Jabari Parker will emerge as the best ... according to Mike Wilbon

Parker just has so many offensive elements to his game. Can run the break in transistion, cam shoot, point guard like playmaking. I too believe he will emerge as the best of the class. He just has an aura to him

Wilbon is a homer

[QUOTE=Goliath Uterus]Yea, there would be huge doubt actually. it's a small minority who thinks Parker should go first, not the other way around. NBA drafts on potential, and not only does Wiggins have far more potential than Parker,[B] he has played just as well (or better, depending on who you ask) in the few meaningless games that have been played thus far[/B].[/QUOTE]

What have you been watching?

I mean, just as a fan of the game of basketball Jabari Parker is like a man possessed right now.

You could say Wiggins may one day be better (which I've been saying since day one is flat out wrong), but to say Wiggins has played just as well is COMPLETELY off. Parker has outclassed him very badly so far.

Parker is playing like an NBA veteran with his polish, skills, and leadership.

[QUOTE=BIZARRO]What have you been watching?

I mean, just as a fan of the game of basketball Jabari Parker is like a man possessed right now.

You could say Wiggins may one day be better (which I've been saying since day one is flat out wrong), but to say Wiggins has played just as well is COMPLETELY off. Parker has outclassed him very badly so far.

Parker is playing like an NBA veteran with his polish, skills, and leadership.[/QUOTE]

Wiggins fans always tell us that Parker is not athletic enough.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/YpsNVnd.jpg[/IMG]

Tonight, he botched an alley-oop by maybe an inch and was absolutely sky high. Can't find video of that failed play.

[QUOTE=BIZARRO]What have you been watching?

I mean, just as a fan of the game of basketball Jabari Parker is like a man possessed right now.

You could say Wiggins may one day be better (which I've been saying since day one is flat out wrong), but to say Wiggins has played just as well is COMPLETELY off. Parker has outclassed him very badly so far.

Parker is playing like an NBA veteran with his polish, skills, and leadership.[/QUOTE]

Trouble with this quote is there was no stopping Wiggins when the game was on the line, and no sight of Parker when the game was on the line.

If you want guys who are gonna be stars they have to be there when the game is on the line and win it for their team, that is what Wiggins did and that is where Parker shrunk.

Parker looked the best player of all college hoops in the 1st half when he was stroking, no doubt about that, but only one guy was there in the clutch and only one team won.

Your statement is ludicrous when the last five minutes (of a tie game no less) are in discussion.

Don't forget Wiggins reclassified himself to be in this "class" he could still be in high school if he wanted too. Wiggins easily has the higher potential. He is raw right now. I believe his offensive skill set will come. Lets give him some time before we say Parker is/will be better just b/c he scoring more points, making more highlight moves, etc. right now.

[QUOTE=Project018]Don't forget Wiggins reclassified himself to be in this "class" he could still be in high school if he wanted too. Wiggins easily has the higher potential. He is raw right now. I believe his offensive skill set will come. Lets give him some time before we say Parker is/will be better just b/c he scoring more points, making more highlight moves, etc. right now.[/QUOTE]

People reclassify all the time tho. It is basically just a way that kids hedge their bets on getting into a top D1 program. Hold you kid back a grade so he can potentially be a year older during his senior year in HS and play at a higher level...if he is good enough as a junior you reclassify and head off to college.

Wiggins is actually a month older than Parker.

[QUOTE=Jailblazers7]People reclassify all the time tho. It is basically just a way that kids hedge their bets on getting into a top D1 program. Hold you kid back a grade so he can potentially be a year older during his senior year in HS and play at a higher level...if he is good enough as a junior you reclassify and head off to college.

Wiggins is actually a month older than Parker.[/QUOTE]


There was a really interesting brief video podcast about the re-classification on Grantland with Jalen Rose.

Regardless of what anyone is watching, projecting, or analyzing. Jabari Parker is as impressive as any freshman since Durant.

2:35 on this vid... :bowdown:

[url]http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24250486/video-just-see-how-awesome-jabari-parker-is-right-here[/url]

[QUOTE=BIZARRO]Regardless of what anyone is watching, projecting, or analyzing. Jabari Parker is as impressive as any freshman since Durant.

