Chet Holgren

This is an early-season review of his skillset and game.

[00:00:00] Dustin: All right, everybody. Welcome to the 268th edition of the holy Blackboard podcast. I am Dustin here in rip city and I got my man

[00:00:18] Dillon: Sage, the start of season four in NBA, two K just happened and, uh, I’m slowly starting to grind to a. And this year’s two case. I’m very excited, but what also makes me very excited is to know what you think about this very interesting, very unique prospect and shed hold room.

[00:00:42] Dustin: Yeah. Homegrown is the most. Unique prospect that I can remember in my time as someone who has been always just fanatical about the draft, whether the blazers have had a pick or have not had a pick, I [00:01:00] love. Getting to know players who are going to be the future faces of the NBA and seeing how they could be a fit.

[00:01:07] And just personally, I like being able to look back and say, I was right about that player or holy shit, like I’m with big time, like what was wrong there? So you kind of are able to look at things that translate. Obviously the college game is significantly different, especially now than the pro game. So what skill sets are you identifying?

[00:01:28] Which ones can kind of be glossed over? None of those really applies to chat home grand. It’s such a crap shoot with him to be perfectly blunt. I watched. So before we fully get into it, uh, just a little bit of bio on chat, a little bit of background. So chat homegrown plays at Gonzaga university. He’s a forward center there, uh, seven feet tall, seven, six wingspan, [00:02:00] 195 pounds.

[00:02:01] He is a little bit older than most first year prospects. He is 19. He will be 20 by the time the draft turns, uh, by the time the draft comes around in, in June, uh five-star by rivals number one player, nationally Gatorade player of the year, four time, Minnesota state high school basketball champion, which is very difficult to do.

[00:02:23] Um, no matter the state or the class level chose. Can Zach go over Minnesota, Ohio state? Georgetown Memphis, Michigan and North Carolina, uh, at the moment, Gonzaga is a 13 and two. Uh, they just came off a dominating, win over BYU. They are number two in both the coaches and a peoples, a little bit of statistics for Chet through the 15 game season.

[00:02:52] Averaging 13.3 points, 8.3 boards, 3.3 blocks. So he’s using that length to his [00:03:00] advantage. He is shooting 60, 61 0.7% from the field, including 38.1 from downtown, uh, 70% at the LA. And 24.9 minutes at last, before the BYU game has P E R was 30.6. I don’t have that number after the BYU game and we will be discussing, uh, their showdown with UCLA, which took place November 23rd, 2021 in Vegas.

[00:03:31] At the time it was number one, Gonzaga versus number two U C L a. But back to my original thoughts on Chet Sage after watching him play, I can’t, I can’t tell right now, uh, I said it to you. I think he could get a GM fired for passing on him. And I think he could get a GM fired for taking him in the top three.

[00:03:56] Um, it’s really interesting to [00:04:00] watch him play. And you had no. That going to Gonzaga was not really a good systematic systematical fit for chat. And after just watching one game and even a bit of the BYU game last night, I have whole heartedly agree. He went there with drew, Timmy, who is a, he’s an undersized.

[00:04:19] But in the college game, he’s a dominating post who demands a lot of usage. He’s probably going to be the national player of the year. So he’s rightfully so. They have a lot of talented collegiate guards. Uh, they don’t pass him the ball. So everything is really like. Oh, once in a while, he’ll get the rock.

[00:04:37] So it’s, it’s hard to evaluate what you’re seeing on the floor. On the offensive side effects. My

[00:04:43] Dillon: grandma says I have 28 suggestions on writing and spelling errors. So I have a lot of thoughts about this. Mainly the offensive stuff is I think he has amazing touch around the hoop, even showed it in that UCLA Gonzaga game.

[00:04:58] The touch around the hoop was [00:05:00] legit, but really. I couldn’t, I can’t tell you what he does on offense. Well, because he doesn’t get a lot of chances to show it. His playmaking looks okay. He makes the right pass and the right read, but he doesn’t get the ball enough to release show it. He has a narrative of being able to hit the three.

