[GrandmamaParticipant]

This dude was one of my favorite prospects when he came out of high school.  I haven’t seen one N.C. State game this year and haven’t heard anything about him, so I was wondering how has he looked this year?  When do you see him declaring for the draft, and will he be successful in the league?

[Bob BallParticipant]

 he was second team all ACC

[butidonthavemoney]

He’s still athletic. Excellent finisher around the rim. Closed out the season strong. Still a poor decision-maker. Turnover-prone.

I don’t think he’s any more ready for the NBA than he was last year, but could see him coming out and being a late-first/early-second rounder. Would be a nice alley-oop target at the next level, if nothing else.

[surveParticipant]

His athleticism is still elite and has allowed him to finish plays well and block a lot of shots.  He really hasnt wowed anyone I dont think, but that is because of NC State.  State was bad last year, although they had good talent.  Lowe was terrible.  Now Gottfried is there and doing a great job with the same talent…but some bad losses have kept State and Leslie below the radar.  I know he wanted to be one-and-done, but it was a bad decision last year.  This year, I still think its a bad decision.  If he stays and doesnt get injured, next year he can be a lottery pick…because State will have the same cast basically with the underrated Lo Brown, Scott Wood, an absolute man inside Richard Howell, plus add a top-10 recruiting class with Rodney Purvis and they will be a poor man’s Kentucky.  Leslie will basically be the best player on the team along with Purvis and get plenty of shine as State’s visibility will greatly increase.

[HaleParticipant]

 I really haven’t heard his name at all this year. Looking strictly at numbers he looks pretty close to last year, except he’s shooting better percentages.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 A great update on his performace was written on another site a few days ago:  Check It

[EDITED FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY]

[butidonthavemoney]

Please don’t post articles/links to rival draft sites. That’s how forum-favorite Quincey Hodges got banned.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 Interesting.  When I posted it I didn’t think it’d be a problem until I noticed that they somehow embedded a link and promotion for their site into the words of the article which I never really saw before cuz I just pasted the words but when I submitted it all this other stuff was written at the bottom.

But I still didn’t think it’d be a problem cuz articles get posted from ESPN Insider at that everyday.

Oh well not a big deal thanks for the tip NoMoola.

To make a long story short the biggest difference between last year and this year with Leslie is that he’s sorta settled into a role at N.C. State and understands his limitations better enabling him to impact a game without making too many mistakes.  He’s an amazing athlete who uses his hops and length to finish at the rim at a really high rate despite being rail thin.  His length an athleticism also enable him to get a good amount of blocks and steals.  

The big concern tho is still his lack of bulk.  Unlike a player like Anthony Davis whose limited right now by his bulk but has a great frame to add weight and has already added a considerable amount of weight during his freshman year, Leslie doesn’t appear to have the same frame to carry weight and it hasn’t been easy for him at all to add weight thus far.  He’s also not a great rebounder considering his physical profile.

So being skinny and his lack of skill in the post will push him to the perimeter at the next level but he hasn’t shown many flashes of being able to play there full time.  He’s not a great shooter and doesn’t have much range on his shot.  He does have a great first step and can dribble in a straight line, but he can’t really get his own shot.

He compares favorably to Darius Miles only Miles has much more polish on the perimeter being able to handle the ball, pass, and had more range on his jumper.  If he comes out he could get drafted anywhere from the late 20’s to the late 2nd round.  

If he stays he still has the potential to become a lotto pick tho because N.C. State is gonna look like the Baylor of the ACC.  I really wanted to see Leslie and Ryan Harrow grow together but with Harrow at UK, State won’t miss a beat with Purvis coming in. 

[shipargosParticipant]

 Long, Skinny, plays above the rim, poor jumpshooter, mediocre rebounder, tweener

[gopack10Participant]

Leslie is leaps and bounds ahead of where he was last year at this point.  I watch most State’s games and he has really taken it to another level this year.

His points and rebounds are virtually the same because he is on a team that has five starters averaging double figures.  They spread the ball around a lot so he isn’t fed the ball for long stretches during games.  He has an improved jump shot and he is shooting a higher percentage from the line.  He is an athletic freak and moves his feet well for a big man.  He is able to keep space between himself and his defender and use his lenght and hops to block shots without fouling.

