By John McMullen
The Phanatic Magazine
The Philadelphia 76ers scheduled another pre-draft workout at their practice facility on June 6 with LSU's Glen "Big Baby" Davis highlighting the invitees. Derrick Byars of Vanderbilt, Colorado State's Jason Smith and Georgia Tech's Thaddeus Young will also be on hand.
Profiles: Courtesy of NBAdraft.net
Glen Davis - power forward - 6-foot-8, 280
NBA Comparison: Rodney Rogers
Strengths: A unique player because of his unreal body strength. Most basketball players are not built like tanks ... Charismatic personality, similar to Shaq ... Excellent feel for the game ... His physical strength is virtually unparalleled for a player his height ... Has the ability to physically overpower players, but also has the skills and finesse of a smaller player ... Has tremendous body control, very soft hands and surprisingly quick feet, which could be attributed to his days on the gridiron ... He sets up strong on the block and establishes position immediately and can seal off players with a simple use of his off arm. Opponents can’t get in front of him ... Excels at squaring up from 12 feet and taking bigger players off the dribble ... Really understands how to use his body to create shots against bigger and more athletic players ... Does a good job of passing when doubled, seeing teammates on the wing ... He’ll surprise you with some of the things he can do both as a post player but also in the open floor ... Davis will step out of the paint and knock dow perimeter shots, has range out to 18 feet ... His mechanics are solid and has good form and knows when to pull up ... A complete team player and is very coachable as well as being a leader in the locker room ... Strong personality. Very poised in interviews and has a good demeanor about him ... Could guard some centers on the next level due to his strength ... Has great touch around the basket, especially with contact ... Has worked hard on his body chiseling a lot of pounds from his 330 pound freshman physique ...
Weaknesses: As a shooter, he doesn’t elevate all that well on his jumper and is content with being a flat footed set shooter ... With his 300 plus pounds packed on a 6-8 frame, he is not tremendously fast in the open floor ... Lacks great length at 6-8 and medium wing span, this gets compounded some by his lack of leaping ability ... Does not get great lift when he jumps ... Conditioning and stamina could be improved ... If he lost 15-20 pounds it would help his mobility and lift some, but his game is catered to power ... He needs to explode upward for rebounds instead of relying on his huge frame to box out two players at a time ... He must improve on getting back on defense and improving his stamina so teams don’t have an advantage with Davis lagging in transition ... With his lack of explosiveness he's susceptible to having his shots blocked by weak side help ... Not a real shot blocker but a space eater inside ...
Projected draft slot: 53
Derrick Byars - Guard/forward - 6-foot-7, 225
NBA Comparison: Brandon Roy/Shane Battier
Strengths: Complete player with good lateral quickness and athleticism … Defensively Byars does a great job staying in front of his man … Fundamentally there are few guards in the draft that have his array of tools … Plays the game with a good level of moxie and toughness … Excellent ball handler who has played point guard several times during his collegiate career … Above average passer with solid court vision … Has legit three point range on his jumper that he can hit with regularity … Great finisher on the break where his body strength and athleticism allow him to finish with some flair … Adequate rebounder who does a good job of getting rebounds out of position … Has the ability work off screens for the quick jumper … Is an explosive scorer who has the mentality and skill to take control of a game … Possesses an NBA ready body that is strong enough to absorb contact and finish … Unselfish almost to a fault as he will often look to pass off to open teammates … Intelligent player with a good feel for the game … Will be viewed as one of the most complete prospects in the draft …
Weaknesses: Shot selection at times can be questionable … Would benefit his game if he utilized the mid-range shot more … Settles too much with shooting from the perimeter mostly from the three point shot … Needs to work on taking care of the ball better as he can get careless … Has a habit of getting out of control on his drives … Needs to move better without the ball has a tendency to stand around a little … Defensively Byars is solid but can reach a little too much on defense trying to get the quick steal … Doesn’t explode on his first step which could be the reason why he doesn’t always get full separation from his defender … Byars isn’t always consistent in games as he can go through periods where he is aggressive and dominates and then there are times he isn’t … Surprisingly despite his shooting touch he is a below average free throw shooter …
Projected draft slot: 16
Jason Smith - power forward - 7-foot, 240
NBA Comparison: Brian Cook