[00:05:21] It’s such a small sample size that I can’t really give you. Good information on. Is he a good three point shooter? The form looks really slow, but it’s good. What I have the most opinion on now currently is his defense. I think it was glaringly obvious that UCLA his game plan was let’s bully Chet. They use their sense.

[00:05:48] Dustin: You saw that on the first play of the game, 6, 6, 11 miles Johnson backed him down with ease on the first play. And then, uh, I think two or three minutes later into the game, he faced up and [00:06:00] bullied his way into free throws.

[00:06:03] Dillon: Well, here’s how I felt about it. They tried to bully him. He would get pushed back initially.

[00:06:11] Have we talked about, you talked about it as a weight, but like he looks frail and skinny and you know, for a shop blocking big and honestly he might be one of the best shop blockers I’ve seen in a long time. You kind of think of them to look like Oscar Shihwae someone we talked about last week, like super muscular and could jump out of the gym.

[00:06:34] Sheds looks like a frail, frail basketball player. When he was getting bullied. I felt like. He got pushed back, obviously because of the center, but he would get back into position and make the Senator close on a contested shot. He knows how to deal with his body. He’s dealt with his body more than anybody in the past.

[00:06:56] So he absorbed the contact and then got right [00:07:00] back into position. So even though they tried to bully ball him, I think that it might’ve worked in the first few plays, but it didn’t work overall because. I think he was one of the biggest reasons the Gonzaga Gonzaga had that humongous leaders because they kept trying to put their center or a hock as in, against him in the post.

[00:07:21] And Chet just showed such discipline in post defense. I mean, we can talk about a lot of stuff that post defense for us, a seven foot, one 90 guy was. Really, really impressive.

[00:07:35] Dustin: Yeah. And this goes back to the point I made earlier about what skills are going to translate. And I would argue that while he did show discipline and UCLA was not able to bully him.

[00:07:50] I would say to kind of play devil’s advocate, UCLA doesn’t have a lot of skilled bigs who even if they get to the rim, they’re going to know what to do with the basketball. Maybe [00:08:00] their first initiation was, oh, I’m just going to put my shoulder down, but then I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do.

[00:08:05] Like, I don’t think that’s going to work against Juul and bead Nicola

[00:08:11] Dillon: any of those players. I know that

[00:08:13] Dustin: that’s that’s that, that goes, that’s what I’m saying is. The talent at the MBA level, they’re going to be stronger and they’re going to know how to finish. So I still am extremely concerned about his weight.

[00:08:26] Dillon: I mean, that’s, that’s going to be the bit, that’s going to be the thing between him staying in the league and not like

[00:08:32] Dustin: exactly, because I was looking back through former players who were, were tall and. My perception of them being pretty skinny coming into the draft. So to reiterate home grand seven feet tall, seven, six wingspan, 195 pounds.

[00:08:49] Dillon: Did you hear them say like eight different ways? And during that individual broadcast, it was like seven foot, 180 7 foot, 1 97. [00:09:00] Yeah.

[00:09:00] Dustin: I mean the, the official metrics are one at 95. And I went back to the time of the draft to look at some players who similar skillsets kind of came in as tall and lanky prospects.

[00:09:12] And he’s, he’s pretty significantly underweight by, by quite a bit. You look at Yanis six, 10. Seven three wingspan 2 0 5. So Yannis, even as skinny as he was, had 10 pounds on him, Porzingis was 7 1, 2 30 with that seven, six wingspan. Where do you go? Bare 7 2 7 9 wingspan, 238 pounds. Katie was the one that I was kind of thinking of a lot because he couldn’t bench press the 180 5.

[00:09:41] That was the big knock on him coming out of Texas six, 10, so a little bit shorter, but he still has 20 pounds on him at two 15. And so I looked at Kevin Duran and there was an article in the Oklahoma and, um, probably a few years ago that detailed how he was able to put on the weight. So he went from six [00:10:00] to 15.

[00:10:01] In oh seven, he got up to 2 23 and oh 9, 2 31 in 2011 and 2 37 and 2013. So he gradually was able to bulk up and still maintain his skill and agility. Uh, there was a few others, uh, Dirk was six 11. Uh, with that 74 wingspan, but he was at 2 37, uh, LaMarcus Aldridge, who I remembered vividly as a rookie, just had those long arms, so skinny, but he was even 2 34, which surprised me at six 11 had a similar wingspan Jermaine O’Neal right out of high school, uh, in South Carolina, six, 11 to 26.

