Zeke and the NBA Draft

[Dr Z]

I made that post on Jan. 14. Did you think to check Zeke's stats in the Jan. 16 game to see how much it slowed him down?

Start at the top of that thread.

[skip-zip]

never heard of a player who is a premiere shot blocker described as "soft".

Done arguing with you guys. I've made my points. We will see who is right and who knows nothing when the draft comes around.

I don't think most people here, including myself, are arguing with you about his draft status as much as we are arguing some of the things you are saying about his skills that are just absurd.

As I said earlier, stick with the things he is good at, and hope he gets drafted based on that. We all hope that happens. But, he is not going to get drafted because "he can hit the deep 2s/3s" (as you contend), or because anyone of them believe your assertion that he is a "physical" player.

[Dave in Green]

@Dr Z, if you're referring to the fact that Zeke had a couple of games out of his career 138 games where he played reduced minutes due to tendinitis in a knee that also got hit, I don't consider that being slowed down by an injury in the overall context of the point about Zeke's remarkable durability. But I suppose it could be argued that tendinitis is an injury -- one of the most common and minor injuries in sports -- and that he technically was slowed down for a couple of games. I guess it would be surprising if someone didn't make that argument on a sports forum, where no point is too minor to be debated.

[LZIp]

I don't think most people here, including myself, are arguing with you about his draft status as much as we are arguing some of the things you are saying about his skills that are just absurd.

As I said earlier, stick with the things he is good at, and hope he gets drafted based on that. We all hope that happens. But, he is not going to get drafted because "he can hit the deep 2s/3s" (as you contend), or because anyone of them believe your assertion that he is a "physical" player.

I said he is capable of hitting them. I never said he could hit them consistently, nor did I say that he will get drafted because of that. I was using it to shoot down the "limited" offensive label some of you are trying to give him, especially compared to some other 7 footers. Saying one of the most efficient scorers in the country is limited is laughable.

Now please stop taking my comments out of context.

[skip-zip]

I said he is capable of hitting them. I never said he could hit them consistently, nor did I say that he will get drafted because of that. I was using it to shoot down the "limited" offensive label some of you are trying to give him, especially compared to some other 7 footers. Saying one of the most efficient scorers in the country is limited is laughable.

Now please stop taking my comments out of context.

You're right. Nobody ever claimed that you said that. You were quoted correctly.

[jeaglet1]

I don't have an opportunity to read a lot of what is on these board (unfortunately ), however, I thought you all would be interested to know that ESPN NBA draft honcho Chad Ford recently said that Zeke is a likely first round NBA pick. That's contrary to not only a lot of what I read here, but much from the "expert" blogosphere as well. Ford is an islander, like myself (teaches at BYU-Hawaii), and I'm looking to pin him down for a minute to talk, if I can find his 10-20. Wish me luck!

That surprises me. Ford didn't list him on his top 35 prospects (Link) that were updated yesterday.

Also, ESPN's draft page has him listed at #18 among Centers with a Second Round / Undrafted grade (Link). Although it doesn't attribute the rankings to Ford, he is the NBA draft guy for ESPN. Interesting.

[Zipgrad01]

It is extremely hard to get drafted. As much as I hope he does, I really dont see it happening.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Fab Melo is a complete stiff who hardly played college basketball, and the Celtics took him in the 1st round of the 2012 draft. Athletic 7-footers are still a valued commodity.

Doc Rivers loves defense, and Kevin Garnett can't keep playing in the middle at 39 years old. Even with Melo playing on the Celtics developmental team, it wouldn't shock me if the Celtics took Zeke. I'd rather use a second rounder on Zeke than Svrunas Mvalatinonis, or whatever random worthless European is available.

[skip-zip]

Also, ESPN's draft page has him listed at #18 among Centers

Wow. I've never liked his chances of getting drafted, but 18th among all Centers?? That's crazy.

I took a few minutes to look up some other prognostications, and I see one with him ranked #93 overall, and another one that didn't have him in the Top-100.

I hope we get better news as it gets closer to draft day.

[UAZip0510]

Fab Melo is a complete stiff who hardly played college basketball, and the Celtics took him in the 1st round of the 2012 draft. Athletic 7-footers are still a valued commodity.

