Putting guys in the NBA

[gobillsgo]

It’s off-season, and this is a topic I haven’t seen discussed a ton on the board. 

I think this is the first team we’ve had in a long time that could realistically put multiple guys in the NBA. Majerus’ SLU teams were notorious for having great college players that just weren’t quite good enough for the NBA.  I’d break down the candidates on this year’s team as follows:

Good chance to get drafted:  Goodwin, Gordon 

Late draft pick/ undrafted free agent type: French, Santos

Good chance to at least catch on with a team for summer league:  Bess, Isabell. 

While players potentially leaving early certainly would hurt in the short run, I think putting guys in the league would do wonders for local recruiting. If Travis gets a reputation for that, it’s game over for STL recruiting. 

As last season showed, things can always change quickly, so I’m not trying to get too ahead of myself here. I want to enjoy the season ahead of us. Still, it’s an interesting topic that we haven’t had to discuss over the last many years. 

Id be interested to read others’ opinions.  

[RiseAndGrind]

Just now, gobillsgo said:

It’s off-season, and this is a topic I haven’t seen discussed a ton on the board. 

I think this is the first team we’ve had in a long time that could realistically put multiple guys in the NBA. Majerus’ SLU teams were notorious for having great college players that just weren’t quite good enough for the NBA.  I’d break down the candidates on this year’s team as follows:

Good chance to get drafted:  Goodwin, Gordon 

Late draft pick/ undrafted free agent type: French, Santos

Good chance to at least catch on with a team for summer league:  Bess, Isabell. 

While players potentially leaving early certainly would hurt in the short run, I think putting guys in the league would do wonders for local recruiting. If Travis gets a reputation for that, it’s game over for STL recruiting. 

As last season showed, things can always change quickly, so I’m not trying to get too ahead of myself here. I want to enjoy the season ahead of us. Still, it’s an interesting topic that we haven’t had to discuss over the last many years. 

Id be interested to read others’ opinions.  

I think Godwin and Gordon will get drafted. Gordon - if he stays for 2 years - could go lottery.

French, Bess, and Isabell will likely make big money in Europe.

Thor is going to the HOF

[wgstl]

5 minutes ago, RiseAndGrind said:

I think Godwin and Gordon will get drafted. Gordon - if he stays for 2 years - could go lottery.

French, Bess, and Isabell will likely make big money in Europe.

Thor is going to the HOF

Agree, but maybe not so much on the lottery part.

French is undersized, and bess' skill/size dont match well for the NBA.  Isabells 3pt shot isnt good enough, and at 6'1 he cant rely on just driving to the hoop like he does now. Santos is an unknown.

[billiken_roy]

i think you guys are dreaming of best case scenarios.   at this point while there is a lot of potential across the board, no one is an nba player imo.   right this second bess remains our best player and those of you putting him in europe are probably right so telling us we have sure nba guys ahead of him are really looking ahead imo.  .   

i hope they all develop to be what you all are dreaming of though.  and i truly believe it COULD happen.   Remember our excellent recruiting  coach and excellent motivator does not have the best development reputation.   im hoping this is the group that changes that persona.  

[wgstl]

11 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

i think you guys are dreaming of best case scenarios.   at this point while there is a lot of potential across the board, no one is an nba player imo.   right this second bess remains our best player and those of you putting him in europe are probably right so telling us we have sure nba guys ahead of him are really looking ahead imo.  .   

i hope they all develop to be what you all are dreaming of though.  and i truly believe it COULD happen.   Remember our excellent recruiting  coach and excellent motivator does not have the best development reputation.   im hoping this is the group that changes that persona.  

Id be shocked if jgood isnt a draft pick by the time his eligibility is up.  

[kshoe]

I’m with Roy, those seem like best case scenarios to have Goodwin and Gordon in the NBA with French close behind. 6’8 or 6’9 PFs aren’t big enough for the NBA in most situations. So any of the bigs that want to make it are going to have to really shoot well or play more at the SF position. Maybe gordon has it in him, but time will tell. As for Goodwin, he’s going to have to consistently shoot much better than last season to have a chance.

[NextYearBill]

jgood putting up triple doubles as a freshmen.... have we forgotten... nobody does that.

[NH]

If Jordan Goodwin gets drafted in the second round (which I think is possible), he would have put up fantastic production in his college career. The same can be said for Carteare. No player on SLUs team has the size or athleticism for position that would make them a true standout on NBA draft boards, in my opinion.

[slufan13]

Honestly Pearson may have had a chance. If he was really a 6'8 40% 3 point shooter with guard skills he would have gotten a look.