2:35 on this vid... :bowdown:

[url]http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24250486/video-just-see-how-awesome-jabari-parker-is-right-here[/url][/QUOTE]

He is a great talent and imo the best player right now. But, Wiggins has some tools that you just can't teach. That first step is all-time elite level. Skill is great but being able to beat defenders like in a 6"8 body/great wingspan is freakish. I'll have to see more but right now Wiggins just looks like a freak. He will eventually add some skill imo...he has a good base.

[QUOTE=BIZARRO]What have you been watching?

I mean, just as a fan of the game of basketball Jabari Parker is like a man possessed right now.

You could say Wiggins may one day be better (which I've been saying since day one is flat out wrong), but to say Wiggins has played just as well is COMPLETELY off. Parker has outclassed him very badly so far.

Parker is playing like an NBA veteran with his polish, skills, and leadership.[/QUOTE]


I'm not really sure what "a man possessed means" but Jabari has played very well, but hasn't outclassed Wiggins by any means. They played, and Wiggins outplayed him when they were both on the court (especially when Wiggins guarded Parker) and Wiggins took over and made huge plays when the game was on the line.


Parker is more poised, more aggressive, has a better skill set at this point, and is a more vocal leader, but Wiggins is a world class athlete who's already really good at moving off ball, can finish around the rim just as well as anyone, and due to his ridiculous length and athleticism - is a dominant defender.


Like I said, it's arguable, but Wiggins is gonna improve more than Parker over the course of this year, and he's already outplayed them every time they've matched up. Duke also relies on Parker far more for scoring than KU does Wiggins and yet he only averages 5 more points.

[QUOTE=IGOTGAME]He is a great talent and imo the best player right now. But, Wiggins has some tools that you just can't teach. That first step is all-time elite level. Skill is great but being able to beat defenders like in a 6"8 body/great wingspan is freakish. I'll have to see more but right now Wiggins just looks like a freak. He will eventually add some skill imo...he has a good base.[/QUOTE]

Jabari Parker has a 7 foot wingspan and so does Wiggins. But like Steven A. Smith said (love him or hate him but he knows his basketball), Jabari Parker is bigger, stronger and has more range and much better handles than Wiggins. Parker handles the ball like a guard. You can't teach that. And you can't teach his range and deft shooting touch. Steven A. said he loves Parker's "floor presence" - plays like he owns the place! And called him a very good athlete. PARKER HAS IT ALL. Steven A. called Wiggins a "project" that might never pan out. He is really worried about Wiggins' lack of handles, range and the fact that he is so small physically (thin). He believes the fact that he lacks size and strength will could him in the NBA game.

Steven A. views Parker as the #1 pick.

...

[QUOTE=TheTruth11]Jabari Parker has a 7 foot wingspan and so does Wiggins. But like Steven A. Smith said (love him or hate him but he knows his basketball), Jabari Parker is bigger, stronger and has more range and much better handles than Wiggins. Parker handles the ball like a guard. You can't teach that. And you can't teach his range and deft shooting touch. Steven A. called Wiggins a "project" that might never pan out. He is really worried about Wiggins' lack of handles, range and the fact that he is so small physically (thin). He believes the fact that he lacks size and strength will could him in the NBA game.

Steven A. views Parker as the #1 pick.[/QUOTE]


actually, ball handling and shooting aren't hard to improve on at all. it's stuff like Wiggins first step, his lighting quick spin move, or his absurd vertical that you can't teach. Wiggins is already improving his shot, and is already a bit bigger than he was the beginning of the year. his ball handling also isn't bad at all, I'm not sure why people keep saying that.

When watching Wiggins and Parker, it's hard not keep looking at both sides of the coin.

1. Wiggins is passive to a fault especially compared to Parker. However, he is playing well within Bill Self's offense. While he should be a little more aggressive, he also makes absolutely zero mistakes. His passes are crisp and always the right one. It's hard at times to draw the line as to when he is hesitant to drive due to not having supreme handles as of yet, and when he's trying to do exactly what Self wants right now.

