Let's talk '23

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:47 pm

Show us some witchcraft, Tommy.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:52 pm

84Cat wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:09 pm

Interesting prospect. He's still the age and body type where it's sort of hard to tell.

Jefe · Post by **Jefe** » Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:04 pm

Looks pretty damn good

84Cat · Post by **84Cat** » Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:14 pm

In addition to Arizona, he also holds offers from Illinois, Kansas, Syracuse, UCLA, and more so yeah, he should be pretty good

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:23 pm

For how young he is, he does look very impressive.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:25 pm

Jefe wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:04 pm Looks pretty damn good

That's the video I watched. He looks long and to have good skill. Doesn't seem insanely explosive, but an above average athlete. He obviously needs to fill out big time, but he's very young.

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:43 pm

Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:25 pm
Jefe wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:04 pm Looks pretty damn good

That's the video I watched. He looks long and to have good skill. Doesn't seem insanely explosive, but an above average athlete. He obviously needs to fill out big time, but he's very young.

Chet Holmgren is about as skinny a dude as you'll ever see, and he's the consensus #1 player in the country, probably a top 5 NBA Draft pick in '22.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:59 pm

Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:43 pm
Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:25 pm
Jefe wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:04 pm Looks pretty damn good

That's the video I watched. He looks long and to have good skill. Doesn't seem insanely explosive, but an above average athlete. He obviously needs to fill out big time, but he's very young.
Chet Holmgren is about as skinny a dude as you'll ever see, and he's the consensus #1 player in the country, probably a top 5 NBA Draft pick in '22.

Most sites have Buzelis at 6'8 with unknown wingspan. Holmgren was 7'0 with a 7'4 wingspan at that age and is supposed to be 7'1 now.

Those are different physical profiles. There are approximately 2,800 people in the world 7 foot tall.

YoDeFoe · Post by **YoDeFoe** » Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:19 am

Useful: Matas Buzelis is Lithuanian and will be playing for the U18 team soon (going to the team camp this summer). For anyone who needs reminding, the biggest star in Lithuanian national basketball plays for your Arizona Wildcats under Tommy Lloyd.

Here's a recent interview where Buzelis describes what he excels at, what he's working on, and what he's looking for in his college program. Cliff notes: he loves to share the ball, is looking to improve his ball screen reads, and plans to commit based on the head coach and his style of play and history of developing similar players.

Reading the signs, we're in a good spot here.

He also describes himself as 6'10" right now and he looks to have a plus wingspan.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:42 pm

They used the same clip to start the video as they did at 2:51.

Nice mechanics on this shot, good handles, can go left.

Looks to be still growing too.

dmjcat · Post by **dmjcat** » Wed Dec 08, 2021 10:55 am

AZ's early season performance may be helping us on the recruiting front......for 23

https://247sports.com/Article/Thanksgiv ... 176682625/

dmjcat · Post by **dmjcat** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 9:35 am

Another kid has us on his list: But he hasn't heard from us yet

https://www.on3.com/news/jared-mccain-2 ... cruitment/

HiCat · Post by **HiCat** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 4:24 am

YoDeFoe wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:19 am Useful: Matas Buzelis is Lithuanian and will be playing for the U18 team soon (going to the team camp this summer). For anyone who needs reminding, the biggest star in Lithuanian national basketball plays for your Arizona Wildcats under Tommy Lloyd.

Here's a recent interview where Buzelis describes what he excels at, what he's working on, and what he's looking for in his college program. Cliff notes: he loves to share the ball, is looking to improve his ball screen reads, and plans to commit based on the head coach and his style of play and history of developing similar players.

Reading the signs, we're in a good spot here.

He also describes himself as 6'10" right now and he looks to have a plus wingspan.

Pretty cool. I'm hoping you're right.

IndianaZonaFan · Post by **IndianaZonaFan** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 8:50 am

The post above from YDF was from July. He seems to have cooled off on us for now and high on UK and Duke according to 247sports.

