Freshman | 6-10 | 225 > Mid/late first round
7. Harry Giles | Duke | Freshman | 6-10 | 240 > Late first round
8. Tyler Lydon | Syracuse | Sophomore | 6-9 | 235 > Late first round/Early
second round
9. Johnathan Motley | Baylor | Junior | 6-10 | 230 > Late first round/Early
second round
10. Jordan Bell | Oregon | Junior | 6-9 | 225 > Late first round/Early second
round
SLEEPERS: Jonah Bolden (21), 6-10, 216, FMP Radnicki; Angel Delgado (JR), 6-10,
240, Seton Hall ; Alec Peters, 6-9, 235, Valparaiso; Tim Kempton, 6-10, 245,
Lehigh; Alpha Kaba (20), 6-10, Mega Leks
SOME SCOUTS LIKE: Kyle Kuzma (JR), 6-9, 221, Utah; D.J Wilson (JR), 6-9, 240,
Michigan; Cam Oliver (JR), 6-8, 225, Nevada; Ethan Happ (FR), 6-10, 232,
Wisconsin
* * *
Markkanen’s shooting touch entices
It would be grossly unfair and incorrect to compare Arizona freshman Lauri
Markkanen to the New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis because they share some
physical characteristics. The 7-footer from Jyvaskyla, Finland is not “The
Unicorn” yet, and he may never be. But he is the best power forward prospect in
this Draft, with shooting ability that is rare in anyone his size.
Markkanen was a first team all-Pac 12 selection in his one season at Arizona,
and also made the conference’s; all freshman team. He was fifth nationally in
Offensive Rating (134.1), per sports-reference.com, ninth nationally in
Offensive Win Shares (4.9) and tied for 11th in total Win Shares (6.7). And he
shot better than 42 percent on 3-pointers for the Wildcats, leading Arizona to
the Sweet 16 before it fell to Xavier.
There hasn’t been a steady flow of NBA players from Finland — only Hanno
Mottola, a second-round pick by the Atlanta Hawks out of Utah who played in
Atlanta from 2000-02, has made it to the NBA out of that country thus far. Lauri
Markkanen, whose father, Pekka, played at Kansas in the late 1980s, will be the
next.
Markkanen is a classic modern stretch four. The ball comes out of his hand
easily no matter the distance, and he’s comfortable along all parts of the
college 3-point line. He was a capable scorer for Arizona, going for 20 points
or more nine times this season, and posted six double-doubles, including a
26-point, 13-rebound effort in a win at Washington in February. At 230 pounds,
he’s also capable of handling at least some banging in the paint without
wilting, and he shoots it exceptionally well from the foul line as well (83.5
percent). His skill set, and work ethic — Pekka found a diary that showed Lauri
shot the ball four and a half hours a day at times as a child growing up —
makes him a talent who won’t get out of the Lottery.
“I think he’s going to be able to play both positions (power forward and
center), and he can play with his back to the basket,” a Pacific Division
college personnel man said of Markkanen. “And he can face. And he can stretch. I
think he’s more of a modern day 4/5, or 5/4. I look at him more as a five, just
because the league isn’t as big as it used to be. Certainly, he’ll be able to
play four, and most people have him as a four, and I think he probably wants to
be a four. I think he’s going to be able to play both positions once he gets
physically stronger.”
Markkanen is more an area and opportunity rebounder (7.2 boards per game) than
someone who powers his way to the glass and through opponents. He’s shown quick
enough feet to be capable of guarding the pick and roll in college, but it’s not
something you’d want him to get a steady diet of in the pros. He will no doubt
be isolated by opponents who will try to isolate him on point guards.
“From a weakness standpoint, I think just the speed of the game … I think it’s
great that he’s playing at Arizona, which is a guard-oriented program,” the
Pacific personnel man said. “So I think he’s got a step up on some similar kids
that are 6-10 and 6-11, seven foot, that aren’t great athletes, that really get
shocked by the pace of the game. He’ll still have to adjust to that.”
A Southeast Division executive, while noting of Markkanen, “I don’t think he’s a
home run for sure,” acknowledged that the Finn nonetheless could be a
significant impact player.
