Cody Zeller #1???

No white american player will ever go number one again sooo no I don’t see him goin over Bazz or Noel…but third would be respectable.

 i think he will go 3rd , muhammad goes 1 and noel goes 2

 i think he will go 3rd , muhammad goes 1 and noel goes 2

Calm down, the draft’s over a year away. No there’s no way he’ll be drafted first because of those t-rex arms you already mentioned (6-8 wingspan) will pull down his draft stock no matter how skilled he his offensively. His wingspan limits him as a rebounder and defender so perhaps top 5 because of his skill, but definitely not #1.

I would say he has the ability to go top 5 but I’d have Shabazz, Adams, Noel and McAdoo ahead of him personally.

I think that Shabazz is most likely to go one but if Steven Adams proves to be a legit prospect, I could see his size being a huge selling point.

I love making fun of white American players just as much as anyone but that is certainly not why he will, most likely, not get picked number one.  Top 5 ain’t bad though… 

 If he makes vast improvements and becomes a truly dominant player than I think he could.  But that’s a pretty big "if".  Zeller is a 6’11” moble player and if he takes his game to the next level in 12-13 and drops like 20pppg and 10 rpg and maintains his high level of efficiency then I think he would certainly be in the conversation.

cut it out with the "no white American player will ever go number 1 again," crap.  Oh, that idiot got negged 22 times so I wasn’t the only one ticked off by his comment.

 cut it out 

Andrew Bogut was drafted just back in 2005 and he was white so I don’t know what Sewok 15 was rambling about.

 ticked off

WOW -40 for telling the truth. I am a White American and there is a reason it has been 35 years since Kent Benson was the last White American player taken with the #1 pick. White players are clearly not as talented on the whole as Black players. Numbers don’t lie. I am not trying to be controversial I am just stating facts. 1977 was the last year a White American was drafted first. How many of you were even alive at that point? I know I wasn’t so in my lifetime there have been absolutely zero White Americans picked first. After Kevin Love who is the next best White American in the league…David Lee? Kirk Hinrich? Love could have been the top overall pick with his skills but the perception was that he wasn’t athletic enough. He now leads the league in rebounding and can score from anywhere. Movies like White Men Can’t Jump perpetuated the stereotype that White players aren’t as athletic.  The percentage of White American players in the league went from 24% in 1980 to 10% currently. The percentage of black players remained the same but the International guys are skyrocketing and replaced the 14% of White American players who were in the league 30 years ago.

I SAID AMERICAN SO BOGUT IS an AUSSIE….get your life together.

I don’t generally neg people, but I don’t think you got negged due to the current racial statistics of the NBA, but for matter of fact stating it will never happen again.  We just don’t know.  If Tim Duncan would have come out early, Keith Van Horn would have been the #1 pick in 1997.

If the 1996 draft were done all over, you could make a case for Steve Nash at #1, most would still pick AI, but Nash has had a longer less troubled career.

We just don’t know.  If Zeller or Mitch McGary dominate next season or the season after that, who’s to say it can’t happen?  You’re right Shabazz and Noel are guys that are heavy favorites, but we don’t know for sure.  Harrison Barnes isn’t going to go #1, a lot of people thought he was a lock after his freshman year.

and nobody thought Harrison Barnes was a lock to go first after his freshmen year. He underacheived his first year at UNC and most of the hype about him being a #1 pick was before he ever got on campus at UNC because the perception was that he was an athletic guy who could get his own shot off whenever when in reality he is only average athletically and is more of a spot up shooter who struggles to get to the basket.

you’re not winning this argument Sewok, next topic…

you’re not winning this argument Sewok, next topic…

He will likely be drafted as a PF, not a center, so doubt scouts will consider his wingspan a huge difference maker. Not saying he will go first, but the guy is supremely talented.

 @ sewok … : this "what if" game is great when you write like bill simmons… if not you should avoid.

