Cooper Flagg Discussion Thread

[QUOTE=Carbine;15014135]And Tyler Hansbourough was a better combine athlete than Amare Stoudemire. A lot, ALOT of guards in the history of the combine have put up better combine numbers than Westbrook. It doesn't mean much of anything.

Just watch them play. Use your eyes. VJ not anywhere close to Goat level athletic ability from a guards perspective.[/QUOTE]

When you are talking about "explosion", as me and GOBB were, vertical jump is a big part of that.

What set Westbrook apart was his motor and aggressiveness. That is a separate issue. VJ doesn't have that on offense. His motor is much better on D.

Iverson might be the most athletic guard ive seen.

VJ's finishing at the rim is questionable, apparently. No touch, it seems.

[QUOTE=tontoz;15014147]When you are talking about "explosion", as me and GOBB were, vertical jump is a big part of that.

What set Westbrook apart was his motor and aggressiveness. That is a separate issue. VJ doesn't have that on offense. His motor is much better on D.

Iverson might be the most athletic guard ive seen.[/QUOTE]

No, what separates Westbrook from being a role player was his ungodly explosiveness. He still has the same motor and aggressiveness (and low IQ) but he doesn't have that overpowering speed, quickness, stop and start ability like he did in his prime and we can see the results - he's essentially a role player now even though he's still a pretty good athlete.

[QUOTE=Carbine;15014187]No, what separates Westbrook from being a role player was his ungodly explosiveness. He still has the same motor and aggressiveness (and low IQ) but he doesn't have that overpowering speed, quickness, stop and start ability like he did in his prime and we can see the results - he's essentially a role player now even though he's still a pretty good athlete.[/QUOTE]

That's just your perception. Speed, quickness and hops are measured at the combine. Motor isn't.

If Westbrook was exactly the same athletically when he was young but was more passive on offense then your perception of his athleticism would have been different.

I stand corrected maybe VJ is Westbrook (same age)

[url]https://youtu.be/xW6VP48fc-g?si=cOBuWOWbrbAk6LBk[/url]

Westbrook became way more explosive in the NBA. I can’t say for sure what season. Might check out rookie year 2 etc highlights. But at UCLA his athleticism is on par with what I’ve seen from VJ. Someone like Derrick rose had noticeable freak athletic ability in HS. Never saw Russell in HS. But at ucla it’s not the same. Russell really put in work because I always wondered why he went so high in the draft. I think his motor got him drafted. It’s something you have or don’t really. You can develop your game quicker I think if you have a really high motor. But Westbrook is also a dog. Those two things are huge imo.

The combine does a pretty good job of capturing raw athleticism. One aspect it does miss, though, is jump quickness and two-foot vs. one-foot ability.