HiCat · Post by **HiCat** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 2:04 pm

IndianaZonaFan wrote: ↑Wed Dec 15, 2021 8:50 am The post above from YDF was from July. He seems to have cooled off on us for now and high on UK and Duke according to 247sports.

Thanks for the update.

Hope he's been watching the games and warms up to a Tucson visit.

dmjcat · Post by **dmjcat** » Thu Dec 16, 2021 6:41 pm

https://247sports.com/college/basketbal ... 178562979/

dmjcat · Post by **dmjcat** » Fri Dec 17, 2021 11:05 pm

midnightx · Post by **midnightx** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 5:48 pm

Now that Tommy is winning in impressive fashion and has AZ in the top ten, one suspects recruits will start strongly revisiting AZ as a destination. There is still the question of sanctions, but it is unlikely AZ gets a second year post-season ban.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:05 pm

Sure hope so, next year's class is really underwhelming with only one recruit, although a good one.

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:21 pm

I don't see any reason why Tommy would struggle recruiting.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:29 pm

Alieberman wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:21 pm I don't see any reason why Tommy would struggle recruiting.

Just lack of available prospects, unless he finds some hidden Euro gems.

Aren't 92 out of the top 100 recruits signed for next season?

RawleArenas · Post by **RawleArenas** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:51 pm

Alieberman wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:21 pm I don't see any reason why Tommy would struggle recruiting.

Tonight was a great win. It's good to see Ballo making strides in his development. However, does anybody have any peanuts for the huge elephant in the room?

What in the world is going on with Aiken??? He's a big part of what we do and it appears he's living off his scholarship while playing Madden in his apartment. Is there friction with Lloyd or someone on staff? We all have personal issues that arise from time to time. But missing four games is a huge deal with a schedule like ours, especially since we're not like the NBA and play 82 games. Having him on our roster raises our ceiling a bit. This is quite alarming and I'm surprised posters are not talking about this more.

It never ceases to amaze me the excuses people make for poor recruiting results. Jedd Fisch just had one of the worst seasons ever and now has the #2 class in the conference. News Flash: Arizona is not considered a football school. The work that Fisch and the previous basketball coach put on the recruiting trail was second to none. Lloyd needs to take notes and recruit like his life depends on it. Part of the reason this season is so impactful is because we have at minimum 4 NBA players on our roster that were leftovers from last year. To ensure that people don't write him off as a one hit wonder, he needs to step it up big time. And if he is finding it difficult to connect with recruits, then he needs to hire someone that can fill in the gaps.

Next year we need a point guard that is eye level with Kriisa and a high impact combo forward. In my opinion, you can never have enough talented true point guards on your roster. I never bought into the fact that recruits need to see the offense and find out what kind of coach Lloyd is. Lloyd came from Gonzaga, now he is the head coach at UofA. Now that he has results and is recruiting for ARIZONA, not a mid major, he should be doing far better than he is right now. Heck, Jedd Fisch was using our basketball games to close recruits, why isn't Lloyd calling recruits after our big games? If I'm Lloyd, I'm getting Mike Hopkins number on speed dial and finding out everything he did since becoming coach and doing the exact opposite. Hopkins took over Romar's guys and had Jaylen Nowell (Pac 12 POY) and Thybull (Pac DPOY), not unlike what we have with Mathurin and Koloko.

If you can't consistently recruit at a high level and reload every year, then you're only a marginal coach, no matter how superior your system is. You have to have high caliber players to implement your vision on the court. So far, I'm just hearing a bunch of excuses from fans and Lloyd. Make no mistake, I'm encouraged by what I've seen, but if we don't straighten out our locker room problems and recruiting, our success will be short lived.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:23 pm

There are other issues that prevents a player from playing besides lack of playing time and disagreements with the coach or other players.

I have my suspicions what they are, but not going to mention them being I have no facts or insider knowledge, just other issues that have affected all programs over the years.

