Rak's pro chances?

[Knicks411]

Defense in the 80's was much more lax than it is now. There were more fouls in the paint I'm guessing, but teams just ran up and down and got open shots all day.

 

[CusefanATL]

he has NO face to the basket game.

He plays like a 7'1" center in a 6'9" body. Can get away with it in college, but pros PF's avg 6'10" and centers 7'. going to be tough.

 

[Knicks411]

he has NO face to the basket game.

He plays like a 7'1" center in a 6'9" body. Can get away with it in college, but pros PF's avg 6'10" and centers 7'. going to be tough.

I'd say he has shown he can make a face up jumper from about the elbow though. I'm getting more optimistic on his chances.
I think you overestimate the size of 4's and 5's. I think Rak has the size to be a 4 man off the bench for a team.

 

[CusefanATL]

I'd say he has shown he can make a face up jumper from about the elbow though. I'm getting more optimistic on his chances.
I think you overestimate the size of 4's and 5's. I think Rak has the size to be a 4 man off the bench for a team.

he can certainly hit the jumper. And he will be able to easily improve the jumper.

Im talking about him taking a dribble going towards the basket.

 

[CusefanATL]

http://pinwheelempire.com/p/nba/prototypical-size-vs-reality-in-the-nba/

 

[Madbiker]

I don't think you really understand how the draft works. there are two key facts at work here;

1. the vast majority of players in the draft are going to wash out quickly. there are only a handful of sure things in any given draft - at most; sometimes only one or two
2. you have to pick somebody, you cannot pass. sure you can trade your pick but there are still 30 picks in every draft and every one of them has to be used and every one of them has a guaranteed salary attached to it.

NBA GMs have no choice in the matter; they have to dole out those millions and most of them will be like throwing dollars into a bonfire.

now, since there are few sure things (indeed, the surest thing is that you are going to draft a bust far more often than a hit), and since the odds are that your money is going to be wasted anyway, it's a reasonable approach to put your bet on something with a high payoff at the other end if it does happen to hit. Why draft a senior who has already demonstrated that his top end is a replacement level journeyman when you can take a freshman who has the potential to blossom into so much more?

Moq, I get that. I'm just being sarcastic and mocking the concept that a 22-23 year old is somehow deemed too old and won't further develop his game which IMO is absurd.

 

[Macky44]

I don't think you really understand how the draft works. there are two key facts at work here;

1. the vast majority of players in the draft are going to wash out quickly. there are only a handful of sure things in any given draft - at most; sometimes only one or two
2. you have to pick somebody, you cannot pass. sure you can trade your pick but there are still 30 picks in every draft and every one of them has to be used and every one of them has a guaranteed salary attached to it.

NBA GMs have no choice in the matter; they have to dole out those millions and most of them will be like throwing dollars into a bonfire.

now, since there are few sure things (indeed, the surest thing is that you are going to draft a bust far more often than a hit), and since the odds are that your money is going to be wasted anyway, it's a reasonable approach to put your bet on something with a high payoff at the other end if it does happen to hit. Why draft a senior who has already demonstrated that his top end is a replacement level journeyman when you can take a freshman who has the potential to blossom into so much more?

I think San Antonio dodges your theory and they seem to be top 3 in the league every year for a while now.

 

[reedny]

Rak took a beating last night...hhhhmmmmm. FSU ran three seven footers out there to play against him. All Rak did was score 14 points, grab 11 rebounds and block 5 shots. They were very physical with him the entire game, but he put up pretty good numbers.

And had 2 shots go half way down and swirl out.

 

[reedny]

It's a little silly to argue over Rak's potential as an NBA center since he projects as a PF. But it's even harder to understand how anyone could see him play and claim that he's not uber-athletic (2nd in ACC in blocks), that he doesn't have a legit. jumper/face-the-basket game (GT?), that he can't hit the clutch shot against pressure defense (L-T?) or that he can't score over taller players (-St.?).

And as for the "draft on potential" argument ... this is a guy who had no offensive game in HS to speak of, averaged less than 6 ppg through 3 years in college .. and just this year elevated himself into the top 3 scoring leaders in the ACC. Talk about potential, I think Rak's just beginning to discover his offensive capabilities by nearly tripling his point production in one year. And his shooting range isn't declining or flat-lining; it's expanding. That doesn't sound like a pick you'd be throwing money away on.