2. Parker looked a lot more productive if you watched both of their games last night. However, Parker and Hood are the entire offense for Duke except maybe a game here and there throughout the season. Parker also has no real competition for boards other than Hood who isn't a big man and Jefferson (who isn't great). If Parker played alongside Ellis, Embid, Selden and even Tharpe/Mason, would he be averaging 22 ppg? I say No. Would he be grabbing 10 rpg? That's a more definite no. That doesn't mean he wouldn't still look to control the game, but opportunities become fewer and farther between. Let's just make this plain and simple, Kansas' team is considerably better than Duke's imo. The eye test says Parker is much more aggressive, but if you're looking at the stats to defend that point, you may be looking in the wrong place. Parker went 8-18 last night including a couple easy put-backs that he missed and a missed alley-oop. Wiggins went 4-9, which included one three point air ball and one bobbled alley-oop attempt. Being more aggressive doesn't necessarily mean being more productive when efficiency is taken into account. That being said, and even after Wiggins outshone Parker in the second half of their head to head matchup, I would still feel more confident with Parker late in a game because his more refined offense and super thick skin is beneficial especially if he misses a couple shots. He can shoot himself out of a game perhaps, but Coack K can't really complain much this season considering, as I said, Duke's offense is horrid outside of Parker and Hood. So as I'm giving Wiggins a slight pass for being a bit passive in Self's offense, Parker deserves a bit of a pass for potential bad shooting % this season.

3. Just a fact. If Parker played this way at Kansas, he would be benched by Self early on a bit. With the talent they have, going ape shit and potentially missing a few shots in a row is met with more scorn at Kansas (and there will be times when Parker hogs the ball and misses shots this year, but again, at Duke it has to be more accepted). Wiggins would be forced to shoot more at Duke. That to me would be the most interesting situation...Wiggins on a team such as Duke. How would he look if he had to carry the load a lot more.

4. I just want to add that Wiggins shooting form is quite good. He needs to let the ball roll off his fingers a little better to get the arc, but his arm form is good. I would place myself on the side that believes he will become a fine shooter in the NBA (even his air ball was on line...just over shot it). His dribble isn't all world, but with his quickness, it isn't THAT bad. He is hesitant to drive on guys who are a few inches shorter than him, but that is understandable. He needs to drive more to garner a stronger opinion of his dribble at this level. Again, how much is him not trusting himself vs. playing within the system? I don't know. He looked good on that one quick drive and dish to Ellis. Quick points: He is an underrated passer and a good defender who has the potential to be great. He lets guys go by him sometimes knowing that he can recover and I think that's due to him being afraid to pick up fouls, but you can see it in his steals last night and overall he is good to great on defense. Better than Parker for sure.

5. Parker doesn't need much help on offense. Maybe finish around the basket a little stronger and be a little more patient at times. Defense? It's hard to judge where he will be at in the NBA. He is guarding the post mainly in college due to the size of Duke. I said before he needs to lose maybe 10-15 lbs to guard small forwards in the NBA, but I'm not sure about his intensity or smarts on the perimeter because he doesn't guard out there as much as Wiggins.

Parker has been balling this year. Best college player since Beasley :bowdown:

[QUOTE=KingBeasley08]Parker has been balling this year. Best college player since Beasley :bowdown:[/QUOTE]


care to say how's beasley now ? i do hope parker doesnt end up like him :)

[QUOTE=veilside23]care to say how's beasley now ? i do hope parker doesnt end up like him :)[/QUOTE]
Touche :lol

[QUOTE=TheTruth11]Jabari Parker has a 7 foot wingspan and so does Wiggins. But like Steven A. Smith said (love him or hate him but he knows his basketball), Jabari Parker is bigger, stronger and has more range and much better handles than Wiggins. Parker handles the ball like a guard. You can't teach that. And you can't teach his range and deft shooting touch. Steven A. said he loves Parker's "floor presence" - plays like he owns the place! And called him a very good athlete. PARKER HAS IT ALL. Steven A. called Wiggins a "project" that might never pan out. He is really worried about Wiggins' lack of handles, range and the fact that he is so small physically (thin). He believes the fact that he lacks size and strength will could him in the NBA game.

Steven A. views Parker as the #1 pick.

...[/QUOTE]

You can't teach handles or range?

What exactly does one do to develop a player than?

Wiggins a project? LOL Wiggins could start for any team in the NBA right now.

