Who here ACTUALLY watched Smart and/or Young?

[Fafnir]

Assuming people who have a different point of view didn't ever watch Smart or Young is a mistake.

I think it's a fair question to ask though. If you have a different opinion of him and actually watched him then cool, but if a person is making the loudest fuss about him without even seeing him play then their opinion doesn't weigh as much.

Its an insulting question to ask. Especially when its IN ALL CAPS in the thread title. It doesn't do anything other than shut down the debate by attempting to devalue another's point of view.

When you ask it all you're revealing is that you feel the other person is wrong in such a manner that they must be ignorant.

[Celtics4ever]

Seen both of them play multiple times, I think all will be well.   But we are still hurting for bigs but backcourt wise, I think we are set.     These guys will take some seasoning though.   Frontcourt now, is where we need improvement.

[LarBrd33]

I don't watch college ball... My buddy is a Gonzaga fan and he insists that the Zags completely "shut down" Smart.  He also wasn't a fan of Smart's demeanor. 

I checked out the box score, though and Smart had like 23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals in that game... I asked him how that constituted "shutting down" and he mentioned that Smart shot like 5-14 in the game with 6 turnovers.. and that nobody else on the team was capable of getting stats.  Gonzaga won the game.

If smart plays on the opponent's team he will be hated. The guy is a competitive maniac, a flopper, and will get in your face on defense. He will be as loved and hated as a Garnett, Wade, Ron Artest, Lance Stephenson type of player.

But to be clear, he is not a knucklehead though.

As for loosing the Gonzaga game, all i can say is that sometimes you loose despite your best efforts.

Yeah like I said... my friend is a hardcore Gonzaga fan...  so anytime Gonzaga is able to beat a top star, he probably has a biased against that guy as "overrated". 

I mostly thought it was funny, because he told me Smart got "shut down"... so i pulled up the box score expecting to see 2-9 shooting... 4 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound and 8 turnovers.... and instead I see 23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals.   

I'm like, "This doesn't actually add fuel to my nervousness about Smart... it just reiterates that he's a complete animal"

[Fafnir]

Assuming people who have a different point of view didn't ever watch Smart or Young is a mistake.

I think it's a fair question to ask though. If you have a different opinion of him and actually watched him then cool, but if a person is making the loudest fuss about him without even seeing him play then their opinion doesn't weigh as much.

I think majority of the people who are making the fuss just reads nbadraft.net or draftexpress, they're not bad, but it doesn't paint the whole picture

Exactly to both you.... If people watched Smart absolutely take over a game, they would have a different thought on him

See this is what I mean, you get breathless declarations of near religious fervor about "if they'd watched him do this they'd see". Its the "do you even lift bro?" of basketball discussions.

What if I watched him absolutely take over games, but I still worry about how it translates to the NBA? Will his bullying style translate to an NBA that's less physical on the perimeter than college and has better athletes for competition?

Or what if I watched him shoot his team out of a game with bad shots and crazy turnovers? What about when I watched him do that, because he definitely did that too.

[sed522002]

Assuming people who have a different point of view didn't ever watch Smart or Young is a mistake.

I think it's a fair question to ask though. If you have a different opinion of him and actually watched him then cool, but if a person is making the loudest fuss about him without even seeing him play then their opinion doesn't weigh as much.

Its an insulting question to ask. Especially when its IN ALL CAPS in the thread title. It doesn't do anything other than shut down the debate by attempting to devalue another's point of view.

When you ask it all you're revealing is that you feel the other person is wrong in such a manner that they must be ignorant.

Well I don't see it that way. It's also insulting if a person makes a thread totally bashing a player they never or barely seen play. Some people genuinely want to know about the players without all the extra noise. It's not to shut down a debate but bring some sort of validity to it. I rather hear about a player from someone that watched him, than from someone that looked at a draft report and that's it. But whatever. Seems like you took offense to this thread.

If you watched him play and you don't like him, that's fine. Different opinions are great on him and I would rather hear them from people that watched him. Since I haven't.

[Celtics4ever]

If he can be coached and listens will be the key, Fafnir.   This is the kind of guy you want on side in a street fight but on the court we don't want him fighting everyone.  Intensity in sports is only good if it is focused on team goals.

[Fafnir]

If you watched him play and you don't like him, that's fine. Different opinions are great on him and I would rather hear them from people that watched him. Since I haven't.

That's fine, but the key thing you need to realize is that this thread is based on the premise that people who don't like/love Smart clearly didn't watch him play. Its not about college basketball fans who've watched him a ton breaking down his game.

[Fafnir]

If he can be coached and listens will be the key, Fafnir.   This is the kind of guy you want on side in a street fight but on the court we don't want him fighting everyone.  Intensity in sports is only good if it is focused on team goals.

Yeah agreed, he plays out of control a lot. Which has its ups and downs as all the threads on Westbrook on Cblog and across the internet will tell you.

I do worry about him on a really bad team, he wasn't at his best as OKST's season began to fall apart. The NBA is a much longer season and baring a huge move the C's aren't going to be a good team for a while.