[00:10:37] So he’s got 30 pounds on him, a bowl bowl who I remember watching at the university of Oregon 7 2, 2 10. Seven seven wingspan. So that’s a pretty similar, uh, body type because Bobo had the two inches. So it makes sense why he was 15 pounds heavier. The only player that I can think of was two drafts ago, uh, [00:11:00] polka Shefsky seven feet tall, one 90, and he’s struggling in the league because he’s not able to put on the weight.

[00:11:08] So my biggest concern. With chat home grant is, is the weight. And if he’s going to be able to add that weight to his, his frame, because some frames, you can look at a player and say, yeah, he’s, he can fill into those shoulders and do those hips. And he’s going to be able to maneuver you also don’t want him to put on too much weight too quickly because as laser fans have all seen with, with our big man, you know, Greg.

[00:11:35] You don’t want to put a lot of weight and stress on joints when a, a human being is that tall. So there is going to be, you know, I think the most important hire whatever team drafts chat will be, would be a strength and conditioning coach, a nutritionist, someone who is going to be able to help him grow.

[00:11:56] Because when I look at, at Chet, [00:12:00] I see an MBA three, if I’m. Projecting him to be a center. I don’t like him as a prospect. I think he, that

[00:12:10] Dillon: type of three, like with Cleveland,

[00:12:12] Dustin: he needs to be able to stay on the perimeter. Shoot that three. And that’s why I talked about Gonzaga, not running a lot of attempts.

[00:12:19] It’s awful for him. Yeah. I want to watch him catch and shoot. Like we, we seen him dribble. We we’ve seen him block, uh, in his length. Uh, you mentioned his shot blocking being extremely impressive. I think at the next level, what I was more impressed with. Here’s a bully to close out on the

[00:12:35] Dillon: defense. Oh yeah.

[00:12:37] You remember the play, uh, against using and like the first 12 minutes of the game where he was able to use his length and lateral quickness to cut off angles on a all pack 12 player in Johnny Jew’s Ang, he used, I found that his ability to guard on the perimeter was really high, [00:13:00] but I think. One thing that I love was his pick and roll defense and the versatility that he can show on that side, because it’s obvious that he’s really, really, really good at drop coverage.

[00:13:13] But with his lateral quickness, he can do, I would say every, uh, style of pick and roll, uh, coverage, the lateral quickness, the ability to cut off angle. He is a even sh uh, Johnny using, tried to bump him off. And he just couldn’t the, what he can show defensively is so intriguing because he could be that, that special type of guy that can defend the pick and roll, be a great help side blocker.

[00:13:44] Like he has it all defensively. If he didn’t have the weight issues, he would be the number one prospect in like the last 10 years. I,

[00:13:54] Dustin: I would assume. So. I think you’re talking about one of those generational drafts, the, the Odin Duran, the LeBron, the [00:14:00] Duncan, um, all, all of those years where everyone is tanking with the intent on trying to get home green, because the way it is is, is.

[00:14:13] My red flag. I think it’s a multiple red flags. It’s, it’s something that is going to either help him become a hall of fame player, or he’s going to be out of the league after his first contract. Uh, he does a lot of things that, that you really like and back to his, his defense. I think why I want him out in the perimeter a little bit more, especially early on is I think he’s going to have difficulties defending without fouling up the next level, just because.

[00:14:43] He does, he does give me baby draft vibes a little bit. Like he’s still growing into his body. I think he’s going to get knocked off balance a bit, uh, with MBA strength and we know officials love calling fouls on the rookies. I think he’s also willing to pick up a lot of files going [00:15:00] over the back. Just trying to use his length.

[00:15:01] I mean, it’s just the optics of it are going to have the officials blow it, blowing their whistles. So I think he’s going to have to learn how to do. As NBA officials want him to defend the skillset is there. But I think early on, he’s going to need to first just figure out how can I stay on the court without fouling?