Small? That is a good thing, he can always add size, these fools used to say LeBron was too big.

Bottom line, it is great for the talking heads that there is this conversation, so expect to hear it all year, but also, expect Wiggins to go first, despite what the build you up, tear you down and build you up machine at ESPN does.

I believe I heard this from Steve Kerr, who was relating a story he got from Grant Hill, about how good Parker is.

Hill apparently was playing pickup at Duke in the off season with a bunch of current and former Dukies, and said Parker was absolutely spectacular. Absolutely no question he was among the best players on the floor including a few current pros.

And the thing he said that set him apart was just how big he is. He's a legit 6-9, with length, and he says really impressively strong. That was the biggest thing. He could totally hold up in the post against anyone there.

And I think that's one of the biggest reasons Parker's value seems to be jumping. Yeah he's playing great, but I don't think he's playing so great that anyone is shocked. It's the fact that's he's playing center. His rebounding numbers are super. And his blocked shot numbers are great. And in the current NBA, I think the big question surrounding Parker coming into the season was position. He had a little tweener on him. Was he quick enough to defend at the SF spot. Was he big enough to hold up as a PF and could he rebound and defend for you up on that frontcourt. I think more than anything he's establishing that he can play PF in today's NBA. Carmello is playing a ton of PF. Guys like Jeff Green are playing PF. I think more teams are getting higher on him because they can now fully envision him as a stretch four breaking down bigger guys off the bounce and pulling defenders away from the rim. And they don't see him as being a liability in the other elements most stretch PFs bring to the table there if he can translate the rebounding at shot blocking in particular. And he can still play SF in a lot of situations.

Tweeners are weird. It's a fine line between being a mismatch at both positions, and being overmatched at both positions. So they're often total boom or bust prospects.

[QUOTE=Thorpesaurous]There was a really interesting brief video podcast about the re-classification on Grantland with Jalen Rose.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I remember watching that sometime in the summer and it kind of brought the topic to my attention more. The incentive is easily understood and it is probably a good decision for many families but it is still a little hard to swallow. Sports have just became such an important part of social mobility for many poor families.

I hear what you are saying about Parker in the post above. I think he has shown he will probably be able to play the 4 pretty consistently in the NBA while mixing some time in at the 3. Before the season, I had envisioned him playing more 3 than 4 in the NBA but I definitely see it the other way around after seeing him at Duke so far.

[QUOTE=Thorpesaurous]I believe I heard this from Steve Kerr, who was relating a story he got from Grant Hill, about how good Parker is.

Hill apparently was playing pickup at Duke in the off season with a bunch of current and former Dukies, and said Parker was absolutely spectacular. Absolutely no question he was among the best players on the floor including a few current pros.

And the thing he said that set him apart was just how big he is. He's a legit 6-9, with length, and he says really impressively strong. That was the biggest thing. He could totally hold up in the post against anyone there.

And I think that's one of the biggest reasons Parker's value seems to be jumping. Yeah he's playing great, but I don't think he's playing so great that anyone is shocked. It's the fact that's he's playing center. His rebounding numbers are super. And his blocked shot numbers are great. And in the current NBA, I think the big question surrounding Parker coming into the season was position. He had a little tweener on him. Was he quick enough to defend at the SF spot. Was he big enough to hold up as a PF and could he rebound and defend for you up on that frontcourt. I think more than anything he's establishing that he can play PF in today's NBA. Carmello is playing a ton of PF. Guys like Jeff Green are playing PF. I think more teams are getting higher on him because they can now fully envision him as a stretch four breaking down bigger guys off the bounce and pulling defenders away from the rim. And they don't see him as being a liability in the other elements most stretch PFs bring to the table there if he can translate the rebounding at shot blocking in particular. And he can still play SF in a lot of situations.

[B]Tweeners are weird. It's a fine line between being a mismatch at both positions, and being overmatched at both positions. So they're often total boom or bust prospects.[/B][/QUOTE]
Good post. I agree and think that Jabari is just gonna be a mismatch at either spot. I feel like he is good at playing angles and that will also allow him to guard 3s.

