I've watched a decent amount of college b-ball, but for some reason his name flew under my radar. How nice is he? Certain sites say he's an unbelievable prospect (certain NY press say they'd rather have him than Carmelo at this point). Is he Jabari Parker level, or a notch or 2 below?

Trying to gauge if he will be around for the Knicks at 8, and if not why

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From what I've seen he's got a smooth and polished offensive game for his age. Maybe not an exceptionally explosive athlete or great outside shooter, but pretty good in both categories and has the footwork, jabs, fakes, etc. to get his shot and to get to the basket and to the line. I think he's Parker level.

I'm hearing he MIGHT be there at 8, but that's depending on who you believe

Some cats have him falling at 8, with Josh Jackson and Dennis Smith going ahead of him, along with the french kid. Some other cats have him going at 3, although that wouldn't make sense for Philly, who already has a do-it-all SF

Really, once you get to teams like Phoenix and Sacramento, who just want "the best talent available," it'd be surprising every time someone passes.

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Pros:

- The best isolation offense player in the draft, period. Has an insane number of offensive moves for a kid with his size. Smooth handles, strong footwork, terrific finish. Put a big defender on him, and he's too crafty and quick for most defenders to deal. Put a smaller defender on him, and he can back most smaller defenders down and finish with a terrific turnaround J. He ranked in the 99% percentile in efficiency on post possessions in college ball last season.

- Prototypical size for a SF, but with some added weight/muscle, he's a strong enough rebounder, shot-blocker, and finisher inside to maybe play some small-ball PF.

- People will point at his 34% outside shot last year as a negative, and he started the year ROUGH... but he shot 52% from 3 over the last two months of the season, and his 85% free throw stroke is pure. Kid can shoot from just about anywhere, and I expect him to only get better.

- Strong potential as a defender. Fills the stat sheets with steals and blocks, can defend any forwards and can hold his own on switches against guards for the most part. Was easily Duke's best perimeter defender this season and consistently made big plays on both sides of the ball.

Cons:

- While he showed good potential as a playmaker-- his passing is surprisingly crisp-- his critics will be quick to point out that he loves loves loves isolation offense and he had a tendency last year, especially at the start of the season, to choose difficult contested shots over the "smart play." This got better as the season went on... but the guy openly admires Kobe, and it's fair to wonder whether you'll get the bad with the good when a player so talented on offense emulates Kobe's one-on-one ball-stopping style.

- He was as strong an offensive talent as there was in college ball last year, but he was a superior athlete to most anyone he'd face. He has a good first step, but he's not the most explosive or athletic prospect in the draft. Strong length and size, good positional speed, but he won't outjump or outburst some NBA wings.

- Related to the previous post, his handles need to continue to improve-- he's got strong handles for college, and he has good wiggle, but he'll have to keep developing to put work in on the stronger and more athletic wing defenders.

- His defense tended to get worse the farther inside he was forced to play-- he tends to get a little more upright than one would like when facing a post-up or when coming to help on a driving player. This is common for most players this young, and I expect him to improve, but I wouldn't be surprised by some initial defensive struggles as he adjusts to the game.

Overall:

Someone who can crush in iso on offense and who absolutely has the tools-- more tools than Jabari showed in college-- to make the extra pass, to harass passing lanes, and to be a strong well-rounded player on both ends. I think a reasonable median expectation is a healthy Jabari with higher two-way potential.

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but like you said I think he was better at this stage or at least showed better.

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I've seen him play a little, but not enough to make a determination. But if he's that nice, he's not falling past 6, even though a lot of people are putting Josh Jackson, the french kid and Malik Monk ahead of him

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He is pretty smooth and has range. Didn't really stick out to me on defense. Obviously you never know how a guy will handle the big jump in competition, which IMHO is bigger now than in the past with fewer/lower quality upper classmen at the college level.

I dunno if he will be there for the Knicks at 8. Seems like a 5/6 projection.

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Shoots a lot, from the few times I've seen him play. I don't see an All-Star, but a quality NBA starter.

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