[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

Just read the article on here about the Adidas Nations Tournament Recap, and according to scouts, Noel has really struggled.  They say he has been concentrating on his academics which is  good thing, but his game has really struggled, lacking any sort of post moves or polish on the offensive end.  They have compared him to Samuel Dalembert.  I have said many times on here that Noel has been massively overrated, and many people have echoed my sentiments as well. It seems as though it might be worse than that.  I hate to use the word "project," but it seems like Nerlens might be one.  He is most definitely a one and done at Kentucy and his offensive game might never develop.  He is a strong defensive presence, but it seems he is far below Anthony Davis in terms of basketball IQ or offensive touch around the basket.  As of now, it sounds like the pro future of Noel is murky at best. 

[HitsterParticipant]

 A year under Coach Cal will do him good and if he is a top defensive player lets say he ended up like Ibaka then he’d still have huge value to a lot of NBA teams. Offensve games can be a work in progress and teams can feed bg men a few baskets bto keep them interested.

I haven’t heard that much about the Adidas Tournament with the Olympics on but I’ll catch up on it next week to try and get a better personal idea where I think Noel is at.

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

Nations is just open gym where big men don’t get the ball much again and guards look the best. Most bigs look bad in these settings because of limited touches.

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

 He basically played like he has always played.  He put up 8pts on 4-8 shooting in his first game with some blocks. He will be fine especially with Cal working with him. The only people who think he’s overrated are the ones trying to compare him to Anthony Davis which he is not or some who judge him off a bad game or two and ignore the hundred of games he has played before that.  He will be fine

[c’mon craigParticipant]

but if he had gone to tulsa and let danny manning develop him, there would be hope for his offensive game. manning does a great job with big men on the college level. heck even georgetown, since they were in his top three, would have been a great choice. i just dont think kids this young always see the big picture or maybe just too concerned with winning(not a bad thing), or program names. if your a guaranteed lottery pick no matter where you go, why not go to a school/play for a coach that specializes in developing your position? no doubt that he will do great things a UK but he may end up being the next hasheem thabeet. i’d take dalembert over him anyday lol

 

[SpacegrassParticipant]

Nerlens will be a lottery pick in this next draft just on potential as long as he doesn’t suffer any major injury next season.  I am just not convinced he is a top 3-5 guy like many do even in a weak draft.  He has great length , is a very good shot blocker , and an athletic specimen for a near 7 footer.  Also he operates out of the high post fairly well but that is about it on the positives to me.

My problem with him isn’t even the fact he only scored about 12-13ppg on the HS level , what I see is a 6’11 guy only averaging 7.2rpg on the HS level and that worries me.  Even in a more structured event like the Nike Hoops Summit I wasn’t impressed.  He is good at blocking shots and playing passing lanes for a 6’11 guy but his defensive IQ is not that good.  I want to see him rebound much better at the college level because if not I see him as potentially a more athletic Fab Melo next season.  The positive is he is a big guy and usually big guys are the last to mature as players so only time will tell but I don’t see how anybody considered him the possible top prospect in 2013 over Randle , Parker , or Harrison when he was in that class.

[RedDead93Participant]

Too early to judge, let the process happen and check back in January.

[SpacegrassParticipant]

I can already pretty much tell Alex Poythress is the best UK recruit next season and Nerlens is in a situation like it is in the pros and that is true centers are available at a premium.  That is why he is considered the #1 prospect keyword "prospect" meaning those HS scouting services see him as #1 in 5-6 years which could be true but right now he needs some polish.

[mmichnowicz1Participant]

 I played against Noel, and a lot of other top players in highschool. Dion Waiterskaleb tarczewski and, and Rakeem Christmas to name a few, and had a top 30 player on my team. He was the best shot blocker that I have ever seen at the highschool level, and he was not challenged in highschool, and his highschool team was so good that they were never challeneged. Once he gets acclimated to college, and being challenged he will be okay. 

That being said he is incredible raw offensively, he falls for pumpfakes too often, and needs to add a lot of strenghth. His post game is nonexistant, and likes to handle the ball (which he can kind of do), but he does need a lot of work.

