Draft Combine Athletic Testing results

[sofutomygaha]

Little else to his game but I don't see why he wouldn't be as good as Tyler Hansburough.

But he can't play basketball!!! Have you watched him? He's terrrrrrrrible!

[Atzar]

Random nuggets:

- Royce White has the biggest hands at the combine.

- Why Miles Plumlee didn't absolutely dominate at Duke, I'll never know.  His athleticism for his size is incredible.  Like, seriously in Dwight Howard territory.  Must just be one of those combine freaks who can't translate it to the basketball court.

- Sullinger had the slowest sprint of the combine and generally unimpressive numbers across the board.  While this is nothing we didn't already know about him, it's disappointing nonetheless.

- You people lied to me about Andrew Nicholson.  I thought he was supposed to be this do-it-all freak of nature with crazy athleticism, length and skills.  What I'm seeing here is pretty ordinary.

- Somebody will take a shot on Meyers Leonard in the lottery.  Maybe even in the top 10.  

[sofutomygaha]

Either way we need a tall guy that can sky.

I disagree. We need a tall guy who has skills. Ryan Hollins is a good example of a tall guy who can sky but is still next to worthless.

[Atzar]

Also, some guys have blanks for bench press repetitions.  Does that mean "zero"?  I'd have a very tough time believing that Tony Wroten failed to do one rep... I thought one of his major strengths was his, well... strength.

[ManUp]

Also, some guys have blanks for bench press repetitions.  Does that mean "zero"?  I'd have a very tough time believing that Tony Wroten failed to do one rep... I thought one of his major strengths was his, well... strength.

The blank means they chose not to participate.

Correction: Wroten, Taylor, and Barton are guys who couldn't manage a single rep.

[Atzar]

Bleh.  So much for my interest in Wroten, then.  I want to like him and I know he's a freshman with a lot of room to grow, but it looks like he's just too much of a project.  Let somebody else develop him.

[letsgoblue86]

Also, some guys have blanks for bench press repetitions.  Does that mean "zero"?  I'd have a very tough time believing that Tony Wroten failed to do one rep... I thought one of his major strengths was his, well... strength.

The blank means they chose not to participate.

Correction: Wroten, Taylor, and Barton are guys who couldn't manage a single rep.

Kevin Durant couldn't do a single rep either.

[sofutomygaha]

Random nuggets:

- Royce White has the biggest hands at the combine.

- Why Miles Plumlee didn't absolutely dominate at Duke, I'll never know.  His athleticism for his size is incredible.  Like, seriously in Dwight Howard territory.  Must just be one of those combine freaks who can't translate it to the basketball court.

- Sullinger had the slowest sprint of the combine and generally unimpressive numbers across the board.  While this is nothing we didn't already know about him, it's disappointing nonetheless.

- You people lied to me about Andrew Nicholson.  I thought he was supposed to be this do-it-all freak of nature with crazy athleticism, length and skills.  What I'm seeing here is pretty ordinary.

- Somebody will take a shot on Meyers Leonard in the lottery.  Maybe even in the top 10.  

- They say that hand size correlates to passing/handle control but anticorrelates to shooting. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Royce White, the Rajon Rondo of Power Forwards!

- Plumlee is a simply a terrible basketball player. He has no skills whatsoever.

- Nobody lied about Nicholson. He still has crazy length and skills. Who said he was athletic?

- Agreed on Leonard. He has the body of David Robinson, but the highlight vids don't bare out how uncomfortable he is with the ball. With all that size and strength, he has no idea how to hold his ground around the basket.

Meantime, check out poor Tyler Zeller over there. He can hold his ground and back defenders down with his lead feet and he can score left or right using either one of his tiny T-rex arms.

[arambone]

"They say that hand size correlates to passing/handle control but anticorrelates to shooting."

Tell that to Andrew Nicholson.

[Atzar]

Also, some guys have blanks for bench press repetitions.  Does that mean "zero"?  I'd have a very tough time believing that Tony Wroten failed to do one rep... I thought one of his major strengths was his, well... strength.

The blank means they chose not to participate.

Correction: Wroten, Taylor, and Barton are guys who couldn't manage a single rep.

Kevin Durant couldn't do a single rep either.

Kevin Durant was understandable:  he was built like a stick.  And that was okay, because his arms are long enough to reach out and slap me out of my chair all the way from where he is in OKC.  

Tony Wroten has a more compact body type, and strength was supposed to be one of the major pluses in his game.  Just really surprises me, that's all.  I'm sure he'll improve when he gets in a weight room, and he has the kind of frame that can support an increase in muscle mass without losing athleticism, but at this point there are just too many "yeah, but..."'s in his game for me to want to use a pick on him.  

[Galeto]

Plumlee's numbers are not surprising because from a running and jumping standpoint, his athleticism was evident at Duke.  As good as he is running and jumping though, especially for his size, he's pretty stiff in the hips though.  He's very mechanical.  It's like a safety in football who may have the 40 time and leaping ability to be a cornerback but lacks the fluidity for it.

It's also unlikely Barnes goes before MKG but if he does, I'd wager it's because a team likes his fit and shooting ability over what MKG brings to the floor.  I doubt it'll be because of how Barnes did at the combine. Time and again combine numbers have given an inaccurate read at a player's athleticism during games.  Barnes' athletic testing numbers aren't totally unexpected either--his vertical really showed when he ran out to contest jumpshots-- but he wasn't quick or explosive during games and his handle slowed him down further.  One caveat is that Barnes supposedly trimmed down after the season after playing with a lot more muscle to make him a more powerful driver.  He looked slower with the new weight.

Also, either MKG or Barnes would be lucky to have Vince Carter's career.  

[sofutomygaha]

Why oh why didn't Royce White do the athletic tests?

[Atzar]

- They say that hand size correlates to passing/handle control but anticorrelates to shooting. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Royce White, the Rajon Rondo of Power Forwards!

- Nobody lied about Nicholson. He still has crazy length and skills. Who said he was athletic?

- Agreed on Leonard. He has the body of David Robinson, but the highlight vids don't bare out how uncomfortable he is with the ball. With all that size and strength, he has no idea how to hold his ground around the basket.

- Pretty much, yeah... and that's why I don't really want him.  We don't really need more than one Rondo, unless David Stern decides that the game should be played with two basketballs.  

- Not sure, actually.  I thought that was discussed as one of his strengths, but after a quick search, it looks like I just made it up.  Mea culpa on that one.  

- We'll see if Leonard's game develops when he's introduced to an NBA big man coach.  With Leonard, I think it's a matter of "don't know how", not "can't."  The transformation in his body from freshman to sophomore year leads me to believe that he has the work ethic to improve his game, so I'm hopeful where he's concerned.  

[BleedGreen1989]

Bleh.  So much for my interest in Wroten, then.  I want to like him and I know he's a freshman with a lot of room to grow, but it looks like he's just too much of a project.  Let somebody else develop him.

Bench pressing doesn't concern me as much with the NBA..wroten seems like a hell of a prospect but I don't think I would use either of our picks on him. If a situation presents itself such as us moving back (maybe our 22 to move back and grab clevelands 33 and 34) I would use a high 2nd round pick on him without hesitation

[Snakehead]

- You people lied to me about Andrew Nicholson.  I thought he was supposed to be this do-it-all freak of nature with crazy athleticism, length and skills.  What I'm seeing here is pretty ordinary.

Yeah not sure who you're speaking about.  Nicholson has long arms and his rebounding and shot blocking were both good in college, though I'm not sure how that'll translate.

What he does have for sure is excellent touch from every area of the floor.  That remains.  Not sure why you say he lacks skills...