Class of 2020 C Frank Anselem (GA) COMMITTED/SIGNED TO SYRACUSE

[20plus]

I’m expecting an announcement that Frank will be attending Syracuse!

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

You don’t think TV raised the value of Zion? I think SU has had several players drafted higher than they should have been because of all the exposure they received.

Zion was #1 coming out of HS

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

You don’t think TV raised the value of Zion? I think SU has had several players drafted higher than they should have been because of all the exposure they received.

So, they didn't need to do well in the camps and interviews, just how they played on TV sometimes?

 

[alphaorange]

Zion was #1 coming out of HS

No..He wasn't. RJ Barrett was and was considered the consensus top pick until Zion blew up at Duke. Zion was listed as top 5 in most mocks until he started playing at Duke.

 

[cuse10]

Zion was #1 coming out of HS

He wasn't. RJ Barrett was the top player.

 

[StPeteOrang]

Maybe, just maybe, no one actually knows what this kid wants to do? So far there hasn't been one credible source that has commented on his recruited. You can't believe everything you read on the internet.

Maybe Frank likes what WKU is pitching him in terms of playing time?
Maybe Frank likes the sunshine and weather of San Diego?
Maybe Frank wants to come play for a legendary head coach?
Maybe his handlers want to get paid?

Everyone has a slant because everyone has natural bias towards the school they root for.

Well said.

 

[Knicks411]

Kentucky players in SI's "Top 100 Players in the NBA":

93) Bam Adebayo
79) Julius Randle
46) Eric Bledsoe
38) Jamal Murray
34) Devin Booker
33) De'Aaron Fox
13) Karl-Anthony Towns
6) Anthony Davis

I'd like to hear an argument from a Cal/UK defender that any of these players were "developed" by Calipari. Every single one was a 1-and-done. Several were NBA ready at age 17. None spend more than 8 months at UK. Cal has a brilliant, self-fulfilling prophecy he sells. He claims he gets you to the NBA. It's true, after the Wall/Cousins/Davis hype, top players bought it, and went to UK, and it's snowballed ever since. What these kids don't realize is Anthony Davis, Towns, Murray, Cousins, etc would have been lottery picks if they played at Austin Peay.

I am not sure how true this is. I have brought this point up before, but at the risk of repeating myself


Devin Booker was 23rd in the final RSCI rankings in the class of 2014. He was 4 spots behind Chris McCullough. The 4 guys just ahead of him
19) Chris McCullough
20) Devin Robinson
21) James Blackmon
22) Dwayne Morgan

I don't think you will be finding any of those guys on the NBA top 100 list.

Jamal Murray is a tougher one, he was only 71 in his class, but because he was foreign, some people didnt rank him. The one system that ranked him had him 12th. The guys ranked around him:
Henry Ellenson
Stephen Zimmerman
Allonzo Trier

Again, don't think you're seeing them in the top 100.

Eric Bledsoe was basically a top 40 player in his high school class, and was a first round pick a year later.
Willie Cauley Stein was barely ranked ahead of Jerami Grant as a HS senior, he ended up being a lotto pick.

I know people love to hate on Cal, and maybe he isn't the best developer of talent or whatever, but people vastly overestimate the % of top 10 (or 15, or whatever) players become stars, or even players, in the NBA.

 

[Fly Rodder]

No..He wasn't. RJ Barrett was and was considered the consensus top pick until Zion blew up at Duke. Zion was listed as top 5 in most mocks until he started playing at Duke.

Zion didn't just blow up at Duke, he was already well-known. And I don't think there's much difference between 1 or 5. Zion had a million+ instagram followers as a junor in HS and several stints on Sportscenter Top-10s. People knew who he was and his success at Duke only cemented that. He didn't need Duke to be famous.

That said, I don't Frank Anselem has that many IG followers.

 

[Fly Rodder]

I know people love to hate on Cal, and maybe he isn't the best developer of talent or whatever, but people vastly overestimate the % of top 10 (or 15, or whatever) players become stars, or even players, in the NBA.

Yes. I will take any and all bets that there will be players who don't sign with UK in the top-25 recruiting class who fail to become NBA stars. That's easy money.

However, that it doesn't happen isn't being questioned, the question is do players who sign with UK become better NBA players at a higher rate than those who don't?