“He’s definitely a terrific shooter,” the exec said. “At his size and his age,
to be able to shoot the ball the way he does, how it looks and what the stats
tell you, it all lines up. He’s suited for our league, no doubt, with what he
brings offensively. But he doesn’t rebound at a high level, he doesn’t protect
the rim and he’s not really all that mobile. He’s going to have to be a Ryan
Anderson-type shooter.”
After Markkanen, a pair of Collinses, not related, will be considered by NBA
types.
Zach Collins, the freshman from Gonzaga, and John Collins, the sophomore from
Wake Forest, have different games, but both have NBA skills.
Gonzaga’s Collins must get stronger
Zach Collins was expecting to play more in Washington state this season; he was
a McDonald’s All-American as a senior in high school after winning three
straight state championships, and was a prominent recruit for Mark Few at
Gonzaga. But when the Bulldogs’ incumbent center, Przemek Karnowski, came back
for his senior season, Collins had to take a reduced role off the bench. He only
averaged 17 minutes a game for Gonzaga, but he was extremely efficient and
effective in that limited time.
“It’s a small sample size, but he’s really talented,” a Northwest Division
executive says. “He’s young, got a little mean streak to him. He can face up and
score. Somebody’s going to get a good player.”
He was fourth in the country in True Shooting Percentage, at .703, and he
shot it well no matter the circumstances — 65.4 percent during the regular
season, 64.3 percent in the West Coast Conference Tournament and 64.5 percent in
the NCAA Tournament, as Gonzaga reached its first national championship game.
Collins made major contributions for Gonzaga during the tournament, with a
double-double in the national semifinal victory over South Carolina. And despite
the limited run overall, Collins was a second-team all-WCC selection and made
the conference’s all-freshman team.
“Tough dude, mean as a rattlesnake,” said a college coach whose team played
Gonzaga this season. “He’ll be like (Bill) Laimbeer.”
And despite never starting a game in college, Collins could well be taken in the
top half of the first round, taken for potential down the road with his
combination of youth, length and size more than what he may provide immediately.
“Ideally, if he had gone back to school, he might be able to come in a little
more ready,” a Pacific Division executive said. “I don’t know that he’s ready to
contribute. People are going to draft him on his upside. He’s got some length.
He doesn’t seem afraid. He’s got good hands and got some fundamentals. I think
he’ll be able to, in today’s game, I think he’ll be a center. He’s a four, but
in today’s game, with all these small ball lineups, (he can play center) when he
fills out a little bit. I didn’t see him shoot a lot of jumpers. His game is
still developing. If he has that in him, now his value probably goes up even
more.”
Collins will have to get much stronger, though, at the next level. He got pushed
around on more than one occasion and his inability to hold the post defensively
led to frequent foul trouble — he fouled out of seven games for Gonzaga. That
included the national title game against North Carolina, when his foul
difficulties kept him benched on a night when he had nine points and seven
rebounds in just 14 minutes, while Karnowski struggled mightily.
“The biggest thing with Zach — he has no strength,” a Western Conference
scouting director said. “As evidenced by the NCAA Tournament, he gets physically
knocked around. He’s got to really work on lower and upper body strength. That
will come with age. When I look at him, he looks really young.
“But you could see he has a good IQ and he knows what to do, but sometimes he’s
not allowed to do it because of a lack of strength … if it turns out that
(Collins) has pretty good confidence, from playing at a big-time school, and
it’s mostly physical, I think he’ll be better than John Collins. But if not, I
could see him more like (Washington Wizards reserve) Jason Smith.”
Wake Forest’s Collins a rebounding maven
John Collins wasn’t on anyone’s radar Draft-wise when the college basketball
season started, having put up pedestrian numbers in limited minutes in his
freshman year at Wake Forest. But given a prominent role this season by Demon
Deacons coach Danny Manning, Collins erupted as an NBA prospect.
He nearly averaged a double-double for Wake, at 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in
nearly 27 minutes a game, but he was lethal across the board, showing a quick
second jump that is crucial to rebounding in the NBA and a knack for the
offensive glass.
He led the nation in Player Efficiency Rating, at 35.9. He shot 62 percent from
the floor, ranking 13th in the country. He was 16th nationally in Effective
Field Goal percentage (.622), and was 17th both in Offensive Rating (129.9) and
in Offensive Win Shares (4.6). And, he shot almost 75 percent from the foul
line.
