Interesting 2012 Recruit Rankings

**BringBackJohnny** · 08-02-2012, 10:32 AM

At 6'7" do you guys seem him as a steady 4 or do you see him going out to the 3 spot with some proved midrange skills?

Can someone compare his play style to any current or former cyclones?

**Cydkar** · 08-02-2012, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by NorthCyd

LOL! The guy is barely out of high school and you think he is close to his ceiling all ready. You do realize that players don't just develope physically after high school. Skill and experience count as well. What a ridiculous statement.

It's not a ridiculous statement. It may be incorrect, in the long run, but his lack of athletic ability kept his ranking lower than his production would deserve.

How does his game translate to the NBA? Lets see how it translates to the NCAA first. That's all I care about.

**NorthCyd** · 08-02-2012, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by Cydkar

It's not a ridiculous statement. It may be incorrect, in the long run, but his lack of athletic ability kept his ranking lower than his production would deserve.

How does his game translate to the NBA? Lets see how it translates to the NCAA first. That's all I care about.

I was only talking about the notion of him being near his ceiling all ready. I would agree that talking about him leaving early because of the NBA is ridiculous in it's own right. But to counter that argument with the notion that he is about as good a ball player right now as he is ever going to be is...well...far more ridiculous.

I also think that he is getting an unfair rap as an athlete. Sure, maybe he doesn't jump out of the gym, but there is a lot more to athleticism than just raw muscular power. He appears to have great feet and hands to pull off his repertoire of post moves. And he has a solid frame to put some extra muscle on. All I'm saying is this kid isn't anywhere near his ceiling yet.

**VeloClone** · 08-02-2012, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by JohnnyFive

Agreed. A 17/18-year old kid is close to his ceiling? He hasn't even stepped onto a college court yet, let alone reached the age where he might stop growing.

If by "growing" you are holding out hope that he will be getting taller, don't count on it. GeorgesFan herself said in a response to one of my questions on this forum that she highly doubted that Georges would be getting any taller. They believe that he has not added to his height for some time now.

**JohnnyFive** · 08-02-2012, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by VeloClone

If by "growing" you are holding out hope that he will be getting taller, don't count on it. GeorgesFan herself said in a response to one of my questions on this forum that she highly doubted that Georges would be getting any taller. They believe that he has not added to his height for some time now.

I'm just saying a kid that age will probably fill out a little more, which may or may not mean he could grow another inch or two. Whether he does or not, we'll find out this winter if Fred plays him as a small four or a bigger three. With the lineup we have coming back, he could get minutes at both.

**VeloClone** · 08-02-2012, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by JohnnyFive

I'm just saying a kid that age will probably fill out a little more, which may or may not mean he could grow another inch or two. Whether he does or not, we'll find out this winter if Fred plays him as a small four or a bigger three. With the lineup we have coming back, he could get minutes at both.

I can agree with weight room growth. Dude is a hard worker and it will show in the weight room.

**GeorgesFan** · 08-02-2012, 12:17 PM

The following information was taken form Draft Express:

Jared Dudley: height without shoes: 6’5.75”

Royce White: height without shoes: 6’7”

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: height without shoes: 6’5.75”

Jeff Taylor: height without shoes: 6’6” (He was drafted 31st this year)

Please do not interpret this as me assuming that Georges is going to the NBA but I think all the "height" talk is interesting. Georges is 6'7" without shoes. Maybe he will play a SF/PF it is certainly going to be fun to find out. Royce also called Georges a hybrid.

**djcubby** · 08-02-2012, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by nickcyv

No kidding, I'm a huge Niang fan but what are ISU fans referring to Niang leaving early for? Completely baseless as of now.

Don't laugh too hard. People were saying this very thing about RW last year at this time.

Hadn't played college ball...wasn't ready...oh look, he held his own against T-Rob, Uconn, and Anthony Davis and became a first round pick.

**LegendofRodA** · 08-02-2012, 12:36 PM

Originally Posted by djcubby

Don't laugh too hard. People were saying this very thing about RW last year at this time.

Hadn't played college ball...wasn't ready...oh look, he held his own against T-Rob, Uconn, and Anthony Davis and became a first round pick.

+1. With the world as we know it in the NBA, I don't think it is out of the question for any highly rated player to be considered as a possiblity of leaving early.

IMO, put 2-3 inches on Niang and he is a 5 star PF (he is a 5 star in my heart no matter how tall he is

).

**JohnnyFive** · 08-02-2012, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by LegendofRodA

+1. With the world as we know it in the NBA, I don't think it is out of the question for any highly rated player to be considered as a possiblity of leaving early.

IMO, put 2-3 inches on Niang and he is a 5 star PF (he is a 5 star in my heart no matter how tall he is

).

