Weekly Insight with Grant Hill - 6th Edition - Boom or Bust

Weekly Insight with Grant Hill - 6th Edition - Boom or Bust



Everyone is wondering, might as well start the discussion.  Which players are this year's Boom or Bust prospects?  Which players may be underrated?  Which players deserve the dreaded "tweener" or "project" labels?  Today, we dive into each category to discuss our thoughts on the topic.



Elias Harris – 24 years old – 6’7” – 220 lbs – Gonzaga
Don’t ask this kid to score from anywhere outside of the paint.  Do, however, ask him to defend and grab rebounds.  Harris will be able to score with the big boys from day one, and with a solid training camp may even be ready for the CSL defensively.  He doesn’t have a lot of time to realize the heaps of potential he has, but Gerald Wallace comparisons are very apt.

Michael Gbinije – 19 years old – 6’6” – 191 lbs – Syracuse
The more we see from Gbinije, the more we like.  He looks to have some of the highest upside in the draft.  He has a chance to be a rock solid wing on the next level – a guy who can hit the long shot (and will look for his shot), pass, rebound, swat and defend.  He’s a project, to be sure, but a coach’s dream.

Chris Obekpa – 19 years old – 6’9” – 225 lbs – St. John’s
Obekpa has the potential to lead the CSL in blocks per game.  He won’t necessarily defend like Serge Ibaka, but he’ll send just as many shots into the first row.  Additionally, though he won’t hit them at a high rate, Obekpa does a fantastic job of earning free throws and represents a chance at consistent foul trouble for opposing big men.

Yogi Ferrell – 20 years old – 5’11” – 165 lbs – Indiana
He’s been dropping on big boards recently and I just don’t understand why.  Ferrell is an absolute demon offensively.  Not only that, but he draws contact on almost all of his excursions into the paint and converts those free throws at an incredibly high rate.  Oh, and he can defend.  So, to recap, incredibly scorer who can hit from deep, great handles, awesome free throw conversion at a high rate, strong defender.  

Xavier Thames – 22 years old – 6’3” – 195 lbs – San Diego State
Thames got some love in my offensive system article the other week, but he’s worth mentioning here again.  Not only he is one of the smartest players in the draft, but he is insanely efficient with his offense.  This kid just does everything well.

Nikola Jankovic – 19 years old – 6’8” – 215 – Serbia
A crafty Euro-style forward, Jankovic will probably be better suited as a small power forward at the next level.  His value is still hard to peg as a result of him playing all the way over in the Euroleague, but scouts are intrigued with his post game and he may be worth a late round flier due to his offensive skillset.




Jerami Grant – 20 years old – 6’8” – 210 lbs – Syracuse
It kills me to slot Grant in here, but in the fair and balanced nature of this article, I have to.  Grant is a truly unique talent, but so far this collegiate season he has been exploited on the offensive side of the ball.  Often times, Syracuse essentially plays 4 on 5 offensively, so “offensive liability” may be generous.  Though he is still top 5 on Insight’s Top 30, that really should only be place reserved for legitimate two way players – which it’s becoming apparent Grant is not.

Aaron Gordon – 18 years old – 6’9” – 215 lbs – Arizona
Gordon is an interesting prospect, and if he had decent shot mechanics could potentially be turned into a legitimate small forward.  As it stands, Gordon is better suited as a power forward.  He can pass well out of the post and he has fantastic court intelligence, but his defensive positioning isn’t great and his small frame makes it easy to bully him out of the post.  Gordon has more upside than almost anyone in the draft, but it will take a patient general manager and years of development before Gordon shows glimpses.

James Young – 18 years old – 6’6” – 204 lbs – Kentucky
A player who came into this season with the potential to be the next solid 3&D prospect has so far shown to be a defensive turnstile.  Disappointing, to say the least.  Though he can hit the long ball, he has shown increasing timidity in his shot selection and isn’t looking to score often, if at all.  He has that prototypical size, which you love, but so far there are smaller, more aggressive players that have been quite easily outplaying Young.

Zeke Marshall – 22 years old – 7’0” – 225 lbs – Akron
Marshall has incredible footwork and instincts for blocking shots, but so far that’s where the good news ends.  A once promising defender, we really haven’t seen that from him so far this season.  He doesn’t look to score all that often, but also fails to draw contact when he does.  At this point, unless there is a dramatic turnaround, Marshall may be relegated to defensive specialist, except without the defense.

Dominic Artis – 19 years old – 6’1” – 185 lbs. – Oregon
Artis has, to this point, displayed some troubling tendencies for a point guard touted so highly.  His inability to handle the ball is less of a question and more of a fact at this stage.  Additionally, Artis has so far been incapable of running even a basic pick and roll offense due to his inability to stretch the defense with his shooting.  Finally, suspicions regarding Artis’ court intelligence have arisen as a result of consistently poor decision making.

Zach LaVine – 18 years old – 6’5” – 185 lbs – UCLA
There was a brief glimmer of hope at the beginning of the NCAA season that LaVine could be the second coming of Russell Westbrook.  Those hopes are firmly in the rearview mirror at this point.  Now the only question is, “Will he be better than Jimmer Fredette?”, and it’s terrifying we’re even asking that question.  Finally, certain locker room “incidents” have seen LaVine fall out of favor with UCLA head coach Steve Alford.  Buyer beware.

Man, seems like every article is telling us not to draft Gordon because he's just not very good. That's gotta say something, lol.

Thames is really interesting. Thanks for those artices Sun!

Draft articles make me giddy! Honestly, I love the season, analyzing my team and changing strategies, making trades and a push for the playoffs, but nothing excites me more about sports than the draft. I don't know what it is but learning about the newest crop of players entering a league is just awesome. Keep the articles coming SS!

Youre making me scared of zach lavine. He is an interesting prospect. Now Im kinda turned off