Do you think Justin Jackson is the best pro prospect on the Tarheels roster.
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There is an argument to be made for Brice Johnson, but Jackson probably has a higher upside.
I've created this screen cap of the UNC Marks and Logos guidelines for these sorts of occasions:
LOL. Repeat offender.
I've created this screen cap of the UNC Marks and Logos guidelines for these sorts of occasions:
I only realistically see 2-3 guys on our team that are NBA quality players. JJ is certainly one of them. His intelligence and work ethic may compensate for his lack of uber-athleticism. I certainly hope so. He's one of the truly good guys and his parents epitomize what parents should strive to be.
At this point I think you have to say Jackson, but I don't think we have any idea what Pinson or Hicks could end up being.
Meeks, too IMHO. Interested to see a more experienced 3rd year, skilled big man with his build.
I think Jackson is our best pro prospect at this time. I do think there are a few young guys that are still growing into their role and maturing physically and mentally that could be very good for us this year and move themselves up the draft boards in the coming year or 2.
I'll agree with Jackson for now. But since the thread title says "prospect" I'll go with Hicks on NBA potential. With Jackson I think it's safe to say that the player he is now is the player he will be in 10 years with just more refinement. I think he'll always be on the short end when it comes to physical strength and that could pose a few problems with defensive match ups in the league. Then again, things worked out fine for Tayshaun Prince.
With Hicks I think his ceiling is higher than Jackson's. He has tools that I just don't see Jackson developing. I think with Hicks it's all between his ears on how far he decides to go.
With Hicks I think his ceiling is higher than Jackson's. He has tools that I just don't see Jackson developing. I think with Hicks it's all between his ears on how far he decides to go.
Thats the easy pick right now ......................... BUT if Brice would advance his game and use that tremendous jumping ability he could really up his stock. And as a Go said, some of the young guns may really step their games up.
I'm ok with your disagreement. However, your rebuttal doesn't really do much to continue the conversation.
Ill go against the grain and say Joel Berry. His build and skill set could make him a poor man's Chris Paul in the NBA, and thats NOT exactly a bad thing
Personally, I would say the best NBA prospect we have right now is Marcus Paige, Jackson could become that but Marcus is that right now. For most of his career at UNC Marcus has been our go to shooter, other than PJ, Marcus just has not had a well respected scorer to play beside him in that back court thou Berry began to show the ability to take some of that off of him.
The thing about marcus is that you can measure his height, you can measure his weight, you can measure his elivation but you just can't measure his heart. He has that special thing inside that seperates him as a player, we didnt see it as much this past season with all his injuries combined with defenses paying him so much attention with their game plan to stop him. But today Marcus is the ONLY kid on that roster that not only can put this team on his back and carry them but has put this team on his back and carried them. Jackson may one day be able to do that, Marcus already has.
Now if we exclude Marcus from the discussion the guy I would suggest may have the larger upside, with respect to Jackson & Hicks, but the kid I look at is Pinson. To me Pinson is a steady relaible jump shot away from being a NBA lotto selection, much the same way I saw Tokoto. The difference to me is that I think Pinson has that extra little special something even with what I think is a ugly jump shooting stroke that Jp seemed to struggle to find.
Pinson is to me George Lynch & Jackie Manual all rolled up in to a wings body. He effects a game, when he steps on the court he changes the game, he changes the emotional tone of the game, he changes the intensity level of the game. He takes those aspects of the game to another level, he just involves himself in the game and immeadiatly the tone of the game changes in a noticable way.
Case in point, the Louisville game we were behind by 5 or 7, game was getting in to its final stages and the momentum was not on our side. Roy puts Pinson in, maybe for no other reason than he needed the intensity level to increase and Pinson had fresh legs and a motor. But in the blink of an eye Pinson took the game over, in about a 3min span it was pinson with the jumper, Pinson steal, Pinson shut down defending, Pinson with the shot, Pinson with the jam, UNC with the lead? The kid to me single handed changes the momentum of that game in its late stages and the team fed off of those late heroics.
I hate we didn't get to see more of this kid, he got hurt a game or 2 after that and his freshman season was for the most part over. But there was a time or 2 that even in a suit and that foot in a walking boot that I thought the kid may have even given us an emotional lift from ther side lines. For those of you that don't know, that is some straight George Lynch stuff right there and George Lynch stuff is special special stuff!
The thing about marcus is that you can measure his height, you can measure his weight, you can measure his elivation but you just can't measure his heart. He has that special thing inside that seperates him as a player, we didnt see it as much this past season with all his injuries combined with defenses paying him so much attention with their game plan to stop him. But today Marcus is the ONLY kid on that roster that not only can put this team on his back and carry them but has put this team on his back and carried them. Jackson may one day be able to do that, Marcus already has.
Now if we exclude Marcus from the discussion the guy I would suggest may have the larger upside, with respect to Jackson & Hicks, but the kid I look at is Pinson. To me Pinson is a steady relaible jump shot away from being a NBA lotto selection, much the same way I saw Tokoto. The difference to me is that I think Pinson has that extra little special something even with what I think is a ugly jump shooting stroke that Jp seemed to struggle to find.
Pinson is to me George Lynch & Jackie Manual all rolled up in to a wings body. He effects a game, when he steps on the court he changes the game, he changes the emotional tone of the game, he changes the intensity level of the game. He takes those aspects of the game to another level, he just involves himself in the game and immeadiatly the tone of the game changes in a noticable way.