[00:15:19] I mean, that really pains young bigs. I mean, some haven’t grown out of that. Jerry Jackson Jr. Has not grown out of that is that call-ins never grew out of that. Uh, other players have. So I mean, along with the weight, it’s going to be, how can he defend at the, at the league level? Uh, without fouling a Sage, I know you’re big into play-making.

[00:15:44] One thing. I noted what he, he was a willing passer, and I think his size allows him to see the floor. I think he’s already a really good decision maker at this age. Um, there is nothing stopping him from being one of the most [00:16:00] lethal passers in the league with his guard skills on the, on the perimeter and his size in Lang.

[00:16:06] If he’s able to Palm that, I don’t know if his hand measurements off the top of my head, but if he’s able to Palm that ball, like, so bonus did, or like Kauai does, he should be able to just adopt passes and you can run off offense through him. So you can kind of take his size and use it as an advantage on the offensive end without having, just to, you know, dump them the ball and the paint and say, play traditional basketball.

[00:16:30] I see him spacing the floor. Uh, with his jump shot, but also being a remarkable Playmaker. Like I think that is almost where he has the most growth in potential and where I see him providing even the most value offensively is getting players open.

[00:16:47] Dillon: Yeah. It’s just tough. He doesn’t get the ball enough to show it, but I definitely think he can make the right passes.

[00:16:54] I would say one of the biggest red flags and for him, of course, it’s the weight, [00:17:00] but I think it’s the team that he gets drafted too. If you’re expecting Chet to come in and be your stars. At a year, one chat homeroom, you’re going to look like an idiot. I think that Cleveland is a great example with Evan mobiley because he’s also really a skinny player, not as skinny as shit, but he’s very skinny to have a big guy with Evan.

[00:17:26] I think. Him being there the first year shows that this works when you have a, uh, a very rare potentially transcendent guy having that, that big, uh, centered there to absorb some of the contact, like w if we didn’t trade usage, which that’s the humongous question, mark. I feel like that pairing would be really good because.

[00:17:53] Chats biggest hangups or strengthens, uh, size use of can handle that and then [00:18:00] check can do the things that a use of cannot. So I think that that would be a really good pairing. And then you can really get to use, you get to see what shit is all about. He, he might be the best defensive prospect in the posts that I’ve seen since Anthony Davis.

[00:18:16] I really, really think he is a transcendently good defender in the post.

[00:18:22] Dustin: Uh, reference Evan mobily is seven feet tall as well, but he’s also two 15, so he has 20 pounds on, on chat. So that was just for, um, reference there. And I think that’s kind of what people are asking. You got to get at least two 15. If you’re chatting, you have to put 20 pounds and it has

[00:18:38] Dillon: to be safe and respond.

[00:18:39] Like he can’t just start

[00:18:40] Dustin: eating McDonald’s it does have to, has to be safe and responsible, but there’s no, I just don’t think he’s going to be effective until he can get to two 10 at least, like right now.

[00:18:50] Dillon: He’s going to be, uh, ineffective.

[00:18:57] Dustin: I think he’s, he’s the longest [00:19:00] lead time when it comes to a prospect, you’re going to have to really wait.

[00:19:04] You can expect him to come and make an impact date one year, one year, it might be a year three where you’re really starting to see his impact. The wait is. It’s a, it’s a massive deal breaker, I think for, for some teams for good reason, if you’re able to be patient with them and taking a long-term approach, it could pay dividends.

[00:19:23] As you mentioned, if you expect him day one to come out there and be even just a contributor. I think you’re, you’re sorely mistaken. I think he’s going to need. A lot of time getting his body right for an 82 game grind. Right now he’s playing a college schedule. He’s really only playing about 20 to 24 minutes.

[00:19:43] And that is, I mean, we’ve already seen, heard players talk about the adjustment from the collegiate amount of games to an NBA season. And those are players who are rec league ready right now, physically, when you’re not physically ready, he’s going [00:20:00] to need to be brought in off the bat. Probably in bursts because you don’t want also his body to just take a massive beat down every single night, and then he’s not really able to grow naturally.

