Basketball from a fan’s
perspective
Stats
In the past we have witnessed colleges and NBA
teams sometimes guilty of this practice, they inflate the stats of a player related
to their height and sometimes even their weight. That is not the case we have for James
Wiseman pending lottery pick in the 2020 draft.
From basketball.realgm.com we gain interesting information on Wiseman.
The youngster measures 6 foot 11 inches without
shoes, that makes him a bonafide 7-foot prospect. Most mock draft sites list Wiseman at that
height, in addition he’s got a 7-foot 4-inch wingspan and checks in at 247
pounds. Despite these apparent strong points,
the article goes on to point out his collegiate play represents a total of 69
minutes for the University of Memphis.
The NCAA ruled Wiseman had been compensated inappropriately which
shorten his college playing career.
The question was asked
Recently I commissioned a panel of friends to determine
their view of Big Man basketball today.
All shared their beliefs which was appreciated by yours truly and
published on June 16 in case you missed it.
A YouTube video shot last December provides us a list of Top 10 NBA
ready Big Men. Keep in mind the video below
the 7-foot athletes are 1. Facing AAU competition and 2. Often they are matched against smaller opposition. My intent was to “locate” these prospects; I
have no idea as the video details if “They are NBA ready.” I will leave that determination to someone
other than me to decide if one or more is ready for the next level.
The eye of a scout
Sometimes you see something in a player and
think “He’s got it.” You must trust me
on this one but that is what I saw in Joel Embiid while playing for
Kansas. Embiid had emerged from the
bench a raw but budding talent, he managed to displaced Tarik Black who was the
starting center. A late season injury
would send Embiid to the sidelines for the remainder of his freshman season. Later he would decide in favor of the NBA
over returning to Kansas for his sophomore year, I though big mistake.
The 2014 NBA Draft would witness Embiid
becoming the third pick in the first round, I thought maybe scouts saw the same
potential I did. Then disaster struck an
injury forced him to the sidelines for the season in what would have been his
rookie year, I do not remember if it were the lingering injury from his days at
Kansas. I thought oh well maybe next
season except Embiid would miss the 2015-16 too and I thought, “Maybe this guy
will never play in the NBA and entertained thoughts of former NBA player Sam
Bowie.
Bowie was a talent who could never remain
healthy long enough to approach the talent he displayed earlier at
Kentucky. As for Embiid this would all
become an afterthought as the Big Man was able to display his talent for the
Sixers and the NBA. Although there have
been a few bumps in the road Embiid has clearly displayed his talent with
career numbers of 24.3 points and 11.4 rebounds a game. Can we expect more from Embiid now and into
the future, the answer yes? The Sixers
need to surround him with additional depth around him for the Sixers and Embiid
to further bloom.
