Derrick Williams Enters 1st Overall Pick Discussion

[Built Ford Tough]

It is an insider article, so I'll only post a tidbit of it:

 

Derrick Williams, F, Arizona Wildcats

Top 100 Rank: No. 4

Williams has had one of the biggest jumps of anyone on our draft board this season. He came into the regular season ranked No. 26 on our Big Board but in late December had cracked the lottery, and a month ago we moved him into our Top 10. On Sunday we moved him all the way to No. 4. That's a huge leap for a guy who many scouts felt lacked the elite athleticism or size at his position to be a lottery pick.

 

How has Williams made the jump? First, he has been the most efficient player in college basketball this season, according to John Hollinger's PER. Second, he's shown scouts that he's a better athlete than they thought he was and has dramatically improved his face-the-basket game.

 

Williams' stellar performance against Washington on Saturday (26 points, 11 boards, two steals, two blocks) in front of a number of NBA scouts was the icing on the cake. While Williams wasn't perfect (he had seven turnovers), he hit big shots down the stretch and ended the game with a vicious, game-sealing block of Darnell Gant.

 

Williams may still be a bit of a tweener, and no one is calling him a potential superstar, but given the lack of a clear No. 1 pick in this year's draft, he has entered the conversation as the top pick alongside Perry Jones, Kyrie Irving, Jared Sullinger and Enes Kanter.

 

He has Kyrie Irving, Perry Jones and Jared Sullinger ahead of Williams on his top 100 board.

 

Anybody know anything about his game? I haven't seen him play before and I've read that he is pretty much a 3/4 tweener. People have apperantly said that he is basically a less talented, less athletic version of Michael Beasley and that doesn't really sound all that appealing to me. In a weak draft, I guess that warrants first overall consideration, though.

 

Personally, unless Irving's foot injury proves to be career threatening or threatens to have long term implications on his game, I don't see how you pass him up with the first pick in this years draft. He showed more in his first 6 games than any other prospect has shown all season long at least from what I have seen.

 

EDIT: I forgot to mention that this is clearly subject to change once the tournament rolls around. There is always one player who shoots up the draft boards due to his play in the tournament (Rose, Hayward, O'Bryant just to name a few) so who knows what the discussion will be in a couple months time once the college season is all wrapped up and workouts start to begin.

Edited February 25, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[Real Deal]

Haha, the Beasley comparison is pretty close. Williams has to learn how to play defense...not really sure if it's because he's undersized, or if it's him not putting out the effort (it's really hard to tell when a player is in college). If he puts on more muscle, he's going to be dangerous...and I think that's why he's up there on draft boards. His offensive game isn't complete, but he's getting better and better...a few post moves, he's athletic and can get to the rim from 20 feet away, and he also has a decent jumper.

 

I still think the Cavaliers would want Irving, though.

[Built Ford Tough]

I still think the Cavaliers would want Irving, though.

 

According to Ford, that is exactly who the Cavs have their eye on.

 

The trade really has two major ramifications for the Cavs. First, with Williams gone and Davis clearly not the point guard of the future in Cleveland, sources say that Duke freshman Kyrie Irving is now the No. 1 target for the Cavs. For the past month we've had Perry Jones (who now slides to No. 2) on their draft board.

 

If Cleveland gets LeBron for 7 years, tanks for one season and winds up with Irving while Toronto gets shafted in the draft yet again, I think I may go and put a hit on David Stern. Life in prison is a small price to pay for the league to finally be rid of him, right?

[Buckets!]

According to Ford, that is exactly who the Cavs have their eye on.

 

 

 

If Cleveland gets LeBron for 7 years, tanks for one season and winds up with Irving while Toronto gets shafted in the draft yet again, I think I may go and put a hit on David Stern. Life in prison is a small price to pay for the league to finally be rid of him, right?

David Stern is doing fine, I want Raptors to get scoring SF, James Johnson plays D, Can Perry or Terrence fit that role?

[Built Ford Tough]

David Stern is doing fine, I want Raptors to get scoring SF, James Johnson plays D, Can Perry or Terrence fit that role?

 

If the Raptors draft a small forward, I'd rather see them go after Harrison Barnes. I know he has struggled at times this season and isn't living up to the hype he had, but he has also shown glimpses of why he was so highly regarded coming out of high school. Since Drew left the team and Marshall was inserted into the starting lineup he has played much, much better, which isn't a surprise at all considering how terrible Drew was. I still think that he is going to be a very nice player in the NBA. I actually think he may be a better NBA player than a college player.

 

As far as the two Jones's go, I'd rather see them go with Terrence than Perry if they are looking for a small forward. I think Jones is going to be a face up 4 in the NBA and nothing other than his ability to handle the ball makes me think he will ever be a small forward. I haven't been exactly impressed with his perimeter game.

 

Honestly though, I'm not sure how well either of them would be as small forwards. They both seem like tweeners to me. That is pretty much the story of the draft, though. It seems like all of the top picks, outside of Irving, Sullinger, Barnes and Valanciunas, are tweeners.

[Dash]

Yeah I haven't seen much on this guy either, sorta just came out of no where but from what little I've seen I'm not sure if he's 1st overall pick worthy especially if Irving is in the draft.

Edited February 28, 2011 by Dash

[Buckets!]

If the Raptors draft a small forward, I'd rather see them go after Harrison Barnes. I know he has struggled at times this season and isn't living up to the hype he had, but he has also shown glimpses of why he was so highly regarded coming out of high school. Since Drew left the team and Marshall was inserted into the starting lineup he has played much, much better, which isn't a surprise at all considering how terrible Drew was. I still think that he is going to be a very nice player in the NBA. I actually think he may be a better NBA player than a college player.

 

As far as the two Jones's go, I'd rather see them go with Terrence than Perry if they are looking for a small forward. I think Jones is going to be a face up 4 in the NBA and nothing other than his ability to handle the ball makes me think he will ever be a small forward. I haven't been exactly impressed with his perimeter game.

 

Honestly though, I'm not sure how well either of them would be as small forwards. They both seem like tweeners to me. That is pretty much the story of the draft, though. It seems like all of the top picks, outside of Irving, Sullinger, Barnes and Valanciunas, are tweeners.

I guess Irving is the choice then.