[mmichnowicz1Participant]

 His highschool team was huge: 6-11( him) 6-9, and 6-7.  His job was to blockshots because they had the height to rebound with him helping hard. It is very hard to rebound when you helped to block a shot.

[sheltwon3Participant]

It is still early but seeing how Drummonds fell in a draft and he is said to have high b ball IQ, I think Nerlens should stay two years.  I think it will give him time to learn the game and be better prepare for the NBA regardless of where he goes in the draft because your second contract is the one to worry about.

[RedDead93Participant]

How’d that work for Sullinger?

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 Man you going off some open gym type stuff!

You think Coach Cal who has been doing this coaching and recruiting stuff for years would have brought him in if he really wasn’t good.

You think Rivals, Scouthoops, etc….who also have been doing the ranking thing for years would have ranked him the best big man in the country if he wasn’t that good.

Let him play some games for UK then pass judgement.

[ThepessimestParticipant]

To answer your question….yes; those rating services do get things wrong. And you would be surprised how those ratings are gathered. I watched this young man play in high school and while I see his great athletic talent he is very raw. It’s early and I will wait on seeing him after he has had different coaching but the comparisons to Anthony Davis are far off. You can say that the environment he recently played in is for guards but when he did get the ball he showed a lack of touch and imagination around the basket. That’s not guard plays fault that shows some areas where he needs to improve in. So we shall see. Overall too early to say he is over-rated or even rate him relative to other college players until he plays some games where there is a system and team play emphasized. 

[RedDead93Participant]

Preach!

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

 can we all just be friends on this one??

he hasnt even played one game at UK yet…. i mean are u guys surprised he isnt some wizard in the post yet…. hes 18 with basically no offensive game yet….. i can see him getting around 10-12 ppg his freshmen yr just off easy buckets or putbacks, etc…… which isnt terrible…. hes a long term prospect with monster upside….. dont write him off just yet because of one camp showing…… 

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

 can we all just be friends on this one??

he hasnt even played one game at UK yet…. i mean are u guys surprised he isnt some wizard in the post yet…. hes 18 with basically no offensive game yet….. i can see him getting around 10-12 ppg his freshmen yr just off easy buckets or putbacks, etc…… which isnt terrible…. hes a long term prospect with monster upside….. dont write him off just yet because of one camp showing…… 

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 True, they are not always right….BUT 97% of the time they are correct on their rankings especially when it comes to the #1 player in the country.

Nerlens Noel was rated #1 player in the country lets see who else was rated #1 in the country…….

Lebron James rated #1 in 03(Best player in the world)

Dwight Howard rated #1 in 04(NBA Superstar)

Josh McRoberts rated #1 in 05(Didn’t pan out like he was supposed to)

Greg Oden rated #1 in 06( We all know injuries held him back or he’d be an All-Star now)

Michael Beasley rated #1 in 07(Problems off court have held him back)

Brandon Jennings rated #1 in 08(One of the best young PG’s in the game)

John Wall rated #1 in 09(One of the best young PG’s in the game)

Harrison Barnes rated #1 in 10(Jury still out)

Anthony Davis rated #1 in 11(Jury still out)

Like I said I will trust the recruiting GURU’s when it comes to Nerlens over an Addidas nation camp scrimmages.

[SpacegrassParticipant]

You say 97% of the time they get it right with the #1 player but your facts say otherwise.  Really based on what you posted it’s only correct 33% of the time based on the sample size and sources you used.