Harvey Specter · Post by **Harvey Specter** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:25 pm

RawleArenas wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:51 pm
Alieberman wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:21 pm I don't see any reason why Tommy would struggle recruiting.
Tonight was a great win. It's good to see Ballo making strides in his development. However, does anybody have any peanuts for the huge elephant in the room?

What in the world is going on with Aiken??? He's a big part of what we do and it appears he's living off his scholarship while playing Madden in his apartment. Is there friction with Lloyd or someone on staff? We all have personal issues that arise from time to time. But missing four games is a huge deal with a schedule like ours, especially since we're not like the NBA and play 82 games. Having him on our roster raises our ceiling a bit. This is quite alarming and I'm surprised posters are not talking about this more.

It never ceases to amaze me the excuses people make for poor recruiting results. Jedd Fisch just had one of the worst seasons ever and now has the #2 class in the conference. News Flash: Arizona is not considered a football school. The work that Fisch and the previous basketball coach put on the recruiting trail was second to none. Lloyd needs to take notes and recruit like his life depends on it. Part of the reason this season is so impactful is because we have at minimum 4 NBA players on our roster that were leftovers from last year. To ensure that people don't write him off as a one hit wonder, he needs to step it up big time. And if he is finding it difficult to connect with recruits, then he needs to hire someone that can fill in the gaps.

Next year we need a point guard that is eye level with Kriisa and a high impact combo forward. In my opinion, you can never have enough talented true point guards on your roster. I never bought into the fact that recruits need to see the offense and find out what kind of coach Lloyd is. Lloyd came from Gonzaga, now he is the head coach at UofA. Now that he has results and is recruiting for ARIZONA, not a mid major, he should be doing far better than he is right now. Heck, Jedd Fisch was using our basketball games to close recruits, why isn't Lloyd calling recruits after our big games? If I'm Lloyd, I'm getting Mike Hopkins number on speed dial and finding out everything he did since becoming coach and doing the exact opposite. Hopkins took over Romar's guys and had Jaylen Nowell (Pac 12 POY) and Thybull (Pac DPOY), not unlike what we have with Mathurin and Koloko.

If you can't consistently recruit at a high level and reload every year, then you're only a marginal coach, no matter how superior your system is. You have to have high caliber players to implement your vision on the court. So far, I'm just hearing a bunch of excuses from fans and Lloyd. Make no mistake, I'm encouraged by what I've seen, but if we don't straighten out our locker room problems and recruiting, our success will be short lived.

Premature much? Lots of conclusions being drawn (jumped to?) on a sample size of <1.

Hold that thought until at least next summer… and remember that The level of recruits that Miller (who I think we all can agree was an exceptional recruiter) brought in did not start hitting it out of the park until ~year 3 or so. (Miller did a great job out of the gate all things considered but without Floyd getting axed his first class does not look anywhere close to how it ended up (and Derrick Williams was a lump of coal that turned out to be a diamond).

Floyd walked into a MUCH better roster than Miller did, so he should be able to hit stride faster… but let’s wait before we sound the alarm.

We are 11-0 and look better than we have in a LONG time. Maybe just enjoy this ride… for at least a little bit?

Ironically, I would put the level of talent on this roster at “as good as we have had”, and not a single kid who even sniffed being a Mickey Dee. I think Terry was the only kid on our roster who was even a Top 50 recruit?

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:26 pm

Aiken would love to be playing basketball right now

RawleArenas · Post by **RawleArenas** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:43 pm

Alieberman wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:26 pm Aiken would love to be playing basketball right now

What's going on then? Why is everyone being so mum? Losing Aiken is huge, if something serious is happening, I certainly would like to know. Aiken was supposed to have a captain like role on the team; he was also known as a high character/academic oriented player. Something is not clicking, and I have questions.

Also, being hired to improve the results of the previous coach means that you don't have a grace period. If he's built his reputation as a recruiter at his previous school, I want him to prove it. It's as simple as that.

