Archive - Aug 2012 - Article

Andrew WigginsAndrew Wiggins, a 6’7” small forward from Toronto, Ontario, is arguably the best high school basketball player in America. Earlier this year Sports Illustrated ran a cover story proclaiming Chicagoan Jabari Parker to be the best high school prospect to come along since LeBron James. The peculiar thing about that is that most analysts agree Parker, as good as he is, isn’t on the level of another current prep prospect, Wiggins.

20012/13 Payroll: $62.7 million
2012/13 (Projected) NBA Salary Cap: $58 million
Roughly: $4.7 million over cap

By Davide Bortoluzzi

Croatia has won 2012 u18 European championship, following the success of 2010 u16 championship for their ’94 generation. The final game involved the same two teams of the 2010 u16 final, with Lithuania unable to stop Dario Saric, who reminded people of Toni Kukoc: 39 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assist, and an incredible 52 efficiency figure. The bronze medal game was a match up between Serbia and Russia, with the Serbian guys clinching onto the third spot on the podium after a close game.

20012/13 Payroll: $65.7 million
2012/13 (Projected) NBA Salary Cap: $58 million
Roughly: $7.7 million over cap

Who are the favorites now?

Dwight HowardWith all due respect to folks down in Boston, Chicago and San Antonio, when the casual NBA fan thinks about which team will win the title this upcoming season it usually comes down to a selection of three: none of which reside in the cities just mentioned.

We already knew that Oklahoma City and Miami would be in the discussion, with many observers predicting that last year’s Finals series was just a taste of what’s to come.

Like the combo-guard, the combo-forward possesses qualities of each forward position. It's a fairly new edition to the basketball dictionary, though one that's necessary when classifying and projecting future roles. The combo-forward community has a number of different sub-classes. With the exception of the stretch 4, combo-forwards require three physical tools: Size, Strength and Mobility.

After four days of actively scouting the adidas Nations event, with a focus on the college group, here are my thoughts on each of the NCAA participants. I also spoke with numerous NBA scouts that were on hand. My report on the top high school and international prospects will follow this report.

Centers

Nerlens NoelNerlens Noel F 6’11” Kentucky Fr. -- 2g, 26 mpg, 6.0 ppg, 4-6 fg, 66.7 fg% 4-8 ft, 3.5 rpg, 4 blk, 5 to

Day 3 Thoughts

This was the final day for the college players. Just like on Saturday, in the morning they play an abbreviated set of games and a full game in the evening. Aaron Afflalo got involved and not surprisingly showed the college guys a thing or two, looking dominant.

Day 2 Thoughts

Ben Simmons is a 1996 born 6'8 small forward from Australia with considerable upside. The sweet shooting lefty wing forward is just a sophomore in high school but would rate as the top American sophomore in the nation if he played in the States.

He has been dominating top American kids that are two years older than him and shows a world of potential. He plans on playing college ball in a few years and word is he may come over for one year of high school ball in preparation.