[QUOTE=Goliath Uterus]actually, ball handling and shooting aren't hard to improve on at all. [/QUOTE]

BULLSHlT

yea you can "improve" ball handling, but if you dont have[B] it [/B]by now you aint never gonna get [B]it [/B]. and by [B]"it"[/B] i mean "[B]IT"[/B] .. that factor parker has is "[B]IT".[/B]

wiggins looks like corey brewer out there while parker looks like melo/pierce hybrid . its not even close and i dont see how wiggins was this hyped with his limited skillset.

[QUOTE=Dizzle-2k7]BULLSHlT

yea you can "improve" ball handling, but if you dont have[B] it [/B]by now you aint never gonna get [B]it [/B]. and by [B]"it"[/B] i mean "[B]IT"[/B] .. that factor parker has is "[B]IT".[/B]

wiggins looks like corey brewer out there while parker looks like melo/pierce hybrid . its not even close and i dont see how wiggins was this hyped with his limited skillset.[/QUOTE]

This,

Wiggins has been playing basketball for his whole life. He is not some African kid who started basketball 3 years ago.

[QUOTE=Dizzle-2k7]BULLSHlT

yea you can "improve" ball handling, but if you dont have[B] it [/B]by now you aint never gonna get [B]it [/B]. and by [B]"it"[/B] i mean "[B]IT"[/B] .. that factor parker has is "[B]IT".[/B]

wiggins looks like corey brewer out there while parker looks like melo/pierce hybrid . its not even close and i dont see how wiggins was this hyped with his limited skillset.[/QUOTE]
Look at TMac.

[QUOTE=IGOTGAME]Look at TMac.[/QUOTE]

TMac's handles was way more advanced than Wiggins at the same age. Besides TMac is the exception, not the norm.

[QUOTE=noob cake]TMac's handles was way more advanced than Wiggins at the same age. Besides TMac is the exception, not the norm.[/QUOTE]
And athletically they are both exceptions to pretty much everything.

[QUOTE=IGOTGAME]Look at TMac.[/QUOTE]

TMAC always had handles and a natural feel for the game.. bad comparison..

[QUOTE=unbreakable]TMAC always had handles and a natural feel for the game.. bad comparison..[/QUOTE]Rookie TMac wasn't that different from how Wiggins look now.

[QUOTE=IGOTGAME]Rookie TMac wasn't that different from how Wiggins look now.[/QUOTE]

again i disagree. tmacs always had a crossover, stutter, and touch. wiggins handles the rock like george hill lmao

[QUOTE=unbreakable]again i disagree. tmacs always had a crossover, stutter, and touch. wiggins handles the rock like george hill lmao[/QUOTE]

lol Hill has passable handles for a PG. Wiggins is at best average for a NBA SF. If he could handle as well as a PG, we wouldn't have this discussion.

Totally agree, the Wiggins love has been absurd since day one.

If you just watch them on the court Parker and Randle are men, and Wiggins is an unskilled boy who can jump high.

I love all these blind Wiggins fans who go by everything they were told about him rather than by watching him play. Went to the McDonald's All-American game and took one look at him and thought WHAT? THIS is the guy they're raving about? Didn't add up.

And then to make it worse, all this potential talk as if he just started playing. You are who you are out there. Once in a while you'll get a T-Mac who really improves, but for every T-Mac there's a ton of Ronnie Fields and people like that.

Parker and Randle are sure fire can't miss prospects. Parker is transcendent.
Wiggins is a fabrication that for whatever reason people bought into before they saw him consistently play.

In fact, I think he is one of the most inaccurately scouted players ever before he hit college. Anyone who put him above Parker should lose their jobs.
I mean, I took one look at them and was like Parker is incredible and Wiggins has zero aura whatsoever.

I hope Wiggins turns into something, but this whole thing is so stupid to me and makes no sense how he got so hyped.

[quote=BIZARRO]Totally agree, the Wiggins love has been absurd since day one.

If you just watch them on the court Parker and Randle are men, and Wiggins is an unskilled boy who can jump high.

I love all these blind Wiggins fans who go by everything they were told about him rather than by watching him play. Went to the McDonald's All-American game and took one look at him and thought WHAT? THIS is the guy they're raving about? Didn't add up.

