Thoughts on NBA Draft in October

[Radbooks]

Sam Vecenie has his latest Draft Big Board out today at The Athletic. There is still a lot up in the air. Here's where he ranked our guys:

Age Hgt. Wingspan
37 Killian Tillie, F/C 22 6-9 6-10
62 Corey Kispert, W 21 6-6 N/A
89 Joel Ayayi, G/W 19 6-5 6-10
94 Filip Petrusev, C 20 6-11 N/A

[jsnider]

Sam Vecenie has his latest Draft Big Board out today at The Athletic. There is still a lot up in the air. Here's where he ranked our guys:

Age Hgt. Wingspan
37 Killian Tillie, F/C 22 6-9 6-10
62 Corey Kispert, W 21 6-6 N/A
89 Joel Ayayi, G/W 19 6-5 6-10
94 Filip Petrusev, C 20 6-11 N/A

He has never ranked our guys very well. In the last 3 mock drafts the highest ranked was Kispert at 59 for his mock 5.0. Ayayi and Filip have been consistently in the 80's and 90's. Before our guys filed in February, I think, mock 3.0 he had Ayayi at 41 and Kispert in the 50's with Petrusev not ranked. Don't know why he has never ranked our guys well. Tillie has consistently been ranked in the top 60 because he is a big man who can stretch the floor and hit 3's at a good rate. That is why Peterusev has been ranked so low.

[Mr Vulture]

He has never ranked our guys very well. In the last 3 mock drafts the highest ranked was Kispert at 59 for his mock 5.0. Ayayi and Filip have been consistently in the 80's and 90's. Before our guys filed in February, I think, mock 3.0 he had Ayayi at 41 and Kispert in the 50's with Petrusev not ranked. Don't know why he has never ranked our guys well. Tillie has consistently been ranked in the top 60 because he is a big man who can stretch the floor and hit 3's at a good rate. That is why Peterusev has been ranked so low.

He doesn't rank them highly as those three guys are fringe NBA guys in all reality. Kispert lacks typical NBA athleticism, Ayayi is probably the most NBA of the three, Petrusev also lacks athleticism. That doesn't mean they all can't play in the NBA, it just means that they aren't surefire guys.

On the flip side, I think that Tillie is likely one of the top 15 talents in the draft, his issue is obviously the injuries that drop him down. I think a team late in the first round is going to get a steal with him. I think he'd fit a team like Golden State very well, although that would be via trade or early second round pick. I think he would also be a good fit with the Lakers and Sixers.

[Robzagnut]

Tillie will be a major steal for a team picking him in the 2nd round.

I hope Denver takes him. He's their type of pick. I starting following them closely 3 years ago when they barely missed the playoffs then used their picks in 2018 and 2019 to take a flier on injured, but high ceiling players in Michael Porter Jr and Bol Bol.

[zagfan08]

Vecenie has the four of them correctly ranked in my opinion. I’d say Corey is closer to 50 than 60 but the other two are not getting picked. Corey will certainly get a chance in the league, whether this year or next year, if he can become a reliable shooter at that level. Hope so! Personally I couldn’t blame Corey at all for going considering next year’s draft is expected to be better and deeper and he’s probably the same prospect next year as he is now except a year older. But hope he’s back and expect he will be.

[jsnider]

So I understand from another Zag friend of mine that Petrusev is in Chicago and has been there for awhile. From Chicago he is then supposedly flying off to Serbia for an undetermined time frame. With all of the travel restrictions coming in to the US, I don't know what that might mean for his status on the Zags. Does anyone have any ideas about what if anything this might mean?

Here is my concern. Sometimes a player just feels as if it time to leave college and go pro. Zach Norvell is a perfect example of this. I get the feeling that Filip is in that camp. Whether or not he gets drafted by an NBA team and he probably won't this go around - he could easily go pro in Europe and hope he can come back here or just stay there where he is already comfortable and just have a nice pro career there. I have never felt that Petrusev was all that passionate about staying in the college game at Gonzaga (whether they are potential National Champs) or not. Just my gut in the way he has carried himself on the team while watching every game I can - he has always seemed aloof to me.