If I took 5-6 players from the top-30 every season for a decade, then yes, it will look good by a strict count when I have 8 still in the NBA.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

He wasn't. RJ Barrett was the top player.

Not talking HS rankings, talking draft picks. Zion is a skilled athletic freak. No way any NBA GM would take anyone not named LeBron over Zion.

 

[kszyman]

kszyman welcome to the board. I take it you are a WKU fan now. I've been through Bowling Green area several times. I actually thought it was a nice area. Even went on the Corvette tour.

What do you think are the selling points WKU is offering Frank?

I’d say:
- Playing Time;
- Talented teammates, including one native Nigerian;
- Style of Play;
- A program that is on the uptick;
- A loyal & enthusiastic - if small - fan base.

I was surprised Frank placed WKU in his Final 19, let alone his Final 6. Now his Final 4.

I have lived in Charlotte for 34 years; used to live in San Antonio. Been a Hilltopper fan regardless of where I have lived.

 

[kszyman]

WKU please please stop selling it as a national power...it isn’t in any way shape or form

WKU has not been a national power in 50 years. In the 1966-67 and 1970-71 seasons, the Hilltoppers were in the AP Top Ten. Since then: usually irrelevant on the national level. I don’t think WKU will ever be “nationally prominent”. But they could reach the less lofty goal of being “nationally relevant”. They are not there yet. Think along the lines of VCU, Butler, Wichita State, Xavier.

 

[Knicks411]

Yes. I will take any and all bets that there will be players who don't sign with UK in the top-25 recruiting class who fail to become NBA stars. That's easy money.

However, that it doesn't happen isn't being questioned, the question is do players who sign with UK become better NBA players at a higher rate than those who don't?

If I took 5-6 players from the top-30 every season for a decade, then yes, it will look good by a strict count when I have 8 still in the NBA.

He has 8 in the top 100 (according to this ranking), not 8 in the whole league.

Anyway, the point I was responding to is the idea that all the stars from Kentucky were destined to be stars in the NBA and I just don't think that is true. Towns and Davis are one thing, they may be on another level, but I am not sure how guys like Booker/Bledsoe/Murray are lumped into that group when a lot of guys they were considered peers with in HS arent even in the league.

 

[Melancer46]

Not talking HS rankings, talking draft picks. Zion is a skilled athletic freak. No way any NBA GM would take anyone not named LeBron over Zion.

Zion was generally considered in the 5-10 range before he played in college. I don't think Duke is the reason he went #1 though; he simply dominated the competition and that likely would have happened no matter where he went to school.

Edit: The DraftExpress guys (now ESPN) for example had him going 7th in their mock before the college season began. BleacherReport had him going 4th. SBNation had him going 5th.

 

[reedny]

Zion was generally considered in the 5-10 range before he played in college. I don't think Duke is the reason he went #1 though; he simply dominated the competition and that likely would have happened no matter where he went to school.

Edit: The DraftExpress guys (now ESPN) for example had him going 7th in their mock before the college season began. BleacherReport had him going 4th. SBNation had him going 5th.

NBA is everywhere, even remote foreign countries. So I agree it's not as though a kid at WKU won't be 'discovered'. But how a prospect performs against high-level competition - especially under the 'bright lights' (NCAA tourney) - that's still a factor. BTW, thank you for your player eval's lately .. very helpful for us recruiting dilettantes.

 

[EastCoast2]

I

He has 8 in the top 100 (according to this ranking), not 8 in the whole league.

Anyway, the point I was responding to is the idea that all the stars from Kentucky were destined to be stars in the NBA and I just don't think that is true. Towns and Davis are one thing, they may be on another level, but I am not sure how guys like Booker/Bledsoe/Murray are lumped into that group when a lot of guys they were considered peers with in HS arent even in the league.

It's important to note here that we're only talking about the UK guys still in the league... For every Devin Booker or Eric Bledsoe, there are 5+ guys like Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin, Harrison Twins, James Young, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Skal Labissiere, Isaiah Briscoe, Nick Richards, Quade Greene, Khalil Whitney, etc. We forget about these guys because we think of Anthony Davis and Karl Towns.

