[A.M.G.Participant]

Is it just me, or should Miles Plumlee of Duke be getting more love in like the mid-second round?

He is 6’10.5" without shoes, which basically makes him 7’0" in shoes. He has a 7’0.75" wingspan. He weighs 252 lbs.

More intriguingly, he is a fantastic leaper at that size. He had the third best no step vertical jump, 34.0 inches, of any prospect at the NBA Draft Combine. This gave him a no step vertical reach of 11’7.5", tied for fifth best at the combine, beating out like a dozen guys with bigger wingspans.

His maximum vertical jump is even more impressive at 40.5 inches, tied for second best at the combine, and easily the best by a big man. This gave him a maximum vertical reach of 12’2", which was the best at the combine.

Taking into account that he actually has a relatively high body fat % of 11.4 (at least high at this year’s combine), he could actually trim up and improve his leaping ability slightly.

I know that being a good athlete does not make one a good basketball player. Plumlee is not very skilled offensively. But coming out of Duke, defense will be instilled in him, and from what I’ve seen of him he is a hard working and mature player with a high basketball IQ, who knows what is expected of him.

All I’m saying is a guy with this kind of size and athleticism should be getting looks in the second round.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

At 1st he has rated a undrafted or borderline 2nd rounder..After an impressive showing at the combine,he’s now back in the 2nd round conversation,maybe even early 2nd round…

[JoeWolf1]

 He’ll get looks, but he still is what he is, a low IQ hustle player.  Despite 4 years at Duke his Bball IQ never really developed.

Many elite role players and blue collar hustle guys have great bball IQ’s despite not being the most refined players on the court.  Miles is not that player.  He operated like a bull in a China shop for much of his college career, pulling down a powerful rebound over a defender and then picking up an offensive foul on a screen.  Hitting a nice 8 foot jumper off the glass and then jacking up a brick while being heavily guarded because he made his last shot.

A 40” vertical isn’t going to change the player Miles Plumlee is, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have value to an NBA team.  He gives a team a hard working guy, who knows his role and can give his all in practice making the 1st and 2nd string centers better by giving them a massive athlete to go against every day in practice.  Miles could very well play 10 years in the league, just doing that and providing rebounds in the 2nd unit when someone gets injured, and fouls at the end of games.  Just don’t expect a diamond in the rough type starter from him.

 

[Wahoo757Participant]

He is exactly what he was during the season. A physical freak that doesn’t produce except in the rebounding department. Still though, 7 footers that are super athletletic don’t come around that often, so he’ll be a mid-late 2nd rounder.

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

I see him getting looks in the late second round for a team who needs a high energy player off the bench

[surveParticipant]

 its funny because on senior night he kinda went bezerk.  he was really aggressive offensively and showed some moves scoring in the paint.  he finished with 16pts and 11rbs.  never seen him do anything of the sort until that game, where I guess he was overwhelmed by the moment.  other than that, he gets his points off garbage buckets or nice dishes.  independently has no offensive game.

I dont know about him getting drafted, but if Zoubek got a shot, he certainly will get one.

[JoeWolf1]

 ^He looked really good during the first half of the 2nd UNC game.  Duke got killed, but Plumlee was the only guy keeping them in the game during the opening ten minutes or so. 

[surveParticipant]

 I know right?!!!  I was like why in the heck did he wait til is last game in Cameron to become a low post scorer?  He looked really good, which may fortify my point that Duke produces players who come to college with skills, but Coach K doesnt develop or bring out untapped talent.  I mean he was drop-stepping and ducking under…..he must have pre-planned and sequenced his moves before the game.  LOL.

[capecodderParticipant]

 Zoubek had a better senior year than Miles did…..he did nothing his first three years compared to Miles’ first three years, but his senior year he was a key player  

[akhan786Participant]

You must’ve never seen Miles in highschool so don’t try to make generalizations on stuff you don’t know anything about…

He’s developed a lot in his 4 years at Duke. I’ve actually had the priviledge of watching a couple of practices and Miles was one of if not the best player in practices this year.

That’s just the thing, he’s one of those guys that play exceptionally well in practice but never could put it together mentally on the court.

I’m hoping he can somehow find a team where he can flourish and gain the confidence that has been absent from him these last 4 years.

I think the confidence issue might have come from always being upstaged by his younger bro, and Mason always getting the most attention by the media.

His ceiling is really is just an tough energy guy off the bench for a contending team. Coach K understood this from the beginning, and decided to only use Miles in this way because he knew that’s how Miles will be able to make money after his career at Duke. Miles had 22 rebounds (Duke record) against Maryland this year as well.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

AMG you missed a little of the point by comparing his numbers to the others in the combine. The 40.5" jump is easily the best ever by a guy his height and weight, forget about this draft. The 34 no step jump is also elite even at the NBA level. Now we’ve seen the complete lack of production beyond rebounding in college. I had to laugh when hearing him described as having a high basketball IQ. After four years of college he never figured out how to post up unathletic 6′ 8" centers. He did generally have the discipline to play his role. Or at least the Duke guards had the sense not to pass him the ball so he was left to crash the offensive boards.

But these hops cannot be denied. Miles is a lock for the second round. I suspect he might even go in the first round. Jan Vesley went in the lottery with only the ability to run and jump and Vesley can’t run and jump as well as Plumlee. If he goes with the 30th pick and just sticks as second big man off the bench, that will be enough to make the team drafting him happy. He seems like very low risk if you just want him to be a back up to your back up centers and power forwards. Throw in the fact that during garbage time you might get some highlight real dunks out of him, and I think you’ve got a sound case for him being worth a pick. In the second round, the teams draft a lot of guys who can’t play at all. I don’t think Plumlee will be that.

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