[ChicagoCaseyParticipant]

 I’ve seen this many times to undermine the success and talent of Markelle Fultz. I believe going by team record to judge a prospect is outrageously dumb. Felt that way when people said it with Ben Simmons, felt that way when people discuss NFL QB prospect record in college, and still feel this way now with Fultz. People use Skip Bayless type of logic when they use team record in arguments. People need to undertand that everything have context to it and it’s irresponsible to put that record on him. 

People use the team record to either belittle his accomplishments in college or to boost up Lonzo Ball impact on UCLA. When comparing the two, you cannot factor in the impact that they both had on their respective teams. Yes, Lonzo made that team relevent and have great impact on that team, but he did had help and didn’t do it all on his own. He had another top 10 recruit (TJ Leaf – leading scorer on the team), top scorer in UCLA history (Bryce Alford), two other McDonals All-Americans (Thomas Welch and Isaac Hamilton), another 1st round draft pick (Ike Anigbogu) and potential 1st round pick (Aaron Holiday).

Fultz didn’t have any of that level of talent at Washington. The second best player was Noah Dickerson, who was a borderline top 50 prospeect out of high school. It’s not fair to have a knock on Fultz based on college team success and thar shouldnt be discussed in the criticism of his game. Also, I find it kind of odd that we only use college as the measuring stick in discussing prospects. He was also phenomenal with Team USA this past summer leading them to a gold and was the MVP of the team starring Michael Porter, Mo Bamba, Jarrett Allen, Matt Coleman, Trae Young, and other top prospect. And also he was a winner in what most would believe is the toughest division/conference in high school. I just believe that it’s dumb to link team success to an individual in a team sport.

 

[ph90702]

 Anthony Davis was a good player on a bad team in high school.  Then he was a good player on a championship team at Kentucky.  Now he’s a good player on a bad team in the NBA.

[ChicagoCaseyParticipant]

 Yeah, it’s total irrelevant in the big picture. Being on a better team does not mean you must be the better player, and being on a horrible team doesn’t mean you are lesser of a player. It’s a team sport and people need to realize that.

[Robb_CParticipant]

 Fultz dominated the ball the entire season which created no chemistry through out the entire season.. the team looked worse as the season went on opposed to improving. His teammates are a lot better than 9-22 his team gave up playing hard due to the fact they never knew when they were getting the ball!! Fultz used his teammates as pressure release which is a trait a SG should possess not your Point Guard.. How would anyone expect his teammates to be motivated playing this way.

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

 This is one of the reasons why I’m going against the norm by saying he is a SG not a PG.

[SubZeroParticipant]

If Dejounte and Chriss stay, in all likelihood they’re a pretty good team and tourney bound. How would having a better record because of his teammates make him a better prospect than he is while playing with a garbage team? Lorenzo Romar is a great recruiter and great guy but he ran that program into the ground

[ph90702]

 I don’t see how they would have made the tournament because Romar is a poor coach.  I’m a UNLV fan, and Dave Rice brought in the 5th and 11th ranked recruiting classes his final two years, and we finished in seventh place in the Mountain West both years.  This was with Patrick McCaw who is already a top 180 player in the NBA.

[kobyzParticipant]

 The bigger problem is people keep projecting him as a pg, he would not reach his full potential if team making him at that position, he’s not enough making his teammates better and has average court vision at best to play the pg, should be project as a sg…

[Robb_CParticipant]

 You are absolutely correct, Fultz showed zero leadership ability with Washington as a PG and bailed out on his teammates with a "knee injury" late in the season, Hes more suited as a SG who can handle the ball in transition.. 

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

 Justin Jackson may be better.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 The record was what it was. The team just wasn’t very good. It wasn’t like they were expected to really challenge for a team tournament berth at the beginning of the season, although most people would have probably expected them to win at least double digit games with fultz. 

What was concerning is that from the games I saw fultz didn’t really seem to show a ton of leadership qualities. He looked like a guy that was basically playing for himself, kind of like Simmons a year ago. He didn’t really seem to make his teammates better. The team just didn’t really seem connected at all and the effort level was inconsistent to say the least. At least some of the blame for that should probably fall of fultz’s shoulders.

With that being said, fultz is still young and has room to grow as a leader, especially if he goes to a situation like Boston where he won’t have to lead right away. I still consider him the guy with the least amount of question marks regarding his game and the likely top prospect in this draft.

 

 

[DolanCareParticipant]

"Hi, my name is Markelle Fultz and I made a bad decision going to the University of Washington". That’s all Fultz needs to say in his team interviews. He was a teenager when he committed to the charismatic, yet awful, Lorenzo Romar. No reason to hold his record against him. 

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

The reason why I believe he’s being criticized for Washington’s 9-22 record is because he is classified as a PG. A PG is typically supposed to lead the team, and make teammates better. In other words if Fultz were truly a PG, Washington should have success regardless of the teammates he has. Look at UCLA, with Lonzo Ball. Remember when UCLA lost to Kentucky in the tourney and Lonzo’s father infamously (and probably immaturaly) blamed it on the so called "white" players that were starting? I don’t know for sure but I think he was referring to Bryce Alford, TJ Leaf, and Thomas Welsh. You now see that TJ Leaf is projected to be a first round draft pick this year. (I have him going in the lottery!) Thomas Welsh right now is a 2nd round draft prospect for next year. He helped make Alford into a fantastic spot up shooter. Aaron Holiday right now is a first round draft prospect next year. In other words, all of Ball’s teammates were made better because of Ball’s presence. He even did this with the so-called white starters that his father reffered to as "crap". He made his teammates better thus his team succeeded. You don’t see this same thing with Fultz. You don’t see any of his teammates in this draft or next draft, nor have they been talked about in college basketball as being good players.

This is the main reason why I believe Fultz’s position on this site is incorrect. To me, he is more of a SG. He may be asked to bring the ball up the court and pass, even at times orchestrate the team’s offense. But if you watch Golden State play, not just the PG (Steph Curry) is asked to bring the ball up the court. Durant may bring it up or Klay Thompson or even Draymond Green. Basically whoever gets the rebound is asked to bring the ball immediately up the court instead of taking the time to get it to the point guard. So they are all good ball-handlers, yet you don’t see Durant, Thompson or Green listed as PG’s on that team. Same with Houston, James Harden facilitates the team offense, he brings the ball up the court, he makes most of the passes and scores most of the points. He does all the things that a PG is typically asked to do, yet you still see Patrick Beverly on the court starting with Harden. Do you see Beverley listed as SG? No, he’s listed as the PG. I still think of James Harden as a SG not a PG, yet he brings the ball up the court and facilitates Houston’s offense.

Every player in the NBA no matter their position can pass. Yet do you see a big man listed as a PG? No, of course not. A point guard isn’t just asked to pass the ball, therefore racking up most of the assists for the team. (That’s still a main part of their game, but that’s not the only thing they are asked to do.) They are also asked to orchestrate the team’s offense, takeover the game if necessary, grab boards, inspire teammates to play better to get the team a win. So if Markelle Fultz is truly a PG then wouldn’t he make his teammates better, therefore a better record? 

Please understand this is no knock on Fultz. he is still a great prospect in this draft and I still expect him to be the #1 pick come June 22nd. Lorenzo Romar was just not good coach (That’s why he was fired) But I’ll say it again, Fultz is not a PG, he is a SG. At times he may play the PG position but his main position that he is best at is SG.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

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