Alright, let's talk Champions Classic!
First off, some general thoughts:
-If these four teams, four of the top 5 teams in the country (by rankings) are representative of the NCAA as a whole, then I'm incredibly disappointed. The state of shooting in the NBA is literally at an all-time high. It seems EVERYONE that steps on the floor can shoot (obviously not everyone, but you get the point). That said, the shooting in these two games were disastrous. There was one player that seemed like every shot was going in, was Grayson Allen. Other than that? Awful.
-I remember going to these games back in 2013, and the talent level was through the roof. Wiggins and Parker were fantastic. Embiid didn't have a great game scoring, but you could see the talent, and the footwork for his size... my goodness. In the other game you had Gary Harris, Keith Appling, Julius Randle, Cauley-Stein. The talent level... you watched that game, and you could see the NBA guys immediately.
I... did not get that sense last night.
-Kansas' guards are not as good shooting the ball as you think they are. They look like it, but they should be so much better.
-Malik Newman is the kind of player that's good enough to get you fired.
-Bagley getting hurt sucked. Obviously.
-The college game is simply not designed to showcase their best talents. Not exactly a groundbreaking observation, but it was extremely evident last night.
-Fuck Duke for playing a 2-3 zone all night. What the fuck was that?
-OK, on to the prospects:
MARVIN BAGLEY
-The one thing that jumped off the page was just how fluid he was for his size. Watching him move around the court compared to the other bigs was shocking. It was like watching a totally different kind of athlete.
-The Duke guards literally have no clue how to use him or the other bigs. It was infuriating.
-He didn't make great contact on screens, but I don't know whether to chalk that up to Bagley or to the guards.
-I don't really have much else on him. He only played ten minutes.
JAREN JACKSON JR.
-Reminded me some of Tristan Thompson, mostly the way he moves and how he's built. He ended up being my favorite player of the night (key word there is player, not prospect).
-He may made three threes, and I'm still not sure how. I don't know how it looked on TV, but in person, his shot is a TRAINWRECK. He somehow almost has top spin on it, and I don't really know how that's possible.
-He moves around the court well for a big man, though he needs to put on weight. As well as he moved on the court, the difference between him and Bagley was night and day. Bagley is just on another level.
-I don't know that he has a great feel for the game on the offensive end. He made a couple of plays against the zone that resulted in turnovers or near turnovers because they were plays he knew he was supposed to make against a zone, but they weren't actually there. Is that making sense?
-If he were to come out this year, I could see a late lotto team taking a chance on him. And I could see him developing into a solid third big on a good team 4-5 years down the road. I do, however, think that may be his ceiling.
MILES BRIDGES
-Immediate thought: He looks a little chunky. Definitely had a spare tire going on.
-Despite shooting 5-10 from three, his shot needs work. His shot in a way reminded me of Tim Tebow throwing a football. I swear this makes sense.
-He's not going to be able to get that shot off against taller defenders, or players playing tight defense on him. He wasn't able to shoot off the bounce, and when he tried, he didn't do a great job of creating space.
-He was solid when he was the weakside attacker, and his first step was quick enough that I think against a standard defense, he'd be able to get all the way to the rim. Unfortunately, Duke was playing that fucking zone.
-Defensively, he was very solid. Moved his feet well. Was really good at recovering and blocking shots when he did get beat. He was very active on that end.
-He's not super explosive, and I came away disappointed that he's a top-10 pick (though maybe that zone had something to do with it).
GRAYSON ALLEN
-I think people have him pegged wrong. This kid isn't your classic come off screens, catch and shoot wing. He's not a Redick or a Korver.
-He doesn't have that quickness that those elite run and shoot guys do, nor does he have the know how when it comes to using screens.
-What he is is a good basketball player that's an amazing shooter. He knows the spots on the floor to float to, and he can create just enough space to get his shot off.
-My fear with him is that he doesn't have the speed or quickness to really play at the next level, and his release isn't the quickest. He's also not a big wing. I struggle to see how he fits on the next level.
-That said, he's definitely an NBA-level shooter, and that makes him incredibly dangerous in the college game.
TREVON DUVALL
-OK, let's get into this kid... I came away unimpressed.
-He's got good handles, he can break people down, he can get to the rim. He does those things really well. The problem I have with him is what comes next.
-It was like watching Cleveland Derrick Rose. He attacked when there was no reason to. He struggled to finish at the rim. He was not super explosive like Derrick Rose was.
-I was shocked at the end of the game to see he had 9 assists. I went back and watched the highlights. Counted only 2 assists that he created through his vision or break down of the defense. Otherwise, it was basically just tossing the ball to Grayson Allen as he made a shot.
-I want to give him credit for his anticipation on defense, but again, that zone. Hard to judge.
-His shot needs a ton of work. That, more than anything else, is what disappointed me the most about these games. The best players have fucked up shots. It's sad.
-My fear with him is he tricks people with his ability off the bounce, but he never actually turns into a real point guard. He is decidedly not that.
-Now, maybe he gets better at finishing as he gets older. That happens. And he's shown the ability to get to the rim. But he showed no vision, and there was no in-between game.
-In an ideal world, he's a late first round pick. In today's NBA, he can get up to the lotto.
KEVIN KNOX
-I was super underwhelmed through his first two games, but he was the most impressive prospect of the night.
-His shot looks good. He was able to create off the bounce. He is definitely a scorer though. Total tunnel vision.
-He's not super quick, but I wonder how he'd do in the NBA game that's more wide open. I think he's a small ball four.
-He has incredibly large feet. Looks like he's wearing clown shoes.
-He was beat defensively early, but he was fantastic in the second half. Moved well laterally, knew how to use his length against smaller players. Did a fantastic job on quicker ball-handlers.
-I like him a lot, but I think a team will have to account for the makeup of their team when deciding between him and Bridges.
That's all I have on the prospects. Couple of Kentucky thoughts:
-Watch out for Killeya-Jones. He could be a steal.
-Kentucky has no idea what they're doing... yet. But that talent and athleticism is through the roof.
-Kansas was playing without Preston and a couple of guys who will become eligible mid-season. However, I think if these two played again in February, the result would be very different.
-You could really see the difference between the two when Udoka was in the game for KU. He just manhandled all the Kentucky bigs. It was obvious those UK bigs were kids.
