Austin Rivers and Seth Curry

When he is the only guy on the team who has missed a shot (the rest of the team right now is 13-18) and he is 4-10, someone with the "IT factor" would sense that tonight is the night he be a distributor. What Duke really seems to need is a point guard. Seth Curry isn’t it. If Rivers was an All-world player, he’d take on that role and make it so Duke can win the title.

BTPH are there any college players you DO like? 

I don’t see that D. Rose/D. Wade factor in his game at all.

IF Tim Hardaway Jr. is 6′ 5", then Austin Rivers is 6′ 3".

Kidding, kidding. I actually very much understand where he is coming from with Rivers and Duke in general. They definitely do not have a true distributor, every player is more programmed to score and they do not have top notch athleticism or a player that knows how to change speed and tempo. This seems to be a major reason that they never seem to close games very well.

Austin Rivers knows how to score, that is for sure and he will be a likely lottery pick or in that range. Still, he does not have the athleticism of a Rose or Wade, and he is relies on his outside shot more than one would want without the aforementioned two’s blow by ability. Austin is strong and he can get to the line, but I have not seen him really dominate competition that is not utterly inferior in talent. I think BTPH just tries to bring some rationale to people anointing players as superstars when that might not be the case.

I don’t know…

So far, it’s early, but I see a tweener. He doesn’t have any point guard skills. He doesn’t have the size to be a two. I don’t see that athleticism and length to be a great combo. He looks like a tweener who can score and who’s just best with the ball in his hands in my opinion.

He looks like a 6th man in the NBA… A instant scoring type off of the bench. I mean, he just looks one dimensional to me so far.

FWIW, he measured 6’5" w/ a 6’7" wingspan during the summer. That’s solid size for a 2, even though he may not look that big on the court.

IF he’s 6′ 5", then how tall is Tim Hardaway Jr???

"BTPH are there any college players you DO like?"

There are a lot of college players I like, but the quality of the games being played so far this year hasn’t been good. I think a good deal of it is that the point play isn’t great. The freshman class, as was last year’s, is not the 2007-08 crop. Sometimes there are guys who step onto the college court and they look they have no business being there. None of these guys are doing what Jared Sullinger did last year much less what guys like Melo and Iverson did in the past.

"BTPH likes Aziz N’Diaye and Gorgui Dieng"

Laugh away, but I’m convinced by January that one of the color guys on ESPN or CBS will be comparing Dieng to Thabeet and not realize it is a backhanded compliment until after it is out of their mouth.

 6’5 with a 6’7 wingspan? That’s that O.J Mayo, dinosaur-arms wingspan. No wonder he has trouble finishing at the rim. He needs to put in some serious work on his left hand. 

As for Seth Curry, I think that, as long as he shows the ability to make shots, he’ll get plenty of looks from the NBA. There were plenty of people who doubted his brother’s ability to play point guard. I think Stephen Curry’s doing a pretty decent job at the 1. 

I don’t think Rivers will be a superstar in the NBA, but I could see him being a Monta Ellis. I think what seperates both Ellis and Rivers from Mayo is quickness. While Rivers hasn’t been finishing at the rim all that well, no one has been able to stay in front of him. I think part of Mayo’s struggles in the NBA stem from his average quickness and ability to get to the rim.

 I agree, I don’t think Rivers will be a superstar but because of his first step, he will be an all star. I think what has made him such a point scorer so far in college is that he can blow by a guy on his first step and these college kids can’t catch up so they have to foul him or be more physical with him so he can’t finish. It’ll be a lot harder when he goes pro because they’re obviously bigger, faster, and stronger. IMO Rivers needs to stay at very least another year to learn from Coach K on how to be a good pro.

Hardaway is 6’6 according to his coach, he said he grew a inch over the summer.

Rivers is very talented and has more offensive weapons than any freshman Sg that has come into college in a long time, right now he has bad shot selction and sometimes struggles to finish but both things should get better with time. His jumper is off and on but he scores alot by going past his man. He has the handles and quickness to go past any player one on one with ease, which he has shown every single game that’s why he gets to the line so much.

He reminds me of a Monta Ellis/Brandon Roy hybrid. The only thing separating him from D-Wade status is his athleticism isn’t as high and he doesn’t seem to get that high off the ground when he jumps. It’s strange because he seemed way more athletic in highschool where I saw his head get rim level…now all of a sudden it seems like a chore for him to even dunk on a fastbreak.

However, I feel like he’ll get better at finishing once he gets adjusted to the speed and physicality of the college game. Other then a couple of bad decisions, Austin’s actually playing better than I thought he was going to, I didn’t think he was capable of scoring 20 on a decent opponent this early in the year.

I feel like people are getting on him too quick. ITS BEEN 6 GAMES. Give the kid a little time to adjust. Everybody remembers how Barnes looked even WORSE than Austin in his first couple of games and now he’s the preseason POY. People are too judgemental on freshmen coming in ever since the one and done era, they expect them to come in and dominate. It takes time and hopefully Austin will show everyone why he was a top 3 highschool player last year.

I know i’m going to get Bashed for saying this,but with Austin learning under coach K..And coach K teaches him to use his left hand more,when to get his teammates involved, to play defense the right way and not constantly reaching in for steals..I think by year end,he’s going to be in alot of people’s Top 3 ..I think he’s going to be a better pro than Jeremy Lamb,the guy everyone is Raving about right now..

