[JNixonParticipant]

 12: Kendall Marshall 6’4 198, PG, UNC, Soph.

Kendall Marshall checks in after quarterbacking UNC to 2 fine seasons, and he put up some of the best passing numbers in college hoops both of his years in college…Didn’t have the look of UNC PG’s we were used to when he got to college, UNC had become known for quick, waterbug type PG’s who push tempo, but Marshall was unique and succeeded in his own way…A southpaw…Bob Cousy award winner as a Soph. (nations top PG), 3^rd Team All ACC as a Fr., 2^nd Team as a Soph., and was a 3^rd Team AP All-American as a Soph…Set the ACC record for assists in a season last year (311)…Physically, Marshall has great size for a PG…Stands a legit 6’4, with a pretty strong 198 lb frame that can get to 205 with more time…Has a 6’5 wingspan, which isn’t very good for his height but his height is nice enough…Athletically, Marshall is below average…He’s isn’t very fast or explosive at all, and even though he has underrated quickness he still is not very quick…His lack of athleticism is looked at as a hindrance to his NBA potential too

Offensively, Marshall is a pure PG who does nothing really except put teammates in position to score…His passing skills are PHENOMENAL, and he probably…Had a 3.5 A/TO, and averaged about 10 assists a night, which is amazing…Floor vision is immaculate, sees the floor and reads his teammates and the defense better than any prospect in the 2012 class…Often rewards bigs running the floor afer missed or made baskets…There is no time for the other team to celebrate made baskets, or Marshall will burn you for quick baskets with his lead passes…Threads the needle like a seasoned veteran…Doesn’t even have to push the ball up court to get assists…Also effective in the half-court…UNC surrounded him with perfect personnel to compliment his passing with, athletic bigs and floor spacers on the perimeter…Does a great job of making misdirection drives to the rim and kicking out to shooters, where they can launch as soon effectively as soon as they catch the ball…Rarely do his eyes hit the floor…Takes care of the ball, but will try and look for the big play and get turnovers at times, nothing too terribly concerning though…Outside of his passing, Marshall has few outstanding traits…Is a secure ball-handler, rarely makes mistakes with his handle, but not flashy at all…He is a shifty slasher and will go to the rim when the defense does not rotate over to him, but that rarely happens and he doesn’t look to slash often at all…He has the strength to finish at the rim, but his touch isn’t great and his explosiveness limit him…1^st step is not very quick…Not going to blow by many NBA guards…It will be interesting to see how he works, given that he will mostly be making passes right around the perimeter in the NBA due to his inability to consistently get into the teeth of the defense… Will be tougher for him to put pressure on the defense in half-court offense with his lack of acceleration and burst…Needs a better in-between game…Doesn’t look to score much, but when he does its either right at the rim or a 3-pointer…Doesn’t even attempt runners and floaters, and both would greatly help him, that or developing a consistent 18 footer, Andre Miller style…As a shooter, Marshall struggles right now…He will sometimes knock down spot-up shots from 22 ft, but he has to be wide open though…His mechanics are kinda slow and his form is a bit deliberate though, which forcs his shot to look more like a knuckleball kinda, but his footwork is good and his shoulders are always properly squared when he shoots, even though he has little to no elevation on his shot…Uses too much upper body in his shots…Shows no ability to shoot off the dribble, wont even attempt those kinds of shots…Is a mediocre FT shooter…He might be able to play up-tempo, but it wont be because he’s a jet with the ball like past UNC PG’s, just because he can pass ahead extremely well…Fits best with the same cast he had at UNC, a team with shooters on the wing and athletic bigs who run the floor well…Has leadership qualities and good intangibles…UNC was noticeably better when he played, as opposed to when he was injured or was starting (like the 1^st part of his Fr. season)…Might take time to adjust in terms of his scoring efficiency, he probably will be a low 40% or high 30% FG shooter at 1st

Defensively, Marshall will struggle…He struggled defending quicker, more athletic PG’s, and that probably wont change in the NBA…He has the size and strength to get thru screens, and he usually does a good job of using footwork to deny some drives, but he will probably struggle on D in the NBA…Has enough size to match up with the bigger , more physical NBA PG’s though…Not going to get steals and blocks at a high rate for a PG

Overall, Marshall’s passing and IQ will be his selling points…He’s as pure a PG as you’ll ever find, and he’s the type of player you want as a leader and offense initiator…A team will have to deal with his athletic limitations and below par shot, and use him as the PG he is for him to be most successful…He isn’t a scorer, but his passing skills are high caliber

 

11: Austin Rivers, 6’5 198, SG, Duke, Fr.