I hope I am wrong

[Zag1203]

It's probably safer in Serbia than it is in the US right now. It might just be his window to go home and visit family since his summer was taken away from him. He shouldn't have a problem coming back to the US, a travel exception was made for athletes so the NBA and MLB could restart.

[willandi]

With the number of pro athletes testing positive, there is a danger of there being no sports. I don't know what that would do to the NBA draft, but I don't think it would be good.

[Mr Vulture]

It's probably safer in Serbia than it is in the US right now. It might just be his window to go home and visit family since his summer was taken away from him. He shouldn't have a problem coming back to the US, a travel exception was made for athletes so the NBA and MLB could restart.

Lol!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rangerzag]

NBA Draft will be on October 16, with early entry deadline on August 17.


https://twitter.com/wojespn

[jsnider]

NBA Draft will be on October 16, with early entry deadline on August 17.


https://twitter.com/wojespn

I am a little confused now. Does this mean the date has moved from August 3rd to August 17th? Was the August 3rd date just a tentative date for our guys to have to tell the schools whether they are coming back.?

[bdmiller7]

I am a little confused now. Does this mean the date has moved from August 3rd to August 17th? Was the August 3rd date just a tentative date for our guys to have to tell the schools whether they are coming back.?

NCAA deadline to withdraw and return to college is August 3rd. NBA deadline to enter draft is August 17th, date to withdraw is October 6, 10 days before the draft, more for foreign players than college. The 3rd is the date we are waiting for.

[jsnider]

NCAA deadline to withdraw and return to college is August 3rd. NBA deadline to withdraw is August 17th, more for foreign players than college. The 3rd is the date we are waiting for.

Thank you very much.

[bdmiller7]

Thank you very much.

Fixed it, misspoke earlier. Still the 3rd is the date we're looking for. This does give college kids the opportunity to see how Covid plays out over the next 2 months and if it looks like no college season they can enter the draft late.

[jsnider]

So I understand from another Zag friend of mine that Petrusev is in Chicago and has been there for awhile. From Chicago he is then supposedly flying off to Serbia for an undetermined time frame. With all of the travel restrictions coming in to the US, I don't know what that might mean for his status on the Zags. Does anyone have any ideas about what if anything this might mean?

Here is my concern. Sometimes a player just feels as if it time to leave college and go pro. Zach Norvell is a perfect example of this. I get the feeling that Filip is in that camp. Whether or not he gets drafted by an NBA team and he probably won't this go around - he could easily go pro in Europe and hope he can come back here or just stay there where he is already comfortable and just have a nice pro career there. I have never felt that Petrusev was all that passionate about staying in the college game at Gonzaga (whether they are potential National Champs) or not. Just my gut in the way he has carried himself on the team while watching every game I can - he has always seemed aloof to me.

I hope I am wrong

ZagBlue or Caldy - Any thoughts on this given that the players were advised to stay in the US? Thank you

[RenoZag]

Sam Vecenie's latest Mock Draft is posted at The Athletic:

https://theathletic.com/1926516/2020...rom-draft-day/

Killian Tillie is the only Zag to hit his Top 60 board, at #53

If it wasn’t for the injuries, I would pretty clearly have Tillie as a first round pick. And regardless, I have him about 15 spots higher on my personal board than where he’s placed here. There is very little he doesn’t do well when he’s on the floor. He’s an elite level decision maker, arguably the smartest, highest IQ basketball player in this draft class. He hits over 40 percent of his 3s. He’s sneakily actually pretty good on defense both on the interior and on the perimeter due to his understanding of positioning. Everything about him profiles as a high-level rotation player. He just has to stay on the floor. Teams do have some real concerns on that, unfortunately, after he’s missed parts of multiple seasons and offseasons with hip, foot, ankle and knee injuries. I’d be willing to take a shot on him doing that in the early second round, but I get why teams would be risk-averse in this case.

Players from teams the Zags played in 19-20 season on Vecenie's list include: Cole Anthony - UNC; Isaiah Stewart - UW; Josh Green - AZ; Zeke Nnaji - AZ; Jaden McDaniels - UW; Nico Mannion - AZ; Payton Pritchard - ORE.

