Archives for November 2012

Carter-Williams and Smart emerge as the top 2013 PG Prospects

November 29, 2012 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

One thing I’ve written about extensively is the importance of posting a high RSB40 for guard prospects. That’s combined rebounds, steals and blocks per 40 minutes. My rule is any college PG who posts an RSB40 over 7.0 while also showing an ability to pass and score efficiently is a solid NBA prospect. Any college PG who posts a RSB40 under 6.0 will usually struggle in the NBA, regardless of his other numbers. Had the Timberwolves followed this rule, they wouldn’t have drafted Jonny Flynn in 2009 … [Read more...] about Carter-Williams and Smart emerge as the top 2013 PG Prospects

NBA Draft 2013: Early Ranking of the Freshmen Centers

November 26, 2012 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

I believe the story of the 2013 draft will be the big men, specifically the freshmen big men. This class had 11 centers in the top 40 overall players. That’s an unheard of number. Considering the love NBA teams always show for big men in the draft and the fact that 5 of the last 6 top overall picks have been freshmen, I think it’s pretty clear these 11 prospects will be watched closely and will be the story of the year for draft watchers. With that in mind I want to get an early start on … [Read more...] about NBA Draft 2013: Early Ranking of the Freshmen Centers

ROTY Watch

November 17, 2012 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

This year I’m going to start an occasional look at the top candidates for Rookie-of-the-year. While it’s kind of silly to start projecting the outcome of such awards in November, it might help me with the draft previews to keep a closer look at the rookies. Also everyone else is doing such lists so Hoopsanalyst may as well join the fray. The 2013 class so far is playing out as expected, though some individuals have surprised me. Davis is showing great promise. Behind him there are a mix of … [Read more...] about ROTY Watch

Quick Thoughts

November 16, 2012 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

1. Heckuva of a Job Brownie!: The big news of this week has come out of Los Angeles where the Lakers have canned Mike Brown and spurned an apparently willing and able Phil Jackson in favor of Mike D’Antoni. There is so much going on here, so let’s break it down piece-by-piece: -Should Brown have been fired? Certainly, the early returns were not good but it’s pretty hard to envision a scenario where a team could possibly conclude that a coach is lost after a five-game stretch to open a … [Read more...] about Quick Thoughts

NBA Draft: Is Cody Zeller Worth the Hype?

November 12, 2012 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

There’s a lot of hype surrounding Cody Zeller. He’s the college hoops pre-season cover boy for Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Mag. A look at the mocks suggests he’s considered one of the top prospects in the nation. Zeller is pretty much a fixture in the top 5, along with Noel, Muhammad and McAdoo. The mocks will change as the season progresses. Some players will fade and others will emerge. This happens every year and 2013 seems set for more fluidity than usual, due to the abnormally large … [Read more...] about NBA Draft: Is Cody Zeller Worth the Hype?

Unskewing the Stats: Jarnell Stokes and Alex Len

November 9, 2012 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

The raw statistics I start with when evaluating college prospects are skewed. The per game statistics that are the basis for handing out awards and a lot of the quickie analysis we see and hear in the media never tell the entire story. That’s why we start the unskewing process by turning per game numbers into per minute numbers. Those numbers are then adjusted for pace, because a team that plays at a fast pace is going to put up more impressive numbers than a team that slows it down. It’s also a … [Read more...] about Unskewing the Stats: Jarnell Stokes and Alex Len