sluggo said:
concernedparent said:
BeachedBear said:
concernedparent said:
Quote:
Ironically the player most likely to have a shot at the nba, Bradley, is staying.
The 6'3, relatively unathletic shooting guard has the best chance... Not the 7'3 center with good touch and a 3 point shot. Or the long, crafty 6'7 wing.
While I wouldn't say Bradley is a lock for the NBA, I'd say Vanover has the best chance, if he can add some good weight and athleticism and doesn't succumb to the career ending injuries that many of his stature suffer from. As for Sueing, he may have hit his ceiling - which is mid-level Pac 12, not NBA. His statistics and effectiveness may improve at Ohio State due to coaching and system. For him to be attractive to NBA scouts, he would need to drastically improve three areas, which seem hard for someone to improve at this point in their development. Those would be his defense, outside shot and mental game (all three of which Bradley is probably ahead of Sueing at this point in time). Bradley is likely to play four years and if he continues to improve over that time as most top 200 players do, I'd say his NBA prospects are better than Sueing - but still unlikely to be drafted.
Bradley's size and athletic limitations alone make him basically undraftable. I doubt Sueing will make it to the NBAhe's more likely to be a overseas regular, but it would not surprise me to see him make it either. He has enough tools to build upon. Let's not forget how much better Ty Wallace (another "toolsy" player) got between his sophomore and junior year.
Predicting NBA potential of Cal players is always fun. My thoughts:
1. Vanover has no chance at the NBA. Would be pick-and-rolled to death. 7 footers who can guard the post and shoot 3s like Brad Lohaus were interesting in the 90s but have no place in the modern game since traditional post play barely exists.
2. Sueing has the right size, pretty good athletic ability, and I think being left-handed is an advantage. But he needs to go a long way in terms of skills development, particularly his shooting and ball-handling. He is a definite maybe. I could see the Spurs develop him as they have many others.
3. Bradley is interesting. This is the era of the power guard like Marcus Smart and Patrick Beverley. Bradley is not as tall as one would like, but he can use his strength to guard multiple positions. He is a little like the bulked up Clippers version of Ty Wallace, but with a better shot though not as tall. However, I think he is a step or two too slow to make the NBA. I think his slowness is more important than his height.
Sluggo
I would remind you that both Vanover and Bradley are FRESHMEN. As such, most predictions for players like this, especially 7-footers, are not likely to be accurate. 7-footers usually take a long time to develop, usually 2-3 years in college, and often they don't develop enough until they have been in the NBA a year or two. Vanover, in my opinion is already ahead of the curve. He is not Anthony Davis ahead of the curve, but he is ahead of it nevertheless, and has proved he can learn some skills quickly.
Bradley has to learn he should not attempt every shot he wants to take when gets close to the basket. He is too stubborn. That is his personality, and is also shown in his propensity to foul. He needs to learn to control all this, and then needs to learn to be more creative with his shots near the basket. Learn some new ones. He needs to admit that he is only 6-4, and height means something when you get inside. One thing it means is that bigs have longer arms to go along with their height, and he needs to allow for that when he chooses his shots near the basket. He just can't always be the bull who ran over people in high school. He's pretty good now, but it will take a year or two more to be a really good D1 player.
As for Sueing, he just has too many limitations. He did not improve a lot from year one to year two, except in rebounding and a little on defense. I don't know if he was a better rebounder just because Okoroh and Lee were gone, and there was no one else to get the boards, or whether he was actually a better rebounder. He needs to rebuild his shot, the form, because it is a little unorthodox and not dependable or easily repeatable. It is a slow release. He needs to get stronger so he doesn't have to waste time cocking his wrists. And finally, he has no right hand. He can't or won't go to his right on the drive. It is easy for defenders to overplay him. A good defender will be able to shut him down. He doesn't shoot well from outside, and he learns to catch and shoot, not just dribble to create all his shots.
SFCityBear