[GoZags]

Thanks RZ .... I'd let my "The Athletic" subscription go and am glad you've updated us. It'll be interesting to see how things play out ....

Sam Vecenie's latest Mock Draft is posted at The Athletic:

https://theathletic.com/1926516/2020...rom-draft-day/

Killian Tillie is the only Zag to hit his Top 60 board, at #53



Players from teams the Zags played in 19-20 season on Vecenie's list include: Cole Anthony - UNC; Isaiah Stewart - UW; Josh Green - AZ; Zeke Nnaji - AZ; Jaden McDaniels - UW; Nico Mannion - AZ; Payton Pritchard - ORE.

[jazzdelmar]

Sam Vecenie's latest Mock Draft is posted at The Athletic:

https://theathletic.com/1926516/2020...rom-draft-day/

Killian Tillie is the only Zag to hit his Top 60 board, at #53



Players from teams the Zags played in 19-20 season on Vecenie's list include: Cole Anthony - UNC; Isaiah Stewart - UW; Josh Green - AZ; Zeke Nnaji - AZ; Jaden McDaniels - UW; Nico Mannion - AZ; Payton Pritchard - ORE.

Three Zonies. How does the chipmunk stay employed?

[TexasZagFan]

Three Zonies. How does the chipmunk stay employed?

If I'm a fan of UA and several other P5 schools, I'm asking why we don't do better with all the 4 and 5 stars our coaches are bringing in? We've had what, 2 or 3 top 25 recruiting classes over the past 20+ years? The word has gotten out that Gonzaga is a premier program when it comes to player development, a place where you can hone your skills for the next level while getting a great education, and making friends that will last a lifetime.

Five straight Sweet 16's destroys the meme that it's because the Zags are in a weak conference. What high level college player doesn't want to play in a system, where seemingly everyone is scoring in double figures?

I fully expect Paolo and Chet to sign with the Zags as members of a vaunted recruiting class of 2021.

What's been the change to our fortunes over the past 5 years? I submit the staff has done a better job of getting players' moms on campus. Just my $.02, but Mrs. Suggs and Mrs. Timme played a major role in the final decision. There's just something in the air at GU, I guess.

[GoZags]

What's been the change to our fortunes over the past 5 years? I submit the staff has done a better job of getting players' moms on campus. Just my $.02, but Mrs. Suggs and Mrs. Timme played a major role in the final decision. There's just something in the air at GU, I guess.

What's been the change to our fortunes over the past 5 years?

In my opinion, the change was when Mark got "re-engaged" in the recruiting aspect of his job. When Ray was here (and Mark/Marcy were growing their family) he (this is my opinion ... and the opinion of "others' that matter) stepped away from some of the time consuming aspects of recruiting. Ray was a former high profile HC ... Tommy had overseas going strong ... and Mark just wasn't there at key times with high profile kids. And if you'll recall .... there was a combination of "misses". Both on kids that came as well as kids that didn't come. That (again my opinion) led to the series of "Few32's". To be honest I don't know what combination of factors led to mark ultimately getting the message depicted in this 6 second video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-fkSYDtUY but "snap out of it" he did. And you see where that's gotten us.

[jazzdelmar]

What's been the change to our fortunes over the past 5 years?

In my opinion, the change was when Mark got "re-engaged" in the recruiting aspect of his job. When Ray was here (and Mark/Marcy were growing their family) he (this is my opinion ... and the opinion of "others' that matter) stepped away from some of the time consuming aspects of recruiting. Ray was a former high profile HC ... Tommy had overseas going strong ... and Mark just wasn't there at key times with high profile kids. And if you'll recall .... there was a combination of "misses". Both on kids that came as well as kids that didn't come. That (again my opinion) led to the series of "Few32's". To be honest I don't know what combination of factors led to mark ultimately getting the message depicted in this 6 second video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-fkSYDtUY but "snap out of it" he did. And you see where that's gotten us.

I thought you banned my Few32, now you’re citing it? Lol....I think MF got a gentle nudge from the powers that be when the normal amount of real poor recruiting misses became a tsunami.