Why do i believe he’s going to be better than Lamb? Lamb doesnt have many moves besides a crossover..And he’s not that shifty with the ball..Rivers is talented enuff to get to anywhere he wants on the floor…

Rudeboy is right for the most part. I don’t know if he will be top 3(it could happen but it could be a strong draft) but he has been pretty good for a freshman. What was our expectations of him coming in to the year? I think it is kind of unreasonable to expect him to average 20+ ppg this early in his freshman year. He is still getting 15 a game against solid competition. He is struggling at the line early and that will improve. All of these things that everyone is mentioning are fixable.

He needs to catch & shoot better. Ok, he just needs more time practicing that shot. He has had the ball in his hands his whole life. Give him time to make the adjustment. He has trouble finishing at the rim. I think most 18 year olds that have been finishing against smaller HS guys for the last 4 years would struggle against bigger stronger big men. He will get there. Not everyone can be Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, or Michael Beasley and dominate from day 1.

Point is, Austin Rivers will be fine. I’m not even a big fan of his but watching the way he can get into the lane, it doesn’t seem like he will continue to have trouble scoring. I just expect his offensive game to grow to include his left hand, floaters, runner, etc. As a scorer, Austin Rivers will be ok.

Yeah, Lamb only averaged 1 free throw attempt a game last season..Hopefully he’ll improve on that this season..But you want your best player to be the most aggressive person on your team…And at times Lamb seems too timid to attack..

I don’t see the "it" factor with Rivers.  He loves to hang out at the top of the key and just waves his arms for the ball.  His body language is also questional at times.  I’ll be surprised if he makes one all-star appearance in the L.

Rivers is extremely aggressive, which is a good thing, and he makes plays happen. He seems just as explosive as he was in high school, but now he tries to finish at the rim alot. In high school, he had an all-world floater that he could score with whenever he wanted to. He isn’t showing it off for some reason this year and if he took a floater versus an attempted layup even once or twice a game, your looking at 4 more points. He used to be able to make floaters over anyone (anyone watch the St. Patricks game where he killed Gilchrest with it), but now it seems like he’s lost it. If he finds that shot, I think it’s over. People are saying he’s way overrated, but when you watch him play your looking at the most talented guy on the floor still trying to adjust. He’ll be great in March, and then he will go top 5.

 I don’t think a lot of the haters have actually been watching Duke’s games. It’s one thing to see the turnovers in the box-score and another to see how the come about in the flow of the game. 

I’m going to try to be unbiased, by being critical here.

First and foremost, you can see Rivers is adjusting to the college game. Not only the uptick in talent and physical gifts, but also adjusting to being forced into an offensive role. Austin had the greenest light ever in high school, any shot he took was the best possible shot and a top of the key iso was his teams best play. Rivers now plays a large role for a top 10 team, but he is by no means the only focus of the offense.

Most of Rivers turnovers come during penetration when the help collapses. He has a tendency to get into tunnel vision, and force his floater, or take a contested layup. If he became a more willing passer, kicking out to Curry or Dawkins in the corners or dumping it off to Plumlee in the post, his turnovers would go down drastically. 

As for rivers trouble finishing at the rim, it isn’t a lack of explosiveness. What he lacks is strength. More physical defenders and post players knock him off balance in the air, and often foul him. Rivers will get to the line a lot, but he needs to learn how to take contact better for the next level

Let’s just say that he has been improving EVERY GAME and if any of you guys saw the Duke vs. China games you can see the improvement is astronomical.

After those couple of games many Duke faithful were wondering if Austin should come off the bench. He has an insane work ethic and by the end of the year he should be averaging close to 17 ppg. I highly doubt him averaging 20 ppg because of all the weapons on Duke’s roster, but I can see his assists go up to 4 a game and see his turnovers go down as well.

 If he hangs around in college till he is a junior, he could lead the nation in scoring and be the POY….

So the people who aren’t impressed thus far and don’t see D. Wade or B. Roy in his game, are haters? The people who don’t see that "IT" factor are haters?

My opinion has nothing to do with the boxscore… I’ve just been using the eye test and paying attention to the little things that go unnoticed by a lot of people. I haven’t been impressed thus far. Like I said, he looks like a tweener to me. He’s quicker, but he reminds me of OJ Mayo somewhat. Mayo’s not a bum, just not the superstar a lot of people thought he’d be (or he thought he’d be) at the NBA level.

I don’t think Rivers will be a superstar… I don’t see that type of ability or physical tools when I watch him play. He has a chance to be a very good NBA player though IF he learns to play the game the right way.

 Alright, maybe naysayers is a better word. I played in the same area as him in high school and everyone was a hater so I jumped to that right quick. 

I see the tweener thing for sure, he 6’5" with shoes on apparently, but mad skinny. He needs to add upper body strength for sure, but I don’t think he lacks superstar potential. I’d say it’s more than likely he’ll be a high level player/all star but maybe not a superstar.

He’s a little more athletic than he gets credit for, but he’s a two footed jumper so it takes more time to gather and go up for a dunk. I think he’ll show a little more of that once he adjusts to the pace of the game. 

I just think his skills are so developed at this age it would be hard not for him to succeed. All he really needs is some weight training and to continue to develop his mental approach. He seems like the type of competitor and has the swagger to try to be the best. I think all those things outweigh his drawbacks as an athlete and tweener. 

player who is very flashy but will never be a pure PG and will not be efficient player for a winning team with a lead role.

Austin Rivers = Gilbert Arenas