Case in point, the Louisville game we were behind by 5 or 7, game was getting in to its final stages and the momentum was not on our side. Roy puts Pinson in, maybe for no other reason than he needed the intensity level to increase and Pinson had fresh legs and a motor. But in the blink of an eye Pinson took the game over, in about a 3min span it was pinson with the jumper, Pinson steal, Pinson shut down defending, Pinson with the shot, Pinson with the jam, UNC with the lead? The kid to me single handed changes the momentum of that game in its late stages and the team fed off of those late heroics.
I hate we didn't get to see more of this kid, he got hurt a game or 2 after that and his freshman season was for the most part over. But there was a time or 2 that even in a suit and that foot in a walking boot that I thought the kid may have even given us an emotional lift from ther side lines. For those of you that don't know, that is some straight George Lynch stuff right there and George Lynch stuff is special special stuff!
Fine. I'll state the obvious...
Justin - 6'8!?! wing shooter/slasher with a knack to score the ball. Has shown the ability to score both off a screen and when creating for his own. Already a developed floater that translates very well to the NBA. He's long and sneaky athletic. Most importantly, he has a well defined position in the NBA with good size for it. Weakness: Defensively he's not ready to play in the league and stop guys consistently.
Isiah - Also 6'8, yet has no ability to score the basketball outside of 10 feet. Even his interior scoring is inconsistent, it's usually following up misses or being fed a pass for a lay up or dunk. No real NBA level post moves. Maturity and mental aspect of his game are no where near NBA ready. Has looked overmatched against better talent.
Come on. Justin is a top 20 guy on everyone's board and Hicks isn't even listed. There are guys who get paid a lot of money to scout and it is very very rare that a bench guy with no real NBA position and no real NBA translatable skills comes out of no where and is a good pro.
Guys, he's 6'8 and he struggles at the 4 spot in college. He would get absolutely ripped apart by 4's in the NBA and he's definitely not a 3.
My order for pro prospects goes:
- Justin
- Marcus
- Brice
- Theo
I hear you. First let me preface that I'm not saying I don't think JJ would make a good pro. I'm a big fan of his game, in fact. I would almost say he's a bit of a throw back and I like that.
I agree in most of your assessment of JJ and any knock I have is really nit picking. Despite his sneaky athleticism and length I feel that he plays somewhat below the rim. Can he play above? Sure, but I don't think he shows that on a consistent enough level. To my original point, because of what I see in his skill set now I'm not sure what else I can realistically see him add to his game that will take him to another level. His strength is the only thing but as I mentioned earlier I just don't think his body type will allow that.
Regarding Hicks, sure he's a bit more of a gamble but I just think his ceiling potential is a bit higher. Easily more athletic but also clearly not nearly as skilled as JJ right now. I don't think Hicks will ever be a deep threat but I could see him developing a shot out to 18-20 feet. He plays with consistent high energy and really has a knack for reading where the ball will come off on rebounds. If you really look at the numbers, his efficiency regarding points/rebounds this past season were really impressive. Call me crazy, but I firmly believe that if we have Hicks for his senior season that he's 1st team All ACC and possibly in consideration for ACC POY. But for me every bit of his potential begins and ends with his mind frame on him actually believing he can be as good as he wants to be.
I get your argument about Hicks being undersized for his current skill set. If nothing else, there has long been a place in the league for rebounding specialists. If he could average 10 and 10 that woul give him a very long career.
It's a good topic and enjoy the debate.
You've got to admit when it comes to Hicks, developing a 18-20 foot jumper and getting a mindset that is suitable for the rigors of the NBA game is a LOOOOONGGG way away. He hasn't really shown us anything in 2 years to believe that he's on his way there. Plus, at 6'8'', asking him to be a 10 rebound guy is really tough. They don't make many Barkley's and Rodman's.
I would be SHOCKED if he's 1st team All-ACC at any point in his career. I would gladly love to be proved wrong by him, but I just don't see it anywhere remotely close.
As I said, I think with Hicks it all depends on his mindset. Unfortunately for him, having that "alpha" type of personality is usually something you either have or you don't.
I think that we can agree that if we're placing money on the safest bet, you have to think JJ. Hicks is definitely the biggest risk. I mentioned over on 4 corners that I just have a feeling that he's a late bloomer in respect to realizing his full potential.
Also, maybe to rephrase my earlier argument, I think the odds are against Hicks from being a 10/10 guy in the league. I just don't think it's out of the realm of possibility.
Most importantly, I'm excited that there are several Tar Heels on the current roster that could make an NBA roster. That would really help with future recruits seeing that continued success.
After giving it some thought, I think a good comp for Hicks would be Tristan Thompson. In his 4 years in the league he's averaging about 10pts and 8.5 Rebs. Also, Thompson only stands 6'9 and has been a very important part of the Cavs team.
No. Hicks is. Lots of guy already looking at him just based on things like hands, footwork, ability to faceup, ability to put the ball on the floor, and long rangy athleticism. But the one thing that makes him really attractive is his quick bounce (and afterbounce). His 2nd and 3rd jumps for a rebound are just as high as his first. That makes him very active around the basket, You can't teach that.
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