IndianaZonaFan · Post by **IndianaZonaFan** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:51 pm

Some people just don’t understand “personal reasons” means you don’t need to fucking know.

TheCat · Post by **TheCat** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 8:23 pm

RawleArenas wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:51 pm
Alieberman wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:21 pm I don't see any reason why Tommy would struggle recruiting.
Tonight was a great win. It's good to see Ballo making strides in his development. However, does anybody have any peanuts for the huge elephant in the room?

What in the world is going on with Aiken??? He's a big part of what we do and it appears he's living off his scholarship while playing Madden in his apartment. Is there friction with Lloyd or someone on staff? We all have personal issues that arise from time to time. But missing four games is a huge deal with a schedule like ours, especially since we're not like the NBA and play 82 games. Having him on our roster raises our ceiling a bit. This is quite alarming and I'm surprised posters are not talking about this more.

It never ceases to amaze me the excuses people make for poor recruiting results. Jedd Fisch just had one of the worst seasons ever and now has the #2 class in the conference. News Flash: Arizona is not considered a football school. The work that Fisch and the previous basketball coach put on the recruiting trail was second to none. Lloyd needs to take notes and recruit like his life depends on it. Part of the reason this season is so impactful is because we have at minimum 4 NBA players on our roster that were leftovers from last year. To ensure that people don't write him off as a one hit wonder, he needs to step it up big time. And if he is finding it difficult to connect with recruits, then he needs to hire someone that can fill in the gaps.

Next year we need a point guard that is eye level with Kriisa and a high impact combo forward. In my opinion, you can never have enough talented true point guards on your roster. I never bought into the fact that recruits need to see the offense and find out what kind of coach Lloyd is. Lloyd came from Gonzaga, now he is the head coach at UofA. Now that he has results and is recruiting for ARIZONA, not a mid major, he should be doing far better than he is right now. Heck, Jedd Fisch was using our basketball games to close recruits, why isn't Lloyd calling recruits after our big games? If I'm Lloyd, I'm getting Mike Hopkins number on speed dial and finding out everything he did since becoming coach and doing the exact opposite. Hopkins took over Romar's guys and had Jaylen Nowell (Pac 12 POY) and Thybull (Pac DPOY), not unlike what we have with Mathurin and Koloko.

If you can't consistently recruit at a high level and reload every year, then you're only a marginal coach, no matter how superior your system is. You have to have high caliber players to implement your vision on the court. So far, I'm just hearing a bunch of excuses from fans and Lloyd. Make no mistake, I'm encouraged by what I've seen, but if we don't straighten out our locker room problems and recruiting, our success will be short lived.

Let me be the first to say we do not have 4 NBA players on our roster and it isn't close. Maybe 2 if Koloko can score in double digits after next year.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:26 pm

RawleArenas wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:43 pm What's going on then? Why is everyone being so mum?

FERPA rules are extremely strict. Same with HIPAA rules, but this is personal reasons, not medical.

If it was anything medical, or violation of team rules we would have heard about it.

TheCat wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 8:23 pm Let me be the first to say we do not have 4 NBA players on our roster and it isn't close. Maybe 2 if Koloko can score in double digits after next year.

Koloko and Dalen Terry are in the 2023 draft according to NBAdraft.net. I have also read where Tubelis may be a 2nd rounder on other sites.

So with Mathurin, that makes 4. And that's not counting the young guys. Ballo certainly has a high ceiling. Not sure if Kriisa has NBA size and speed, but will get a look as a free agent.

U.P. Zona Fan · Post by **U.P. Zona Fan** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 11:39 am

Merkin wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:26 pm
RawleArenas wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:43 pm What's going on then? Why is everyone being so mum?
FERPA rules are extremely strict. Same with HIPAA rules, but this is personal reasons, not medical.

If it was anything medical, or violation of team rules we would have heard about it.

TheCat wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 8:23 pm Let me be the first to say we do not have 4 NBA players on our roster and it isn't close. Maybe 2 if Koloko can score in double digits after next year.
Koloko and Dalen Terry are in the 2023 draft according to NBAdraft.net. I have also read where Tubelis may be a 2nd rounder on other sites.

