11-15-2025, 04:20 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-15-2025, 04:29 PM by hakeemfaan.)
(11-15-2025, 04:08 PM)ThisIStheYear Wrote: I hope Cooper, the top American prospect since Davis, is better than Wiggins. Wiggins is the 4th best player on a championship team. Cooper needs to be a 2 at least.
Prospects come and go. In this day and age everyone is ready to crown someone as the next generational player based on a few clips. Dirk became generational based on his play. Curry became generational based on his play. Edit: I totally forgot about Giannis and Jokic. Other higher picks have not panned out.
When I saw Cooper's highlights from Duke, I didn't see an obvious 'generational' player. To me that tag implies someone can go get his. That was true even in past eras, let alone now when scoring is what the game is mostly about. Again it doesn't mean he can't become one based on his play like I said with Curry and with Dirk. However, what I did see offensively with Cooper is that he is a big guy with excellent handles and above average vision for his size. A player like that has a high floor in this league even if he might never reach the ceiling you hope for. I also saw that he has participated against his peers at every level be it against Harper at Rucker park or against Dybantsa, and never looked like he didn't belong on the same court as they did.
It's not Cooper's fault how people have hyped him or his burden to bear. Wiggins is a fine player. He was also a big part of when they stopped Luka from getting to his first Finals. What has held him back from being a perennial all-star is the lack of constant aggression. An aggressive version of Wiggins would be a terrific player indeed. Would it satisfy the hype that came with Cooper? No. However, again at least for me, that is not his burden to bear.