That being said, he still isn’t an elite ball handler and he still has improvements to make with his jump shot.  His decision making has improved but he could still be better.  He should definitely stay another year when he will be on a deeper team and one that will gain a lot more exposure on the national level.  He is a first round talent this year (probably 22-25) but he is a lottery pick next year if he keeps improving his game.

He reminds me of a shorter Josh Smith.

[river09Participant]

Hakim warrick is a good comparison in my mind… Both are super athetic but without a real position.., 

[FritzParticipant]

He has all the tools to make it but I dont think he has the mental toughness or drive to make it in the NBA. He doesnt want it bad enough. After a tough loss I saw him at the bar that night after the loss. Great players dont go out and celebrate after losing. Besides from not having anywhere near the strength or weight to post up in college let alone the NBA I think he just doesn’t mentally have what it takes to make it in the NBA. He is starting to become a much better college player and I think should stay at least one more year but he still has a long way to go before I think he will stick in the NBA

[ilike.panochasParticipant]

Julian Wright 2.0

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 Warrick is a great comparison and he had to stay 4 years to get a skill set that enabled him to stick in the league.

Julian Wright was/is way more skilled then Leslie, Wright use to run point forward at Kansas and could really defend and facilitate well.  Leslie has no where near the skill level with the ball in his hands, or even BB IQ that Wright displayed.  But Wright while being a fluid athlete, isn’t a freak athlete.  Wright’s wingspan made him seem like he jumped higher then he did when he really don’t have a good vertical nor is he very fast, Leslie is on another level when in comes to athleticism.

And I’m not sure if Leslie is even shorter then Josh Smith and he might even have a longer wingspan then Smith, but he don’t have Smith’s physical profile and he’s not even close.  Smith was 240 coming out of high school, Leslie didn’t even weigh 200 coming into college.

[iguapops420Participant]

 Warrick is best comparison, though even Warrick had better guard skills going in than Leslie IMO. He simply stopped working on his game after he left Memphis. As for Julian wright, not a fan of this comparison. He’s actually an odd case as he had some of the best physical tools possible to go along with a tremendous skillset. As previously mentioned, he often ran a point-forward role for KU. His favorite player was Magic Johnson so he naturally tried to pattern his game like Magic. His breakout speed for a player his size was eerily similar to that of Magic’s teammate James Worthy. It has been said by everyone close to Julian along with former coaches/teammates that he has an incredible workout and is always found in the gym. Unfortunately for whatever reason, his game simply never translated even with his terrific skillset/work ethic. My guess, his handle never developed the way it needed, nor did his jumpshot. I still have faith that he will ultimately find a niche with some team as a high energy defender who can make the occasional play. Heck, look at James Johnson. Sometimes you just need the right team/role.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 Wright tested out terrible at the combine and still can’t hit a jump shot that’s probably why he didn’t stick.  He was regarded as being athletic but he went out and posted like a 31" vert and his court sprints weren’t nothing to update facebook about.  

The main reason tho is probably what you touched on is that his contract didn’t pay enough to buy buckets and he can’t hit them on his own, plus his handles while being good for his size, never turned into anything elite.  He’s still young tho and has time to eventually make it in the league.

[iguapops420Participant]

 Personally I think it had a lot to do with how he was developed early on by NOH never embracing his passing abilty simply relying on him to hustle. Never had the opportunity since. had he been drafted by a team like LAL, though, things may have actually ended up a bit different for hiim. I actually remember before that draft, most people were talking about outside iof Durant and Oden, that Julian wwas probably the only other player in the draft with franchise caliber potential.

[river09Participant]

 @fritz

 

Hate to say it but at college, regardless of win or loss, there is a party either at a bar or house a player owns… As a college athlete myself I say that with pretty much absolute certainty. There may be exceptions, but they are very few and far between.. 

[redone1Participant]

 I think he should come back next year. Yea if he comes out this year and has really good workouts with teams he could still be a 1st round pick. But if he stays next year and improves on his skills needed to be a NBA PF. Leslie, richard howell, lorenzo brown and scott wood all returning and nc state adding Rodney Purvis(Highly skilled scoring combo guard), TJ Warren (5 star SF recruit) and the most important player (True PG Tyler Lewis). That team could really challenge for an acc title. And if NC state has a good season Leslie could be picked in the top 10 in ’13.

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