2013 Draft Thread

[BrotherDave]

Or call them the hollow man... as they give you nothing on the inside offensively. I think Biz would have to come off the bench if we drafted Noel, we can't have that lack of scoring on the inside or our shooters will never get an open look. You can already see how desperate Dunlap is for a post player, he has tried with Biz, Warrick and Haywood. I would love to get Noel don't get me wrong, but not sure him and Biz can coexist for large minutes together

^ hater

We have shooters?

[Chef]

right now i think my draft choice should we get the #1 pick would be

1a mclemore
1b noel

i think mclemore would be perfect next to kemba. ideally wiggins would be the #1 scorer and kemba the #2, but can't make wishful plans based on next years draft.
noel is in full defensive beast mode right now. another great game saturday.

right now i am thankful that if we can manage either #1 or #2 we will come out more than ok.

[gamecocksmitty4]

I would like to see more people's opinions on Victor Oladipo from Indiana. That guy has impressed me a ton. He is a lockdown defender, can knock down the open 3, and is very athletic. I think with a little more ball handling practice and focusing on getting to the line, he could be great. I think he is already similar to Gerald Henderson. But he has the potential to be much better.

As much as I love McLemore, I think Oladipo may be a better fit for this team. It is being made apparent that Kemba is working to become better off the ball, so we need someone who can control the ball. Oladipo is much better at that then McLemore.

[SWedd523]

I'm sure BrotherDave will be along shortly with his opinion of Oladipo.


I don't know if I'd say he'd be a better second PG than McLemore, as hes spent less time with the ball in his hands and he projects (at least to me) to be a role playing floor spacer like Thabo while McLemore has real potential to be effective while dominating the ball on offense. Besides, with MKG having the ability to initiate the offense, we don't necessarily need another pseudo-PG at the two anyway.

Basically, McLemore just seems to have a higher ceiling. He has the potential to be a great defensive player himself, can shoot just as well, and has more scoring ability.


Now dont get me wrong, if we did Noel with our first pick and Oladipo with the Portland, I really wouldn't mind at all

[gamecocksmitty4]

I'm more concerned about McLemore's ability to create his own shot and non-straight drives to the basket (there has to be a word for this and I'm missing it). He also never seems to have the ball in his hand. He does seem to be able to pass out to a more open shot, which is nice, but can't create for others.

I also am curious about your thoughts on MKG initiating the offense. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of MKG and think he will be great and could EVENTUALLY become a decent point forward. However, why does he not get that experience now? When the starters come in, MKG does the same thing that McLemore does at Kansas right now. He'll get the pass, look to see if there is an open shot or drive, and if not, pass right back to Kemba. He never takes over the point and allows Kemba to work off the ball.

[SWedd523]

Even if you're under the assumption that McLemore can't do it, it doesn't really make much difference because Oladipo isn't any better in that regard anyway.

I think there are a number of reasons why MKG doesn't hold the ball so much. The biggest is the obvious that Kemba is ball dominant and loses a lot of his effectiveness if he doesn't have the ball because he's still not quite good enough in catch-and-shoot situations. Then you have to consider his age and the fact that he's probably spending 80% or more of his development time working on his jumper, so he's not working on that aspect of his game much. Plus he's been going through a horrible slump recently and he has confidence issues anyway, so I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't want the ball as much because he doesn't want to hurt the team.

We saw enough of him in the early part of the year running the fast break as the ball handler or playing guys 1-on-1 that the skill/potential is certainly there. We just have to give him the time to work on it enough where he's confident in it

[gamecocksmitty4]

I wouldn't say Kemba is THAT ball dominant. He has to be right now because other than Sessions (who I can't stand) and Henderson (who isn't aggressive enough), he is the only one who can create his own shot or create for others. When he is on the court with Sessions, he is very quick to give up the ball and seems to be excited to work off the ball.

[SWedd523]

I'm not saying he's selfish, just that he's much more effective on-ball versus off-ball.

[gamecocksmitty4]

They just showed Rich Cho at the Kentucky-SC game. I can guarantee that he's not there for any USC players.

[SWedd523]

They just showed Rich Cho at the Kentucky-SC game. I can guarantee that he's not there for any USC players.

Maybe next year when Thornwell comes down