[GoZags]

I thought you banned my Few32, now you’re citing it? Lol....I think MF got a gentle nudge from the powers that be when the normal amount of real poor recruiting misses became a tsunami.

Context, jdm. Context.

When the term you’d coined is used retrospectively it’s my opinion that it’s okay (thus my use of it in the post above).

When used over and over and over and over and over again as an attempted stinging jab against the program and the staff .... it became “less welcome”. Again that is my opinion. And .... not sure if you ever noticed but getting to the round of 32 as often as the Zags did back in the day was never anything to be embarrassed about. But I DO like the streak of 5 straight Sweet 16’s (or beyond) better than the decade plus streak of Round of 32 (or beyond).

Oh .... and it wasn’t a gentle nudge from Thayne or Roth .... it was candid input from folks in the basketball world (that matter) coupled with Few seeing for himself how good this program could be if he ratcheted up his personal involvement in recruiting.

Oh ... and one other VERY key factor emerged. His name is Brian Michaelson.

[Reborn]

Context, jdm. Context.

When the term you’d coined is used retrospectively it’s my opinion that it’s okay (thus my use of it in the post above).

When used over and over and over and over and over again as an attempted stinging jab against the program and the staff .... it became “less welcome”. Again that is my opinion. And .... not sure if you ever noticed but getting to the round of 32 as often as the Zags did back in the day was never anything to be embarrassed about. But I DO like the streak of 5 straight Sweet 16’s (or beyond) better than the decade plus streak of Round of 32 (or beyond).

Oh .... and it wasn’t a gentle nudge from Thayne or Roth .... it was candid input from folks in the basketball world (that matter) coupled with Few seeing for himself how good this program could be if he ratcheted up his personal involvement in recruiting.

Oh ... and one other VERY key factor emerged. His name is Brian Michaelson.

Thanks GoZags for the input. I value your insight and knowledge about what's going on in recruiting. I value your knowledge more htan anyone's because I know that you know what your talking about. i am fortunate to know GoZags personally, and is one of the few people here who I know personally and he shares what he knows with me. We can all trust what he says. He was "right on" about Suggs the whole way...That's proof enough for now.

In regards to the topic, I am quite happy. Glad to see that there is a good chance that Petrusev, Kispert, and Ayayi will return to Gonzaga to play next year.

Go Zags!!!

[TexasZagFan]

Thanks GoZags for the input. I value your insight and knowledge about what's going on in recruiting. I value your knowledge more htan anyone's because I know that you know what your talking about. i am fortunate to know GoZags personally, and is one of the few people here who I know personally and he shares what he knows with me. We can all trust what he says. He was "right on" about Suggs the whole way...That's proof enough for now.

In regards to the topic, I am quite happy. Glad to see that there is a good chance that Petrusev, Kispert, and Ayayi will return to Gonzaga to play next year.

Go Zags!!!

I'm glad I'm not the one who's going to be sorting out who plays, and who sits, during the upcoming season. There's only 200 minutes of playing time per game, it's an enviable problem for the coaching staff to have.

[MDABE80]

Im thinking that our kids are rarely one and done. AZ? those kids have to put in a year but they've already been noticed by NBA and probably are skilled as heck but not dedicated to that program They are dedicated to the NBA . That's the magic of our program. How many times has it been seen that this program keeps it's coaches and offers a consistent program over the years?? It's been said that the coach who recruits them usually stays with the kid he recruited... that happens here. Relationships are formed. Kids attach to this school and this community. In some ways it's the "package". And the package seems to work.

5 straight sweet 16s or better (i.e. 5 for 5) clearly demonstrate our program is excellent. Not "Blue Blood" excellent but a few titles will straighten that out. And with all this said, I do recognize that coaches do a very very hard job. Physically and mentally demanding.

We've never had it so good and we're still growing. Think back to 1998 when all this excellence was in its infancy. Kids we recruit now only know GU as an exceptional program. Coaches are young enough to go on for quite a while.
Preseason no 1 seed and no 1 ranking. .more evidence Honestly I/d rather have a superior program to show competence than send one or two kids to the NBA.once in a while.

Best wishes to all.