[RMolloy24Participant]

The second best player in this Draft, who’d you compare him to and how good do you think he’ll be?

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

First off I don’t think he’s the second best player in the draft. At this point, and it’s early mind you, I would put Parker and Smart ahead of him and even possibly WCS for the sheer fact that he has a true position.

I hate the C-Webb comparison for a few reasons but C-Webb’s basketball IQ was on another level than Randal and Webb was a solid 6’10( note that in those days they only did measurements without shoes) , Randal measured at 6’9 in shoes, which means he’s closer to 6’8 maybe even 6’7. Remember when K-State listed Beasley at 6’10 for part of the season but he was 6’7 w/out shoes.

Which leads me to my next point, I fear Randal is going to have the same problem that Beasley, Derrick Williams, and soon to be Anthony Bennett face which is the curse of the tweener 3-4. Only a few players in recent history have been able to play both positions successfully, Lebron, Melo, Durant, and Marion come to mind, but three of those four are MVP candidates every year and are all extremely versatile. His success will depend on the team that drafts him and who he’s playing next to and the system he’s playing in. With the league getting smaller at certain positions and spacing being more important than height I think there’s hope but players like Terrence Jones and the Morris twins make me hesitant when dealing with tweeners.

[SubZeroParticipant]

Being able to play the SF and PF spots doesn’t mean that they’re tweeners. It means they’re versatile, i.e. fast enough to play SF and strong/tall enough to play PF. A tweener is someone who isn’t athletic enough to play SF and isn’t tall/strong enough to play PF. Lebron, Durant, Melo, and Marion are all natural SFs that are capable of playing PF, although nowadays when people say they’re playing PF they’re actually still playing the perimeter.

[SubZeroParticipant]

Being able to play the SF and PF spots doesn’t mean that they’re tweeners. It means they’re versatile, i.e. fast enough to play SF and strong/tall enough to play PF. A tweener is someone who isn’t athletic enough to play SF and isn’t tall/strong enough to play PF. Lebron, Durant, Melo, and Marion are all natural SFs that are capable of playing PF, although nowadays when people say they’re playing PF they’re actually still playing the perimeter.

[trueone313detroitParticipant]

Plus four of the tweeners listed, KD, Melo, Shawn and Bron all played in the backcourt on defense when they started there careers with lebron playing PG for a short stint

[trueone313detroitParticipant]

Plus four of the tweeners listed, KD, Melo, Shawn and Bron all played in the backcourt on defense when they started there careers with lebron playing PG for a short stint

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

First off I don’t think he’s the second best player in the draft. At this point, and it’s early mind you, I would put Parker and Smart ahead of him and even possibly WCS for the sheer fact that he has a true position.

I hate the C-Webb comparison for a few reasons but C-Webb’s basketball IQ was on another level than Randal and Webb was a solid 6’10( note that in those days they only did measurements without shoes) , Randal measured at 6’9 in shoes, which means he’s closer to 6’8 maybe even 6’7. Remember when K-State listed Beasley at 6’10 for part of the season but he was 6’7 w/out shoes.

Which leads me to my next point, I fear Randal is going to have the same problem that Beasley, Derrick Williams, and soon to be Anthony Bennett face which is the curse of the tweener 3-4. Only a few players in recent history have been able to play both positions successfully, Lebron, Melo, Durant, and Marion come to mind, but three of those four are MVP candidates every year and are all extremely versatile. His success will depend on the team that drafts him and who he’s playing next to and the system he’s playing in. With the league getting smaller at certain positions and spacing being more important than height I think there’s hope but players like Terrence Jones and the Morris twins make me hesitant when dealing with tweeners.

[SpacegrassParticipant]

The without shoes argument makes no sense. As for Randle I think the C-Webb comparison is best possible for him. Plus I don’t think he has the defensive potential of Webber. Now he does have the ability to do one thing better than Webber and that is draw fouls and have potential to live at the FT line. Though there is some worry Randle thinks he is a SF too much. At times I thought Webber shied away from going to the rim and played too finesse , hopefully Randle doesn’t do that. Comparison wise I think a reasonable expectation will be Randle is an Antawn Jamison type with a bit more strength.

[KDThunder35Participant]

While I agree with you on the shoes argument, I do not think Randle – CWebb comparison is realistic. Webber was an absolute beast in the post, and a great passer out of the post. I don’t think CWebb was as finesse as you think. He did like to stick the mid range jumper, but he was not limited to that. He made strong post moves and finished around the rim with power.