So with Mathurin, that makes 4. And that's not counting the young guys. Ballo certainly has a high ceiling. Not sure if Kriisa has NBA size and speed, but will get a look as a free agent.

Kriisa is the next TJ Mc with a better shot, hard worker, team player, pass firster. No one is gonna put him on a draft board yet, but he could find the right situation, work his arse off and get a spot.

Postmaster · Post by **Postmaster** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:14 pm

You would think if Aiken was having problems with team/staff he would have transferred yesterday.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:24 pm

Postmaster wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:14 pm You would think if Aiken was having problems with team/staff he would have transferred yesterday.

Exactly. It seems pretty obvious what the issue is based on all the clues and history of similar issues with other players, but it's all speculation.

TheCat · Post by **TheCat** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:42 pm

Merkin wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:26 pm
RawleArenas wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:43 pm What's going on then? Why is everyone being so mum?
FERPA rules are extremely strict. Same with HIPAA rules, but this is personal reasons, not medical.

If it was anything medical, or violation of team rules we would have heard about it.

TheCat wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 8:23 pm Let me be the first to say we do not have 4 NBA players on our roster and it isn't close. Maybe 2 if Koloko can score in double digits after next year.
Koloko and Dalen Terry are in the 2023 draft according to NBAdraft.net. I have also read where Tubelis may be a 2nd rounder on other sites.

So with Mathurin, that makes 4. And that's not counting the young guys. Ballo certainly has a high ceiling. Not sure if Kriisa has NBA size and speed, but will get a look as a free agent.

^Terry is an NBA player? Really? Whoever says that will lose their job if they are from a team and not media. Terry, although greatly improved, might not even be able to keep his starting job this year. If Tubelis could knock down a high percentage of outside shots he could make it but he is not close to hitting that percentage now. He is a great college player and probably the true key to our success but he does not have the athleticism to take the shots he does in the league.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 2:25 pm

Not disagreeing with you, Terry has been underwhelming and the last option on the court to score and don't recall any plays being called for him.

Just what nbadraft.net has, which has historically been the least accurate, but one of the last free ones.

Harvey Specter · Post by **Harvey Specter** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 2:54 pm

Interesting to see all the different takes on this lineup in terms of future NBA potential.

To go on the record with predictions:

Mathurin: high lottery pick with HUGE upside potential… as in multiple all-star games

Koloko: lottery pick and future NBA starter. True centers are a rare and valuable commodity in the NBA, especially when they can guard the paint and run the floor like CK can

Tubelis: first round draft pick… 20-25 mpg contributor with starter potential. Guys with his skill versatility and size are hugely valuable (I’d love to see him on the Suns… he’d be a GREAT addition to the current roster). If he could become a legitimate outside scoring threat he could be a long term starter and play in a few All Star games

Terry: wildcard that could play in the NBA as a role player/ key reserve… but heeds to show some level of offensive threat. High IQ player that affects the game positively in many ways without scoring… to me, a more athletic version of Solomon Hill, but less crafty offensively. (Also reminds me of young Terrance Williams from Louisville without the flamboyant obnoxious attitude)

Kriisa does not remind me of McConnell AT ALL (except that they are white guys who play PG that opposing fans love to hate, for different reasons).. Nowhere near the unselfish floor leader (“glue” guy) or defender that TJ was. Obviously a much better shooter… I do not see him as a future NBA player, but I think the Danny Ainge comparisons that have been made are accurate - so maybe.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:51 pm

I don't understand the evaluation on Koloko coming into college. 247 noted NBA potential on his upside, but gave him three stars. I thought the star system was based on upside, not how long it would take to realize that upside. If I have that wrong, then I'd like Arizona's recruiting to focus on three star prospects with NBA upside, please and thank you very much.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:29 pm

Terry is absolutely a NBA prospect. He’s not ready now of course, but with his body, length, and basketball IQ, he’s absolutely on the NBA radar. If he adds a jumper or some sort of offensive weapon next season he’s definitely a 1st rounder.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 6:53 pm

Longhorned wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:51 pm I don't understand the evaluation on Koloko coming into college. 247 noted NBA potential on his upside, but gave him three stars. I thought the star system was based on upside, not how long it would take to realize that upside. If I have that wrong, then I'd like Arizona's recruiting to focus on three star prospects with NBA upside, please and thank you very much.

