[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

http://www.nbadraft.net/forum/5-minutes-mitch-mcgary

 

FINALLY. I was wondering when this was going to be brought up. For those who did not know (and I could find no confirmation other than what I found in the post above), Mitch McGary was born on June 6, 1992. Meanwhile, Andre Drummond was born on August 10, 1993, Isaiah Austin on October 12, 1993 and Shabazz Muhammad on November 13, 1993. This, of course, makes Mitch a year older than all of these players. So, when people were saying "Well, Mitch was similar to Andre in that he was originally Class of 2011", they were leaving out the fact that Mitch was also a year older than Andre.

It is not an end all, be all, but it does put some things in perspective. I mean, one year ago, people were not really talking about Mitch at all. Does not mean Mitch is still not a great player and prospect, but a year made a HUGE difference for him all things considered. Just kind of puts some things in perspective, maybe is a reason to temper NBA expectations for Mitch as compared to some of the younger players in his same current class. Drummond was said to be in the 2011 class originally, but is only 2 months older than Isaiah Austin and Shabazz Muhammad.

Here is what Dave Telep wrote about it for ESPN Insider:

 

Factoring age into the evaluations

We’re in a new era of evaluating high school players. Many of America’s best prospects are repeat or fifth-year players. John Wall was a repeat guy and a year older than Derrick Favors, the other decorated prospect in the Class of 2009. Sometimes the extra year is needed to complete the maturation process of a player physically, emotionally and mentally. Other times, well, the extra year just makes you one year older than your new peers.

I don’t know the definitive answer when it comes to evaluating age versus talent. I guess there’s no conclusive way to do it other than take into account the physical maturation of various players and attempt to project them. Frankly, age sometimes only confuses the evaluation. However, it is interesting that we’re now comparing players in the same class who are very different in age.

Take the Class of 2012 for instance. Assume the four best players are Shabazz Muhammad (Las Vegas/Bishop Gorman), Andre Drummond (Middletown, Conn./St. Thomas More), Mitch McGary (Chesterton, Ind./Brewster Academy) and Isaiah Austin (Mansfield, Texas/Grace Prep); rank them in any order you wish. Now, what if we told you Muhammad (11/13/93) was the youngest followed by Austin (10/12/93), Drummond (8/10/93) and McGary (6/6/92). But McGary is nearly a year-and-a-half older than Muhammad. Of all the elite players, McGary made the biggest leap of any and his extra year of prep school worked well for him as he’s gotten his academics in order and matured in his game along the way.

However, let me blow your mind for a minute. Jabari Parker (Chicago/Simeon) was born March 15, 1995, making McGary nearly three years older than him. In his own class, Parker is a pup. Nerlens Noel (Everett, Mass./The Tilton School) was born in April of 1994 and Julius Randle (Dallas/Prestonwood) is eight months older than Parker; he was born 11/29/1994.

Age isn’t a be all, end all and it shouldn’t be but it is an interesting way to break down players, especially the elite ones when so little is separating them on the court.

[Hi its BenParticipant]

 Wow that really intrigues me with Jabari Parker’s potential then since he’s sooo young. He could be really really special if he continues to grow and make his offensive game more diverse.

[Hi its BenParticipant]

 Wow that really intrigues me with Jabari Parker’s potential then since he’s sooo young. He could be really really special if he continues to grow and make his offensive game more diverse.

[moochieeParticipant]

Wow that is nutty that McGary is so old, he is older than me and I graduated high school in 2010.

[moochieeParticipant]

Wow that is nutty that McGary is so old, he is older than me and I graduated high school in 2010.

[Author]

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