I don’t see Randle being the vertical (off two feet stand still) athlete that Webber was, nor the post passer Webber was. Randle may be a better athlete running up and down the floor, but he is not a better post athlete. Webber could catch a pass near the hoop and hammer it home off two feet with contact. I don’t know if I see Randle powering through defenders off two feet in the post for a slam. He is more of a transition dunker to me.

I think Randle is a very unique player. He excels in transition and may struggle with his back to the basket a bit on longer defenders. He will be quick enough in the post to get his shot off on average defenders. I agree with the worry about him wanting to be a SF too much as well. He needs to develop his back to the basket, and using his quickness and above average ball handling for a PF as an advantage. He will ultimately be a PF in the league in my opinion.

[SpacegrassParticipant]

Webber never got to the line more than about 6 times a game in his best seasons and averaged less than 5 attempts per game for his career. Not great for a guy that was the focal point of the offense and an interior player. Webber was never much for contact. Which I get to a degree because that wears and tears on your body. But even when he was young he didn’t do it. Maybe Webber being a bad ft shooter much of his career added to it as well. Only shot over 70% from the FT line 6 of his 15 years and shot sub 60% his first 6 seasons including shooting 45% his 6th season and first with the Kings.

[SpacegrassParticipant]

Webber never got to the line more than about 6 times a game in his best seasons and averaged less than 5 attempts per game for his career. Not great for a guy that was the focal point of the offense and an interior player. Webber was never much for contact. Which I get to a degree because that wears and tears on your body. But even when he was young he didn’t do it. Maybe Webber being a bad ft shooter much of his career added to it as well. Only shot over 70% from the FT line 6 of his 15 years and shot sub 60% his first 6 seasons including shooting 45% his 6th season and first with the Kings.

[trueone313detroitParticipant]

Webber played a lot of small forward in his washington days teaming with Juwan Howard and Big George on that front court. I see randle perimeter game on par with Webb. But everything else no way. Plus he is smaller and lighter then webber was.

[trueone313detroitParticipant]

Webber played a lot of small forward in his washington days teaming with Juwan Howard and Big George on that front court. I see randle perimeter game on par with Webb. But everything else no way. Plus he is smaller and lighter then webber was.

[KDThunder35Participant]

While I agree with you on the shoes argument, I do not think Randle – CWebb comparison is realistic. Webber was an absolute beast in the post, and a great passer out of the post. I don’t think CWebb was as finesse as you think. He did like to stick the mid range jumper, but he was not limited to that. He made strong post moves and finished around the rim with power.

I don’t see Randle being the vertical (off two feet stand still) athlete that Webber was, nor the post passer Webber was. Randle may be a better athlete running up and down the floor, but he is not a better post athlete. Webber could catch a pass near the hoop and hammer it home off two feet with contact. I don’t know if I see Randle powering through defenders off two feet in the post for a slam. He is more of a transition dunker to me.

I think Randle is a very unique player. He excels in transition and may struggle with his back to the basket a bit on longer defenders. He will be quick enough in the post to get his shot off on average defenders. I agree with the worry about him wanting to be a SF too much as well. He needs to develop his back to the basket, and using his quickness and above average ball handling for a PF as an advantage. He will ultimately be a PF in the league in my opinion.

[SpacegrassParticipant]

The without shoes argument makes no sense. As for Randle I think the C-Webb comparison is best possible for him. Plus I don’t think he has the defensive potential of Webber. Now he does have the ability to do one thing better than Webber and that is draw fouls and have potential to live at the FT line. Though there is some worry Randle thinks he is a SF too much. At times I thought Webber shied away from going to the rim and played too finesse , hopefully Randle doesn’t do that. Comparison wise I think a reasonable expectation will be Randle is an Antawn Jamison type with a bit more strength.

[lalailaParticipant]

Blake Griffin with Beasley’s offensive skillset..

yes yes i think he will be a STUUUDD!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTpKb-ah2t8

[Hi its BenParticipant]

this is way overboard in my opinion. everybody has their own opinion though i just feel this combination would make him a top 3 power forward of all time eventually… no. just no.

[Hi its BenParticipant]

this is way overboard in my opinion. everybody has their own opinion though i just feel this combination would make him a top 3 power forward of all time eventually… no. just no.

