In the latest installment of “Catch a Rising Star,” Boston Celtics president Dany Ainge traveled to Greece to get a first-hand look at Giannis Adetokunbo, the 6-foot-10 point guard who is moving up draft boards by leaps and bounds. Aingle was in the house — and got heckled by Lakers fans — as Adetokunbo scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds and two steals in the championship round of the Greek A2 league. [Read more…]
Things have changed since we published Mock 1.0 on April 1. The NCAA field is down to four teams, and a couple of the players in our Top 30 have decided to return to school or wait another year in Europe (Darko Saric). Hence, Mock 1.0.1. [Read more…]
The best-kept secret in NBA scouting circles in a secret no more. Meet Giannis Antetokoumpo, a 6-10 point guard who already has signed to play professionally next season for Zaragoza in Spain. Yes, a 6-10 point guard, a Greek freak of Nigerian heritage who could end up being a first-round draft pick after putting on quite a show in the Greek national junior tournament attended by Bryan Colangelo of the Toronto Raptors and Masai Ujiri of the Denver Nuggets. [Read more…]
Generally, NBA teams do not use high picks to draft defensive-minded players unless those players are 7 feet tall. Everybody seems willing to take a major risk to get the next Dikembe Mutombo, but few want to gamble that they might find the next Tony Allen. Which brings us to Victor Oladipo of Indiana, whose draft stick is rising according to our own Joe Kotoch because of his defensive versatility and Indiana’s success. And at the next level, he may be a
The first week of the NCAA Tournament is in the books, and one thing is clear — the draft stock of many of the top players did not improve. In fact, Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel’s stock was probably helped the most of any top prospect — and he was unable to play in the NIT because of a torn ACL. But there were certainly others who helped themselves. [Read more…]
The medical and personal struggles of NBA rookie Royce White have been well documented since he was drafted No. 16 overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2012 NBA Draft. [Read more…]
While March Madness officially tips off Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, some of the top college basketball programs and their fanbases are anxiously looking ahead to the recruiting madness that will unfold in the coming weeks. Five elite Class of 2013 recruits remain uncommitted and are expected to make their announcements during and after March Madness. Among the group of five are three who are considered lottery locks for the 2014 NBA draft: Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon. One NBA GM recently
There is an old saying that you can’t teach scoring. Ask any NBA general manager what they need more of, and the answer is almost always scoring. With the Sloan Sports Analytic Conference reaching a mainstream following, the need to understand statistics and data is at a premium. Despite many complicated numbers and formulas to uncover gems and underrated players, one truth exists: Teams value players that create extra possessions. In a given playoff game, each team may have 80 possessions.