[00:20:14] So whoever gets him really has to think about this from a long-term, uh, thought process on how tech can grow. So. It’s it’s, it’s a huge reason why I’m so torn on whether I, I love or hate this prospect. Um, but there are those flashes of brilliance that, that you see that rebound

[00:20:36] Dillon: at coast to coast for the dunk.

[00:20:38] Dustin: Yeah. He had two plays that, that really stood out to me. Like he, he had. Rebound where he pulled it down. Dribbles coast to coast, laid it in was a bit awkward, but it’s still a seven foot player making that move. So it’s interesting, nonetheless, and he had a play on the second half where he blocked a shot, came off the ball, uh, help side, grabbed that [00:21:00] board, handled it up.

[00:21:00] Court, went behind the. Into the paint and finished with a really beautiful two hand slam. Uh, those are the plays that, that get the Scouts and get the general managers really hyped up and kind of validate his stance as, you know, a top three picks. So it’s not just like you see a tall player out there.

[00:21:19] It’s a tall, skilled player who. I think in the longterm could be the best player out of this draft class. But you, you mentioned that he has to go to a team that’s willing to take the long haul, take the long-term approach with him. And I think it’s going to be a team that has, has some beef inside that can handle the team strongest player.

[00:21:41] I think he’s better going up. Shorter powerful players, because like, like, like we saw when UCLA tried to put a shorter, powerful player in there, he was just able to block it. But if you get size and power, that’s where he’s going to struggle. So I would keep him on the perimeter, at least until [00:22:00] he’s able to, to bulk up, he’s still nimble.

[00:22:03] Like he’s not super athletic. He’s not super explosive, but he’s nimble any in these quick. And I think that those are two traits, but you really, you can’t ask for much more out of a big man, like a big man who can move, especially on the perimeter, that that’s rare

[00:22:20] Dillon: anticipation. Especially in that UCLA game.

[00:22:24] I thought he was super. Like his rotations were so crisp and it was because he noticed what the other four players were doing and anticipated where the help needed to be the IQ that he shows defensively. Honestly, like I get handling with kids glove. I think he will. I think he will be a rotation player.

[00:22:48] You’re one, maybe not. Starter quality like 30 minutes, but I think he can be a good road, a, a rotation player, his rookie year with the intelligence [00:23:00] and the, the defense. I think that’s a team that’s smart enough to, uh, put him with the right players around him. I think he will be a good rotation player year one.

[00:23:11] Dustin: So we are speaking of the UCLA Gonzaga game. It was back on November 23rd of this past year in Vegas, one Gonzaga to UCLA Gonzaga rolled 83 63. They jumped out to a 20 point lead at the half, and really never looked back in that game. In 28 minutes of action chat home grant had 15 points, solid, six of eight shooting, two, a four from downtown six boards.

[00:23:40] Four blocks one steel and only eight shot attempts, which was fourth most on the roster, uh, which goes back to our point that maybe he could have went elsewhere to get a little bit more. Exposure or maybe it was the perfect situation for him because Gonzaga is hiding really anything glaring, [00:24:00] and he’s not hurting his draft stock, but selfishly from, uh, somebody scouting and trying to project him, I, I wish there was a little bit more opportunity.

[00:24:10] We even

[00:24:10] Dillon: get to be the loan center on his team. Like they always try and put them with somebody big. So you miss out on the post today. And I, I was really impressed by that, touch it around the room. Like I could definitely see him doing some high level, like floaters and stuff to get to the, to the rim against like a legitimate shop blocker.

[00:24:33] Dustin: I was impressed. So we had just, can’t come off of a watching Paolo. Benchero take on Kentucky and Madison square garden as our most recent future Friday. Um, and I was griping about his inability and his lack of effort on, on the glass Chet for all of the, I think the, the red flags with, with his, you know, Wait, he put an effort [00:25:00] every single time to try and box out.

[00:25:01] And I that’s, I think again, all you can ask for is a player that’s willing to do the dirty work. And I don’t know if he’s ever going to be a dominant rebounder, especially if he’s on the perimeter, but it was just that little, I think if you’re willing to, to box out and willing to kind of get your hands dirty.