Strengths: 7-footer who shows solid mobility, able to run the court with no problems … Active player who constantly works the blocks to get open … Has developed into an above average rebounder … Underrated post passer who does a good job of recognizing double teams and reacting to them … Fundamentally sound player with few bad habits … Does a good job of keeping the ball high and not putting it on the floor after receiving the ball … For his size Smith is an adequate ball handler … Once Smith gets position in the post he makes his body wide giving his guards a bigger target … Great post footwork, and moves with good fluidity … Offensively he has range out to 18 feet when facing the basket … Excels at taking advantage of size mismatches … Back to the basket skills are still developing but have improved greatly … Owns a nice turnaround jumper in the post … Mobility allows him to be a sufficient help defender … Shows good touch around the basket where he is a solid finisher … Better athlete than he's given credit for as he is more than capable of getting off the floor quickly … Does a great job of creating contact and getting to the free throw line …
Weaknesses: Back to the basket moves have greatly improved but are still very much a work in progress … Needs to continue to add more upper body strength … Struggles to establish position against physical defenders as he can easily get pushed off the blocks … Rebounding has improved greatly this year but he needs to focus on boxing out better … Doesn’t always finish strong after absorbing contact … Above average shot blocker in college but likely will not be as fortunate in the NBA … Will need to upgrade his foot speed while adding weight, which could be a challenge … Athletic opponents tend to frustrate him defensively on the perimeter … Needs to take care of the ball better when making offesnive moves … Doesn’t shy away from contact but certainly does not seek it out … Lacks the killer instinct to consistently dominate games …
Projected draft slot: 15
Thaddeus Young - small forward - 6-foot-8, 217
NBA Comparison: Paul Pierce
Strengths: Elite level athlete ... Extremely fluid and explosive ... Blessed with incredible gifts ... Prototypical small forward ... Has the advantage of being left handed, making him tougher to defend ... Has great length for a wing player ... Strong competitor ... Outside shooting and shot off the dribble have shown solid improvement ... Foot speed and length make him a terrific pressure defender ... Triggers the press defense well with his speed and quickness ... Great attitude, hard worker. Excels in the classroom with a 4.0 GPA ... His potential is incredible, but he still needs to gain confidence in his abilities and body strength ...
Weaknesses: Still a bit inconsistent shooting the ball from outside, but showing vast improvement ... Skills are still raw ... Ball handling can be sloppy at times ... Needs to add a great deal of weight, right now he can get pushed around inside. Another 20 pounds of muscle will make him a lot stronger on the glass and finishing in traffic ...
Projected draft slot: 13
The Phanatic Magazine
The Philadelphia 76ers scheduled another pre-draft workout at their practice facility on June 6 with LSU's Glen "Big Baby" Davis highlighting the invitees. Derrick Byars of Vanderbilt, Colorado State's Jason Smith and Georgia Tech's Thaddeus Young will also be on hand.
Profiles: Courtesy of NBAdraft.net
Glen Davis - power forward - 6-foot-8, 280
NBA Comparison: Rodney Rogers
Strengths: A unique player because of his unreal body strength. Most basketball players are not built like tanks ... Charismatic personality, similar to Shaq ... Excellent feel for the game ... His physical strength is virtually unparalleled for a player his height ... Has the ability to physically overpower players, but also has the skills and finesse of a smaller player ... Has tremendous body control, very soft hands and surprisingly quick feet, which could be attributed to his days on the gridiron ... He sets up strong on the block and establishes position immediately and can seal off players with a simple use of his off arm. Opponents can’t get in front of him ... Excels at squaring up from 12 feet and taking bigger players off the dribble ... Really understands how to use his body to create shots against bigger and more athletic players ... Does a good job of passing when doubled, seeing teammates on the wing ... He’ll surprise you with some of the things he can do both as a post player but also in the open floor ... Davis will step out of the paint and knock dow perimeter shots, has range out to 18 feet ... His mechanics are solid and has good form and knows when to pull up ... A complete team player and is very coachable as well as being a leader in the locker room ... Strong personality. Very poised in interviews and has a good demeanor about him ... Could guard some centers on the next level due to his strength ... Has great touch around the basket, especially with contact ... Has worked hard on his body chiseling a lot of pounds from his 330 pound freshman physique ...
Weaknesses: As a shooter, he doesn’t elevate all that well on his jumper and is content with being a flat footed set shooter ... With his 300 plus pounds packed on a 6-8 frame, he is not tremendously fast in the open floor ... Lacks great length at 6-8 and medium wing span, this gets compounded some by his lack of leaping ability ... Does not get great lift when he jumps ... Conditioning and stamina could be improved ... If he lost 15-20 pounds it would help his mobility and lift some, but his game is catered to power ... He needs to explode upward for rebounds instead of relying on his huge frame to box out two players at a time ... He must improve on getting back on defense and improving his stamina so teams don’t have an advantage with Davis lagging in transition ... With his lack of explosiveness he's susceptible to having his shots blocked by weak side help ... Not a real shot blocker but a space eater inside ...