Someone who comes, relatively, out of nowhere to become a legit Lottery
possibility in one offseason has put a lot of work in, and John Collins thus
gets high marks from NBA types.
“I’m watching him practice; I was down there (at Wake) for a couple of days,” a
veteran scout said, “and based on those practices in mid-October, you wouldn’t
have even written him up … he certainly came on by Christmas and once they got
solidly into the conference season everybody was like, ‘we have to circle back
and see this kid.’ Because he can shoot the basketball … in our league now,
you’ve got to be able to score. If you can’t score, but you’re a great defender,
it’s hard to get on the floor.”
Collins was a force the second half of ACC play, scoring 20 or more points in 12
straight games, with double-doubles against Syracuse (23 points, 12 rebounds),
Boston College (26 and 16), Georgia Tech (20 and 11), Notre Dame (24 and 14),
Clemson (29 and 10), Duke (31 and 15), Pittsburgh (22 and 13) and Louisville (25
and 11). Wake made the NCAA Tournament after losing in the second round of the
ACC tournament to Virginia Tech, and even though the Deacons lost in their NCAA
opener to Kansas State, Collins made an impact with 26 points and nine rebounds.
“He just makes baskets,” an approving Northwest Division executive said. “He
really does. And he can rebound. He doesn’t do anything else. He may have 10
assists this year (actually, 17, which is still … awful). He doesn’t dribble. He
doesn’t block shots. But he can score over his left shoulder. One day down the
road, I think he can stretch the floor and make threes — kind of what (Al)
Horford does now.”
It’s just a guess at this point, because Collins only attempted one 3-pointer in
his two seasons at Wake.
“If he can continue to stretch the floor,” the veteran scout said of Collins,
“and continue to improve his shot to where he can consistently hit a 17 to 19
foot jump shot, and eventually go out farther, to our line, which I think (he
can do). He’s improved, easily, 55 ,60 percent, which is exceptional. He must
have internal fortitude and must have a real high IQ and a real desire to be a
really good basketball player. If you asked anybody going into December 1 in
this league, no one — no one — had John Collins being where they have him now.
No one did.”
So … which Collins is better?
And some folks are still not quite sure which Collins they’d pick.
“I would lean more toward Zach, but it’s close,” one Eastern Conference
evaluator said. “Zach has a little more two-way potential. I don’t think John is
as good a defender. John’s more physically ready but it’s only a matter of time
before Zach is ready. John is built to play in the paint, but Zach can face the
basket now and he’ll show some back to the basket as he physically matures.”
Scouts looking for consistency from Hartenstein
Earlier this year, 19-year-old Isaiah Hartenstein was thought of as a potential
high Lottery pick. He’s dropped a little since then, but the international four
(he was actually born in Oregon before moving to Germany when he was 11) is
still a solid bet to go in the first round after playing for Zalgiris in the
Lithuanian League this season. He played 24 games for Zalgiris, starting six,
and averaged 5 points and 3.9 rebounds, shooting 48 percent from the floor.
Hartenstein played for the German national team in the Under 16 and Under 18
FIBA tournaments, but being raised in the States as a kid, he’ll likely have
less adjusting to do when he returns. But he’ll have to show NBA folks a little
more than he did when he played for the World Select Team at the Nike Hoop
Summit last month.
“He was okay,” a veteran scout said. “He had moments where you kind of sat up in
your seat. He wasn’t as consistent as everybody wanted — okay, you gave me that
flash, now give me five or six plays in a row. He’s strong. He’s big. He’s got a
little pop to him. But I don’t trust his shot at all — his rotation is really
(messed) up. His Euro numbers say he rebounded really well, but I just wanted
him to be more frenetic. I think he fancies himself as a perimeter guy. Kind of
a mobile four — I can handle it a little bit, which he can, and I can face and
shoot a little bit, which he can. But you say, man, with that body, you should
do more damage inside.”
Scouts wonder if Hartenstein will be able to adjust to the speed of the NBA game
— not just the lateral quickness everyone needs to defend. And he’ll need to
display more shooting range than he did with Zalgiris, where he made less than
30 percent of his 3-pointers. Part of that must be attributed to his relative
lack of playing time, to be fair. But it’s still a question he’ll have to answer
in workouts.