Doc Rivers loves defense, and Kevin Garnett can't keep playing in the middle at 39 years old. Even with Melo playing on the Celtics developmental team, it wouldn't shock me if the Celtics took Zeke. I'd rather use a second rounder on Zeke than Svrunas Mvalatinonis, or whatever random worthless European is available.

Fab Melo won Big East Defensive POY as a sophomore and has 20 pounds on Zeke.

[Dave in Green]

Zeke is currently ranked all over the place by various NBA draft ranking services. I expect them to all start getting more serious about updating their rankings in the coming weeks after all the postseason tournaments are concluded. For example, DraftExpress currently ranks Zeke #22 among all seniors regardless of position and #97 among the top 100 prospects regardless of class. But many of the underclassmen ranked above him will not be coming out for the 2013 draft, and will choose to stay in school. Once it's determined which underclassmen are declaring for the draft, it will become clearer what Zeke's chances are of being among the 60 players who will be selected in the actual NBA draft.

[UAZip0510]

Zeke is currently ranked all over the place by various NBA draft ranking services. I expect them to all start getting more serious about updating their rankings in the coming weeks after all the postseason tournaments are concluded. For example, DraftExpress currently ranks Zeke #22 among all seniors regardless of position and #97 among the top 100 prospects regardless of class. But many of the underclassmen ranked above him will not be coming out for the 2013 draft, and will choose to stay in school. Once it's determined which underclassmen are declaring for the draft, it will become clearer what Zeke's chances are of being among the 60 players who will be selected in the actual NBA draft.

This is pretty spot on. Draft Express is the site to watch - they'll have the best insight as the draft draws closer.

I hope I'm wrong, but I see Zeke going undrafted and starting in the D-League for Canton.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Fab Melo won Big East Defensive POY as a sophomore and has 20 pounds on Zeke.

In Melo's magical sophmore season he averaged 7.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. That netted him the 22nd pick in the NBA draft.

On a center-starved Celtics team, and while completely healthy, he's scored 2 career NBA points. To his credit, he has had a mediocre season for the Maine Red Claws.

Melo is a fatter, slower, BCS version of Zeke.

[UAZip0510]

In Melo's magical sophmore season he averaged 7.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. That netted him the 22nd pick in the NBA draft.

On a center-starved Celtics team, and while completely healthy, he's scored 2 career NBA points. To his credit, he has had a mediocre season for the Maine Red Claws.

Melo is a fatter, slower, BCS version of Zeke.

As a sophomore Melo was the defensive anchor of a 34-3 Syracuse team that was ranked #1 in the nation at the end of the regular season and earned a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Before he was ruled ineligible for the Tournament, Syracuse was the favorite to win it all.

He's only 6 months older than Zeke. He has an NBA frame, which Zeke does not.

Zeke is nothing like Melo.

[Dave in Green]

@UAZip0510, I'm not exactly sure how one defines an "NBA frame" for a center, as there is a wide variation in pounds-per-inch among centers currently on NBA team rosters. Zeke is currently 7-0, 235 pounds. There should be little doubt that on an NBA diet and weight training program he could easily add another 10 pounds. Following is a partial list of current NBA centers who are roughly the same height (within an inch) and weight (within 10 pounds) of Zeke's 7-0/235:

Tyson Chandler (7-1/240) New York Knicks

Marcus Camby (6-11/240) New York Knicks

Amar'e Stoudemire (6-11/240) New York Knicks

Larry Sanders (6-11/235) Milwaukee Bucks

Joel Przybilla (7-1/245) Milwaukee Bucks

Joakim Noah (6-11/232) Chicago Bulls

Chris Bosh (6-11/235) Miami Heat

LaMarcus Aldridge (6-11/240) Portland Trail Blazers

Meyers Leonard (7-1/245) Portland Trail Blazers

Cole Aldrich (6-11/245) Sacramento Kings

Ryan Hollins (7-0/240) Los Angeles Clippers

Spencer Hawes (7-1/245) Philadeophia 76ers

[UAZip0510]