Van Horn at 1st in SA… next to robinson…hum hum… I have absolutely no idea if he could have been as successful as duncan but I’m sure he wouldn’t have lived the same carreer in a so steady and quality organization as the spurs were/are… 

Remember how good was KVH from day one… best scorer and leader in a roster full of effective scorers : kittles, cassell, gill, gatling (http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NJN/1998.html)

26 W /56 L : 1996/97

43 W /39 L and PO : 1997/98 

Imagining him next to a so much dominant Robinson able to teach him D and in the SAS/Pop’ system… he could have been great…

JYD beat me to the "system matters" arguement, so way to go for KVH.  Also Van Horn was very good for quite a few years until, seemingly anyway, a few injuries and Kenyon Martin totally punking him even though they were teammates shot his confidence to hell. 

And the real answer to whether a white person will go first is "who cares?"  A white guy might be best someday, he might not.  So?  Does it honestly matter? 

Zeller is a 4, not a 5, but what a 4.  He could be among the top post players in the league.  He has a ton of Pau to his game in the best way possible.  He’d likely #3, though I could see him going 2 since Shabazz is a 2 and there’s so many 2s going to lottery teams this year.

^Yeah, KVH was a 20 and 8 player in his first 3 seasons before injuries set in.

I worded that wrong, Barnes "would be".  Before he had played a college game, many thought he’d be the #1 pick and if high schoolers were still allowed to go pro there would have been a very good chance he would have gone #1.

Noel and Bazz haven’t played a college game.  I like them both and think they have a lot of potential, but we can’t say with certainty one of them will be #1.

I hope for Cody Zeller’s sake that he doesn’t go number one. I don’t think he will, but if he does, it’ll dramatically change the way people view him. I think he can be a very productive, and a good pro, but it’s all about the perception of being the #1 pick. I don’t think he could live up to that high standard.

Hey Sewok what about blake griffin ? white , american , christian and  whatever else you want!

Blake Griffin is not white. He is bi-racial and his dad is black as can be.

I just wanted to bring this thread back because I was very impressed with my -44 for stating no White American player would be drafted first overall. It has been 36 years since it has happened and I will be stunned if it happens anytime soon. Zeller is a lottery pick but I don’t think anyone considers him a potential first pick at this point…even in this draft where there is no consensus first pick. White American cheese is great but White American basketball players are a dying breed.

What about Bargs, Bogut?

No I am not mad I don’t think you know what the term White American means.

 Time to reopen this discussion. It is 2019 and Donald Trump is the President. If there every is a time for self degradation from white Americans now is the time.

The two great white hopes of American basketball once again seem to have had their careers derailed by injuries. Kevin Love is just some guy now without LeBron and Gordan Hayward had his leg turned around and doesn’t look like he may ever be worth that max deal. 

We left off 6 years ago when Cody Zeller was being touted as a potential #1 pick. He ended up going 4th in that draft and like many others picked that year under peforming. 

2014 Doug McDermott went 11th and Mitch McGary 21st…you don’t here much about these two lately.

2015 was the year of the white wisconsin Badger in the draft. Frank the tank went 9th and his teammate Sam Dekker went 18th. Both of them have been about average.

2016 Henry Ellenson was the lone white american player taken in the first round as he was taken 18th…I believe that night was the last time I heard his name

2017 Zach Collis goes 9th – Has done pretty well in Portland..no Nurkic but good young player.

TJ Leaf was 18th and has yet to make a major impact.

Tyler Lydon went 24th and haven’t heard much from him. 

2018- Donte Divincenzo, Kevin Huerter and Grayson Allen all go outside the lottery. Huerter looks like a good NBA player the other 2 haven’t played that much yet. 

2019- On this website the first White American mocked is Ty Jerome at number 27….safe to say no white guys going number one this year. 

2020- Nico Mannion can play but he is a 6-2 guard no chance he goes #1. Matthew Hurt is okay but no chance.

2021- The top 15 HS player rankings…no white dudes. 2022- No white dudes in top 10. 

Is anyone going to come to the dark side and admit that perhaps I wasn’t soooo off base when I stated years ago that no White American player will be drafted 1st overall again? It has been decades and my guess is it will be many more. If anyone says anything about Luka Doncic you are only furthering my point.