The NBA draft is about potential and hype. If UK win #9, the hype will be there and DJ will ride off into the NBA.
Thon's mix tape was nothing but dunks and wide open jumpers.
Thon's mix tape was nothing but dunks and wide open jumpers.
Thon Maker
- Thread starter bssparks
- Start date
Davis and Noel were amazing at shot blocking, maybe two of the best in a long time and size (bulk) did not bother them. I don't really know if Maker is that kind of a defensive player. As it stands, Skal and Lee are obviously very thin and unless Dakari comes back we have no big guys. I would love to have all these guys I just want some bulk to go with them! Maybe Poythress could play some PF if he comes back next year, that would help.
Noel and Davis did get pushed around.
That doesn't mean they will be a bad player. They have different ways to overcome that. That same will be the case for Thon Maker.
However, if Thon Maker gained weight and resembled Demarcus Cousin more than Davis. ROFLMAO, that would be unfair. That's like Shaq on our team with other top 5 talents around him with great coach.
That doesn't mean they will be a bad player. They have different ways to overcome that. That same will be the case for Thon Maker.
However, if Thon Maker gained weight and resembled Demarcus Cousin more than Davis. ROFLMAO, that would be unfair. That's like Shaq on our team with other top 5 talents around him with great coach.
Newman isn't coming off the bench for any team, including a loaded UK. Those saying Maker doesn't need another year in high school and will come in and be awesome and not get pushed around obviously haven't seen him play in person.
Maker is phenomenal. One of the most unique players in history. He's 7'0-7'1 and play likes a SF and that's what makes him so highly thought of. But it's also why he will have some trouble making the transition to college. If you saw Towns in high school then you'd know he had a little SF in his game also. But his post game is also better than Maker's. Add the fact that Towns is quite a bit stronger and still gets pushed around and you see the potential for problems.
If I had a choice between getting one of Karl, Dakari or WCS back or getting Maker then I'd take one of our guys. Maker will be a really good player for his college year. But I just don't know how well he would fit in on the team next year as it looks to be. Our frontline will already have Skal and Lee which are thin and long players, and a good chance at Zimmerman who is long and thin. That's 2-3 guy who are all the same body type. Maker would likely be the thinnest of those guys. We really need Dakari to come back and I think there's a good chance at that at this point.
IMO Maker will put up numbers similar to Nerlens but without the blocks. Something like 9 points 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. If he was to be on the 2013 or maybe the 2017 team then I'd say he puts up closer to 15 and 10 a game.
Many in this thread are going by the few YouTube videos of Maker and are expecting some freak of a basketball player who will do things unseen next year. But they are factoring in his size, skill set, style of play and the players he would have around him here.
And I didn't say he would be like Alex. I said he could have the problem Alex has regarding his size and skill set. I saw Akex in person in high school. Alex averaged around 23-30ppg and 12-18rpg his senior year and was dominant. But I knew when I saw him he might have a problem in college. I saw him as a cross between Terrence and Darius. He could shoot outside and almost always stayed around the perimeter but yet had the body of somebody who should be down low. He had practiced and geared his skill set towards being a perimeter player and while they were good, they weren't great enough to be effective in major college ball consistently. Maker has the body of a PF or C who just needs 20-30 pounds but he's geared his skill set towards being a SF or even a SG. There's times where he wants to bring the ball up and try to initiate the offense or play like a SG.
Alex actually has ideal size for a college PF at 6'8 and 240. He's really no different than Randle. But he's still a classic tweener because of how he plays. Maker will also be a tweener in college as well. You can think I'm crazy all you want but you'll see whether it's next year or the year after. Once Maker gets to the NBA he will do much better because he will be allowed to play SF/PF and it won't be as much of a problem.
Maker is phenomenal. One of the most unique players in history. He's 7'0-7'1 and play likes a SF and that's what makes him so highly thought of. But it's also why he will have some trouble making the transition to college. If you saw Towns in high school then you'd know he had a little SF in his game also. But his post game is also better than Maker's. Add the fact that Towns is quite a bit stronger and still gets pushed around and you see the potential for problems.
If I had a choice between getting one of Karl, Dakari or WCS back or getting Maker then I'd take one of our guys. Maker will be a really good player for his college year. But I just don't know how well he would fit in on the team next year as it looks to be. Our frontline will already have Skal and Lee which are thin and long players, and a good chance at Zimmerman who is long and thin. That's 2-3 guy who are all the same body type. Maker would likely be the thinnest of those guys. We really need Dakari to come back and I think there's a good chance at that at this point.
IMO Maker will put up numbers similar to Nerlens but without the blocks. Something like 9 points 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. If he was to be on the 2013 or maybe the 2017 team then I'd say he puts up closer to 15 and 10 a game.
