Who would you draft? Roy Hibbert, Hasheem Thabeet or DeAndre Jordan?

[fatboy11]

Bytch I've seen him play his entire college career. F*ck from out of my face.

Alright, Ice Cube.....

[steve]

Thabeet has "God-given" shot blocking ability.

So does Saer Sene.

[AtTheDriveIn]

So does Saer Sene.

And he's a phenomenal player, he just doesn't know it yet.


It all depends on your position in the draft as well when selecting one of these guys. Hibbert could go anywhere from 8-22, Jordan could go inside the top 5 to just before the lottery finished and Thabeet could go anywhere in the first round. I've seen mocks having Thabeet as #26 and then others having him at #6/7.

I'm a kind of guy who believes that a player could be made into a dominant foce through work ethic. From what I've been reading of Thabeet, last season he didn't have the work ethic because the game was all new to him, but this season, he's been doing 6am sessions every day to improve, he's been going to trainings, not questioning the coach and doing what's asked of him. His improvement from last season to this season has really shown in games. He looks more active on the offensive end and the defensive end will always be a big plus for him, even in the NBA. Plus, given his 7'3 260lbs body, He seems the most intriguing prospect out of the 3. I'd go with Thabeet based on what he has now, and what he can become in the future.

[kentatm]

I have seen DeAndre Jordan play quite a few games and while the kid has a ton of untapped talent he is way too raw to enter the draft. He can do pretty much everything but does not dominate at anything yet. His shot blocking is terrible for his size as he doesn't really know how to use his body yet. I doubt he will leave this year but if he does it will be a mistake.

I also think him as Kwame part 2 is completely misguided and wrong. He'll be a player for sure if he stays a year or two and develops.

[fatboy11]

So does Saer Sene.

.........and your little shot fails because Sene never proved his worth against good competition while Thabeet is the best defensive player in the college basketball.

[steve]

.........and your little shot fails because Sene never proved his worth against good competition while Thabeet is the best defensive player in the college basketball.

He may be the best shot blocker in college basketball, but he's far from the best defensive player. Don't confuse the two. Who ever drafts Thabeet is going to have a project on their hands that's going to take a few years to develop, at best. A good microcosm of how he'd play in the pros is his game against Georgetown (playing against a decent NBA center prospect). He had a good game as far as shot blocking goes, but useless every where else. By the way, how often do center projects work out in the NBA?

[kidachi]

Thabeet or Jordan. coin toss...

[fatboy11]

He may be the best shot blocker in college basketball, but he's far from the best defensive player. Don't confuse the two. Who ever drafts Thabeet is going to have a project on their hands that's going to take a few years to develop, at best. A good microcosm of how he'd play in the pros is his game against Georgetown (playing against a decent NBA center prospect). He had a good game as far as shot blocking goes, but useless every where else. By the way, how often do center projects work out in the NBA?

Who is the best defensive player in college basketball then?

Thabeet is the best pure shot blocker and the best defensive post presence in all of the college basketball. There isn't a perimeter player that can match his presence on defense, IMO. That makes him the best defensive player in college basketball. By your logic, Mutombo never should have won DPOY.

I can't answer your question about center prospects because I'm not keeping count nor will I do research on the matter. Quit being lazy and do it yourself.

[lowblok]

I'll take any 7ft SHOTBLOCKING centre that falls to the Jazz.

[new noise]

I'll take any 7ft SHOTBLOCKING centre that falls to the Jazz.

If Thabeet fell to the Raptors' range (17-22ish), I'd definitely take him, but there's absolutely no question he's a three or four year project.

Same goes for DeAndre, although I've heard some whispers that he's got a borderline attitude problem.

[Shepseskaf]

I do not (any longer) believe in drafting for potential so I'd select Roy Hibbert.

I second that. Hibbert will be a solid pro for a long time. Not sure that can be said about the other two with any certainty.

[Da KO King]

......By the way, how often do center projects work out in the NBA?

Somebody gets it.

Dwight Howard is the last "project" I can think of who actually panned out; and he wasn't a full on project like Thabeet or Jordan because he came to the NBA with the ready-made ability to rebound.

Thabeet (shot blocking) is closer to having a ready-made skill than Jordan but right now a good deal of Thabeet's shot blocking is his natural tools coupled with UConn's defensive philosophy.

[VCMVP1551]

Somebody gets it.

Dwight Howard is the last "project" I can think of who actually panned out; and he wasn't a full on project like Thabeet or Jordan because he came to the NBA with the ready-made ability to rebound.

Andrew Bynum seems to be developing and he was just a project. However not many players will get the chance to work with Kareem.

[GOBB]

Andrew Bynum seems to be developing and he was just a project. However not many players will get the chance to work with Kareem.

Lots of big men get and have the chance. Doesnt mean they will pan out. Bynum isnt the only player Kareem has ever worked with.

[fatboy11]

I don't view Thabeet as a full-on project, though. I guess that is where my opinion differs on him.

On the offensive side of the ball, he is a huge work in progress. On the defensive side, he'll change the game immediately, I think. Teams will find that they won't be able to score on him.

Will he be a huge force in year one, no. But few rookies, regardless of if they are a "project" or not, do. I don't think a players potential inability to not contribute greatly in year one should earn them the lable of "project".

And Roy Hibbert's upside is non-existent. I don't really think he's any better than Thabeet right now. So why not go with Thabeet? Hibbert hasn't improved since his sophomore year. He hasn't gotten any worse and he's still a decent college player, but he probably isn't going to get much better, if any better, than he is now, IMO.

Jordan has shown next to nothing, IMO.