And then to make it worse, all this potential talk as if he just started playing. You are who you are out there. Once in a while you'll get a T-Mac who really improves, but for every T-Mac there's a ton of Ronnie Fields and people like that.

Parker and Randle are sure fire can't miss prospects. Parker is transcendent.
Wiggins is a fabrication that for whatever reason people bought into before they saw him consistently play.

In fact, I think he is one of the most inaccurately scouted players ever before he hit college. Anyone who put him above Parker should lose their jobs.
I mean, I took one look at them and was like Parker is incredible and Wiggins has zero aura whatsoever.

I hope Wiggins turns into something, but this whole thing is so stupid to me and makes no sense how he got so hyped.[/quote]
Agree on most of this except for Randle. He moves well with the ball but he's undersized, is an average athlete and is not a presence on the defensive end. He'll get stuck between the 4 and the 3 and you really can't build your team around that.

Here's a great article from a day ago on Jabari Parker. I think it's spot on and a good read:

[url]http://deadspin.com/college-basketball-cant-handle-jabari-parker-1468283449?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+deadspin%2Ffull+(Deadspin[/url])

It's just the way he affects the game as much as anything as well. You just have to watch him to KNOW he's better than everybody else. No wonder the guy won all 4 state titles in high school.

The Wiggins criticism has been taken to a bit of an extreme. Anyone remember the criticism of Paul George coming out of college? Couldn't dribble/create for himself and looked a little disinterested at times. The guy has never develop a tight handle because he hasn't needed to. His first step has been good enough to dominate his whole HS career and he isn't given a ton a responsibility at Kansas. Give him 24/7 access to coaches and trainers in the NBA and he will fill out and develop his skills.

Not sure how anyone could say Randle and Parker are sure fire prospects but trash Wiggins for being overhyped. Randle has a lot of work to do in order to be a starting 4 in the NBA. Still really raw and relies to heavily on natural strength and his strong hand. Parker looks great and I think he will be a mismatch problem but, as Thorpe said, there is a fine line between boom and bust when it comes to a tweener.

[QUOTE=Jailblazers7]The Wiggins criticism has been taken to a bit of an extreme. Anyone remember the criticism of Paul George coming out of college? Couldn't dribble/create for himself and looked a little disinterested at times. The guy has never develop a tight handle because he hasn't needed to. His first step has been good enough to dominate his whole HS career and he isn't given a ton a responsibility at Kansas. Give him 24/7 access to coaches and trainers in the NBA and he will fill out and develop his skills.

Not sure how anyone could say Randle and Parker are sure fire prospects but trash Wiggins for being overhyped. Randle has a lot of work to do in order to be a starting 4 in the NBA. Still really raw and relies to heavily on natural strength and his strong hand. Parker looks great and I think he will be a mismatch problem but, as Thorpe said, there is a fine line between boom and bust when it comes to a tweener.[/QUOTE]

The Wiggins bashing is en vogue right now, people seem to conveniently forget who took over the game when they went head to head and who won, and which player dominated the last five minutes while shutting down the other.

looks like some of the NBA forum trolls have migrated over here.


[QUOTE=Dizzle-2k7]BULLSHlT

yea you can "improve" ball handling, but if you dont have[B] it [/B]by now you aint never gonna get [B]it [/B]. and by [B]"it"[/B] i mean "[B]IT"[/B] .. that factor parker has is "[B]IT".[/B][/QUOTE]


what? you can definitely improve on ballhandling, tons of players have done [I][B]it[/B][/I]. I remember Russ Westbrook having some pretty damn loose handles at UCLA, KU's current PG Naadir Tharpe had trouble bringing the ball up against scrub mid major teams his freshman year. once his handle tightens up just a bit, and he gains more confidence facing double teams, he'll be able to create space much better than Parker (just like he did in HS).



and despite his appartently god awful handles, he's had like 3 TO's in 4 games, and every time he actually tries to take his man on the dribble, he easily blows by and either scores or gets fouled. so I'm not really sure where you get the idea he has poor handles.