Came to college as one of the most highly touted players in the 2011 class, and did all he could to fulfill the hype…Was one of the best pure scorers in college hoops last season, and really was good in some of the big moments for Duke…Was the only shot creator on the roster for Duke last season, and was comfortable in that role getting shots for himself, much more so than a typical Fr. with that much pressure at a big time school like Duke…1^st Team All-ACC in his lone college season, and Freshman All-American…Son of Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers…Physically, Rivers has nice tools…He is a legit 6’5 with an adequate 6’7 wingspan…He is 198, he needs a little more strength but he has the frame to put on 10 lbs without losing athleticism…Athletically, Rivers is good but not great…He is pretty quick and shifty, and has a very good burst, but his explosiveness, leaping skills and speed are just solid but not outstanding

On offense, Rivers scores well and that will be his calling card in the NBA…He is most effective getting jump shots though…Extremely confident shooter…Has very high level natural shot-making ability, and that alone will allow him to score immediately in the NBA at a good rate…Able to make jumpers off the bounce, off screens and spotting up, but is more comfortable off the dribble…Has NBA range and will let it fly from as far as 26 ft…Has a shot that involves too much unnecessary off-hand palm though, and it makes his shooting less consistent than it should be…He needs to do a better job of keeping his left hand on the side of the ball and not so much on the top…Still, he’s a good enough shot maker to still make shots well from deep…Always seems to have the same shot no matter how close or far he is to the hoop…His mechanics and fundamentals outside of his off-hand are great, as he elevates, squares his shoulders, and goes straight up and down with his shot…Off the dribble, Rivers is also effective…Possesses a great 1^st step, that makes him hard to defend when in isolation…Could be a very big threat in an offense with good floor spacing…Very nice ball-handler with good moves and crossovers…Has a floater, but overall his mid-range game needs improvement…He doesn’t look to score from mid-range a lot and can be prone to overdribbling or even shooting deep shots that aren’t there…Not the most efficient finisher around the rim, but he sometimes will make a nifty move to score when there…His touch allows him to get some shots that should be blocked to drop for him…Tends to force drives at times, and will throw up some questionable shots at the rim when he’d be better off kicking out or picking his spots better…Did a better job reading weakside help and was picking his spots better as the game slowed down as the year progressed…Put all the thoughts he could be a PG in the NBA to rest last year…Doesn’t have the floor vision or willingness to run offense for teammates to be a PG, and his A/TO (2.1/2.3) illustrates that…Usually looks to attack the rim for himself when he slashes…At times shows bad body language when things aren’t going well, so he needs to show more maturity…Going to be a threat in the pick and roll in the NBA with his shot-creating skills…Gets to the foul line pretty well, but was a 66% shooter when there, which is bad for a guy who shoots as well as he can…It seems to be more about concentration than his ability to make shots, but he HAS to get that to a respectable number to really reach his potential as a scorer…Really puts pressure on the D with his ability to put points up in a number of different ways…Can play up-tempo, but he seems to be better in a half-court game with good floor spacing…Really could be a great scorer in a free-flowing offense…Not afraid of taking the big shot at all, as we all saw against UNC in Chapel Hill lol

Defensively, Rivers struggled some…He doesn’t consistently handle quickness well, and can get blown by…Reaches far too often, gambles a lot for steals…Not a big factor off the ball either, as he isn’t a great ball thief really…Has the size to defend SG’s, but does need more strength to match up better with bigger guards…Not the best at denying dribble penetration…Wont make much of an impact on D or on the glass

Overall, Rivers is going to light up a teams scoreboard immediately…He’ll probably struggle some with efficiency as he has a lot to learn about shot selection and picking spots, and he’s not quite strong yet, but he will get there…He’s extremely confident, has natural shot making skills, and he embraces scoring, but he needs to round out the rest of his game…I think he’s a great pure talent, but he has some things to learn about playing winning basketball and being a more efficient decision maker before he can really be an elite player

[sammybuckeye13Participant]

I’m not a big Rivers fan but I agree with Marshall’s spot, he simply makes everyone better but more importantly (and this is more related to the bigs) he makes everyone play harder, and his impact on a game can truly be as great as anyone in this class.

[Author]

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