Many in this thread are going by the few YouTube videos of Maker and are expecting some freak of a basketball player who will do things unseen next year. But they are factoring in his size, skill set, style of play and the players he would have around him here.
And I didn't say he would be like Alex. I said he could have the problem Alex has regarding his size and skill set. I saw Akex in person in high school. Alex averaged around 23-30ppg and 12-18rpg his senior year and was dominant. But I knew when I saw him he might have a problem in college. I saw him as a cross between Terrence and Darius. He could shoot outside and almost always stayed around the perimeter but yet had the body of somebody who should be down low. He had practiced and geared his skill set towards being a perimeter player and while they were good, they weren't great enough to be effective in major college ball consistently. Maker has the body of a PF or C who just needs 20-30 pounds but he's geared his skill set towards being a SF or even a SG. There's times where he wants to bring the ball up and try to initiate the offense or play like a SG.
Alex actually has ideal size for a college PF at 6'8 and 240. He's really no different than Randle. But he's still a classic tweener because of how he plays. Maker will also be a tweener in college as well. You can think I'm crazy all you want but you'll see whether it's next year or the year after. Once Maker gets to the NBA he will do much better because he will be allowed to play SF/PF and it won't be as much of a problem.
It drives me crazy why Alex can't master the skill of dribbling. The most basic fundamental in the game of basketball. I had hoped he would spend all summer working on his handle. But he still can't dribble more than twice in a game without traveling....
Alex's struggle in college is not by his choice.
You saw what happened in Bahamas. He flourished when he played the 4. Unfortunately for alex, the last two years we are way to crowded in the 4 and 5. Randle, WCS, Dakari, and Lee, which meant little to no space. Coach Cal would have played Alex at the 4, had he recruited a natural 3. Which never really happened.
Alex's struggle in college is because Coach Cal recruits so well at the 4 and the 5. Nothing more... He would be flourishing had he played 4 last year, and 4 this year. That's impossible when you have 4 McDonald All american, and it's even more impossible when two of them are lottery picks at that position in NBA.
Which forced Alex to become more perimeter oriented player, not by his choosing. Also the fact that Alex needs to become 3 requires him to be out of his comfort zone.
Now, how does this tie into your Maker issues? The guy is 7' to 7'1" tall. By default he has major post size. He has the skill of a 3. Cal does amazing job of reeling in this skilled players to play more interior (Davis, KAT, Cousin). You don't really need them to have polished post games. You can score many ways when you are 7' tall playing against smaller guys.
Will he struggle at times? Of course he will. Will he be like Davis? of course not. No one is expecting Davis like performance. That's practically impossible. Will he be successful in college? of course. By sheer size and athleticism alone would he put up good number. Also, his weight is listed at 210 lbs. Davis was actually around 207 lbs and Nerlens was around 214 lbs? I think Maker is taller, so he's obviously skinnier and that 210 is probably inaccurate and probably closer to 200. he still has time to fill up his frame to 210 before first collegiate game.
He'll be fine. We want him.
You saw what happened in Bahamas. He flourished when he played the 4. Unfortunately for alex, the last two years we are way to crowded in the 4 and 5. Randle, WCS, Dakari, and Lee, which meant little to no space. Coach Cal would have played Alex at the 4, had he recruited a natural 3. Which never really happened.
Alex's struggle in college is because Coach Cal recruits so well at the 4 and the 5. Nothing more... He would be flourishing had he played 4 last year, and 4 this year. That's impossible when you have 4 McDonald All american, and it's even more impossible when two of them are lottery picks at that position in NBA.
Which forced Alex to become more perimeter oriented player, not by his choosing. Also the fact that Alex needs to become 3 requires him to be out of his comfort zone.
Now, how does this tie into your Maker issues? The guy is 7' to 7'1" tall. By default he has major post size. He has the skill of a 3. Cal does amazing job of reeling in this skilled players to play more interior (Davis, KAT, Cousin). You don't really need them to have polished post games. You can score many ways when you are 7' tall playing against smaller guys.
Will he struggle at times? Of course he will. Will he be like Davis? of course not. No one is expecting Davis like performance. That's practically impossible. Will he be successful in college? of course. By sheer size and athleticism alone would he put up good number. Also, his weight is listed at 210 lbs. Davis was actually around 207 lbs and Nerlens was around 214 lbs? I think Maker is taller, so he's obviously skinnier and that 210 is probably inaccurate and probably closer to 200. he still has time to fill up his frame to 210 before first collegiate game.
He'll be fine. We want him.
I'm not sure if you were being sarcastic, but you should feel better. The NCAA could have prevented Noel from playing, and they didn't. There was as much smoke with Noel as anyone, including Skal.
