Nba Draft

[Quillback]

Don't think I've ever seen a draft where there was so little promise seen in the players by the pundits. I don't know if it's because the pundits are overly critical or if the players drafted are really that mediocre at best.

[Dutch]

I'm not sure either but it seems that in the world where we live there is a lot more criticism than praise these days.

[ozark trout fisher]

The reality is that there will almost certainly be at least one, and maybe a couple all-stars in this draft. We just frankly have no idea who it will be. There are plenty of really good players, but to me, no one who jumps out as a guy that absolutely will be a star on a good team. My Missouri fan instincts are making this hard to say, but if there is a true all-star here, I'm leaning toward Ben McLemore. He didn't quite get it figured out in college but the talent there is just insane. I'm not buying Nerlens Noel or Alex Len, the two guys most are pointing to. Noel is and will be a really good rebounder and shot blocker. That's good for a late first round pick, but in the upper half of the lottery? Alex Len meanwhile spent most of his time at Maryland disappearing into thin air. He looked REALLY good every once in awhile, but the intensity just doesn't seem to be there. He was picked in the top five but honestly, given what I saw, I think he's a second-round guy. A good player, but a project.

Oriakhi got picked up late in the second round by the Suns, where he'll actually be competing against Len for minutes. Frankly, despite the disparity in where they were picked, I like Oriakhi's chances. If you've seen both of them play in college, Oriakhi was just so much more dominant, so much more willing to be the guy who'd clean up others misses and generally do the "dirty work" that an NBA center will have to do. It was disappointing to me that Pressey wasn't drafted, but it looks like he may be able to latch on to the Celtics, who have somewhat of a void at the back-up point guard spot. So he's still got a chance.

[snap]

would have been surprised if pressey GOT drafted!!! another year would have done him good!!!

[Jerry Rapp]

who cares?

[ozark trout fisher]

would have been surprised if pressey GOT drafted!!! another year would have done him good!!!

He was projected by most in the mid-second round. Which doesn't guarantee a roster spot and is hardly better than going completely undrafted, really. That said, he's in a good position to be a major contributor early on for Boston. Their star point guard (Rondo) is recovering from a knee injury and will likely miss the start of the season. Guess who is projected by most to start in his place, if that happens? Pressey may well get his chance early on, for better or worse.

Maybe he should have stayed another year, but the more I think about it I begin to come to the conclusion that he made the right choice. The reality is, he's a very good college point guard.......but Marcus Denmon, Kim English, and Ricardo Ratliffe helped him look like a truly elite point guard in 2011-12. Once those guys were gone he didn't have anyone he felt he could lean on (except Laurence Bowers.) I don't see that changing next year with us losing a lot more talent and bringing in a whole new batch of transfers/freshman in their place. Unless you're a really elite talent that can stand out all by yourself, you usually need a really good supporting cast, and oftentimes a deep NCAA tournament run to help yourself get noticed. With Missouri likely fighting just to get in to the tournament next season that wasn't likely to occur. He may have hurt himself by staying, to the point where it would have been harder for him to make an NBA roster.

I appreciate what he did for our program. He was an incredibly fun player to watch. But with that said, this also now gives us the chance to see what Frank Haith can do with a roster of entirely his players (or in the case of about half the roster, players that he brought in from other colleges.) If Missouri gets back to the tournament next year there will no longer be anyone saying "Well, he's just getting by on Mike Anderson's recruits." Because most of us are tired of hearing those words by now.

[Quillback]

According to the talking heads, there's a reasonable chance that Boston may trade Rondo, and with Boston hiring the Butler coach (can't think of his name right now) Pressey could get a reasonable shot on a young, rebuilding team.