jaren jackson
45 minutes
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1. BIG MEN
starts at 1:00
Five went in the first seven picks, though not necessarily in the order we would’ve taken them. Is there Tom Izzo shade? Of course.
2. B1G MEN
starts at 22:33
We run down the draftees out of the Big Ten, including Los Angeles Lakers center and LeBron James’ teammate Moe Wagner. Is there Tom Izzo shade? Of course.
3. LUKA vs. TRAE
The biggest trade of the night inextricably ties the draft’s top two lead guards together. The guess here is that’s great news for Luka Doncic and Dallas and much less so for Trae Young and Atlanta.
4. WINNERS AND LOSERS
starts at 34:33
The Mavs had a great haul even beyond Doncic. Michael Porter Jr. may be the ultimate boom/bust. As is the NBA norm, it’s better to be young and unproven than an experienced non-superstar.
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MUSIC
- “Apollo’s Mood”—The Olympians
- “Across 110th Street”
THE USUAL LINKS
- Helpful iTunes subscribe link
- General podcast feed link
- Direct download link
- What's with the theme music?
Josh Langford really loves to step in, then brick
Uncertainty ball. [Marc-Gregor Campredon]
The deadline for putting one's name into the NBA Draft has come and gone, so we now enter the period of uncertainty as players who didn't hire agents go through the pre-draft process before deciding whether to return to school. The Big Ten already has several notable early entrants who will hire agents and stay in the draft, including Moe Wagner and the duo of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges at Michigan State. (Also, uh, Nebraska's Jack McVeigh?)
Even more are testing the waters without an agent, including Charles Matthews, and those decisions will go a long way towards determining the Big Ten outlook for 2018-19. College Basketball Talk's Rob Dauster put together a list of the most influential early entry decisions from a college hoops perspective; of the 12 teams listed, five are from the B1G, and two of those teams (Maryland and Nebraska) have two players with NBA choices to make.
Here's a look at who's gone, who's testing, and how the draft could impact the conference standings next season.
Gone For Sure
...bye. [Campredon]
These players have declared and will hire an agent, locking them into the draft.
ILLINOIS
F Leron Black — A big loss for an Illinois team that relied heavily on Black's scoring and rebounding. The Illini have some decent young talent and a solid incoming class but this is a setback for Brad Underwood after a rough first year. As for Black, he's probably going undrafted.
MARYLAND
F Justin Jackson — Jackson had the misfortune of getting injured after coming back for his sophomore season, and he'd already been off to a stock-hurting start. Still, he's a talented player who made a solid impact as a freshman, and the Terps could be losing a lot depending on a couple other draft decisions.
MICHIGAN
C Moe Wagner — I don't need to tell you about the impact of this one for Michigan—we've covered it extensively and there will be plenty more to come. Wagner is currently a late first- or second-round prospect who's considered a safe pick without a ton of upside (his defense remains a sticking point).
MICHIGAN STATE
F Miles Bridges and F Jaren Jackson Jr. — Bridges was overdue to enter and probably slipped a few spots in a loaded draft year because he returned to jack up 25-footers over a 2-3 zone. Jackson, after taking a strangely long time to make a decision that seemed quite obvious after that Syracuse game, made the obvious choice—he could go as high as #3 overall. Both are obviously major losses for an MSU team that may end up starting Kenny Goins at the four. They could lose the third member of their starting frontcourt, too.
NEBRASKA
F Jack McVeigh — Is not an NBA prospect, to be frank. He barely played for the Huskers this year after being useful rotation piece in his first two seasons. Nebraska's fates are much more closely tied to the decisions of two players who haven't hired agents.
OHIO STATE
F Keita Bates-Diop — An expected departure as KBD put together a Player of the Year-caliber junior season that earned him first-round projections. The Bucks also lose Jae'Sean Tate and Kam Williams from the starting lineup. They're set to drop back after a shockingly good first year under Chris Holtmann.
PENN STATE
PG Tony Carr — Remember that brief moment when Penn State was a dark horse conference title contender for 2018-19? It's over now. Pat Chambers still has a team that could make some noise but they're going to have a very tough time replacing Carr's high-usage, high-efficiency offense. Carr should go in the second round.
RUTGERS
PG Corey Sanders — A huge loss for Rutgers, as Sanders dragged that offense out of the KenPom 300s in efficiency the last couple years by taking all the bad shots he could handle and making a respectable number of them given the circumstances. While bad-shot-making is an NBA trait, Sanders isn't expected to be drafted.
[Hit THE JUMP for the water-testers.]
Buckle Up: Jordan Poole Announces Friday
Michigan waited longer than most programs to hand out offers to 2017 basketball prospects, but their selectiveness may help them land a commitment—and very soon, at that. Four-star WI SG Jordan Poole picked up his offer when he first visited campus for the BYU game; at the time he told The Wolverine's Chris Balas that the distinction of being M's first offer recipient in the class wasn't lost on him ($):
"I thought it was great," he said. "I really didn't know they hadn't offered anyone else until I got there. It shows they look for certain people and qualities as far as basketball and personality.
"For me to be the first …. Coach Beilein doesn't just give out offers. Some schools give out offer after offer. Coach Beilein really takes the time thinking about the right fit, if a kid really likes school and is thinking about going there. Being the first in the 2017 class is amazing."
Poole visited campus again last weekend; he told Scout's Brian Snow it was a "great" trip ($). Yesterday, he set his announcement:
Four-star 2017 SG Jordan Poole will announce his decision Friday at 5:30 CT at his school https://t.co/NMMKxikYOX
— Brian Snow (@BSnowScout) October 20, 2015
All signs point to Michigan. Poole would be a nice pickup; he's the #92 overall player in the 247 Composite and holds offers from the likes of Auburn, Illinois, Indiana, and Marquette.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
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