Posterize's Pro Prospects

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[B]Ahmad Nivins, PF, St. Joseph's University[/B]

Nivins is a very big body with a wide frame who takes up a lot of space in the paint. He's listed at 6'9” 242 lbs but that needs a bit of an update. He's grown taller and I'd say he's up around 255 lbs by now, just a large man with a Dwight Howard type body. Has a very NBA-ready body. He left SJU as one of the top players in history, ranking 1st in FG%, 3rd in scoring, and 6th in rebounding. He had a senior season in which he was the A-10 player of the year ahead of other draft candidates Derrick Brown, Dionte Christmas, BJ Raymond, and Aaron Jackson. Anybody looking to point to how he was in the A-10 and that helped his stats can look to his competition vs. tournament teams; 14 pts/13 rbs/2 blks/1 stl @ Dexter Pittman and Texas, 16 pts/8 rebs/2 blks @ Villanova, 12 pts/13 rebs/1 stl/1 blk @ Dayton, 21 pts/6 rebs/1 blk vs. Temple, 17 pts/16 rebs/1 stl @ Temple, 21 pts/14 rebs/5 stls @ Temple, and 24 pts/8 rebs/1 blk vs. Xavier. (yes, they played Temple 3 times) Being a 4-year player has helped Ahmad grow into an NBA prospect as he wasn't assumed to be before. Very humble kid.

Nivins has a great skill set for a big man. He's worked extremely hard on his post moves and now has a great jump hook which is impossible to block because of the big body mass he has. Has great footwork in back to the basket situations. In fact, I can't think of a big in the draft with better post footwork. Hook shots over both his left and right shoulder, short turnaround jumpers from 10 feet in, and excellent drop step power moves are all a part of his game. He's got great touch from 15 feet and his jumpshot rarely misses. Could be a good pick n' pop player. He's very smart with his choice of shots and rarely takes a forced shot or bonehead shot. You can see that in his high FG% which has never dipped below 61%. The only problem is he doesn't shoot it enough which I'll get to later.

Ahmad has a chance to be a good rebounder at the NBA level. He's very strong and his body is so huge and takes up so much space. He's got very long arms and broad shoulders and he's a tough box out. If he was an NBA starter he would be a 9+ rebound player given the minutes. His strength is offensive rebounding and he's second only to DeJuan Blair in that department, though that doesn't mean he's in Blair's level at this. Doesn't project to be a great shot blocker at the next level because he doesn't get off the ground quick enough, but does have great length to where he will block a few. Could be a valuable post defender because of his size/strength/length.

What held Nivins back a little was his aggressiveness. His averages of 39.3 mpg|19.2 ppg|11.8 rpg|1.8 bpg|61.2 fg% are very impressive but the stat that stands out is that he only averaged 10.4 shot attempts per game. In past years he had taken a back seat to Pat Calathes as far as scoring, and after Pat's graduation Ahmad had the load on him. It was almost as if he was unaware of just how good of a player he was. [B]It's shocking that a conference player of the year could be 3rd on his own team in shot attempts.[/B]

Also holding him back will be his athleticism. Though he has incredible conditioning and can get up in down the floor terrific for a player his size, he lacks in moving side to side and could have trouble defending the “new” NBA PF off the dribble (those Josh Smith types). He also doesn't have great hops or explosion off the ground. Overall he could be a decent role player in the NBA, somebody to come in and provide solid rebounding ability along with a good offensive post presence. I've heard that the SA Spurs, who own the 53rd pick in the draft, have shown interest.

NBA comparison: A bigger, stronger Alan Henderson
Stock: 40th-Undrafted

Playing 39+ minutes a game and only averaging 2.2 fouls, is pretty impressive. What's up with 2.7 TOs while, what looks like, not touching the ball a ton on offense? Struggle with the double team?

[QUOTE=InspiredLebowski]Playing 39+ minutes a game and only averaging 2.2 fouls, is pretty impressive. What's up with 2.7 TOs while, what looks like, not touching the ball a ton on offense? Struggle with the double team?[/QUOTE]
Yes, struggles with the double team. But wouldn't expect him to be double teamed in the NBA anyway. And the limited fouls comes from his stance. When a player goes up for a shot he rarely jumps but rather sticks his arms straight up (I mentioned how long his arms are) and makes it a difficult shot for them. Rarely bites on pump fakes and keeps his feet grounded.


