NBA DRAFT: He's not overly athletic....

[Do Dah Day]

This guy is so good, it’s not funny. He’s not overly athletic, but he can shoot it. He can pass like (Steve) Nash. He has that competitive toughness that they have."

Rank | Name | School/Team | Class/Age | HT | WT > Projected

1. Luka Doncic | Real Madrid | 19 | 6-6 | 218 > High Lottery

For two years, NBA types have watched in amazement as Doncic has not just played in the best league in the world outside the NBA, the ACB in Spain, but has dominated men 10 years older than him and teams that have been around since before he was born. Playing for Real Madrid, Doncic has handled that storied program’s EuroLeague schedule just fine this season, averaging 17.1 points, five rebounds and 4.6 assists. Most importantly, on a continent where coaches often sit players with NBA-level potential either to discourage them from leaving or to keep NBA teams that come over to see and scout them -- or some combination of each -- Doncic plays 25-plus minutes a night for Real.

And when he didn’t play for Real last year, he teamed with Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic in leading their native Slovenia to the EuroBasket championship last September. In the quarterfinals, Doncic scored 27 points in Slovenia’s defeat of Latvia -- and Knicks unicorn Kristaps Porzingis. In the semis, Doncic went for 11, 12 and 8 assists in a rout of the storied Spanish national team featuring the Gasol Brothers, Ricky Rubio, et.al. In the final against Serbia Doncic only scored eight on 3 of 10 shooting, but Dragic went for 35 in his last game for his country as Slovenia won the gold, 83-75.

 

[GregJM24]

Reminds me of the praise for Dark Milicic.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

I have to say it, this kid is something else. It's true that he's not overly athletic and probably doesn't have the potential of Ayton or Porter or Bamba, but his level of skill and feel for the game at the age of 19 is mind blowing. Seeing him dominate the Eurobasket against Euroleague players and NBA players this last summer was amazing. The kid Doncic and the old lion Dragic carrying Slovenia, a 3 milion people country, to the top of Europe...what a story.

 

[goboilers2]

I have to say it, this kid is something else. It's true that he's not overly athletic and probably doesn't have the potential of Ayton or Porter or Bamba, but his level of skill and feel for the game at the age of 19 is mind blowing. Seeing him dominate the Eurobasket against Euroleague players and NBA players this last summer was amazing. The kid Doncic and the old lion Dragic carrying Slovenia, a 3 milion people country, to the top of Europe...what a story.

Maybe like a Larry Bird type of non-athletic?

 

[ItalianBoiler]

Maybe like a Larry Bird type of non-athletic?

Lol, exactly. No way he can be successful in today's basketball, right?

 

[boilerman101]

Mock Draft
http://www.nbadraft.net/2018mock_draft

...it's a conspiracy, I don't see Carsen or any of the seniors. Must be the sum of the parts. LOL

 

[todd brewster]

Growing up, I hated basketball, because it was the one sport where one player could dominate and beat any team of five. Wilt came along and the NBA put in all sorts of rules so that Goliath would not dominate. Jordan came around and the NBA put in all sorts of rules so that he could dominate and the NBA could market him. Viewership rose, but I stopped watching it.

One thing about Keady and Painter is they coach a team game and I love watching them. This year, as long as we stayed healthy and played the game smart, we could beat anyone. Rush down court, nothing there, spread the floor, get it into Haas and move to an open spot. We lost 3 games when we inexplicitly stopped doing this in the 2nd half and 3 games due to injury. Throughout the year, I read dumb posts saying not to run the offense through Haas. These idiots got their wish and it showed in our final 2 games. Even though, we beat a team we should have crushed.

Our seniors showed their merit, by leading and playing like a team. PJ won't admit to it, but I think the flu zapped him. At the end, he showed he was a great defender and he could break any press. We wanted the ball in his hands at the end of the game, because he hit the clutch free throws. IMO, Dakota was our gym rat. When I first saw him, I though great shooter and passer, but who's he going to guard? He worked to become our best defender. If the NBA scouts have a brain they will figure out they need a good defender who can hit the 3. Vince IMO was the team leader. He always seemed to be coaching guys during timeouts. He made smart decisions and played great inside and out. To be honest, knowing Jackson of MSU was a top 5 NBA draft choice, I wanted us to play the TT with Haarms guarding him (at least some of the time). But look at the stats! Vince dominated him. If he's a lottery pick, Vince needs to be drafted too. I love Matt Painter, but disappointed he did not start Haas and move Vince to SF last year. That lineup played very well together. The downside to Haas was his left and his panic when double teamed. This year, Haas developed his left and handled the doubles like a vet. If Haas isn't drafted in the first round, NBA scouts should be fired. Earlier this year, some clown compared him to Adams and said what a great NBA rebounder he is. In college, they had comparable rebounding stats. Moreover, in the BTT and then MM, Haas averaged over 8 boards a game. In the NBA, when Haas becomes more aggressive and can play angry, I am confident he will get double figures like Adams. The NBA needs players that are strong at one thing and IMO Haas can score on Adams or anyone. On an NBA team that does more than run and gun, Haas is needed. He scores and opens up the 3 point shooters.