“I saw him in Toronto (at the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp during
All-Star Weekend) last year,” one veteran scout said. “He’s not bad. Pretty
assertive. I think he needs some time. But I like some of the things he can do.
A lot of the Europeans, some of the guys seem afraid. I’ve been impressed with
that on him, that he’s been pretty solid. Decent enough athlete. I figure he
goes in the 20s somewhere.”
Rabb has look of potential Draft steal
California forward Ivan Rabb surprised many last year when he decided to return
for his sophomore season in college, while fellow freshman Jaylen Brown went to
the NBA and was picked No. 3 overall by the Boston Celtics. As kids are often
chastised for leaving school too soon, it’s hard to penalize Rabb for wanting to
get better and improve his game.
Rabb followed up a solid first year with a solid second one, averaging a
double-double (14 points, 10.5 rebounds) for the Bears. But he and the team
finished the year in a tailspin, as Cal fell apart down the stretch, losing six
of its last nine games, and missed the NCAAs, going out in the first round of
the NIT.
And Rabb missed the NIT game as well, with a previously undisclosed foot injury.
The foot is calmed down now.
Rabb was a first team all-Pac 12 selection and finished 12th in the country in
rebounds. Scouts think he may have to play some center as well in the pros, as
he is only starting to extend his range (20 3-point attempts this season). Rabb
is still a big, athletic guy who may not have been utilized as well as he could
have been, and didn’t have the caliber of teammates he had a year earlier.
“I think he knows how to play a little bit,” one veteran scout said. “I think he
can be on the second unit (on an NBA team), play with other good players. People
were all over him when he was in high school — the best junior in the country.
I never thought that then, and I don’t see it now. Some guys just get that kind
of favor and that kind of hype.”
Rabb had several strong moments early in the season, including monster 17-point,
20-rebound game against UCLA in January, and 25 and 13 against Stanford. But he
still will likely drop a few spots this year compared with where he may have
been taken in last year’s Draft. Someone could thus get a player with bigger
upside than normal later in the first.
“Obviously I don’t think he’s helped himself necessarily,” one scout said. “I
worry about his balance; he’s got very small feet. He’s got some physical things
going on that make it difficult for him to have good balance. The way he moves,
his gait, that’s a concern to me.”
Scoring never an issue for UCLA’s Leaf
UCLA freshman T.J. Leaf played off of fellow frosh Lonzo Ball to great effect in
their one season together in Westwood. Like Ball, Leaf was a no-doubt one and
done player, declaring for the Draft after being named first team all-Pac 12
(along with Ball) for a Bruins team that was in the top five for five weeks and
reached the Sweet 16.
Leaf, according to sports-reference.com, was eighth nationally in Effective
Field Goal percentage (.652), 15th in field goal percentage (.617), 16th in
Offensive Rating (1306) and 19th in True Shooting Percentage (.660). His is an
offensive appeal — “T.J. can’t guard anybody,” one scout said — but this is an
offensive league now, so someone who led his team in scoring and rebounding and
shot almost 47 percent on 3-pointers is going to get a good, hard look.
“He’s probably smart to come out right now before he starts really getting
picked apart,” a Western Conference executive said. “He’s not a special athlete
or anything. I see him as a backup, coming off the bench, and he evolves into
kind of a stretch four with your backup group. I don’t know if he has as much
bounce as David Lee had coming out. He’s sneaky every now and then, I guess. I
thought David Lee was a little more explosive.”
Some who saw Leaf in college believe he has more defensive potential than he
showed.
“He probably should have gone to Arizona,” said one college coach whose team
played UCLA this season. (Leaf had originally committed to Arizona before
reopening his recruitment and picking the Bruins.) “Sean (Miller, the Wildcats’
coach) would have made him defend to play. UCLA kind of did him a disservice
defensively. But it was probably a tradeoff to give a chance to showcase what he
can do on offense. He’s much tougher than he looks.”
Restoring Giles’ confidence key
There are more questions than answers at the moment about Duke freshman Harry
Giles, who was among the top prospects in the country in high school. But Giles
tore both his right and left ACLs while in high school (along with the MCL in
his left knee), and his one year in college was marred by yet another surgery,
an arthroscopy on his left knee last October.
Giles didn’t get back on the court until just before Christmas after the last
operation, and what he showed in his 26 games for Duke was that he still has a
ways to go to regain the dominance he showed pre-injury. Whether Duke held him
back to get him through the season, or he wasn’t able to handle more minutes,
Giles only played in 20 or more minutes once. And he was never a major part of
the Blue Devils’ rotation.
None of that means Giles doesn’t have a chance in the NBA, or that he definitely
will not get picked in the first round. He would seem a natural choice, for
example, for a team that has multiple first-round picks and can take him knowing
it may be a while for him to truly come back into form.
“He has no confidence,” said a source who watched Giles play frequently this
season. “He needs to go where there is no pressure on him and try and regain his
confidence.”
Giles should get more than a little credit for getting back on the floor at all
after all the injuries. But they seem to have understandably, taken their toll;
it’s not hard to see how someone could lose trust in their body and need time to
regain their mental confidence as well as physical.
“He played conservative compared to high school,” another source said. “He
handled the ball more often and plays for himself and others” in high school.
(Take a look for yourself.)
Some of the physical questions can start to be answered in Chicago, if Giles
comes and allows teams’ doctors to take a good look at him. It will go a long
way to knowing exactly where he is and what the prospects for a long pro career
really are.
“It’s obviously a concern,” one scout said. “We’re all concerned. How healthy is
he? Where is he as far as his recovery? Is he 100 percent. Is he 82 percent?
Where is he? He played (26) games and he didn’t look good. I know what his
reputation was coming into school. I’d have to say, quite obviously, by the time
March rolled around he was at, it can’t be more than 60 percent … if I look at
his numbers, it’s like one of the stocks I bought. It’s flatlined.”
A note on Tyler Lydon …
As noted two weeks ago, Lydon was fifth in the ACC in rebounding (8.6 per game)
and sixth in blocked shots (1.4), while also shooting almost 40 percent on
3-pointers. Syracuse barely missed getting into the NCAA Tournament, but Lydon
could still get into the first round. And, as noted above, since more people now
seem to think his NBA future is at the four rather than the three, he’s now
listed as a power forward; he played the three early in the season for the
Orange, but ultimately went to the four most of the time down the stretch.
(And part of that reasoning, as ever, is uncertainty about how well a Syracuse
guy will do once he’s out of the protective cocoon of Jim Boeheim’s matchup zone
and has to guard people in space in the NBA. So, Lydon’s a four for now.)
Talented Motley ‘a little wild at times’
Baylor’s Johnathan Motley was a top-20 rebounder nationally as a junior (9.9
boards per game), and finished 13th in offensive rebound percentage (13.2). The
6-foot-10, 230-pounder earned first-team all-Big 12 honors.
But Motley is recovering from a torn meniscus suffered in the Bears’ last game
of the season — their Sweet 16 loss to South Carolina — that will have to be
thoroughly vetted both for length and potential long-term impact (can it be
repaired, which usually takes longer to recover from initially but is better for
long-term health, or will he decide to have the meniscus shaved — which
normally gets you back on the court quicker but, ultimately, often leads to
bone-on-bone arthritic conditions?).
“He’s a little wild at times,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “I’m kind
of on the fence. I want to talk to him a little bit, study him a little more.
I’ve seen him be good and I’ve seen him be a little erratic.”
Bell has look of solid NBA role player
Oregon’s Jordan Bell jumped in for the Ducks after all-Pac 12 defensive team
selection Chris Boucher was lost for the season with an injury just before the
NCAA Tournament. Bell took over at center for Oregon and didn’t miss a beat.
The 6-foot-9, 225-pound Bell was Pac 12 Defensive Player of the Year and all
defensive team himself, fourth in the country in Defensive Win Shares and 10th
in Defensive Rating, as well as being second Team all-Pac 12.
Bell was spectacular, averaging 12.6 points, 13.2 rebounds and 3 blocks a game
during the Ducks’ run to the Final Four. He seemed to be everywhere on the floor
for Oregon defensively, including an astounding eight blocks against Kansas in
Oregon’s Elite Eight win. All of that further endeared him to some NBA folks,
who think a guy who was also efficient at the offensive end (20th nationally in
True Shooting Percentage at .658) deserves a shot.
