Thaddeus Young - 6-foot-7, 210-pound small forward - Georgia Tech
Billy King on Young: "All along we were going to take the best player on the board and that was Thaddeus Young for his upside. We looked at some guys for the now but we felt that looking for the now and the future that Thaddeus was the right pick."
NBA Comparison: Paul Pierce
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 ...
Jason Smith - 7-foot, 240-pound power forward - Colorado State
Billy King on Smith: "The next big guy on the board was Jason Smith and that's why we made the maneuver with Miami to get Jason Smith, giving them a future second-round pick and cash to get the big guy that we wanted. We didn't want to take that chance that they would take him."
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 …
Derrick Byars - 6-foot-7, 225-pound shooting guard/small forward - Vanderbilt
Billy King on Byars: "We were looking at trying to get a strong athletic guy or a big guy and we felt that Derrick Byers was the right fit."
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 …
Herbert Hill - 6-foot-10, 240-pound power forward - Providence
Billy King on Hill: "I just loved his athletic ability, rebounding, and toughness. I think he can really shoot the ball."
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 ...
Jason Smith - 7-foot, 240-pound power forward - Colorado State
Billy King on Smith: "The next big guy on the board was Jason Smith and that's why we made the maneuver with Miami to get Jason Smith, giving them a future second-round pick and cash to get the big guy that we wanted. We didn't want to take that chance that they would take him."
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 …
Derrick Byars - 6-foot-7, 225-pound shooting guard/small forward - Vanderbilt
Billy King on Byars: "We were looking at trying to get a strong athletic guy or a big guy and we felt that Derrick Byers was the right fit."
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 …
Herbert Hill - 6-foot-10, 240-pound power forward - Providence
Billy King on Hill: "I just loved his athletic ability, rebounding, and toughness. I think he can really shoot the ball."
NBA Comparison: John Salley
Strengths: Shows good mobility, running the court with ease … Has worked hard to improve his touch around the basket … Possesses great hands, capable of catching most passes without fumbling or losing control of the ball … Solid rebounder who uses his long arms and hands to tip balls out of position to himself … Solid finisher where he wastes little time, keeps the ball high and goes right up … For his size he shows above average lateral movement … This enables him to make an impact as a very good help defender on the weak side of the court … Offensively Hill has a very good jump hook that he converts from a multitude of angles … What makes this even more impressive is that Hill will adjust his release on his shot depending on his defender's position … Surprisingly an excellent post passer possessing the court vision to hit cutters or pass to the open shooter … Shows quality shot blocking ability due to his long arms and top notch timing … Does a good job of absorbing contact in the lane and finishing the play for free throw opportunities … Plays solid post defense with good intensity and constantly works to keep himself between his man and the basket … Has shown signs of an emerging face-up game as Hill now hits shots from 12 feet out … Approaches the game with a blue collar attitude, with no problem doing the dirty work … Work ethic has been applauded by many throughout his 5 years in college … Late bloomer who displays good potential despite being a 5th year senior …
Weaknesses: Offensively Hill has developed quality moves but must continue to build on his limited variety of back to basket moves … Must continue to expand his shooting range consistency from 12-14 feet out … Post footwork must be refined as Hill can go through periods of ineffectiveness … Upper body strength isn’t terrible, but will need to be upgraded for the NBA … To his credit he has the perfect body type to add weight without sacrificing much quickness … This lack of strength can work against him when he faces physical forwards limiting his ability to get good position in the post … Can be stunted by double teams as he doesn’t always read the defense quick enough to react … Below average free throw shooter … Has a habit of playing his man too aggressive leading to foul trouble … Has struggled with confidence issues in the past but has really blossomed this year …
Weaknesses: Offensively Hill has developed quality moves but must continue to build on his limited variety of back to basket moves … Must continue to expand his shooting range consistency from 12-14 feet out … Post footwork must be refined as Hill can go through periods of ineffectiveness … Upper body strength isn’t terrible, but will need to be upgraded for the NBA … To his credit he has the perfect body type to add weight without sacrificing much quickness … This lack of strength can work against him when he faces physical forwards limiting his ability to get good position in the post … Can be stunted by double teams as he doesn’t always read the defense quick enough to react … Below average free throw shooter … Has a habit of playing his man too aggressive leading to foul trouble … Has struggled with confidence issues in the past but has really blossomed this year …
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