I don't see them punishing a Haitian earthquake victim and imminent CBS halftime sob segment because a guardian was asking around about benefits, especially if no benefits were actually received.
This post was edited on 1/12 7:47 PM by Son_Of_Saul
I am not blasting you, but just cause a player isn't A.D. doesn't mean we shouldn't sign him. Anthony Davis is probably the best player to ever play at UK. I would take a player that is just a little behind A.D.
They could "discover" something with Noel if we're going to extend the paranoia to a consistent degree.
I don't have a deep degree of faith in the NCAA at all, Jason, and ultimately you might be correct in your concerns regarding Skal.
I'm just saying the NCAA is in a difficult place right now, and penalizing an earthquake victim, especially one as apparently kind and naïve as Skal, for his guardian asking around (his grades are solid), would be unprecedented, even for the NCAA.
I have little faith in the NCAA, but the days of their enforcement officers running amuck might be dwindling to a standstill with all the negative notoriety they've received the last few years.
I think this is right. Skal Labissiere's background is going to spare him from any whimsical decisions of the NCAA. Unless there's something incredibly blatant (an agent in the background would be the worst thing), the NCAA would look like a horse's ass if they bar a kid from one of the poorest countries in the world, who survived a truly horrible natural disaster, and is a solid student, from playing college basketball.
This post was edited on 1/13 7:07 AM by mj2k10
Many had previously said that Maker was a heavy Duke lean, especially after Okafor gets POY and goes #1 in the draft.
I'd love to get Maker but he probably isn't a guy who would carry a team to a title in his only year in college.
I agree with the previous poster who predicted 9 or 10 points and 7 or 8 rebounds a game as a freshman.
I'd love to get Maker but he probably isn't a guy who would carry a team to a title in his only year in college.
I agree with the previous poster who predicted 9 or 10 points and 7 or 8 rebounds a game as a freshman.
Yep, AD types are few. While I agree that he would be more ready to compete in college, if he would wait until the 2016 class, I am not convinced that would be in his best interest. He is going to be a very good player, for whoever he plays for, and whether he is ready or not, he will be drafted, probably in the top 5-6 at the end of that year. If he can do this, why play another year in HS and give up a year of making lots of money. Let's face it, players only have a few years to earn what they are going to earn, and staying is HS another year takes away one of those years.Originally posted by tapemaster8:
I am not blasting you, but just cause a player isn't A.D. doesn't mean we shouldn't sign him. Anthony Davis is probably the best player to ever play at UK. I would take a player that is just a little behind A.D.
Zatoven - what's another year in HS going to get Thon? Again, he's a top 10 pick right now, probably top 5 and will likely end up top 3. He's not getting any stronger in high school, getting him in a collegiate weight program will help tremendously - remember how bad some of our top guys were coming in vs. this year?
No one is arguing he doesn't need to get stronger, but that's the last thing any College or NBA scout/coach worries about since that's the easiest problem to solve.
No one is arguing he doesn't need to get stronger, but that's the last thing any College or NBA scout/coach worries about since that's the easiest problem to solve.
As soon as I can go back four years and have lots of free time it would be there for the taking . It was stated by a handful before and shortly after BBM , why in the world would I make that up ? It happened and the unbelievable part is you think that sentiment is not possible on this board . Why would you think I can produce posts that many years ago ?
I watched Maker twice last weekend. He has height, but has very little inside presence. His very thin frame is easily pushed around. He may have grabbed 4 rebounds in 1 game and 5 in another. He prefers to shoot outside. Wouldn't mix it up in the paint. I believe he is overrated as a 4 or 5 prospect.
Heres what i think happens next year. Even listed next years height/weight.
A team
PG- Ulis 5-10 170 SO
SG- Newman 6-4 199 FR
SF- Booker 6-6 214 SO
PF- Poythress 6-8 243 SR
C- Skal 6-11 223 FR
B team
PG- Briscoe 6-4 212 FR
SG- Hawkins 6-1 195 JR or Matthews 6-6 204 FR
SF- Willis 6-9 220 JR or Matthews 6-6 204 FR
PF- Lee 6-9 220 JR
C- Zimmerman 7-0 247 FR
A team
PG- Ulis 5-10 170 SO
SG- Newman 6-4 199 FR
SF- Booker 6-6 214 SO
PF- Poythress 6-8 243 SR
C- Skal 6-11 223 FR
B team
PG- Briscoe 6-4 212 FR
SG- Hawkins 6-1 195 JR or Matthews 6-6 204 FR
SF- Willis 6-9 220 JR or Matthews 6-6 204 FR
PF- Lee 6-9 220 JR
C- Zimmerman 7-0 247 FR
