According to this post, Tatum made an adjustment to his jumper that has increased his 3P % to over 40%. That would be something if true. Below is apparently the before and after comparison.
His base is wider now and he lands with his feet more apart. I also think he used to jump backwards in his old shot.
Tatum has moved into my top 4. He has been excellent lately. If he keeps this up in the NCAAs, he might move into the top 3. In other games, Isaac continues to play like shit on offense. I just can't get there with him. To me, it's Fultz, Jackson, Ball, and Tatum. Tatum's emergence is making me less anxious about the ping pong balls. If the Celtics keep the pick, they're getting a good player no matter what happens.
Not sure who was worse, Ball or Walton, who couldn't stop calling Ball the future of basketball.
Worst game I've seen from Ball, no energy, poor body language on both ends of the court. Made me think he was sick or something, just didn't look like himself.
With those knees the odds are that his career is over by the time he's 30. He needs to get out of the NCAA ASAP.
Markkanen would look good in a Brad Stevens offense. Ignoring tonight, great FT shooter for a 7 footer
I don't see Tatum going before Smith or Isaac, but it's hard to say until we have the measurables -- if Isaac is only 6-9 and Tatum has an impressive vertical, then sure, he could go #4. I wouldn't say he's the favorite, though; the conventional wisdom is that he's far less athletic than Smith, and the appeal of a 6-10 athlete who can shoot like Isaac is self-evident.
I've seen Malik Monk (Kentucky) as high as #4 in some mocks, but I don't buy it -- I think he's behind the six guys you listed.
Tatum looks plenty athletic to me. He has been the best player on the floor for most of the last month. Isaac disappears so much that I don't fully trust him. His last few games are a perfect example of this. I can see why people may be enamored with him but I see much higher bust potential here. I can see the intrigue with Smith but hard to tell what his ceiling is - defense scares me. Tatum is also the youngest of the 3 guys as he just turned 19.
If Fox continues to shoot like he did in the SEC tournament I'd put him ahead of Monk as well.
I'm no expert, but of the players I've seen, Tatum is only behind Fultz for me.
What's an impressive vertical for Tatum?
Good question -- I don't have a sense of the raw numbers.
I would have wanted to compare with Jabari Parker, another Blue Devil who was considered to have a refined offensive game combined with a lack of athleticism*, but Parker skipped the combine.
So we shouldn't pay attention to jumping measurements? We shouldn't use all the information we have available?
I think the point is to look at everything available. Just because someone can jump through the roof, is not in itself all that useful.
No, the measurable are important, but only to a degree. Jodi Meeks tested out like a Baby Jordan by the numbers, but you don't really see it in game play, because it's not his game.
Precisely. Didn't Pat Connaughton have a ridiculous vertical and other athletic numbers? I haven't seen those type of athletic numbers from a spot-up shooter since Brent Barry.
I have a strange comp but the guy he reminds me of in many ways is Ben Bentil who left Providence early last year or Marreese Speights. Collins is very very raw yet like Bentil made a HUGE leap in his (presumably) final season due to being extremely active on the offensive end. What he lacks in fluidity he makes up for him being active and aware......Collins knows how to put the ball in the basket. The downside for him which was same for Bentil is that he is truly a horrific defensive player which can be hidden in college but exploited at the next level and doesn't have a good feel for how an offense is run. Once he gets the ball he can put it in the basket but don't ask him to initiate a play from the high post. Him jumper looks really good and his FT% improvement is also a good sign so if he sticks in the league I'll expect him to add a 3-point shot to his arsenal.
Yeah, when Cuonzo Martin left Cal to take the Mizzou job he immediately offered Porter Sr. an Assistant job but I hadn't heard that he accepted it yet. If he did as you say than obviously this places Porter Jr at Mizzou.
Really? I was just coming in here to post the opposite. He does jump off the screen (though he handled the ball in transition a couple times and had that really nice block at the rim), but look at his stat line: 17 pts / 10 rbs / 5 asts / 3 blk / 2 stl
He did nothing in the first half. Second half was much better, which is kind of my point. Skills are there to be much more dominant on a consistent basis. Some games he hardly shoots the ball.
Ahh - just noticed the timestamp on your post. Ya he did most of his work in the 2nd half (which I saw more of), so I better understand your point now. Also my post should say "doesn't jump off the screen" (not does)
This isn't that uncommon for a non-first option who doesn't have the ball in his hand in the college game. There was about a 10 minute stretch where every Seminole possession resulted in either a turnover (bad) or Bacon shooting the ball (good). These tournament games tend to be dominated by guards, in some part because in big games these are your best shot creators and in another part they have the ball and know the lights are on them so they tend to be more aggressive. It's easy for a guy like Isaac to go stretches where he gets lost in the shuffle.
I'm starting to agree with you on Issac. To start the year there was a lot to like. His measurables and production were as good as anyone in the country. But once he got into ACC play where the scouting reports are better and the D tightens up, he disappears. I'd have to watch more, but it seems like he scores when he has a lot of space to operate. When that space is taken away he doesn't attack. I'm not sure if it's compete level, if he's deferring to Bacon (who can be awesome at times) or XRM, or if teams are able to take him out by just being physical with him. But either way, it's not a great trait for drafting in the top 5. It just wreaks of Jeff Green. At this point I would rather take Tatum. Isaac is a too much of a risk with a low floor.
