Kevin Pangos
Not sure about that. Kelly's pretty much a skilled, stretch big who redshirted last yr to bulk up. Now he's making more plays closer to the basket and trying to play more physically. Outside of being tall, white with ugly hair, I don't see too many similarities.
I think the Nash comparions are a bit generous.. IMO, he is the best shooter in all of college basketball. Maybe its because he is a white kid at a smallish school but I see more Jimmer in him than Nash.. Lets get past the slow season Jimmer had as a rookie and look at his college production and his last 10ish games in the NBA.. Pangos is 6'2 if he is lucky so he has to have some PG skills, which he does have, to have a spot in the NBA.
I cant see him putting his name in the NBA draft untill after next season, but when he gets there, I dont expect him to be a star from day 1.. He will be one of those guys that slowly eases into the NBA and after a few years starts playing over 25 min a night and eventually becomes a starting PG.. Not a great NBA player but a solid one.
Both are CC (Canadian connection). Pangos is more of a point guard with a better shooting capability with a quick release, hence he is still developing his passing and the angles IQ for it, but is capable of maintaining the dribble even when going around the paint and dribbling it out..... which Steve Nash is the master of.... but Pangos still has a long way to go to even be compared to Nash. Also defence needs to really improve, usually its easier for for athletic guards, but if he follows the philosophy of "playing smart, not hard" on D, he should be fine.
I mentioned about Olynyk here awhile back on another post about top juniors to watch in which Olynyk was not mentioned. We have not seen the teh best of him yet. It was pretty recent ago when he had double double with 19pts, against the likes of Luis Scola, Tiago, Ginobli of Argentina. .... He was pretty much a shooting point guard on a 7 footers body, until he decided to bulk up and develop his skills down low. Lot of folks complain about his hairdo.... i think its awesome, ..... a bit of a RAMBO SWAgger!
Pangos looks like a 4 yr player, maybe future mid to late 2nd round pick. Great shooter, but his point skills aren't that great and his physical dimensions are terrible. He's listed at 6'2, but he plays much smaller than that because he has T-Rex arms. He plays more like a sub 6' with his combined length + athleticism. Maybe he gets a couple of cups of coffee like a Travis Diener or something, but I think his future is ultimately in Europe.
Pango's bball intagibles and smarts really impressed me last night. I agree, I think he'll be a 4 year player, but despite not having great length or size, he's quick, both in the open court and changing directions in the half court and he has a pretty solid build and strength for someone his size. I think the Travis Deiner comparison is the best I've heard, yet. I think he can probably play a few years, but he may not stick as a guy who has a long career in the NBA. Matt Maloney is another guy who comes to mind. There are a lot of guys like him over the years, who take care of the ball, run an offense and can hit an open shot. He's probably a better 3 point shooter than a lot of guys who've played that role over the years, so that may help his chances.
I think a guy like stephen curry is a better comp than steve nash as far as a "ceiling" is concerned. His best skill is his shooting range and stroke. a true point guard for sure, but up here in seattle we get a lot of gonzaga games, and he has more of a scorer's mentality than Nash.
I dont see him sticking in the NBA. hes listed at 6'2" but he looks closer to 6'0", he doesnt have a long build, and he is not very strong. I'd say hes even a poorer athlete that Dan Dickau, Eddie House and other players his game gets compared to. I think he will have a great college career, but if he had even a steve blake-esque career in the League I'd be surprised.
Just checking the boxscore in the OSU-Gonzaga game and it seems Kevin Pangos is outplaying Marcus Smart by a mile..can someone provide me some info about Pangos' game and potential ? Is he NBA material?