[lalailaParticipant]

Blake Griffin with Beasley’s offensive skillset..

yes yes i think he will be a STUUUDD!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTpKb-ah2t8

[aivsdirkParticipant]

let randle be randle. you guys love comparisons too much

[aivsdirkParticipant]

let randle be randle. you guys love comparisons too much

[CameronCrazy11Participant]

First of all whenever I make comparisons, I really try my best to find the absolute closest comparison to a player. This includes players from the 50s and 60s all the way up to present day. Honestly I hate it when people just pick someone currently in the league and say that’s a good comparison.

That being said, I’ve been paying fairly close attention to many of the incoming college freshman in this class and I agree with Chris Webber in terms of his ceiling as a player. Both guys were/are power forwards who could handle the ball in the open court but could also play down low. They are about the same size, although Webber had a few inches on Randle which can sometimes make a world of difference in the NBA especially since Randle only has an average wingspan for his height (6’10”). I could see him getting multiple All Star appearances during his career and averaging about 22 and 10 during his best seasons.

The thing that worries me most of Randle is that he’ll start to fall in love with the perimeter ala Michael Beasley. I think he can still be a good player in this role but not the type of dominant player that he can be on the block. If Randle can get it through his head that he should spend more time at both the high and low post, I think he will be a very special player and I’m hoping he does.

[CameronCrazy11Participant]

First of all whenever I make comparisons, I really try my best to find the absolute closest comparison to a player. This includes players from the 50s and 60s all the way up to present day. Honestly I hate it when people just pick someone currently in the league and say that’s a good comparison.

That being said, I’ve been paying fairly close attention to many of the incoming college freshman in this class and I agree with Chris Webber in terms of his ceiling as a player. Both guys were/are power forwards who could handle the ball in the open court but could also play down low. They are about the same size, although Webber had a few inches on Randle which can sometimes make a world of difference in the NBA especially since Randle only has an average wingspan for his height (6’10”). I could see him getting multiple All Star appearances during his career and averaging about 22 and 10 during his best seasons.

The thing that worries me most of Randle is that he’ll start to fall in love with the perimeter ala Michael Beasley. I think he can still be a good player in this role but not the type of dominant player that he can be on the block. If Randle can get it through his head that he should spend more time at both the high and low post, I think he will be a very special player and I’m hoping he does.

[flopdownD]

I’m not gonna lie, I use to not like Julius Randle that much but he’s grown on me a bit…. ever since he came back from that injury to carry his team to a championship…. I thought he was cocky at first and just a manchild… but the kid seems to have the right mindset, is a hardworker, and actually loves the game so i read…. I think he will be a SF in the league or at the very least a nice combo forward in all sense of the word.

[flopdownD]

I’m not gonna lie, I use to not like Julius Randle that much but he’s grown on me a bit…. ever since he came back from that injury to carry his team to a championship…. I thought he was cocky at first and just a manchild… but the kid seems to have the right mindset, is a hardworker, and actually loves the game so i read…. I think he will be a SF in the league or at the very least a nice combo forward in all sense of the word.

[LA12Participant]

I don’t know if I’ve ever heard this comparison thrown around, but if we’re comparing based on playstyle/size/skillset I see him in the mold of a player like Thaddeus Young with a higher ceiling

[LA12Participant]

I don’t know if I’ve ever heard this comparison thrown around, but if we’re comparing based on playstyle/size/skillset I see him in the mold of a player like Thaddeus Young with a higher ceiling

[DolanCareParticipant]

Unless the league goes through another major transformation, Randle’s future is at the 4. He has the frame and interior skills to play through contact. What he doesn’t have is the lateral quickness to defend the wing. I’ve seen him play quite a bit, and I just can’t see him keeping even the lower end SFs in front of him. But his body type can help defend physicality over agility.

Ultimately, disagree that he’ll struggle in the league. He’ll be a great scorer in the NBA, lets just see how he defends.

[DolanCareParticipant]

Unless the league goes through another major transformation, Randle’s future is at the 4. He has the frame and interior skills to play through contact. What he doesn’t have is the lateral quickness to defend the wing. I’ve seen him play quite a bit, and I just can’t see him keeping even the lower end SFs in front of him. But his body type can help defend physicality over agility.

Ultimately, disagree that he’ll struggle in the league. He’ll be a great scorer in the NBA, lets just see how he defends.

[3aglesParticipant]

Both tough and skilled. Similar listed heights and weights. Not unreasonable to think Randle(or any highly rated player) won’t be a mega star, but being a David West isn’t all that bad IMO

[3aglesParticipant]

Both tough and skilled. Similar listed heights and weights. Not unreasonable to think Randle(or any highly rated player) won’t be a mega star, but being a David West isn’t all that bad IMO

[Author]

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