[kozlodoev]

Assuming people who have a different point of view didn't ever watch Smart or Young is a mistake.

Well, many people who are down on Smart say "well I don't watch college basketball, but he's mediocre" or "he cant shoot"

Just throwing out common opinion.

The fact that he shot below .300 from college three is a clear indication that he doesn't convert at the rate he should, regardless of whether he think he could or couldn't shoot.

There's no arguing with the outcome.

[Mr October]

Assuming people who have a different point of view didn't ever watch Smart or Young is a mistake.

Well, many people who are down on Smart say "well I don't watch college basketball, but he's mediocre" or "he cant shoot"

Just throwing out common opinion.

The fact that he shot below .300 from college three is a clear indication that he doesn't convert at the rate he should, regardless of whether he think he could or couldn't shoot.

There's no arguing with the outcome.

His shot selection was terrible, and he tried to do too much as the leader of a so-so team.

That is his red flag i think.

With better teammates i expect him to evolve his game.

[joepatsfan]

Assuming people who have a different point of view didn't ever watch Smart or Young is a mistake.

I think it's a fair question to ask though. If you have a different opinion of him and actually watched him then cool, but if a person is making the loudest fuss about him without even seeing him play then their opinion doesn't weigh as much.

I think majority of the people who are making the fuss just reads nbadraft.net or draftexpress, they're not bad, but it doesn't paint the whole picture

Exactly to both you.... If people watched Smart absolutely take over a game, they would have a different thought on him

See this is what I mean, you get breathless declarations of near religious fervor about "if they'd watched him do this they'd see". Its the "do you even lift bro?" of basketball discussions.

What if I watched him absolutely take over games, but I still worry about how it translates to the NBA? Will his bullying style translate to an NBA that's less physical on the perimeter than college and has better athletes for competition?

Or what if I watched him shoot his team out of a game with bad shots and crazy turnovers? What about when I watched him do that, because he definitely did that too.

If you watched him and saw that, then yes you are correct. It just bothers me that people who haven't even seen him play are writing the pick off as mediocre

Smart can make some terrible decisions and can get into a habit of bad shot selection, no doubt. He can also let his temper effect his play too.

But for most on here bad talking him they haven't seen his best so they are only focused on this guy's floor and not his ceiling.

That's what bothers me

[Kane3387]

I think smart will be very good. All star caliber. Hall of fame? Not saying that.

Living in Texas I've seen a lot of coverage for the big 12. I grew up in Oklahoma and several of my friends went to Ok St. Based on what ive seen and heard the Westbrook and rose comparisons are off. Smart isn't that level of athlete.

The comparison he mostly gets and i agree with as well is a young baron Davis. Davis was ridiculed for his shot entering the league too. He developed it pretty well in the nba.

The difference is smart is hungrier and more competitive then baron. When baron was locked in he was arguably the best pg in the nba. Ask the 67-15 2007 Mavs.

Smart is always locked in. I think that his potential. A super competitive and focused version of baron Davis.

I don't know much about young. For the record I think exum is the better prospect due to a higher ceiling then smart.

[CFAN38]

I watch alot of college basketball and this season it seemed like OK state had alot of prime televised games. Watching them play I was always impressed with smart and brown. Smart is a warrior I was especially impressed watching him try to guard Karnowski in their tournament loss. For those who don't know he is the Zags 7'1 300+ center. When OK got into foul trouble and the game was getting out of reach Smart was defending him on the block. In the NBA I think Smart from day 1 will be able to defend, get into the paint and rebound from the Guard position at an elite level. He will need to continue developing his outside shot and refining his PG skills. Lets not forget what Brad Stevens was able to do with Jordan Crawford last year.....

Young I didn't watch as closely as Smart this past year but from what I saw I view him as a potential elite 6th man. He reminds me of the JR Smith/ Jamal Crawford type scoring wing. Where he isn't likely to reach their level as an offensive player I think he will be a superior defender. 

[manl_lui]

I think smart will be very good. All star caliber. Hall of fame? Not saying that.

Living in Texas I've seen a lot of coverage for the big 12. I grew up in Oklahoma and several of my friends went to Ok St. Based on what ive seen and heard the Westbrook and rose comparisons are off. Smart isn't that level of athlete.

The comparison he mostly gets and i agree with as well is a young baron Davis. Davis was ridiculed for his shot entering the league too. He developed it pretty well in the nba.

The difference is smart is hungrier and more competitive then baron. When baron was locked in he was arguably the best pg in the nba. Ask the 67-15 2007 Mavs.

Smart is always locked in. I think that his potential. A super competitive and focused version of baron Davis.

I don't know much about young. For the record I think exum is the better prospect due to a higher ceiling then smart.

as long as Smart doesn't tear his knees and get fat, I am all for it if he ends up like a Baron Davis

[timpiker]

Just wondering if u experts on Smart might compare him to Dwyane Wade coming out of Marquette?  I see a LOT of similarities.