[00:25:18] You’re going to be willing to do a lot of other things that maybe don’t show up on the box score. And I, I thought for a player of his caliber coming into, uh, his collegiate career, I mean, he could just, you know, be like, nah, I’m, I’m the best player. I’m just going to do what I want to do. Uh, I thought that says a lot about him and maybe his coachability.

[00:25:39] Down the road, because if, if you’re, you know, he probably contact doesn’t feel super great at his size and weight, but he’s, he’s down there. He’s boxing out. He’s making an effort. I, I think that that shows like a toughness about him that, you know, quit talking about my fucking weight. Like this is just who I am, you know?

[00:25:56] Dillon: And then there’s that those people, and I’m glad we haven’t [00:26:00] mentioned it yet, but there’s those people that worry about injury issues with chat, but he hasn’t ever had a real major injury there’s guys that have. Looked like a Donna says compared to him, then I’ve had major, major injuries. We’ve seen it with use of NERC.

[00:26:14] It sheds hurt his wrist once and was out for like four days. I know that he’s going to need to put on muscle, but to, to use his body type as an excuse for he’s going to get injured in the pros is kind of, kind of lazy thinking when he’s, he hasn’t really dealt with it in his career.

[00:26:33] Dustin: How do you think he fits in with the trailblazers,

[00:26:35] Dillon: with the roster as it is on January 14th, just

[00:26:40] Dustin: as Dame, let’s assume Dame’s the only.

[00:26:44] Like we’ve talked about how Jabari and Palo fit with Dame. How would a roster with Dame additional pieces and Chet as, as the, as the core, how does that work for you?

[00:26:57] Dillon: I think Chad would make Dame’s life a lot easier [00:27:00] with if with the skill sets that Chet has authentically and defensively. I think that he would be, I think Jabbar is the best fit, but I think shat is easily the second out of the players that we, we.

[00:27:13] Uh, talked about thus far. So I think he is a good foot, not the best fit where’s shit on your list for you and your list for the blades. Th I have a feeling they’re different

[00:27:28] Dustin: still too early. For me, we’ve really only had three episodes. Uh, Jabari Smith from Auburn university still fibro are leaps and bounds.

[00:27:38] The number one player that I’ve seen. Um, I think if you’re looking even big board or for the blazers, if you’re looking for a, more of an impact ready right now, prospect Palo would be number two, but if you’re. Maybe in a rebuild or taking a longer-term approach. Like if you look back five years, who’s going to be the best player.

[00:27:58] I think chat would be number two. [00:28:00] So just different variations of how you want to look at it. They would flip flop between two and three. There’s really intriguing things to love about both prospects. And there are also some concerns about both. It just really depends on what your objective is when it, when it comes to drafting that player.

[00:28:19] How about.

[00:28:20] Dillon: I have Jabari number one, Chet two, uh, Palo three. And, uh, I think the gap between one and two is pretty big, but I think the gap between two and three is pretty big. I, I, the, the defensive tools fascinates me a lot. I think that he could be, I think he could be so, so excellent. If who would ever coach.

[00:28:47] Gets the opportunity to play him, treats him with the, uh, the long-term approach. So I definitely have them at number two. So I think this is the most difficult ask ever [00:29:00] in the player comps, because he is such a crazy in a specialized talent. Did you come up with any player comps? It’s it’s difficult,

[00:29:12] Dustin: right?

[00:29:13] I mean, You really, at some point, when you’re looking at just like the floor, you have to look at other tall lanky guys who haven’t made it. They, they, they, they busted and, you know, a couple of ones that came up were maybe a better defending bowl bowl, or a, uh, Nicola skiddish, feely, who, you know, kind of.

[00:29:34] Was a perimeter oriented player just couldn’t really put it together. It didn’t have a lot of weight on his frame. I think he’s probably more skilled than , but again, it’s hard to find a comp maybe 75 in the season, just seeing him really one and a half times, like needing to actually do more, more research on him.

[00:29:54] 75, maybe just like poke Shefsky and what poker chefs he could be. And then a [00:30:00] 95, maybe a better defending Chris taps. Yeah.

