Thanks for the responses guys.
I have some thoughts in reply. I've now watched about 5 Baylor games on espn3, focusing on Miller. That knee was definitely a serious problem all year, both physically and mentally.
NBA Execs Question Quincy Miller's Knee Strength After ACL Injury
Read more:
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/220819/NBA_Execs_Question_Quincy_Millers_Knee_Strength_After_ACL_Injury#ixzz1urAy5s85“He needs to spend these couple of months actually working out and rehabbing, and he never did it,” said a Central exec. "He clearly never rehabbed. The atrophy in his leg was incredible. If he gets his leg strength back, he's Durant-like in his ability to get a shot off. He's 6-10 and he can snap his shot off with no trouble."
"The knee thing, that's a tougher read," a Pacific executive said. "How and where does that end up? Is he still getting better? Is he leveling off? He's a really skilled, talented guy, but the knee makes it a little bit of an enigma."
Miller struggled to maintain a high level of consistency.
"He was really up and down this year," one college scout said. "You look at his game logs, they were all over the place. He's a future pick. He may end up being picked by a pretty good team and they might get something down the road. But he could be picked in the Lottery because somebody decides they'd rather gamble on something like that than take a guy who's more polished and is closer to his ceiling."
Read more:
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/220819/NBA_Execs_Question_Quincy_Millers_Knee_Strength_After_ACL_Injury#ixzz1urBHxPbLLet's hope his knee looks stronger in the medical exams at the Combine in early June.
In addition to the knee issue, I think Q Miller performs best when he is the go-to option, which he was not with PJ3 and a chucking point guard. Miller was the alpha dog the first 5 games of the season, and averaged 17-18 points a game.
And there seems to be a little Charles Barkley in him when he leaves the court.
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Just ask him about how he needed to accept a role with the U-18s.
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"At first I came in, I was thinking like I was going to be, you know, the man? But then I had to change that and had to be a role player. And once I got that, I kind of like took over the team. I was second-leading scorer, and best rebounder, and my plus-minus on the court was better than anybody's."
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Miller said B.J. Johnson of USA Basketball sat with him and reminded him that every player on the team �-- �Kyrie Irving, Austin Rivers �-- �was a McDonald's All-American type, a potential one-and-done.
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"So I just got it in my own head that I was going to have to play a spot. I wasn't going to be a star," Miller said. "That's what I did, but I came out and become a star."
Read more:
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2010-07-23/prep-star-quincy-miller-wants-be-somebody-everybody-hates#ixzz1urCeAmwnPlease note that the overly brash attitude was pre-ACL injury. It's interesting that he seems to have been alpha dog on a team with Rivers and especially Kyrie Irving. Miller was at least a year younger than them too.
I'd love to watch that U-18 team play, but those games are not on espn3.
Aside from Miller's first 5 games as go-to scorer, his only other stand-out scoring games were when he got hot early. Miller played without much confidence or aggressiveness in general, but when he hit his first shot, his confidence skyrocketed and he became a fearless and excellent scorer.
Miller's limpy, gimpy knee made him close to worthless as a defender, and limited his minutes. He didn't get to play for long stretches very often, which isn't good for his style of play.
Cfan38 - Miller shot 35% from 3 on a bad knee, and 81% from the line. He probably won't ever be as good as Durant from 3, but it is a definite strength of his game. He's got a quick, high release, even though he doesn't really jump on his jumpers, but Miller is very good at manipulating defenders with his ball handling to set up his jumper. At 6'9"-6'10" with a huge wingspan, there are few if any small forwards in the league who will be able to contest his jumper off the dribble.
Assuming Miller's knee gets much stronger, I see his success depending on the same factors as Austin Rivers future success. Both guys need to be a focus of the offense, with regular isolation plays and pick-and-rolls. Pierce gets his share of green lights to isolate, and Miller and Rivers will need the same.
Miller is also a really steady catch and shoot threat, and given his great height and length, that is no small thing.
Assuming Miller's knee checks out, the biggest concern I have with him is possible diva tendencies. He was basically arrogant before his ACL, and while Miller said the injury was very humbling and the best thing to happen to him, that brash star mentality may still be a part of him. He's definitely a really big Twitter guy, and I'm still researching how good a teammate he was at Baylor.
Austin Rivers has the same type of super-confident attitude, and while it helps them both as go-to scorers, it's something to research before spending a first rounder on Miller.
Aside from the knee injury, I'd say the Rondo-Miller relationship would be the next most important thing to figure out/project.
Miller has decently broad shoulders, so he'll probably end up close to Durant's weight in a few years. He might not be fast enough to fly to the rim off the dribble, but he'll be able to pull up for floaters or find the open man, being a good passer and a smart kid in general.
I could see Miller going to a bad team and being the man while losing a lot of games, but I could also see Rondo making this kid pretty spectacular.
As far as Nicholson, he's already got about 15-20 pounds on JJJ, so he should be able to throw his weight around much better. Last night for the 3rd time I watched the only Bonnies game on Espn3. It's against Illinois and Myers Leonard, and Nicholson pretty much shut Leonard down with very smart position defense. He also scored 17 points on Leonard, for whatever that is worth.
I think Nicholson will be a better version of Bass when all is said and done, and able to play some spot minutes at center as well.
I'd like to add Myers Leonard to the list of potential go-to scorers who might be available at 21 - not as a center but as a stretch 4. Leonard is basically a shooting guard who grew an extra 6 inches. I don't see him ever developing a tough interior mentality, but I think he's definitely athletic enough to defend most 4s in the NBA. Playing Leonard at 4 might seem a waste of his size, but Leonard might not ever make it as an above average center anyway. He's got a very nice mid-range stroke, and if he can develop some handles over the years he could be quite the inside/outside threat. Like a bigger PJ3 without the nice handles. Leonard and PJ3 both seem to lack a natural feel for the game, but the scoring potential is there for both of them.
Topic: Drafting for go-to scoring potential (Read 12663 times)