Read Loyal Homer and Bleacher Fan’s opinions.
Today’s King of the Hill debate will revolve around Bleacher Fan, Loyal Homer, and my opinions of the best move(s) made on draft day.
I opened my argument about Bryce Harper yesterday with a quote from Groucho Marx. I liked it, so here’s another quote for today’s debate:
“We feel like Blake definitely is a sure thing.” – Mike Dunleavy current(ish) Los Angeles Clippers GM and Head Coach
Drafts are ALWAYS full of sure things, right? There has never been a high profile player in the history of sports drafts that turned out to be a bust. (sarcasm?)
I won’t insult everyone’s intelligence by publishing the litany of high draft mistakes that span all of sports. I will call out Dunleavy here, though, because he’s made a bold statement about something that couldn’t be further from a sure thing.
While I do think the majority of this draft class is weak – and that even “sure thing” Blake Griffin has many weaknesses in his game like outside shooting – there is one player who I feel will be a success in the NBA for many years to come, and it has as much to do with the team that drafted him as it does with the player himself, Tyler Hansbrough.
When I first started doing some research on Tyler Hansbrough and his pro prospects I was very skeptical. He’s undersized to play the 5 in the pro game (his college position), he won’t get foul calls in the NBA, his eyes are always opened to widely, and he’s really annoying. All of those legitimate criticisms are the first things that came rushing into my mind. Then I started to look at his stats, and was surprised by a few things.
He started on, and was a major factor for, the best team in arguably the best basketball conference for 4 consecutive, injury-free years. Four years. He averaged 30.9 minutes a game over his entire 142 game collegiate career. He’s durable.
He was dependable enough to average over 20 points a game (20.2, to be exact), over those 142 games, on 53.5% shooting. He’s a model of offensive efficiency. For a guy that was required to play at the 5 position during his career, he also shot a surprising 31.5% from 3-point-land over the course of career. Add on his 8.6 career rebounding mark, his .5 blocks per game as an undersized center, and his 1.3 steals per game – plus his intensity and proficiency on defense – and you have a projectable pro player. He’s multi-talented. He’s consistent.
Hansbrough has all the makings of a good pro, he just needed to be drafted by the right team – and he was. The Indiana Pacers are the perfect fit for him because their style will allow him to earn minutes (defense), and he’ll be able to play behind, and learn from, established veteran power forward Troy Murphy. In the end, I feel that Hansbrough will end his career with stats similar to Murphy’s totals from 2008-2009: 14.3 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.
Hansbrough has a good chance to be recognized as an important player in the NBA for years to come. He’ll retire wealthy because players who average those types of stats for a career always have a place to play. Sure, he has to improve his low post offense and get a quicker release on his jump shots, but those are skills that can be learned. Hustle, tenacity, and work ethic are much easier to draft than teach.
Hansbrough to the Pacers at pick #13, a move thought to be a reach by some, is the best move of draft day because of the short and long-term upside.
Haven’t had a chance to look at the draft real close, but if Hansbrough was the best pick of the draft then it must have been real weak.I think you have been staring out the window in your office too long!!!