[00:30:03] Dillon: Okay, so minor. Mine’s weird. And I’ll probably have to explain it a little bit. I mean like bottom tier, he’s not in the league. So like Zach Collins, the injuries and like him not putting on weight, he he’s out of here, but I think at 25, and this is going to be a weird one, I think is a low end outcome is fad young because I think they both have the same passing chops.

[00:30:29] They both have great anticipation skills. In this scenario, he developed some way, but he’s gonna be like the fifth option on a team and has some specialized skills, but he’s just helping a team win with like, not killing you in any one area. 75 is tough. If weight is an issue, I think he’s [00:31:00] Marcus came.

[00:31:01] With the shop blocking and he developed a lot of weight. 90 is a better Evan Mobley and 99 is somebody that I can imagine how good he is. If he hits one, if he hits, he might be the best player in the league. We’ll we’ll be talking about how great Chet homeroom is. So it’s, it’s the widest range of outcomes, but if you are patient and he develops waves, He could be the, the, the player that you look back and like, why are some people so stupid?

[00:31:35] And didn’t draft him like the honest in 2013, but I mean, out of the league and then the best player, it’s such a wide range of outcomes. Um,

[00:31:50] Dustin: it’s a lot easier pill to swallow when you’re Milwaukee picking Yannis in the middle of the draft, rather than it. Possibly rolling the dice and the number one pick.

[00:31:58] So it’s a lot easier to [00:32:00] take a risk when you’re back in the draft rather than your first step to bet.

[00:32:04] Dillon: Yeah. I mean, yeah, I wouldn’t take them first because I don’t have that. I don’t have king Kong balls, but I would definitely take them over for Paolo. Um,

[00:32:16] Dustin: well, I wouldn’t take it for, I just think Jabari’s a better prospect.

[00:32:18] I

[00:32:18] Dillon: mean the, the top percentile outcome, I mean, it has to go to. But, uh, we did watch a pretty legitimate game with college superstars. Were there any players that caught your eye?

[00:32:35] Dustin: No, not, not from, from the pro level. Um, UCLA has a player who’s projected to go first round Peyton Watson. He didn’t, I mean, this was one of us, his first games.

[00:32:48] He was a, a McDonald’s all American five-star. Uh, but I did watch him yesterday, uh, play my Oregon ducks, which the ducks got the dub in poly pavilion. Peyton Watson [00:33:00] stuck behind a really veteran team that came. I returned all starters from a channel in a chip final four period. He looked like their best player though.

[00:33:08] He looked like he’s got some handle just in this body type and maneuver isms. When he has the ball, very young grant hill kind of vibes. I picked up on he’s going to need a couple years. Like I told you, I wish he would stay at UCLA for one or two years. Like, like players used to, I understand it. You need to get that guaranteed money and there’s no rhyme or reason to pass up being a lottery.

[00:33:31] Uh, but again, whoever drafts him is going to need to spend a lot of time developing him, probably sending him to the G league, but the skills are all there. He just needs growth and maturation. Yeah.

[00:33:45] Dillon: He’d be one of those guys that. UCLA is like, we’re competing for a chip, but if you stay next year, we’re, we’re focusing all of our attention on you.

[00:33:55] And if he doesn’t accept that, I would, he would be one of those G league tonight.

[00:33:59] Dustin: He [00:34:00] needs to play though. Like he was the best player for UCLA, UCLA on the floor and they had them out in crunch time. So that might be a seniority thing, but I don’t think had anything to do with them trying to win at ship.

[00:34:10] He, he was one, he was their best performing. In that, in that game. So I think that was more Mick Cronin rather than trying to win a chip because he, at that point gave them the best shot. In

[00:34:21] Dillon: my opinion, I didn’t watch the game. Is there anybody you’d take outside outside of Peyton Watson on that UCLA team in the first round Watson, the only potential guy that I like hiring needs to either be able to shoot really well or slash really well.

[00:34:37] And I haven’t seen that. And then Johnny’s kind of. In two thousands, he’d be pretty cool with the mid midbrain, the ISO mid range. But in this day and age in basketball, how it’s advanced and gotten smarter, you can’t, you can’t be willing to give him the isolation, possessions that he needs to hit value.