“Bell grew on me a little bit in the tournament,” one scout said. “I watched in
the summer at the Nike camp last summer. Nothing spectacular. But there’s
something to be said for a kid that’s going to play hard, defend, rebound. I
think he’s a guy, I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody took him late in the
first, a good team, as a role player, or if he went in the second round, (and
could) be in the right place, he could be a solid role player.”
Said another scout of Bell: “he’s a bit undersized, but he’s a man. He’s strong,
lower body and upper body. Plays with an edge of roughness and physicality.
Protects the rim for a guy that small. Physical enough to guard a backup center.
There will be matchups where he’s just too small. But his relentlessness will
endear himself to somebody.”
And some notes on the others …
• Jonah Bolden played at UCLA in the 2015-16 season, but the 21-year-old
Australian-born big man, who’d had issues qualifying before coming, gave up his
last two seasons of college eligibility after that one year and played in Serbia
for FMP. The 6-foot-10 Bolden averaged 12.7 points and 6 rebounds for FMP, which
brought former Baylor player Isaiah Austin over during the season to back up
Bolden.
And a few NBA folks are intrigued by Bolden, saying he’s more productive and
aggressive than he showed in college, and looks like a different player now —
someone that could go earlier than people who aren’t paying attention may think.
“That’s a kid I think people are kind of missing on,” a Western Conference
executive said. “I’ve watched him intently. Serbian basketball has really taken
a hit from a financial standpoint. They’re not playing in front of 20,000
people. But he’s accepted his environment. It can be a harsh place for
minorities — not from a racial type thing.
“It’s just a real different environment. It’s a big city, but it’s a slum city.
People don’t smile much. Older people don’t smile because they don’t have
anything. The young people think what they see on TV is what comes out of
America. It puts a lot of pressure on a kid who’s different from what they
think. They’re on a shoestring budget, and he’s produced.”
Said a Southwest Division executive: “he’s off the radar now and starting to
gain interest … watched him live in game and practice in Belgrade — he’s a
slasher and runner — plays inside and out and shoots the three with ease. He’s
improved.”
• Seton Hall junior Angel Delgado led the nation in rebounding average (13 per
game), was first in offensive rebounds (166), second in total rebounds (430 and
tied for seventh in offensive rebound percentage (16.5), earning unanimous first
team all-Big East honors, and breaking the conference record for rebounding
average in a season, grabbing 14.1 per game in conference play, besting the
previous mark of 14 set by Pittsburgh’s Jerome Lane in 1986-87.
In case you didn’t figure it out, Delgado’s thing is rebounding. And rebounding
is one of those traits that tends to translate from the college game to the
pros; Paul Millsap caught many people’s eyes, and was eventually taken in the
second round in 2006 by Utah, after becoming the first player in NCAA history to
lead the nation three straight years in rebounding, at Louisiana Tech.
Delgado has gotten after it on the glass throughout his career at Hall; he
averaged 9.8 rebounds as a freshman, winning Big East Rookie of the Year honors.
Playing for the Dominican Republic at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, Delgado
had 15 points and 6 rebounds against the host country, whose team featured first
overall pick Anthony Bennett and current Brooklyn Nets forward Andrew Nicholson
in its frontcourt.
“He played against men and here he is as a 19-, 20-year-old kid,” said an NBA
birddog, who was there. “And he never backed down. He battled. He rebounded.”
And this year, Delgado really worked on his conditioning, slimming down
noticeably as he bought in fully to what Coach Fred Hill demanded. He was second
in the Big East in field goal percentage (.543) and free throw attempts, getting
to the line almost six times a game. Now, he only shot 56 percent from the line,
and that’s a problem. But a guy as active as he was drawing fouls helps his
team.
“His body’s phenomenal,” said one college coach whose team played Seton Hall
this year. “The biggest question mark is going to be how is he going to score?
He’s a below the rim player. He can shoot out to about 15 feet but not much
further than that. He can guard a four.”
Longtime NBA reporter, columnist and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer
David Aldridge is an analyst for TNT. You can e-mail him here, find his archive
here and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its
clubs or Turner Broadcasting.
