06-12-2022, 10:25 AM
(06-12-2022, 05:56 AM)SleepingHero Wrote: We routinely see players with terrible physical attributes exceed on the scale of success. We see talking heads say Luka wouldn't be able to get by any one in the league or stay in front of any one. And sure they were right that his first step isn't necessarily the quickest, yet he still drops 30 points every night with ease. Desmond Bane in 2020 had the shortest arms of any guard in the draft and was probably a big reason why he fell to 30... and we both know how that turned out. We see short guys like Barea, Mugsy, and Boykins somehow find a way to survive.
All of this to say to me that physical stats shouldn't be the opening discussion on why a player should be knocked down a peg. Kessler performed and put up big game after big game for Auburn. That should count for something. Kessler also has something that I think is becoming rarer and rarer and that is elite positional awareness. He stops people by knowing what they're doing and being in the right spot vs. overwhelming them with athleticism.
Further in that DraftExpress breakdown video you posted we see Kessler scoring on 73% of his rim attempts in the halfcourt, and finishing 94%(!!!!) of his attempts as the roller in the PnR.
If you made it this far in my ramblings, I am concerned about his lateral foot speed. He got beat a lot when the defender made east-west moves to get by him. A good amount of the time in college Kessler managed to recover and make a play. The question is can he do that in the NBA when the athletes are literally in another league?
Should he fall to 26, I would look REAL hard at him. He's not my first choice (going to post my own list of fav prospects soon), but he's not the worst one either.
I´m with you on measurements, but at the same time you cannot overrate a college sample size of 30 games either.
I just want a baller. Love basketball, work hard, have a feel for the ball and game. That´s what I would be looking for.
I honestly run a trick shot competition with players to test their feel for the basketball. Put them in uncomfortable positions to test their creativity and feel. I´d put small obstacles in front of the rim and on separate places on the backboard and tell them to score it. Challenge their learned patterns and see who has truly mastered their body control and has gifted hands/touch to problem solve.
I can tell you Luka would thrive on this, while Ntilikina and Green would fail miserably, cause they have zero feel and body control in unknown circumstances. I´d take a guy that shoots 12 percent from three, but can make a high arching lay-up over a chair blocking the best lay-up angle over a guy that has drilled wide open threes into his repertoire.