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You see a lot of that stance from Ahmad. If he was more assertive he could have been a 24 point guy as a senior. What I didn't mention is that he does a good job of getting to the free throw line, and knocks them down with regularity.

willams is a good athlete but is not consistent he is probably not a lottery pick in the draft he is a mid first rounder

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[B]Earl Clark, F, Louisville[/B]


Clark is one of the most versatile players, along with James Johnson, in the '09 draft. Another guy who can become just a complete stat stuffer giving you points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. I've always wondered...how can a guy gain nearly 2 inches when he puts on shoes? Was Clark wearing some Spice Girls platforms to the combine? Either way, Clark jumps from a solid 6'8.5 to 6'10 1/2

I'm sure you know that Clark (along with Blair) is my favourite player in this draft, so I was really looking forward to this.

[QUOTE=Posterize246][B]Earl Clark, F, Louisville[/B]


Clark is one of the most versatile players, along with James Johnson, in the '09 draft. Another guy who can become just a complete stat stuffer giving you points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. I've always wondered...how can a guy gain nearly 2 inches when he puts on shoes? Was Clark wearing some Spice Girls platforms to the combine? Either way, Clark jumps from a solid 6'8.5 to 6'10 1/2

I talked a lot about Steph Curry and Eric Maynor having great floaters in the lane, and I believe Tony Parker is the best in the league at that shot. But damn after watching these playoffs Rafer Alston is damn good at it.

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[B]Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn[/B]

Was an instant prospect the moment he stepped onto the Uconn campus simply because of his great size. Measured an outstanding 7' 2.5” at the draft with a 7'6 wingspan and a crazy 9'5” standing reach. I'm curious why Hasheem didn't participate in the lane agility, bench rep,

any specific guy I should do next?

I've never been high on Eric Maynor and have no real explanation for it. Every time I watch him all I think is "marginal prospect, not worth the time" and I keep it moving. I hope he can prove me wrong.

With Earl Clark my biggest complaint is he has no "big dawg" in him. Clark is perfectly content with fitting in and playing a role. While that attitude guarantees he will be, at worst, a long time productive role player (think Derrick McKey and Detlef Schrempf) or also guarantees he will never reach his full potential (a Dirk Nowitzki type who shoot over or goes past every defender you place on him).


[I]Edit: Dan Issel might be a better comparison of what I think Clark's full potential could be.[/I]

[quote=Posterize246]Probably after the withdrawal date. I think I was last place last year and it was my own game lol[/quote]

time to get started

[QUOTE=InspiredLebowski]time to get started[/QUOTE]
Almost forgot. I'm going to see if I can dig up last year's thread to remember everything.

I was right on some, I was wrong on some...and I'll be back this year. :pimp:


On my to do list:
John Wall
Evan Turner
Demarcus Cousins
Derrick Favors
Al-Farouq Aminu
Wesley Johnson
Greg Monroe
Patrick Patterson
Cole Aldrich
Ed Davis
Xavier Henry
Damion James
Lance Stephenson
Devin Ebanks
Gani Lawal
Dominique Jones
Willie Warren
Stanley Robinson
Jordan Crawford
Greivis Vasquez
Luke Harangody
Sherron Collins

NOT doing:
Hassan Whiteside
Paul George
Larry Sanders
Donatus Motiejunas
Avery Bradley
Luke Babbit
Armon Johnson
Soloman Alabi
Elliot Williams


I'll see how many of those I can get to that are on my to do list. If they're on my "not doing" list it's because I saw them 2 times or less (in most cases 0 times). For guys that aren't on either list I either didn't see them enough to give a full scouting report (like James Anderson and Udoh) or I just don't care enough to write about them (like Orton, Bledsoe, and Pondexter). Still deciding on Hayward.

If it's cool I might tackle a few of the ones you aren't doing. Mostly, I wouldn't mind doing James Anderson. He's from my home state, saw him play a few times in high school, new he had big time potential, and have seen him play probably 12-15 times in college. Granted, not all of those times I watched with a lot of focus on him or anyone one player, but I think I've seen enough of him to have a good understanding of his game and what he can and can not do.

