Higher NBA Draft Pick Royce or HB?

**brett108** · 07-18-2011, 08:16 AM

Originally Posted by Cyrok

Royce has to lose 30 pounds and/or grow 4 inches to be effective in the NBA. As he is, Royce can be a dominant college player. (...in my unprofessional opinion

)

Grow 4 "? That would put him at 7', at which point he is the number 1 draft pick with his skill level.

But seriously, I think White has the potential to be drafed at the end of the first round. He is going to have to show a lot of skills this year, and in camps, but he will go no sooner than 20 because of his tweener status. HB will not drop past the first 5. It is not even close in terms of their draft prospects.

**ChrisMWilliams** · 07-18-2011, 08:16 AM

I'll add too that it isn't a lock that Royce will even be drafted. He's never even played a real game yet. His CCL performances were impressive but the post play in that league is very average to say the least. Let's just take it for what it is. Royce had a good summer. Let's hope that he can carry it over to the Big 12.

**CyJack13** · 07-18-2011, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by CYphyllis

Last I checked the NBA likes their players to be strong. The guy isn't carrying around 30 pounds of gut, it's pretty much all muscle.

People get so hung up on height it's hilarious. If a guy can play, he can play. Royce is listed at 6'8" and I know there are always the message board psychotics who feel they can accurately judge a persons height or weight by eye sight from 50 yards away who feel that he is shorter than that, but shockingly, I'm going to go with what ISU has him listed at.

Off the top of my head here are some PF's of comparable size who have done well for themselves in the NBA:

Charles Barkley 6'5"
Larry Johnson 6'6"
Dennis Rodman 6'6"*
Elton Brand 6'8"
Jason Maxiell 6'8"
Elton Brand 6'8"
Carlos Boozer 6'9"
Shawn Marion 6'7"
Chuck Hayes 6'6"*
Carl Landry 6'9"
Anthony Mason 6'7"
Dejaun Blair, 6'5"
Paul Millsap, 6'6"
Clarence Weatherspoon, 6'6"
Ben Wallace, 6'7"* (his height by his own admission)
Wes Unseld, 6'7"*

* - Played a good amount of center

Common factor between these guys and Royce (barring the outlier in Marion) is that they are/were all extremely strong. To say that he needs to drop 30 pounds or he isn't tall enough to play in the front court in the NBA is all just ridiculous.

The original post wasn't about whether or not White can play in the NBA. It was about who will get drafted higher, him or Harrison Barnes, which is a riduculous question to ask. White is a tweener, a little short for PF and way too big for the SF spot. Go look at where all the guys you listed were drafted outside of a couple of guys on there (LJ, Barkely and Unseld) all those guys were basically second rounders or undrafted free agents.

**chuckd4735** · 07-18-2011, 08:23 AM

At this point in time there is not one valid argument you can make to favor Royce. Would it surprise me if he ended up being a higher pick than HB, no, but I wouldn't put a dime on that happening.

**clonestar12** · 07-18-2011, 08:26 AM

Originally Posted by CycloneNick

If we can agree that the CCL is stiffer competition than HS and having seen Royce in the CCL and HB in H.S. and 1 year at NC, who is the higher NBA draft pick next year if both leave?

I have seen both play in person as many of us now have. I give the edge to Royce if he shows that he can defend the 4 and the 5. The offense is obiously there.

The CCL is good for keeping the guys in basketball related activities.......nothing more than that. Barring injury, HB will most likely be a lottery pick whenever he decides to declare. While RW had some high accolades coming out of HS a few years ago, his NBA potential will not be visible untill he plays this year against the B12`s best teams.

**CYphyllis** · 07-18-2011, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by CyJack13

The original post wasn't about whether or not White can play in the NBA. It was about who will get drafted higher, him or Harrison Barnes, which is a riduculous question to ask. White is a tweener, a little short for PF and way too big for the SF spot. Go look at where all the guys you listed were drafted outside of a couple of guys on there (LJ, Barkely and Unseld) all those guys were basically second rounders or undrafted free agents.

The post was saying he needs to either drop 30 pounds or grow 4 inches to be effective in the NBA, this was the response.

Last I checked Elton Brand was a #1 overall pick.

**greatshu** · 07-18-2011, 08:35 AM

Royce will get his chance to shine. If he is good enough and show his skills during the season, he will be noticed by NBA scouts.

We can't compare HB and Royce since Royce hasn't played a single competitive college level game yet!

**Frak** · 07-18-2011, 08:38 AM

I think that it is pure craziness to even consider this topic. HB is likely to be the top pick of the draft next season. RW is going to be lucky to be a first rounder.

**CYphyllis** · 07-18-2011, 08:41 AM

Originally Posted by greatshu

Royce will get his chance to shine. If he is good enough and show his skills during the season, he will be noticed by NBA scouts.

We can't compare HB and Royce since Royce hasn't played a single competitive college level game yet!

That really doesn't matter. These guys have been playing against the highest levels of competition for their age for years now in the AAU circuits. For the top level recruits, which White fits into, it's going to be business as usual.

College basketball is in no way like college football in the means of transition for the top players.

**Cyrok** · 07-18-2011, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by CYphyllis

Common factor between these guys and Royce (barring the outlier in Marion) is that they are/were all extremely strong. To say that he needs to drop 30 pounds or he isn't tall enough to play in the front court in the NBA is all just ridiculous.

You make good points (especially with Dejaun Blair being 6'5" - he's played some center!)

A counter to your examples is Fizer. He was extremely strong (and a bit undersized) but his game didn't adjust favorably to the pros - even without the injuries. And I'm sure there are plenty of other "strong undersized" fellas that didn't make it.

CW has been saying for a while that we need to temper our expectations for Royce and just let him play before talking about NBA drafts (or if he'll be taken ahead of HB - are you kidding me?). I'm trying to follow CW's lead. My thoughts on Royce come from watching him at the CCL - his ball handling and court vision were amazing and his strength is absolutely impressive. I'm wondering if he can play defense and if he can run up and down the court. He looks too heavy to me to play at Hoiberg's pace for more than 25 min/game.

**Cyrok** · 07-18-2011, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by brett108

Grow 4 "? That would put him at 7', at which point he is the number 1 draft pick with his skill level.

But seriously, I think White has the potential to be drafed at the end of the first round. He is going to have to show a lot of skills this year, and in camps, but he will go no sooner than 20 because of his tweener status. HB will not drop past the first 5. It is not even close in terms of their draft prospects.

Royce is 6'6''ish.

**brianhos** · 07-18-2011, 11:00 AM

This is probably the dumbest question ever on CF. HB is going top 5 (prob top 3) next year. Royce has never proven himself in a real game.

**CYCLONECORY** · 07-18-2011, 11:02 AM

NBA is more concerned with a player's wingspan than height. They want players that can rebound over some one, block shots etc. In my opinion, Royce most certianly needs to trim 10-15 lbs. before the start of the season.