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WFU Hoops: '22-'23 Roster Construction Thread: +Ituka/Carr/Appleby/Bradford

For all those who have posted shit about Whitt's hair, I'm willing to bet he gets more tail at Wake than y'all did.
 
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Mock draft from The Athletic today has Jake at 57, second to last pick in the draft.

Also has Manman at 46
 
Sooooo, we've gotten no one so far this off season? Not looking great....losing everyone essentially.
 
Kinda feel like Williamson not announcing anything yet is a good sign. Would love everyone back, but feel like there are TIERS to how long we wait for each. Obvs give LaRavia all the time he needs, but yeah, would love to see something soon for vibes and momentum, but I also may just be feeling a little impatient and need to chill a bit. The guys on the staff don’t strike me as lazy/complacent.
 
Really? I haven’t seen any mock with him in the first. Jake projects as a potential two way rotation player who could potentially get a two way contract. The big question is if a year at Wake can show if he’s worth of a guaranteed contract.
 
PhDeac said:
Really? I haven’t seen any mock with him in the first. Jake projects as a potential two way rotation player who could potentially get a two way contract. The big question is if a year at Wake can show if he’s worth of a guaranteed contract.
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It's just my eval. I think he'll show out really well if he can score a combine invite. There aren't many players with his combination of size, skill, and versatility.
 
Strickland33 said:
It's just my eval. I think he'll show out really well if he can score a combine invite. There aren't many players with his combination of size, skill, and versatility.
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That's funny. I think the opposite. I think he is a talented player who lacks the explosiveness to show out well at a combine (or, frankly, to be anything other than a 10th-11th guy in the NBA).

I hope you are right and I am wrong.
 
DeaconSig said:
That's funny. I think the opposite. I think he is a talented player who lacks the explosiveness to show out well at a combine (or, frankly, to be anything other than a 10th-11th guy in the NBA).

I hope you are right and I am wrong.
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We'll see. Evals are always a crapshoot.

Jake is pretty explosive, I think. The bigger issues for me are that he's not particularly "long" and he's not really explosive off the dribble. This is partly because he can't dribble and partly because he just doesn't have elite quickness. (Age is as big factor, too, unfortunately.)

But he's agile and extremely savvy, has way better footwork than most guys at his stage, has elite vision for a big (and well above average vision for a wing), and has shooting touch out to the NBA 3-point line.

His handles are probably his biggest weakness, imo, because there are a few dimensions of his game that even being a competent ball handler would unlock.
 
Strickland33 said:
His handles are probably his biggest weakness, imo, because there are a few dimensions of his game that even being a competent ball handler would unlock.
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I've seen this take a couple of times on here. I disagree - I think he has really good handles for a 6'9" guy. He sometimes dribbles too much, gets in tough positions, and ends up turning it over because of that, but his ball control is really good for his height. As an example, think about LaRavia vs Aminu bringing the ball up court on a fast break - they're about the same height, but LaRavia has so much better command of the ball.
 
Rafi said:
I've seen this take a couple of times on here. I disagree - I think he has really good handles for a 6'9" guy. He sometimes dribbles too much, gets in tough positions, and ends up turning it over because of that, but his ball control is really good for his height. As an example, think about LaRavia vs Aminu bringing the ball up court on a fast break - they're about the same height, but LaRavia has so much better command of the ball.
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I would argue Jake and AFA have about the same command of the ball, which is to say not a particularly good command of the ball. Similar problem for both players as prospects, imo. They were both nightmares in transition.

When projecting for NBA players, though, you can't think about who Jake is in college. He's a 6'8 combo-forward. Paul George and LeBron James have great handles for being 6'8. Jake LaRavia does not. But fortunately, you can fix that pretty easily as a player.
 
ironwill24 said:
Of the guys on our team, I foresee Walton having the most successful NBA career
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If he wanted, I kind of get the sense he's ok moving on from basketball with all his injuries he's dealt with + creaky old knees.
 
Strickland33 said:
We'll see. Evals are always a crapshoot.

Jake is pretty explosive, I think. The bigger issues for me are that he's not particularly "long" and he's not really explosive off the dribble. This is partly because he can't dribble and partly because he just doesn't have elite quickness. (Age is as big factor, too, unfortunately.)

But he's agile and extremely savvy, has way better footwork than most guys at his stage, has elite vision for a big (and well above average vision for a wing), and has shooting touch out to the NBA 3-point line.

His handles are probably his biggest weakness, imo, because there are a few dimensions of his game that even being a competent ball handler would unlock.
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Yeah, we are basically identifying the same thing. Lateral quickness and ability to get off the floor, to my naked eye, do not appear to be elite. His footwork, shooting form, and vision are all elite.

And yes- if he improves his handle (significantly?) then my evaluation of his game in the NBA goes up dramatically. Right now, I think he would be a train wreck attacking a close out at the NBA level. If he gets to the point where he can be dangerous with that, it really expands his opportunities.
 
Jake should come back and work on become an elite shooter and ball handler. Do that, and he could/should be a top-25 pick next year.
 
ironwill24 said:
Of the guys on our team, I foresee Walton having the most successful NBA career
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Glad to see someone else feels as I do, a rim protector that can shoot the three can give a team some valuable minutes.
 
Definitely. Jake and ManMan are definitely NBA players. It’s a bummer neither had any hype prior to this year, though, because it’ll be an uphill climb for both unless they get combine invites. ManMan should go to Portsmouth, too, imo.
 
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