Koloko was 7’1” and looked like he weighed 106 lbs when he graduated high school. A lot of people thought he’d get his shit pushed in unless he went to a top flight program with a nationally respected strength and conditioning program. Luckily, that’s what we are.

ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:29 pm Terry is absolutely a NBA prospect. He’s not ready now of course, but with his body, length, and basketball IQ, he’s absolutely on the NBA radar. If he adds a jumper or some sort of offensive weapon next season he’s definitely a 1st rounder.

If he would drive and finish consistently, adding in some big time slams, scouts will overlook his inability to shoot. Call it the Iggy/RHJ Plan.

TheCat · Post by **TheCat** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:06 am

ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:29 pm Terry is absolutely a NBA prospect. He’s not ready now of course, but with his body, length, and basketball IQ, he’s absolutely on the NBA radar. If he adds a jumper or some sort of offensive weapon next season he’s definitely a 1st rounder.

Not close. Don't get me wrong but you guys just said we have 5 NBA players on the team. That ain't close. We have 1 and maybe two if Koloko can score a bit more and that would be after next year if he wants to go in the first round. UCLA's two outstanding guards are scheduled for the second round. Love all these guys but be realistic.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:16 am

TheCat wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:06 am
ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:29 pm Terry is absolutely a NBA prospect. He’s not ready now of course, but with his body, length, and basketball IQ, he’s absolutely on the NBA radar. If he adds a jumper or some sort of offensive weapon next season he’s definitely a 1st rounder.
Not close. Don't get me wrong but you guys just said we have 5 NBA players on the team. That ain't close. We have 1 and maybe two if Koloko can score a bit more and that would be after next year if he wants to go in the first round. UCLA's two outstanding guards are scheduled for the second round. Love all these guys but be realistic.

I don't disagree. We have probably two NBA ready guys on the team in Benn and Koloko. Koloko is ready now whether he adds more offense or not as you can't teach his athleticism and defensive instincts. I'm not sure what else Tubelis can add, except more proven range, to get to the league, but chances are good he'll be back for another year. Dalen will most certainly get there, whether it takes 3 years or 4 years. Kerr at best could be a TJ situation in the league. So you can argue we have 5 future NBA players on the team, but we don't have 5 current NBA players on the team.

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:53 am

I'm not smart enough to know who will or won't get drafted... but I wouldn't bet against any of those guys playing in the NBA at some point.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:54 am

TheCat wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:06 am
ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:29 pm Terry is absolutely a NBA prospect. He’s not ready now of course, but with his body, length, and basketball IQ, he’s absolutely on the NBA radar. If he adds a jumper or some sort of offensive weapon next season he’s definitely a 1st rounder.
Not close. Don't get me wrong but you guys just said we have 5 NBA players on the team. That ain't close. We have 1 and maybe two if Koloko can score a bit more and that would be after next year if he wants to go in the first round. UCLA's two outstanding guards are scheduled for the second round. Love all these guys but be realistic.

I think Tubelis has a legit shot. He suffers, oddly, for being too complete as a player, IMO. Nothing stands out because everything is good. I somewhat disagree with Choo on returning (although I have zero inside knowledge) in that I don't see what one more college year does for his stock.

Koloko will get a look because he has the length and shotblocking to stand out. He's the opposite of Tubelis, not hugely well rounded, but does a discrete set of things very well, and they are things you can't develop.