[wgstl]

1 minute ago, NH said:

If Jordan Goodwin gets drafted in the second round (which I think is possible), he would have put up fantastic production in his college career. The same can be said for Carteare. No player on SLUs team has the size or athleticism for position that would make them a true standout on NBA draft boards, in my opinion.

Thats more old school thinking.

Jgood has the size and ceiling.  Teams care more about that than actual production (you get what I mean) 

[JohnnyJumpUp]

This reminds me of the old "NBA potential" threads with Cassity and Manning. Those were great.

[moytoy12]

The more Goodwin resembles Smart, the more likely it is he’ll get drafted.

If CAG resembles something close to Mashburn, then he’ll get drafted. 

If French finds any type of jump/outside shot, he’ll get a look from an NBA team. 

 

[wgstl]

10 minutes ago, moytoy12 said:

 

If French finds any type of jump/outside shot, he’ll get a look from an NBA team. 

 

Lets not forget, Grandy got some decent looks from nba teams. 

[RiseAndGrind]

22 minutes ago, NH said:

If Jordan Goodwin gets drafted in the second round (which I think is possible), he would have put up fantastic production in his college career. The same can be said for Carteare. No player on SLUs team has the size or athleticism for position that would make them a true standout on NBA draft boards, in my opinion.

J-Good can be Jevon Carter. Jevon Carter is 6'2, 185. He just got drafted at the top of the 2nd. 

[brianstl]

2 minutes ago, wgstl said:

Lets not forget, Grandy got some decent looks from nba teams. 

Grandy got one NBA workout and it was from the team run by Bryan Colangelo.  Colangelo's dad just happens to be the biggest financial backer of Grand Canyon University.  Grandy averaged 20 mpg in Canada's NBL last season.

[wgstl]

4 minutes ago, brianstl said:

Grandy got one NBA workout and it was from the team run by Bryan Colangelo.  Colangelo's dad just happens to be the biggest financial backer of Grand Canyon University.  Grandy averaged 20 mpg in Canada's NBL last season.

ahhh.  Makes sense then. 

[HoosierPal]

Related - St. Bonnie's Jaylen Adams signed a two way contract with the Atlanta Hawks.

[slu72]

I think we better see how they perform this season before setting up a "way too early NBA draft".  Actually, when you look at the preferred physical dimensions of the NBA, Wiley possesses the ideal size for an NBA guard. Agree with the above on Pearson, but he's a Billiken no more, so who really cares.

[MattyMo213]

Weren't NBA scouts watching French during our NYC tournament last year? I know there were some games people said scouts were very impressed with French and they thought he "didn't get the ball enough"

[TFord and TRavs]

34 minutes ago, MattyMo213 said:

Weren't NBA scouts watching French during our NYC tournament last year? I know there were some games people said scouts were very impressed with French and they thought he "didn't get the ball enough"

French and Goodwin were looked at as potential nba out of hs. Also NFL

[cgeldmacher]

I think that JG and CAG could develop into guys the NBA looks at after a few years.  They definitely have the skills and size to make it, although CAG will have to show he has a shooting touch and can handle the ball.  Bess and Isabelle both have the possibility to turn a few NBA heads if they light it up this year.

French is probably my favorite player on the team, but I don't think he's ever sniffing the NBA.  You have to have some sort of shooters touch to make it to the league.  I just don't see that happening with him.  I think he can be an outstanding player for us, but not necessarily NBA material unless he significantly improves his touch on shots, and how often does that happen.

[moytoy12]

9 minutes ago, cgeldmacher said:

French is probably my favorite player on the team, but I don't think he's ever sniffing the NBA.  You have to have some sort of shooters touch to make it to the league.  I just don't see that happening with him.  I think he can be an outstanding player for us, but not necessarily NBA material unless he significantly improves his touch on shots, and how often does that happen.

Agree with this although I wonder if French could develop into a Kenneth Faried type of player.

[TFord and TRavs]

Ford is working on things for French to develop for the nba. I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes to the combine to test the waters after this season 

[NH]

4 hours ago, wgstl said:

Thats more old school thinking.

Jgood has the size and ceiling.  Teams care more about that than actual production (you get what I mean) 

I totally agree, but I don’t think Jordan necessarily has the size or ceiling that you see with most 1st round picks. But I do think he could produce enough to partially overcome that (e.g. Jevon Carter as someone  else mentioned). I really don’t think that’s a knock on Jordan though, who I have predicted will go down as the best SLU player of all time.

[TFord and TRavs]

1 minute ago, NH said:

I totally agree, but I don’t think Jordan necessarily has the size or ceiling that you see with most 1st round picks. But I do think he could produce enough to partially overcome that (e.g. Jevon Carter as someone  else mentioned). I really don’t think that’s a knock on Jordan though, who I have predicted will go down as the best SLU player of all time.

Isn’t he the same size as Smart?