Rookie Rankings V1

I've been wanting to write up an article lately, and thought that I'd give my thoughts on the rookie class and how they've managed the season to this point so far. Let's jump right in...


1. Andrew Wiggins - Orlando Magic, 29.9mpg, 23.3ppg, 1.3apg, 4.7rpg, 1.1spg, 1.7bpb, .44% FG
Did anyone else expect someone else to be at the top? He's almost in the top 10 in scoring...As a freaking rookie! Wiggins is the real deal and he'll only be getting better as he plays more. He's already at a career high 38 points...Congratulations to Mr. Wiggins, on winning the 2014 CSL Rookie of the Year Award.


2. Jahii Carson - Sacramento Kings, 36.8mpg, 15.4ppg, 6apg, 3.9rpg, 1.3spg, .42% FG
Poor Jahii Carson...he's going to be overshadowed by Wiggins all year. If it weren't for Wiggs, he'd easily be the front runner for the award, but he'll have to settle for second best. Right now though, he's killing it for the Kings. With the evident departure of JR Smith, his stats should go up even more.


3. Dario Saric - Sacramento Kings, 23.8mpg, 12.1ppg, 1.5apg, 6rpg, 1.3spg, .43% FG
Clearly the reason why JR Smith will be shipped out sometime very soon...because of Dario Saric. He's playing some great ball off the bench for the Kings and, if given starter minutes, will be able to develop his game even more. Too bad there are so many good 6th mans out there...might have been able to pull a Ben Gordon and win the award as a rookie...


4. Andrew Harrison - Milwaukee Bucks, 25.3mpg, 11.9ppg, 3apg, 3.7rpg, 1.1spg, 0.7bpg, .49% FG
The Bucks went all out to try and pair Harrison with Kyle Anderson to have a dynamic young duo...and rookie Harrison is still learning the ropes of the CSL. He'll show signs of that potential that we all believe he has...then he'll have some off games where he can't find his rhythm. Still though, he's still been a great rookie thus far into the season.


5. Perry Ellis - Detroit Pistons, 16.4mpg, 8.9ppg, 0.7apg, 3.9rpg, 0.6spg, 0.3bpg, .67% FG
The 11th pick in the CSL draft, Ellis has used his time on the court very wisely. In only 16.5 minutes per game, he's almost putting up 10 points and 5 rebounds a game, not to mention shooting 67% from the field. A great pick up for the Pistons as both Ellis and Chandler are having stellar seasons so far.


6. Julius Randle - Memphis Grizzlies, 26.6mpg, 10.3ppg, 1.6apg, 6.4rpg, 0.4spg, 0.7bpg, .50% FG
Randle is another guy who still has so much to learn in the league so far. He's got a ton of potential but he's still very raw at the moment. If he can continue to get more playing time and stay out of foul trouble (not to say he's been in foul trouble so far), Randle will be a very good role player for any team.


7. Vasilje Micic - Boston Celtics, 34.9mpg, 6.3ppg, 6.4apg, 2.8rpg, 0.3spg, .33% FG
Dennis Schroeder gets hurt...in comes Micic (who struggled handling Rubio) but what a game he had against the Brooklyn Nets for Boston's first win. He finished with 10 points and 13 assists...but he was a HUGE pest to Rajon Rondo, forcing the all star guard to shoot 8-24 from the field. Yeah, Rondo had a triple double but he struggled...thanks to Micic.


8. Andre Roberson - Orlando Magic, 27.6mpg, 6.6ppg, 0.7apg, 7.2rpg, 0.8spg, 0.7bpg, .44% FG
The 16th pick in the CSL draft, the lowest drafted rookie to make the rankings, Roberson is having himself a pretty decent start so far. He won the starting job over the likes of Jeff Green and Al Harrington, Roberson has been very solid for the rebuilding Magic. He's got some good defensive potential and should be a good role player for Orlando.


9. Alex Len - Boston Celtics, 24.5mpg, 8.3ppg, 0.9apg, 5.3rpg, 0.3spg, 1.8bpg, .51% FG
The number 2 overall pick in the draft...Alex Len is struggling to stay on the court. He's had some solid games here and there but Gorgui Dieng is outplaying him off the bench. Still though, Len is learning a lot and doing his best. He'll get there, he'll find his rhythm on the court, and hopefully, he'll be the player Boston needs him to be.


10. Kendall Williams - Phoenix Suns, 36.3mpg, 10.5ppg, 4.7apg, 3.4rpg, 0.8spg, 0.4bpg, .38% FG
This was tough to call, I wasn't sure if I should put Williams or Bennett...but went with Williams instead. He's having a better all around year than Anthony too (with the exception of Bennett's last few games). Williams will turn out to be a great role player...starting or coming off the bench.

Honorable Mentions:
Anthony Bennett - Phoenix Suns, 31.4mpg, 9.6ppg, 1.4apg, 6.9rpg, 0.3spg, 1bpg, .38% FG
Shabazz Muhammed - Boston Celtics, 23.1mpg, 10.6ppg, 1apg, 2.5rpg, 0.3spg, .39% FG
Shabazz Napier - Memphis Grizzlies, 23.9mpg, 6.6ppg, 4.5apg, 2.4rpg, .46% FG

Great read, thanks for that. Excellent rookie class. Bennett certainly playing much better after starting the season shooting 19%. Good to see improvement there

Jahii also is averaging 4.6 turnovers per game, not great for a PG.

Willie Cauley has definitely been less than stellar for us. He's at 3.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 BPG on 19 MPG. He's just not getting the touches he needs to put up big numbers. He's also injured for the next 8 days, so that sucks too. Hopefully he develops and can start putting up some better numbers.

Happy with Harrison's production so far, just looking for more consistency. It looks as though he will become a pretty efficient scorer and good defender over time.

Nice start for those Kings rooks, hopefully they will be legitimately good and not just producers on a lower tier team.

No surprise Gary Harris doesn't grace these rankings lol. I have started him most of the season to keep Eric Gordon coming off the bench but Harris hasn't produced much as the 5th man on the court. Hopefully he continues to develop as a defender and a shooter.

Some nice rookies. We haven't given ours much of a run but in 11.1 minutes, Suliamon is averaging 5 points a game shooting over 53% which is a positive I guess.

Thanks for posting this, didn't know the contributions some of these guys are making.

Last I saw Len was averaging 12pts, must've been a rough couple of last games.

WillyJakkz (HOU) wrote:Thanks for posting this, didn't know the contributions some of these guys are making.

Last I saw Len was averaging 12pts, must've been a rough couple of last games.

Yeah, we played Miami, Atlanta, Brooklyn twice, and so on.
We didnt have any "easy" opponents for now.
Still. Len is so rawr. +10 points left in every Important category.

Hadnt the time to read it in detail for now.
Good work tanner. great to see other guys, new guys are writing articles:).

I hope Micic, Bazz and Len are climbing in your next ranking. especially Bazz now as he gets the start for us .
keep it going! great read:)

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll try to get these going either once a week, or once every other week. I'll probably be released on Fridays.

Really good rankings and nobody is going to unseat Wiggins at the top.  Jahii is probably a little hihg due to his TOs, but hes also having a good season.  Ellis has been great for us so far and by far our most efficient player.  If he was starting for a young team he would be number 2 for sure.

emplep7 (DET) wrote:Really good rankings and nobody is going to unseat Wiggins at the top.  Jahii is probably a little hihg due to his TOs, but hes also having a good season.  Ellis has been great for us so far and by far our most efficient player.  If he was starting for a young team he would be number 2 for sure.

He would have been…I just was to slow to get the communication correct between Q and myself.