 

[orangefog]

I

It's important to note here that we're only talking about the UK guys still in the league... For every Devin Booker or Eric Bledsoe, there are 5+ guys like Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin, Harrison Twins, James Young, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Skal Labissiere, Isaiah Briscoe, Nick Richards, Quade Greene, Khalil Whitney, etc. We forget about these guys because we think of Anthony Davis and Karl Towns.

All 5 star guys.

 

[JLine]

I

It's important to note here that we're only talking about the UK guys still in the league... For every Devin Booker or Eric Bledsoe, there are 5+ guys like Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin, Harrison Twins, James Young, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Skal Labissiere, Isaiah Briscoe, Nick Richards, Quade Greene, Khalil Whitney, etc. We forget about these guys because we think of Anthony Davis and Karl Towns.

 

[Knicks411]

I

It's important to note here that we're only talking about the UK guys still in the league... For every Devin Booker or Eric Bledsoe, there are 5+ guys like Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin, Harrison Twins, James Young, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Skal Labissiere, Isaiah Briscoe, Nick Richards, Quade Greene, Khalil Whitney, etc. We forget about these guys because we think of Anthony Davis and Karl Towns.

Which I guess also proves that it wasn't destined that every 5 star is going to be an NBA star. Whether or not they go to Kentucky.

It's really hard for even the best prospects to make a career in the NBA. That's the point!

 

[JLine]

Maybe, just maybe, no one actually knows what this kid wants to do? So far there hasn't been one credible source that has commented on his recruited. You can't believe everything you read on the internet.

Maybe Frank likes what WKU is pitching him in terms of playing time?
Maybe Frank likes the sunshine and weather of San Diego?
Maybe Frank wants to come play for a legendary head coach?
Maybe his handlers want to get paid?

Everyone has a slant because everyone has natural bias towards the school they root for.

Well said. The sense of entitlement that a few posters exude when posting about recruits is a joke, but to each their own.

 

[Scott11]

I’m expecting an announcement that Frank will be attending Syracuse!

Is this based on anything other than hope?

 

[Fly Rodder]

Which I guess also proves that it wasn't destined that every 5 star is going to be an NBA star. Whether or not they go to Kentucky.

It's really hard for even the best prospects to make a career in the NBA. That's the point!

Not arguing that, just illustrating that it's a volume thing with UK and the NBA.

Lets say that 25% of the top-25 recruits every season stick a starting job in the NBA for 3 years and that will be our standard for an approximation of a good NBA player or top-100 players (no idea what these numbers actually are, but just guesstimating here).

Over ten years, that's 63 players who become good NBA players and 187 who don't.

If Coach C can get 4.5 recruits out of the top-25 every year, that averages out to be 11 who become good NBA players versus some Coach B who gets 1-2 every five years and they end up with 1 who makes it and three who don't. Of course Coach C looks better, but it's really just matter of volume of really good recruits.

 

[721Comstock]

AND...
JB gets guys in the 25-100 range, who are NOT on the radar as HS recruits, and gets them drafted.
Dion, MCW, Ennis, Jerami, Mali, Lydon all say HI!!

 

[EastCoast2]

Which I guess also proves that it wasn't destined that every 5 star is going to be an NBA star. Whether or not they go to Kentucky.

It's really hard for even the best prospects to make a career in the NBA. That's the point!

I agree with you on that... even for 5-star, top 20 players in the country, making it in the NBA is very difficult. I'm merely throwing rocks at the public perception that Calipari "puts guys into the league"... I think Duke, Arizona, Mississippi State, or Iowa would have similar results of alums in the NBA if they got the same exact players as UK since 2009.

 

[Knicks411]

I agree with you on that... even for 5-star, top 20 players in the country, making it in the NBA is very difficult. I'm merely throwing rocks at the public perception that Calipari "puts guys into the league"... I think Duke, Arizona, Mississippi State, or Iowa would have similar results of alums in the NBA if they got the same exact players as UK since 2009.

I'll be honest, I have no idea, I am not going to run the exact numbers, but I am just pushing back against the idea that every single NBA star that went to Kentucky was destined to be a star regardless of where they went to school. If that was the case, Devin Booker for instance should've been in everyone's top 5 instead of #25.

Are you saying there's no difference in development among college coaches at all? They are all basically the same?