[00:34:59] So I, [00:35:00] I was, I was, I would think that both of them are second round picks, but Paul Watson’s easily the, the number one. And then drew Timmy is just an

[00:35:10] Dustin: excellent college player. He’s a big man on campus. Like he’s a collegiate.

[00:35:14] Dillon: She deserves every bit of usage that he gets. Yeah, he’s

[00:35:17] Dustin: easy. He’s probably, if he leaves Gonzaga to a chip, he’s going to go on the college basketball hall of fame.

[00:35:22] Like he’s, he’s that good of a collegiate player? When I think of really good collegiate players. Christian Laettner like he just had all the skillset to dominate that level of competition. I just don’t know if he’s athletically gifted enough to play on the perimeter, which he’s going to have to do in today’s NBA.

[00:35:41] Like you look at a guy at Iowa last year, Luca Garza, a big 10 player of the year. He had to really, really slim down to really even get drafted. And even then I, I’m just not certain, like, there’s just, there’s a peak for every player at where they can kind of cap out at. I, I think [00:36:00] he’s extremely skilled in Andrew, Timmy, but you sometimes you just can’t teach lateral quickness and mobility teams are gonna find you.

[00:36:08] They’re going to put you on the perimeter and playoffs or make you defense. If you’re looking for a blazers comp look no further than Caleb Swan again, who was again, the big 10 player of the year, he was a really good passer was an extremely skilled player. Had the midbrain shot, had some good posts. You got to the league.

[00:36:26] The defenders were a little bit, uh, bigger, stronger, faster. The post moves were negated and he was never known as the most mobile. So they put him out on the island and you couldn’t play him. Like it’s just today’s NBA. If it’s in two thousands, the nineties, I think Timmy’s a lottery pick.

[00:36:45] Dillon: Nim heart kind of interest me because I saw him do some high-level dribble combos into shots that went in, but then I looked deeply at like his statistics and he’s only gone to the free throw [00:37:00] line 12 times this season.

[00:37:02] And, uh, one last stat about chat that I recently saw when he’s on the court. He hit the, uh, defense allows 48% on the floor. And when he’s. The opponent’s shoot 57, that just shows the, uh, the defensive skillset that. Chad has. So, um, do you have anything else to say about this? Very interesting, very, very specialized, uh, prospect.

[00:37:32] Dustin: No. Other than, uh, keeping an open mind, we’ll be probably probably have a couple more episodes on the rest of the, of the big three. I think. Pretty, I mean, it is January mid January. The draft doesn’t happen until June, but I would be very surprised if anything changes in regards to Jabari Paolo and Chet being the consensus at the top three of the 2022 NBA draft, uh, just continue to be on the lookout every.

[00:37:58] Um, we’re going to [00:38:00] pivot now to some of the more premiere wings, uh, coming up in, in the NBA draft, whether that’s Johnny Davis, that Wisconsin or Jayden Ivy from Purdue. Uh, so beyond the lookout, um, I tweeted out from the holy Blackboard account. Some of the prime time games that were on television. So if you want to do your own research, do your own scouting.

[00:38:20] Uh, Thursday was a fantastic day, which, uh, for basketball Thursday, the 13th, I mean, there was a BYU and UCLA, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, UCLA, along with, you know, our blazers taking on the nugget. So it was the one game I got to watch the lot I, I tuned in. So, um, Whatever you want to do. I mean, there’s, it’s called, it’s called outside.

[00:38:43] You know, the current virus is kind of thrown a wrench into everything again. So stay safe. Stay inside. You know, bone up on your knowledge. Um, lots of games on , ESPN, ESPN, CBS, um, all of those. And it’s only going to pick up, or probably just about a couple of months away from March madness, [00:39:00] about six weeks away from the college, uh, the conference tournaments.

[00:39:03] Um, one last, uh, piece of caution. Don’t put all your stock into that one game. You watching March madness. That’s why it’s important to kind of look throughout the course of the season, see how they’re able to perform and kind of form your own opinions on these.