2003 , 2004 , and 2011 look to be accurate as to be who is the #1 player in their class.  But from what I have seen to this point 2005 , 2006 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , and 2010 the #1 player by your assumption/recruiting service rankings did not end up being the #1 player in their respective classes at the college or pro level.  Also I am not sure what service you were using for you rankings because it’s obvious you changed your source for each class to fit you argument so it shows less validity in your point.  If you are using Rivals Josh Selby was #1 in 2010 and Byron Mullens was #1 in 2008.  Depending on who you use in 2007 which was a very strong class it could of been Mayo who was touted #1 by Scout or Beasley who was #1 by Rivals.  Yet it is clear that to this point that Blake Griffin or Derrick Rose are the better players and Griifin wasn’t even a top 10 recruit.  Hell the 2 players debated for the top spot in 2005 were McRoberts and Gerald Green and neither of those guys were close but guys like Monta Ellis , Andrew Bynum , and Lou Williams have been way better players.  Keep in mind also that this 2012 class is the weakest since the 2005 class it seems as well.

You can say they are good at knowing who is going to be good but the recruiting services are not as accurate as you portray and predicting who is the clear best player in each HS class.  It seems they only get it right with who is #1 when it is blatantly obvious.  Like I said I have no doubt that Nerlens is going to be a top 10 to lottery pick next year and right now I would put him at either 6 or 7 on my big board for 2013 draft but to act like he is going to be a #1 type talent is denying what you see with your eyes when it comes to Nerlens actual game.

 

 

[HaleParticipant]

Is this the general media or a website? Because it seems scouting sites never actually have the top guy #1.

ESPN from 07-12 (as far back as it goes):

Kevin Love, Brandon Jennings, Avery Bradley, Harrison Barnes, Anthony Davis, Nerlens Noel

Rivals 03-12:

LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Gerald Green, Greg Oden, Michael Beasley, BJ Mullens, John Wall, Josh Selby, Austin Rivers, Shabazz Muhammad

Scout.com 03-12:

Chris Paul (changed to LeBron James about a year ago), Dwight Howard, Josh McRoberts, Greg Oden, OJ Mayo, Brandon Jennings, Derrick Favors, Harrison Barnes, Anthony Davis, Nerlens Noel

[GrandmamaParticipant]

Whatever scout compared him to Samuel Dalambert must be blind, they are nothing alike.

[RafterParticipant]

I just don’t see it with Noel, he’s a special shot-blocker that’ll be an asset to Kentucky but besides that he really hasn’t shown me anything else when i’ve watched him and he’s most definitely not Anthony Davis.

Offensive game as mentioned is really raw, it’s not an understatement that he looks lost on offense but also, his ball-handling is poor, team-mates begin to become uneasy when he handles the rock. Due to his weight, screening isn’t as solid. His body is lean which can add muscle and mass but right now, he’s not strong enough to bang in the NBA or be a defensive presence right away thus being a project which could lead to Noel sliding like Drummond did, but time is on his side because he is very young.

I much more prefer Muhammad over the incoming freshman crop, i think he’d be fine in the NBA if he was drafted out of high school IMO, and Zeller is far beyond Noel at the moment, Zeller played outstanding against Davis last season and knew exactly how to play against him on both meetings, he’s gained good weight and is a year older, he should slaughter Noel when they match-up.

I just don’t like him, he just seems like wannabe big man, being forced to be a big due to his height and physical gifts, he has no polish and relies heavily on his athletic ability, which he’ll get away with at the collegiate level but not in the NBA. Having a strong foundation of skills will improve his long-term development as he wouldn’t just be a great athlete but that’s a lot of work to learn: the fundamentals, post skills, footwork, awareness, mid-range jump shot and weight, does he really want to become great? His passion  for basketball will be tested.

 

 

[theballerwayParticipant]

At Kentucky he WILL assume a very similar offensive role as AD. He will be a lob and dump of recipient. He will get a few put backs and tip ins block some shots and be a force on the boards just because of his length and agility in my opinion( atleast 9). I really dont know what all this other offense you guys saw from Davis in college but I cant see Noel being that much of a drop off at all.

2 lobs, 1 dump off, 1 put back, couple free throws. and hes got 10pts, work with me and assume he does get those 9 rebs or even 8 throw in 2/3 min blocks and hes good to go top 5.

I dont see Cal having him operating with his back to the basket at all, UKs whole thing is leaning on these young players strengths and masking there weakness as a team

Steve Adams, now thats I guy Im just not sure about

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