The Official Austin Rivers Thread

[SWedd523]

I think Rivers is going to be a great player at the NBA level. His game is more suited for it. He has wonderful handles. Great mentality on wanting to be great. Give him sometime and he is going to be the 2nd option on a title team or 3rd option as worst.

I just wish he had a PG mentality. If he went out wanting to play the game like Deron, then he'd be a top 3 pick right now. Unfortunately, he's too concerned with shooting, shooting, shooting

[adam187]

i'm not real Lehigh on him at the moment

(sorry stole that from a comment i saw on ESPN, but it still makes me chuckle)

[Plowright]

The thing is, what is easier to do, Change your mentality or improve your game? He is a coaches son, yeah he is very big time but He already has the skillssa

[SWedd523]

The thing is, what is easier to do, Change your mentality or improve your game? He is a coaches son, yeah he is very big time but He already has the skillssa

I would rather take less talented, but harder working players just about 9 times out of 10.

Beasley or Dudley? Dudley.
Nick Young or Aron Afflalo? Afflalo.
Andrew Bynum or Marc Gasol? Gasol.

[Pepperz]

His work ethic is not what is in question. Its his mentality and how he plays his game. That can be changed more so then improving his game. Maybe all through out school, since he was one of the best out there, he never had to learn to get the team involved. Once he gets to the NBA, he is going to change that for everybody is going to be just as good as him. Or you are really going to see his 1v1 game come to life. In the end, I would love to pick up a guy like him with a lottery pick. What ever team he ends up on, he will make them happy and proud.

[Plowright]

We are talking about different things Swedd. Mentality and work ethic. His mentality is a scorer. His work ethic is good thought from what I hear, he is determined to be the best

[Pepperz]

We are talking about different things Swedd. Mentality and work ethic. His mentality is a scorer. His work ethic is good thought from what I hear, he is determined to be the best

That is what I really like about him. If you are fine with where you are at as a player, I never want a guy like that on my team. I want people that always want more and always want to improve.

[Plowright]

Tyrus Thomas is a typical player with an attitude of "It's okay to be mediocre" and it kills me

[adam187]

as long as they don't call his travels, he should be fine

[Demon DeaCat]

Nobody's really been talking about this guy so I thought I'd bump his thread back to the top. I'm kind of baffled at how under the radar he's been. I get all the concerns people have raised about his game-- poor shot selection, no commitment to defense, etc. but one thing no one has ever questioned is that he's got tremendous offensive skills and that he has the ability to be an elite scorer in the NBA. In addition to that, the other thing you have to love about him is that he wants to be "the guy". He's got the confidence to take big shots in the 4th quarter. Guys that have that mentality, along with the skill set to actually deliver, are a rare commodity. We've talked a lot about lesser skilled guys and what their upside might be, but two things that can't be taught are offensive skill and swagger, and Rivers has both. Every player has flaws, but his flaws can be corrected with the right coach under the right system. I just feel like 2 years from now when he's regularly dropping 20 a night, we're going to look back and wonder what we were thinking for not taking this guy. Aside from Davis, he's probably the next most likely to become an all-star of anyone in this draft. If he's stays on the board as long as he's projected to he'd be an ideal trade-down target.