The Raptors and the 2014 Draft

[OldSkoolCool]

Neither do I...if any comparisons should be made, Wiggins is a T-Mac.

Long, tall, skinny, athletic. Doesn't get low to the ground, plays upright. Has the high release on his shot. Wants to be a good defender. A lot of things different from DD.

Probably just a random Canada/Raptors correlation

[isaacthompson]

Uh oh.



Hand in your D-League application my man.

EDIT: Context is coming through.

Sure this has been said but OSU radio said immediately after the incident that Smart told the OSU coaches that the fan said THE word

— Ryan Aber (@ryaber) February 9, 2014

[BigCamB]

If they wanted to pick a random Canadian based player to compare him to, he looks much more like Ross than he does DeRozan. Both are kind of laid back, don't really force the issue and can disappear at times. Skinny, smooth and big time athlete, big time defensive upside. 3 point shooting.

[OldSkoolCool]

DeMar is more of a name though...but ya I do see the Ross comparison there^

[rocwell]

Marcus Smart is going to be a problem.

Marcus Smart pushes a fan/older man. Video https://vine.co/v/MWqirJwLwYw

Ron Artest moment.

edit: oups it's already posted

[BigCamB]

Uh oh.



Hand in your D-League application my man.

damn!! I knew he was having a tough time, but that's crazy!

[octothorp]

Ejim has been playing well this season but he's been slightly over-shadowed by Kane. Is he a senior? If he enters the draft you got to think someone grabs him in the mid/late second at least...

He is a senior. One of the Grantland writers at the beginning of the season thought that he was a darkhorse to get to the NBA.

http://grantland.com/features/kansas...ndrew-wiggins/

While I certainly don’t expect Ejim to play a single second in the NBA, I wouldn’t be shocked if someone took a chance on him for his versatility and athleticism. I could see the Spurs — because it’s always the Spurs — drafting him in the second round, sending him to Europe or the D-League, and then turning him into Kawhi Leonard’s backup in five years. No, wait. I got that wrong. What I meant is that a different team will draft Ejim, bury him on the bench, and then end up trading him to the Spurs as a throwaway piece of a bigger trade. Then the Spurs will realize that he’s an athletic, physical swingman who can shoot, and Gregg Popovich will sprinkle Ejim with the pixie dust he uses to turn guys nobody else wanted into playoff contributors.

I wouldn't be shocked if he starts to move onto some mocks after this game. I also like the fact that he won some major big-12 academic/athletic award last year. As to whether I want him on the Raptors... well, I can't root for every Canadian b-ball prospect to end up on the Raptors! But I do hope that he does well for himself.

[ball4life]

damn!! I knew he was having a tough time, but that's crazy!

Marcus Smart just slipped out of the lottery.. ouch

[BigCamB]

Marcus Smart just slipped out of the lottery.. ouch

This fan is apparently a serial pest and has been abusing guys for years. I have heard rumours that it could've been an "N" Bomb, but not confirmed or anything. I mean it doesn't excuse what he did but does add some perspective as to why.
I think he and his team have been struggling so much and he has been showing visible frustration for a while now, it was only a matter of time before it boiled over.

[The Great One]

If they wanted to pick a random Canadian based player to compare him to, he looks much more like Ross than he does DeRozan. Both are kind of laid back, don't really force the issue and can disappear at times. Skinny, smooth and big time athlete, big time defensive upside. 3 point shooting.

I don't see the Ross comparison either. They're both great athlete obviously. Both have big time defensive upside. But Ross offensively is nothing more than a 3pt shooter. Wiggins can do A LOT MORE.

And your description of Ross and Wiggins that i bolded actually applies to DeRozan as well. Laid back, can disappear at times, doesn't force the issue. Big time athlete. Those words were actually on DeRozan's scouting report back in 2009.

[BigCamB]

I don't see the Ross comparison either. They're both great athlete obviously. Both have big time defensive upside. But Ross offensively is nothing more than a 3pt shooter. Wiggins can do A LOT MORE.

And your description of Ross and Wiggins that i bolded actually applies to DeRozan as well. Laid back, can disappear at times, doesn't force the issue. Big time athlete. Those words were actually on DeRozan's scouting report back in 2009.

I never once said they are alike, but I believe they share more similarities than DeRozan and Wiggins do, and you're welcome to disagree with that. You seem to be rather defensive about DeRozan, I'm not in any way criticizing him

I'll try and explain. Sorry if I'm wrong but I thought the comparison was that Wiggins could be like a prime DeMar DeRozan which i find weird??, maybe Demar was passive back then in the scouting report, but he isn't now. I agree with the McGrady comparison. It's common, but it fits.

My off hand and random comment is mostly due to the way they look. They look laid back, lanky players that float up and down the court. There are all kinds of great athletes, Demar is one, but I think Ross and Wiggins athleticism is very similar. Wiggins does have more of an offensive game than Ross, but he is also very passive and also still very raw in terms of his offensive moves (like Ross) Keep in mind he's playing college players. I think His lack of strength and kind of awkward moves (i've seen ross described as that when he drives) may see him struggle a bit in the paint in his first couple of seasons. Both players often can be content drifting on the perimeter and passing around, which was my "invisibility" comparison. Defensively and Shooting the ball, I think the comparison is obvious.


Either way, was just a light hearted comment, I just felt like there were SOME similarities. Wiggins is a more highly rated prospect obviously.

[The Great One]

Being reported that Jeff Orr said "Go back to Africa" to Marcus Smart.

[mcHAPPY]

Being reported that Jeff Orr said "Go back to Africa" to Marcus Smart.

I do not condone that but worse will be said when he is a pro both on and off the court.

Smart made an unexpected decision last year for all the right reasons. At the time he was lauded for his maturity and desire to improve before heading to the NBA.

I think the pressure, second guessing, and regret of the decision is making him snap. He had nowhere to go but down and the difference between the top 3 and 6-7 is a couple million guaranteed plus even more in year 3 and 4.

That doesn't even consider his life and game under a Microscope. Even commentator, analyst, scout is looking for fault and holes in his game.

[Axel]

Being reported that Jeff Orr said "Go back to Africa" to Marcus Smart.

It's truly sad that people have to deal with racism in this day and age.

How much will this affect Smart's draft stock? I think it depends on how he handles the next few days, the pressure at March Madness and the pre-draft interviews. He's still an elite talent and doesn't have a history of red flags.

[BigCamB]

I do not condone that but worse will be said when he is a pro both on and off the court.

Smart made an unexpected decision last year for all the right reasons. At the time he was lauded for his maturity and desire to improve before heading to the NBA.

I think the pressure, second guessing, and regret of the decision is making him snap. He had nowhere to go but down and the difference between the top 3 and 6-7 is a couple million guaranteed plus even more in year 3 and 4.

That doesn't even consider his life and game under a Microscope. Even commentator, analyst, scout is looking for fault and holes in his game.

It's been building up for a while now, teams been losing and he's been showing visible signs of anger. Here's a good article on it.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebaske...rts-reputation


For what it's worth, I don't think it will hurt his stock, he will learn from this and recover. I don't think this is a bad kid at all. Every scouting report I've ever read on him lists his character and leadership as possibly his finest attribute..people make mistakes.