[QUOTE=Dizzle-2k7]wiggins looks like corey brewer out there[/QUOTE]


[IMG]http://a.espncdn.com/media/motion/2013/1028/dm_131028_COM_CBB_Feature_Mag_Andrew_Wiggins_Feature_ODV20131028/dm_131028_COM_CBB_Feature_Mag_Andrew_Wiggins_Feature_ODV20131028.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/visual/whatshot/WIGGINSSTEPBACK_1.gif[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/38833a4cf978635380eeee473ed8e0ad8b1071ab/c=194-148-2224-2854&r=537&c=0-0-534-712/local/-/media/USATODAY/test/2013/11/15//1384535679000-USATSI-7550326.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://ballislife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/wiggins.jpg[/IMG]

I'm with Blazers here. At this point I have some, not a whole hell of a lot, and I still think the top five of this draft is a spectacular place to be, but I do have a few reservations about all three of these guys.

Wiggins, definitely has a few skill set issues that need to be worked on, and we've seen guys for whom all the work in the world just aren't great shooters. And more importantly are probably the reserved peronality, which is something I don't have a ton of issue with, unless it does affect his role on a team. The reason the Wiggins bashing has gotten so out of hand at this point is because someone threw out the "Best Prospect since Lebron" line, which hinted at an absolute sure thing. He could at this point realistically fall anywhere from Tracy McGrady to Andre Iguadala. There's a lot of room for variance.

Parker I already touched on. I think his biggest questions coming in where position, and true elite athleticism. He's come closest to answering those questions surrounding him. But they're still there. Especially because I think he's still probably mostly viewed as a not elitely athletic 3 instead of a really athletic if a bit undersized 4. The athleticism has flashed, but hasn't been anywhere near as twitchy explosive as Wiggins. But that IT factor, is definitely there.

Randle has been consistently statistically dominant, but I have been a little underwhelmed by his athleticism, and reliance on his left hand. From what I saw in HS, I was expecting a more dynamic athlete changing ends, something closer to Chris Webber, but he is coming off as more of a bruiser.

It's interesting that those Chicago games touted the Wiggins / Parker matchup, of two guys I think everyone expected to be playing SF. But after the fact, I'da been more intrigued I think to have seen Parker play Randle, because I'd be really interested to see how Parker could hold up. That would've answered a lot more questoins to me.

And I'd take Marcus Smart now at four absolutely no questions asked. Exum is gonna have to show something to jump ahead of Smart at this point in my eyes. Exum and Embiid at this point I'd be looking at 5 and 6 depending mostly on need, with Exum probably a bit ahead if all things are equal.

[quote]
Parker I already touched on. I think his biggest questions coming in where position, and true elite athleticism. He's come closest to answering those questions surrounding him. But they're still there. Especially because I think he's still probably mostly viewed as a not elitely athletic 3 instead of a really athletic if a bit undersized 4. The athleticism has flashed, but hasn't been anywhere near as twitchy explosive as Wiggins. But that IT factor, is definitely there. [/quote]
Guys as "twitchy" as Wiggins don't come around too often, and it's obvious that Jabari doesn't get off the floor like Wiggins, but he has much better footwork and moves really well with the ball. There's no way he'll end up playing the 4 unless he gets stuck in a run and gun offense. It might be working for Duke right now, but they'll get killed in March if he's the only guy down low.

So far he's looking like one of the most well rounded freshmen I've ever seen. You could put him on the Kings right now and he'd have them competing for the playoffs.

[quote]
Randle has been consistently statistically dominant, but I have been a little underwhelmed by his athleticism, and reliance on his left hand. From what I saw in HS, I was expecting a more dynamic athlete changing ends, something closer to Chris Webber, but he is coming off as more of a bruiser.
[/quote]

I'm not sold on Randle either. He's been bullying his way to the basket and doesn't have the length to play with his back to the basket. Worst part is, he has no impact on the defensive end.

[quote]
And I'd take Marcus Smart now at four absolutely no questions asked. Exum is gonna have to show something to jump ahead of Smart at this point in my eyes. Exum and Embiid at this point I'd be looking at 5 and 6 depending mostly on need, with Exum probably a bit ahead if all things are equal. [/quote]
I like Smart but I wouldn't even hesitate to take Embiid. If things go well, and he improves over the next few months, I could see Embiid going second ahead of Wiggins.

Wow this dude is off the charts good. holy smokes