Projected draft slot: 53
Derrick Byars - Guard/forward - 6-foot-7, 225
NBA Comparison: Brandon Roy/Shane Battier
Strengths: Complete player with good lateral quickness and athleticism … Defensively Byars does a great job staying in front of his man … Fundamentally there are few guards in the draft that have his array of tools … Plays the game with a good level of moxie and toughness … Excellent ball handler who has played point guard several times during his collegiate career … Above average passer with solid court vision … Has legit three point range on his jumper that he can hit with regularity … Great finisher on the break where his body strength and athleticism allow him to finish with some flair … Adequate rebounder who does a good job of getting rebounds out of position … Has the ability work off screens for the quick jumper … Is an explosive scorer who has the mentality and skill to take control of a game … Possesses an NBA ready body that is strong enough to absorb contact and finish … Unselfish almost to a fault as he will often look to pass off to open teammates … Intelligent player with a good feel for the game … Will be viewed as one of the most complete prospects in the draft …
Weaknesses: Shot selection at times can be questionable … Would benefit his game if he utilized the mid-range shot more … Settles too much with shooting from the perimeter mostly from the three point shot … Needs to work on taking care of the ball better as he can get careless … Has a habit of getting out of control on his drives … Needs to move better without the ball has a tendency to stand around a little … Defensively Byars is solid but can reach a little too much on defense trying to get the quick steal … Doesn’t explode on his first step which could be the reason why he doesn’t always get full separation from his defender … Byars isn’t always consistent in games as he can go through periods where he is aggressive and dominates and then there are times he isn’t … Surprisingly despite his shooting touch he is a below average free throw shooter …
Projected draft slot: 16
Jason Smith - power forward - 7-foot, 240
NBA Comparison: Brian Cook
Strengths: 7-footer who shows solid mobility, able to run the court with no problems … Active player who constantly works the blocks to get open … Has developed into an above average rebounder … Underrated post passer who does a good job of recognizing double teams and reacting to them … Fundamentally sound player with few bad habits … Does a good job of keeping the ball high and not putting it on the floor after receiving the ball … For his size Smith is an adequate ball handler … Once Smith gets position in the post he makes his body wide giving his guards a bigger target … Great post footwork, and moves with good fluidity … Offensively he has range out to 18 feet when facing the basket … Excels at taking advantage of size mismatches … Back to the basket skills are still developing but have improved greatly … Owns a nice turnaround jumper in the post … Mobility allows him to be a sufficient help defender … Shows good touch around the basket where he is a solid finisher … Better athlete than he's given credit for as he is more than capable of getting off the floor quickly … Does a great job of creating contact and getting to the free throw line …
Weaknesses: Back to the basket moves have greatly improved but are still very much a work in progress … Needs to continue to add more upper body strength … Struggles to establish position against physical defenders as he can easily get pushed off the blocks … Rebounding has improved greatly this year but he needs to focus on boxing out better … Doesn’t always finish strong after absorbing contact … Above average shot blocker in college but likely will not be as fortunate in the NBA … Will need to upgrade his foot speed while adding weight, which could be a challenge … Athletic opponents tend to frustrate him defensively on the perimeter … Needs to take care of the ball better when making offesnive moves … Doesn’t shy away from contact but certainly does not seek it out … Lacks the killer instinct to consistently dominate games …
Projected draft slot: 15
Thaddeus Young - small forward - 6-foot-8, 217
NBA Comparison: Paul Pierce
Strengths: Elite level athlete ... Extremely fluid and explosive ... Blessed with incredible gifts ... Prototypical small forward ... Has the advantage of being left handed, making him tougher to defend ... Has great length for a wing player ... Strong competitor ... Outside shooting and shot off the dribble have shown solid improvement ... Foot speed and length make him a terrific pressure defender ... Triggers the press defense well with his speed and quickness ... Great attitude, hard worker. Excels in the classroom with a 4.0 GPA ... His potential is incredible, but he still needs to gain confidence in his abilities and body strength ...
Weaknesses: Still a bit inconsistent shooting the ball from outside, but showing vast improvement ... Skills are still raw ... Ball handling can be sloppy at times ... Needs to add a great deal of weight, right now he can get pushed around inside. Another 20 pounds of muscle will make him a lot stronger on the glass and finishing in traffic ...
Projected draft slot: 13
No comments:
Post a Comment