is it too early to call Noel the next great PASSING big??
noel has not played a lot of great competition yet this year. the one team that was great was duke and i did not see the assists in that game. also he struggled with mayland, not many assists there either. sec play and the ncaa tournament will be the true test to see if he is a great passing big. and before i got the kentucky fans all upset, yes im not a fan of noels game still even though he has done more than i expected, but im being unbiased on this passing thing. just look at who kentucky has played this year.
He's averaging 1 apg against major conference competition. 0 against Maryland and 2 against Duke.
Inflated numbers against Layfaette, Moorehead St ( good but undersized), and LIU Brooklyn are expected. They don't have the size and length to go 1 on 1 with him so he's just passing out of double and triple teams.
Not to say he can't pass, but yes, it is way too early to call him the next great passing big. Against Alex Len and Mason Plumlee he racked up 2 assists.
GREAT passing big men are usualy good enough offensively to draw extra attention from the defense and are able to capitalize on that by diagnosing where the help is coming from and dishing it to the open man. GREAT passing men can be used as hubs of an offense. Noel is neither of those things.
Big men like him used to stay in college. I will say he has the ability to become the best passing big man. He would easily be the best big in the league if he waited 3 years. In my opinion he has David Robinson like talent but he won't become that level player because he won't stay in college to develop those skills where they need to be. It is hard to get where you need to be after getting into the NBA cause they will take your confidence quick if you are not ready.
Noel's passing ability is not even close to Monroe. Numbers dont matter in this case because Kentucky plays a run n gun offense and gtown is very patient and slow.
Monroe really was the best passing big man the NCAA has seen in a long long time
Nerlens Noel has been nothing but positive on offense so far, yes if you wanted jump shooter and 70% from the line like AD he is not, but while i knew he is raw he has improved alot already since getting here in Kentucky i think..
Nerlens avg 3.0 assists per game in his first 5 college carrer games and 4 4 5 in last three, i mean even Greg Monroe(who i remember by the time of 201 draft was called arguably the best passing bigmen prospect in a decade or so) averaged "only" 2.5apg as a freshman and just then 3.8 the other year in college..so many good passers big guys like Griffin or Love couldn't get 2 per game their first year..
and i know it's only five games but i believe it's no joke, he has been passing very well from the post to cutters and slasher for easy baskets and also the reason why i started this thead by saying his overall offense impresses me is because his handles looks to translate in this level too he handled so well for a big guy(especially if you call him a CENTER) if you watched UK he has numerous of plays where he got ball behind three point like he used his handles and great first step to get to the paint and then most of those plays ended with his bounce pass for another easy buckets..
overall I impressed by his versatility, even defensivelly i thought he was a little overrated, but his blocks and activity looks really amazing and he is not blocking three-point shooters like Davis but how about 2.6 steals per game, he is amazing in passing lanes and getting to the ground..
I really was one of those who thought Shabazz was robbed when put #2 on their class..and know I am not saying he is the real deal YET, but he looks to be..thoughts?
here is some early videos : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOyXZmYQY-A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVbzzK1eM4M