Michael Rand: Guess which two Gophers are on ESPN.com's top 100 NBA draft prospects?

Donate To GopherHole

I still do not understand how Williams is so high. I would love for him to be 42nd on the draft board, but he has not shown us that his first 2 years.
 

Mbakwe will get drafted even if it's only 2nd round. He's got a good motor, great rebounder, some decent offensive skill. He does need to show he can guard bigger guys but I think he's capable of that because he's very strong. Williams can get drafted on his atleticism alone, Corey Brewer was a lottery pick who couldn't shoot all that well, do much off the dribble, not a great free throw shooter but is freakishly athletic.
 

Corey Brewer was on a team that won 2 national championships.. which upped his draft stock. He went higher than he should have IMO. It's the psychological effect as well. 3 examples in this years draft. Jimmer Fredette going #10 is way too high. He can't guard the majority of the point guards or 2 guards in the NBA. He's a fantastic shooter, hard worker but not a franchise player. See Adam Morrison, no longer in the NBA. But BYU's run and season helped him. No one would have heard of Kenneth Farried if they hadn't shocked Louisville in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He goes first round without any real skills other than rebounding. Chuck Hayes from Kentucky is a better all around player and didn't get drafted but has hung around the NBA for 5 seasons. Josh Harrelson from UK, no way he gets drafted if UK doesn't have the great upset of Ohio State in the Sweet 16. One game against Jared Sullinger put him on the NBA radar. He played really well in the SEC and NCAA tournaments but he didn't even play last year. I hope he makes it because he can be a role player, but the chance never would have come up if UK would have been 21-12 and a first round exit in the ncaa tournament.

If Minnesota has a good run this year and Rodney is dunking and high flying all over national tv in the NCAA tournament, call your bookie, because he'll be a lottery pick.
 

No casual college basketball fans would've heard of Faried if they hadn't pulled off the upset of Louisville (perhaps), but over his career, he showed how much of a game changer defensively he is and would've been drafted in the first round regardless.
 


These fantasy mock drafts are insane. Taylor is #60 and RW is #42 ?

To date RW isn't even the 42nd best player in the Big Ten.

:confused:
 


notagopherfan said:
Williams can get drafted on his atleticism alone, Corey Brewer was a lottery pick who couldn't shoot all that well, do much off the dribble, not a great free throw shooter but is freakishly athletic.
Click to expand...

Yes, Williams is very athletic. Yes, the NBA does draft players on potential and athletic ability.

Comparing Williams to Brewer is not a good comparison at all though. Brewer as a junior in college was taller, a better shooter and was coming off from being the NCAA tournament MVP. He also had much better stats on a team that was loaded with future NBA talent. Yeah, they are both athletic, but that could be said for lots of college players.
 

GophersOnTheRise said:
A better college player isn't always a better NBA prospect.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY. Fair or not, there are guys who are productive who don't get the respect they deserve cause their numbers don't look as good (athletically I mean). Meanwhile, there are guys like Rodney, who despite lesser production, will continue to be seen as a better prospect cause they have NBA athleticism. If Rodney had production, say 11/6 a game, he would be a lottery lock, because he is that prototype athletic wing, 6'7"-ish with plus hops, long, and quick. He could step onto an NBA court and look the part immediately. The fact that with his measurables he's considered the 42nd best prospect goes to his lack of production on the floor. Not sure why people get upset because NBA scouts like the potential our own players.
 



Monty519 said:
Not sure why people get upset because NBA scouts like the potential our own players.
Click to expand...

My thoughts as well. We're all aware Williams hasn't put up big numbers in his first two seasons, but I fail to see what the negative is that the NBA likes his ceiling. Having players with NBA Draft potential is a good thing, not a bad thing. High school kids notice when schools have players drafted by the NBA, no matter how their college careers were perceived.
 

Monty519 said:
EXACTLY. Fair or not, there are guys who are productive who don't get the respect they deserve cause their numbers don't look as good (athletically I mean). Meanwhile, there are guys like Rodney, who despite lesser production, will continue to be seen as a better prospect cause they have NBA athleticism. If Rodney had production, say 11/6 a game, he would be a lottery lock, because he is that prototype athletic wing, 6'7"-ish with plus hops, long, and quick. He could step onto an NBA court and look the part immediately. The fact that with his measurables he's considered the 42nd best prospect goes to his lack of production on the floor. Not sure why people get upset because NBA scouts like the potential our own players.
Click to expand...

Finally somebody who knows what I'm talking about!! NBA GM's don't care about production. They see the athlete that Rodney is and they know is a cut above most. This is important because the NBA, especially at the 2 and 3 spots, are filled with the most gifted athletes in basketball.

Yes there are a lot of good athletes with great production in College basketball. Fact is though, there aren't a lot of great athletes, even less are great athletes with great production. Corey Brewer comparison is a fair comparison to me in that he wasn't a polished product even after winning 2 national championships. Rodney won't be a finished product even with a great season this year but it could raise his draft stock a whole lot especially if the gophers have a great season on top of it all.
 

Rodneys draft stock has went down and further down since he step on the court at the college level. I could care less about Rodney and the NBA, I care about what Rodney can do as a Gopher.

If by some miracle he fixes his shoot and learns to dribble Rodney could really help this team.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom