[JM40Participant]

There are a few players I see as possible 1st Round sleepers…….any thoughts???
1 Brandon Paul
2 Ray McCallum
3 James Southerland
4 Deshaun Thomas
5 Erick Green

For some reason, I see a few of these guys having their stock rise at the right time……

[SiggyParticipant]

I’m an Illini fan, so I’ve seen B.Paul’s progress through the yrs and I’m still not sold on him. He’s wildly inconsistent. He’ll have a really good game like he had last yr vs OSU, start feeling himself a little too much, then he’ll start playing like he has the green light to do whatever he wants, including taking even more low % superstar shots. Just look at his performance since his game vs Gonzaga. Past 4 games he’s shooting 32% from the floor 25% from 3, with over 4 TOs a game.
He’s only good with the ball in his hands, yet he’s not that great with the ball, which is a recipe for being a crappy role player. If he pans out, what is he, a lesser version of Larry Hughes?? Yuck.

[pjpowersParticipant]

I definitely like Southerland’s game… Great shooter, great length and very athletic… Thomas can score a ton in college but I don’t know how he will translate… I think he’ll get a shot in the NBA but he doesn’t play great defense and isn’t very athletic… Maybe a good bench player at best…

[i’m jus so offendedParticipant]

Very good list, though to fully improve your stock, the best time to peak is seemingly during the tourney. @Siggy, dude if you like the Illini, you must not be watching very much this year because the kid is playing at a 1st team/Big Ten POY level right now. He has been very good with the ball, making plays and getting to the line at the best clip in the Big Ten I believe. His jumper off the dribble and mid range game are superb. He is one of only three players in Division 1 to lead his team in points, assists, rebounds and steals per game. Now, I think his ceiling is a late 1st rounder but I think he can find a niche in the league. I love McCallum’s game and think Southerland is fast rising up draft boards. I could seem him making a push to the late lottery status.

[SiggyParticipant]

I am an Illini fan, but when evaluating Paul as an NBA prospect, I don’t think he projects to be much of a role player at all. He’s flourishing in a freewheeling, open, ball screening system where he has the freedom to have the ball in his hands a lot. Without the ball he sucks and with it he’s erratic because he’s still a poor decision maker with questionable shot selection. He’s an average shooter at the college level when he takes good shots, but factoring in his shot selection, he’s a below average shooter overall. I expect him to have his peaks and valleys, eventually regressing to the mean as a ~40% shooter and high TO guy. He’s already on his way.
This is his senior year and I’ve seen very little progress in his bball IQ. I don’t expect him to just get it in the NBA, playing a lesser role when he doesn’t have the freedom to play with the ball as much.

[JM40Participant]

I agree….I think Southerland is a poor man’s Robert Horry-type. Athletic, long, shoots lights out from the 3/4 spot, and knows how to win.

[LazarusMunozParticipant]

Victor Oladipo

[SiggyParticipant]

Yep. He should be penciled in in the 1st now. He plays hard/smart on both ends of the floor, has shown improvement every yr in his skills and has great physical tools.

[JM40Participant]

Oladipo is a certain 1st rounder IMO, that is why I left him off the list.

[cuseflynn10Participant]

I think Erick Green could sneak his way into the end of the first round since he is the nation’s 2nd best scorer only behind CJ McCollum.

As a Cuse fan for my entire life, I will be the first person to tell you Southerland is a one dimensional player. His jumper is all he has to offer for an NBA team, and I don’t know if that will be enough to get him into the first round. He should get drafted, but I think Triche deserves to play in the NBA over Southerland.

Ray McCallum is putting up 18.8 PPG – 5 APG – 4.2 RPG on Detroit, which actually has more scoring threats than you would think (five players averaging double digit points.) I think he should be a first rounder, but would likely only be in the late 20’s to a team that may want some PG depth.

I feel that Brandon Paul will likely be a 2nd rounder unless he has a deep tourney run that propels his draft stock.

I like Deshaun Thomas’ game and think he could sneak into the end of the first round, but a lot still depends on who leaves early and who stays in college. If a lot of players stay in college than I could see a team grabbing Thomas in the first round, but if a lot of players are leaving early, which I expect, then Thomas will likely be a second rounder.

And as for Victor Oladipo, I agree that he deserves to be a first rounder. He’s the intangible type player that could come off the bench for a playoff team and make a key difference. He’d be perfect for a late first round team.

[Dale WorthingtonParticipant]

CJ Leslie

Just put the man on a caloric surplus with at least .75 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight and have him do a FULL BODY WORKOUT every other day 6-8 reps, explosive positive, slow and controlled negative, go to failure on the last set of every exercise.

[uabasketballParticipant]

Two guys who are surprisingly low to me on this site are Jamaal franklin and andre roberson. maybe even tim hardaway jr but im just a fan of his personally.

[Author]

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