I could probably come up with something for Elliot Williams and Alabi. I watched Baylor 4 or 5 times over the last couple o fyears, but again, I focused more on other players not named Udoh, but might try to do something on him. Also, this guy is a late first rounder (could slip into the 2nd round) but I saw Terico White play a few times as well-once in person.

Or, I might just see what you say on some of these guys and give some feedback if I feel like it. I don't want to take over or hijack your thread, so I'd probably only do 2-5.

[QUOTE=KG215]If it's cool I might tackle a few of the ones you aren't doing. Mostly, I wouldn't mind doing James Anderson. He's from my home state, saw him play a few times in high school, new he had big time potential, and have seen him play probably 12-15 times in college. Granted, not all of those times I watched with a lot of focus on him or anyone one player, but I think I've seen enough of him to have a good understanding of his game and what he can and can not do.

I could probably come up with something for Elliot Williams and Alabi. I watched Baylor 4 or 5 times over the last couple o fyears, but again, I focused more on other players not named Udoh, but might try to do something on him. Also, this guy is a late first rounder (could slip into the 2nd round) but I saw Terico White play a few times as well-once in person.

Or, I might just see what you say on some of these guys and give some feedback if I feel like it. I don't want to take over or hijack your thread, so I'd probably only do 2-5.[/QUOTE]
Do as many as you want :cheers:

Sweet. I'll probably knock out a few in the next couple of days since I'm leaving sunday and will be out of town for 2 weeks.

[quote=KG215]If it's cool I might tackle a few of the ones you aren't doing. Mostly, I wouldn't mind doing James Anderson. He's from my home state, saw him play a few times in high school, new he had big time potential, and have seen him play probably 12-15 times in college. Granted, not all of those times I watched with a lot of focus on him or anyone one player, but I think I've seen enough of him to have a good understanding of his game and what he can and can not do.

I could probably come up with something for Elliot Williams and Alabi. I watched Baylor 4 or 5 times over the last couple o fyears, but again, I focused more on other players not named Udoh, but might try to do something on him. Also, this guy is a late first rounder (could slip into the 2nd round) but I saw Terico White play a few times as well-once in person.

Or, I might just see what you say on some of these guys and give some feedback if I feel like it. I don't want to take over or hijack your thread, so I'd probably only do 2-5.[/quote]

Ditto. But if you feel it's cluttering up the thread, I'll pass. :cheers:

[QUOTE=Grinder]Ditto. But if you feel it's cluttering up the thread, I'll pass. :cheers:[/QUOTE]
On my to do list:
[B]John Wall
Evan Turner
Demarcus Cousins[/B]
[B]Derrick Favors[/B]
[B]Al-Farouq Aminu[/B]
[B]Wesley Johnson[/B]
[B]Greg Monroe[/B]
[B]Patrick Patterson[/B]
[B]Cole Aldrich[/B]
Ed Davis
Xavier Henry
[B]Damion James[/B]
[B]Lance Stephenson[/B]
Devin Ebanks
Gani Lawal
Dominique Jones
[B]Willie Warren[/B]
Stanley Robinson
[B]Jordan Crawford[/B]
Greivis Vasquez
Luke Harangody
[B]Sherron Collins[/B]

NOT doing:
Hassan Whiteside
Paul George
Larry Sanders
Donatus Motiejunas
Avery Bradley
Luke Babbit
Armon Johnson
Soloman Alabi
Elliot Williams

Those guys in bold I definitely want to do, but if you want any on the "not doing" list go right ahead or anyone special on the top list not bolded just let me know. For both you and KG215. If you both do the same guy it's not a big deal. 2 perspectives on a player isn't a bad thing.

But I'll be starting a new thread for this tomorrow so hold up until then.

I've got a shorter list of guys I want to do.

Ed Davis
James Anderson
Ekpe Udoh
Solomon Alabi
Elliot Williams
Terico White
Jarvis Varnado


I could do about any ACC guy. Ed Davis, obviously, is the one I know the most about, but I've seen the other guys enough. So if you don't get around to doing Lawal, or Davis, or Vazquez in the next several weeks, I may do them as well.