I'm just glad Fred is recruiting guys considered to be borderline four or five-star players because it's just an arbitrary label. I think he's shown us so far that decent coaching, when it comes to technique, can elevate your game another half star or more from whatever your original expectations were.

Case in point: Bubu Palo.

**CycloneErik** · 08-02-2012, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by GeorgesFan

The following information was taken form Draft Express:

Jared Dudley: height without shoes: 6’5.75”

Royce White: height without shoes: 6’7”

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: height without shoes: 6’5.75”

Jeff Taylor: height without shoes: 6’6” (He was drafted 31st this year)

Please do not interpret this as me assuming that Georges is going to the NBA but I think all the "height" talk is interesting. Georges is 6'7" without shoes. Maybe he will play a SF/PF it is certainly going to be fun to find out. Royce also called Georges a hybrid.

Who knows for sure? We know he'll be good here, though, so that gets him started!

**Cincyclone** · 08-02-2012, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by JohnnyFive

Originally Posted by Cincyclone (Interesting 2012 Recruit Rankings)

The NBA drafts on two things above all others: size and potential. He's only 6'7" so that would be way undersized for the post in the NBA. In terms of potential, Niang can be a great, technically sound scorer but I think is already pretty close to his ceiling due to his average athleticism. Regardless, to even be talking about that is ridiculous before the guy has even played.

Agreed. A 17/18-year old kid is close to his ceiling? He hasn't even stepped onto a college court yet, let alone reached the age where he might stop growing.

And how do we know he has average athleticism? We haven't seen him play a game yet so thre's no way any of us can possibly know that. Any high school kid that already has a few low-post moves and range out to 20 feet is considered pretty athletic to me.

He is much closer to his ceiling than you'd see from the typical NBA draft pick. In terms of athleticism, he is considered average in that regard by every scouting report and it is evident by watching his videos from high school. I'm not saying he can't improve by any means, I'm just saying his athleticism isn't comparable to other NBA draft picks. Take a guy like Perry Jones III. This is a guy who really didn't produce a whole lot in college and yet leaves early and is a first round pick. Those are the types of players NBA teams LOVE. Guys with freakish athleticism and a very high ceiling. The fact of the matter is that his average athleticism limits his NBA ceiling, though not necessarily his college ceiling. With his already well developed low post game he has the ability to be a dominant scorer in college. That changes once you start talking NBA though because he is a) undersized and b) of mediocre athleticism for the NBA.

Again I'm not saying Niang won't be a great college player because I think he will be. I'm saying he is lacking in areas that NBA teams value. Let me ask you this: how many 6'7" post players are there in the NBA? Not many. Now how many of those guys are not freakish athletes? That number gets smaller. Now how many of those guys had the opportunity to leave early? MAYBE a handful.

**Cincyclone** · 08-02-2012, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by GeorgesFan

The following information was taken form Draft Express:

Jared Dudley: height without shoes: 6’5.75”

Royce White: height without shoes: 6’7”

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: height without shoes: 6’5.75”

Jeff Taylor: height without shoes: 6’6” (He was drafted 31st this year)

Please do not interpret this as me assuming that Georges is going to the NBA but I think all the "height" talk is interesting. Georges is 6'7" without shoes. Maybe he will play a SF/PF it is certainly going to be fun to find out. Royce also called Georges a hybrid.

If Georges truly excels as a SF then the height argument is moot. But of those guys you listed only one is a PF or post player and that's White who I think we can all agree leaves big shoes for Georges. I'm not saying Geoges can't make it to the NBA because I am a believer that anything is possible with lots of hard work. I just think it's a long shot at this point to consider him as having the opportunity to leave early simply because that is such a rare opportunity.

**Cincyclone** · 08-02-2012, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by NorthCyd

I was only talking about the notion of him being near his ceiling all ready. I would agree that talking about him leaving early because of the NBA is ridiculous in it's own right. But to counter that argument with the notion that he is about as good a ball player right now as he is ever going to be is...well...far more ridiculous.

I never said he was about as good a ball player now as he'll ever be. I said he is much closer to his ceiling now than the typical early NBA draft entree.

**NorthCyd** · 08-02-2012, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by Cincyclone

I never said he was about as good a ball player now as he'll ever be. I said he is much closer to his ceiling now than the typical early NBA draft entree.

Maybe that is what you were trying to convey, but that's not what you wrote. You said, without any qualifications, that he was pretty close to his cieling due to his average athleticism, period. You offered no comparison to other early NBA entrants. Whether you meant it or not, your op implies you think he doesn't need much improvement to reach his ceiling. In other words, he is about as good of a ball player as he will ever be.