Big Board #8
As the widget to the left of your screen gets longer and longer, I get more and more excited for draft day. I went to the Syracuse/Rutgers game last night and came away again impressed with Wesley Johnson because of how remarkably consistent he is. He's similar to Iguodala in how much he blends in with the game, not forcing too much or making flashy plays, but seemingly always the right one. He had a decent 11 and 10 last night with 2 assists, 2 steals and a block. But he was always in on the action and made good decisions with the ball. If Thad or Andre is not here next year, Wes Johnson anywhere from 2-4 would be OK by me.
Anyway, let's get back to the voting. We had our first international player take a spot with Donatas raking in 22 votes (good for over a quarter of the vote), but second place was again close. I'm adding Patrick Patterson to the voting here, and if you don't know about him, he's the most consistent player on John Wall's Kentucky Wildcats. He's listed at either 6'8 or 6'9 depending on where you're reading it, but I'd lean more towards the former. His game is similar to Elton Brand's was about 6 years ago. He can step out and hit the 10 footer, but he's predominantly a low block player, averaging 16.6 points on only 11 shots at a 63% clip (!!!). He can also hit the occasional three, shooting 42% from beyond this season. Despite the emergence of rebound-swiping freshmen Demarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton, Pat takes in 8.1 per game. He's also judicious with his turnovers, averaging less than 1 in 32 minutes of play.
Screw it -- I'm adding Demarcus too. Devin Ebanks hasn't gotten enough love yet to merit staying on the list, so the freshman Cousins is hopping on. He's getting 15-9 in less than 20 minutes per game. It's unconscious how efficient John Calipari is making his freshman big man. While his post game is less than refined, he's so money on the boards, it's hard to ignore him. 6'11, 260 and somewhere between a big power forward and a slightly below average center. His athleticism has led nbadraft.net to comp him with Andray Blatche, but I'd say Cousins is thicker and tougher down low.
OK, I've written too much. Vote or die liberty ballers, liberty ballers vote or die.
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i like cousins as a project… seems to me he relies on overpowering defenders too much (which will not work in the nba)…. if he can develop some post-moves and consistency within his offensive game he could be dangerous
by Tanner Steidel on Jan 14, 2010 11:43 AM PST reply actions
ps if you need a draft type fix the mls draft in on espn2 right now hahahaha
by Tanner Steidel on Jan 14, 2010 11:53 AM PST reply actions
Hey, I’ll be doing this until we get a full 60. Then once guys start pulling out, we’ll have a few last minute additions. Internationally, it’ll be tough to judge. I think the next guy to come on the list will be Avery Bradley despite my feeling that he’s not coming out this year. I’d rather include guys then take them out when they pull out rather than having to toss them in between at the last minute.
by Michael Levin on Jan 14, 2010 2:57 PM PST up reply actions
yea we have a second rounder – can’t really say who is/who is not returning to school after this season quite yet
by Tanner Steidel on Jan 14, 2010 5:09 PM PST up reply actions
hang on to those… you never know when they might come in handy
by Tanner Steidel on Jan 14, 2010 5:15 PM PST up reply actions
Agreed. If Derrick Caracter is still playing college ball, so can you Jordan.
by Michael Levin on Jan 14, 2010 11:16 PM PST up reply actions
Yes, I’m pretty positive he’ll decide to stay. He’s like the 9th man on an average Minnesota team so I don’t think he’d want to go out without proving himself a little bit. That being said, he’s crazy talented and could turn in a Demar Derozan-like year in ‘10-’11 as a sophomore. He needs plenty of time to develop.
by Michael Levin on Jan 14, 2010 11:18 PM PST up reply actions
The thing with Cousins is that you really don’t know what he can bring to the table because Calipari has had him on such a short leash. If he hangs around UK for another season without Wall or Patterson, we’d really be able to see what he can bring to the table offensively. I’d probably slot him after Aldrich, about the same as Davis, and ahead of Patterson. His production in only 20 minutes per game is, frankly, jaw-dropping.
by Michael Levin on Jan 14, 2010 2:55 PM PST up reply actions
Cousins supposedly has issues of behavior but ccousins is also 18 years old…yes i listened to the BS report because he was talking to chad ford and chad ford made an excellent point (after I got over the shock that someone allows him to teach college kids that is) that these are 18 year old kids…those of you who are closer to 18 than me, harken bak to when you were 18 and 19 – please tell me you were a perfect human being with no flaws who didn’t make mistakes…I don’t know what the issues are with cousins, but 18 year olds in general have not fully matured…period.
I’m just saying – behavior problems can be over stated if people forget to factor in that they are 18 years old.
I have to watch aldrich more – saw him draw a nice foul last night – it was shocking
by jemagee on Jan 14, 2010 1:44 PM PST reply actions
I had an interview earlier today, but made ’em wait because an unseen episode of SpongeBob was playing in the lobby.
Yeah well I always knew you were mature beyond your years
by jemagee on Jan 14, 2010 7:56 PM PST up reply actions
i still can’t believe aldrich is so high up on our board. he’s a senior and i don’t think he has that high of a ceiling.

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