I'm not sure on Terry. He'd be below average as an athlete in the NBA and would need to be a real plus defender to make it.

Kerr is a really good college player but I'm not sure as a NBA guy. I think he'll have a long pro career, but probably not in the NBA.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:03 am

Yeah, I agree. And as everyone knows, "a TJ situation in the league" = probably not going to be in the league, at best or not. TJ made it because of skills that Kriisa doesn't possess.

Kriisa is a poor man's Ainge in the sense of what Ainge was in the NBA. In college, Ainge was a phenomenon. If Kriisa was like Ainge in college, he'd be this team's #1 scoring option, a lock-down defender, an absolutely elite distributer, and an unstoppable force. And he'd be MLB-ready. He'd be all the media could talk about.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:19 am

Longhorned wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:03 am Yeah, I agree. And as everyone knows, "a TJ situation in the league" = probably not going to be in the league, at best or not. TJ made it because of skills that Kriisa doesn't possess.

Kriisa is a poor man's Ainge in the sense of what Ainge was in the NBA. In college, Ainge was a phenomenon. If Kriisa was like Ainge in college, he'd be this team's #1 scoring option, a lock-down defender, an absolutely elite distributer, and an unstoppable force. And he'd be MLB-ready. He'd be all the media could talk about.

I'm not 100% Kerr doesn't possess those skills. I think he has the potential to be on TJ's level as a defender. That said, TJ is a rarity like you say because fairly few people have the consistent intensity and drive he does.

The other part of TJ that's tough to match is being a locker room plus. TJ clearly is a positive force with everyone.

Beyond that, Kerr could be as good a distributor as TJ and is probably a better 3 point shooter. TJ is TJ because he's beaten fairly long odds, thus the odds are against Kerr, but Kerr has the tools in some similar ways to TJ.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:20 am

Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:54 am

I think Tubelis has a legit shot. He suffers, oddly, for being too complete as a player, IMO. Nothing stands out because everything is good. I somewhat disagree with Choo on returning (although I have zero inside knowledge) in that I don't see what one more college year does for his stock.

His perimeter shot isn't complete that's for sure.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:22 am

ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:20 am
Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:54 am

I think Tubelis has a legit shot. He suffers, oddly, for being too complete as a player, IMO. Nothing stands out because everything is good. I somewhat disagree with Choo on returning (although I have zero inside knowledge) in that I don't see what one more college year does for his stock.

His perimeter shot isn't complete that's for sure.

Here's where I need Yo to ride in with his Synergy white horse and save things. He's a fountain of stats in this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6981&p=516633#p516633

Tubelis has shown the ability to be good shooting at times. He obviously needs consistency and would help himself by being a knockdown guy. That said, I tend to view shooting as one of those skills the NBA will take a chance on. It's why Stanley and AG went lottery and RHJ went in the first. If I had to list skills the NBA thinks they can develop, shooting consistency is #1.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:29 am

Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:22 am
ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:20 am
Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:54 am

I think Tubelis has a legit shot. He suffers, oddly, for being too complete as a player, IMO. Nothing stands out because everything is good. I somewhat disagree with Choo on returning (although I have zero inside knowledge) in that I don't see what one more college year does for his stock.

His perimeter shot isn't complete that's for sure.
Here's where I need Yo to ride in with his Synergy white horse and save things. He's a fountain of stats in this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6981&p=516633#p516633

Tubelis has shown the ability to be good shooting at times. He obviously needs consistency and would help himself by being a knockdown guy. That said, I tend to view shooting as one of those skills the NBA will take a chance on. It's why Stanley and AG went lottery and RHJ went in the first. If I had to list skills the NBA thinks they can develop, shooting consistency is #1.

Those guys' athleticism is why the NBA is more than willing to take a chance on guys regardless of shooting ability. Love Tubelis, but yeah he's not in their stratosphere of athleticism.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:50 am

The question for him at the next level is who does he defend.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:51 am

Chicat wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:50 am The question for him at the next level is who does he defend.

Bingo.

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