@UAZip0510, I'm not exactly sure how one defines an "NBA frame" for a center, as there is a wide variation in pounds-per-inch among centers currently on NBA team rosters. Zeke is currently 7-0, 235 pounds. There should be little doubt that on an NBA diet and weight training program he could easily add another 10 pounds. Following is a partial list of current NBA centers who are roughly the same height (within an inch) and weight (within 10 pounds) of Zeke's 7-0/235:

Tyson Chandler (7-1/240) New York Knicks

Marcus Camby (6-11/240) New York Knicks

Amar'e Stoudemire (6-11/240) New York Knicks

Larry Sanders (6-11/235) Milwaukee Bucks

Joel Przybilla (7-1/245) Milwaukee Bucks

Joakim Noah (6-11/232) Chicago Bulls

Chris Bosh (6-11/235) Miami Heat

LaMarcus Aldridge (6-11/240) Portland Trail Blazers

Meyers Leonard (7-1/245) Portland Trail Blazers

Cole Aldrich (6-11/245) Sacramento Kings

Ryan Hollins (7-0/240) Los Angeles Clippers

Spencer Hawes (7-1/245) Philadeophia 76ers

You're correct here. It's not his size, it's his inability to use it effectively (at an NBA-quality level that is). He also doesn't have the motor and/or consistent mid-range jumper the successful players on that list have.

[UAZip0510]

I should note that I do think Zeke will eventually make an NBA roster. I just don't think he gets drafted...he MIGHT sneak in the end of the 2nd Round, but I doubt it. He'll likely start in the D-League, develop his body/game further, and make it to the League in a year or two.

[Dave in Green]

@UAZip0510, thanks for the clarification. Good observations. With a late bloomer like Zeke, it's hard to measure how much growth is left in his game. He certainly showed a lot of improvement between his junior and senior seasons, including starting to show signs of a motor and just starting to show potential for an accurate outside shot. I believe that Coach Dambrot has said that Zeke is still about two years away from being able to contribute to an NBA team.

[UAZip0510]

Just a blog, but I agree with a lot of what he says:

http://www.fearthesword.com/2013/3/20/4126...n-zeke-marshall

[odhgibo]

Zeke played decently in the NABC Reese's game. His stats:

Min - 20

Pts - 7

FG - 3-7

3FG - 0-0

FT - 1-3

Off reb - 1

Def reb - 5

Tot reb - 6

Asst - 0

TO - 0

Blk - 3

Stl - 1

Multiply by 1.5 to get to his normal 30 min, and you have essentially a "normal" game: 10 pts, 9 reb., 4 blocks. He didn't dominate, but he didn't look out of place, either.

[ZachTheZip]

Multiply by 1.5 to get to his normal 30 min, and you have essentially a "normal" game: 10 pts, 9 reb., 4 blocks. He didn't dominate, but he didn't look out of place, either.

Do keep in mind that when you play in an all-star game, you're playing against a team of all-stars. Maintaining your normal stats against better-than-normal competition is pretty good.

[odhgibo]

Do keep in mind that when you play in an all-star game, you're playing against a team of all-stars. Maintaining your normal stats against better-than-normal competition is pretty good.

Agreed. I didn't mean to imply that this was no different from a regular season game, just that the number of minutes need to be taken into account.

I thought he looked pretty comfortable.

[Hilltopper]

I thought Zeke looked good. When he was in the game, the other team was thinking twice about going to the rim. He didn't shoot particularly well, but none of the players did. I don't think he did anything to hurt his chances of getting drafted.

[Dr Z]

Do keep in mind that when you play in an all-star game, you're playing against a team of all-stars. Maintaining your normal stats against better-than-normal competition is pretty good.

Or you step it up...like the 2005 Senior Bowl MVP.

[legendofzippy]

Or you step it up...like the 2005 Senior Bowl MVP.

This may be the greatest example of why all-star games should be ignored. If someone judges Zeke based on one all-star game rather than 4 years of game file, they're idiots.

An athletic 7 footer than has a knack for blocking shots and is still filling out his frame... and yet I have no idea if he'll be drafted or not. But Desagana Diop was a lottery pick because of "upside". The NBA seems insane at times.