Just on sheer numbers/stats, he’s having a heck of a year. But the stats, in my opinion, don’t tell the whole story. He isn’t playing team ball, he’s playing iso ball. The question is, does this translate better in the NBA? Will a drafting team look at what he’s done in college and say that his skills and physique are enough, the rest they’ll teach? I honestly don’t know, but I suspect he’ll go earlier than late second round. Where were Podz and JW projected in their draft years?
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Both Podz and JW came on late and shot up into the first round projections with how they performed in the second half of the year. Though to be honest, that probably had to do more with scouts paying closer attention. They were both amazing the entire year during their last seasons, at least from what I remember. It’s possible it happens again with Ball, but first let’s just get him back on the court.
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The Athletic has a fantastic piece on Podz today.
Podz came on to the Warrior’s radar when Mike Dunleavey came to Santa Clara to watch Pepperdine’s Maxwell Lewis.
There are a lot of great quotes and stories from this article, but this one specifically stood out to me:
Green sprained his left ankle just before training camp. He missed about a month. In his ramp-up to return, the Warriors set up a scrimmage in Sacramento the morning of their second game. Podziemski was out of the rotation, so they had him play on Green’s team. They lost the first scrimmage after Green turned it over.
“We can’t have a turnover for game!” Podziemski told Green. “You cannot turn the ball over for game.”
Green was stunned. They’ve had rookies who barely say a word to him the entire season.
“I was like, ‘OK, cool, you got it. No problem,‘” Green said. “Here we are playing a pick-up game, a game to get me ready and he’s yelling at me. That to me said a whole lot. I was like, ‘You know what? No problem. But make sure you speak up like that all the time.’”
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What continued to shoot Jalen up was the draft combines where he continued to impress not only in physical attributes but how he played in some of the scrimmages.
Podz had an incredible season last year as well.
I just think Jalen and Podz were much further ahead at this point than Bal. Bal has great potential but I think he could use another year at Santa Clara to season. There isn’t any point in transferring as SCU has proven it can produce first round talent that translates in the NBA.
Bal should stay if he is not first round projected. And work on less iso, less turnovers, shot selection.
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Bal really is having another special career arc like podz. He was avg only 2.5 points in 8 min of action last year.
Jalen became an absolute beast in those 2-3 months after our season ended, he looked like a totally different build when the NBA combine started. Podz i feel really impressed scouts during the tryouts - where iirc he was rebounding and assisting the heck out of the ball, wasn’t looking to score nearly as much as his college career.
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From NBA.com:
39. Portland Trail Blazers (via Hawks): Adama Bal
- Previous mock draft spot: No. 27
- School: Santa Clara
- Nationality: French
- Position: SG/SF
- Size: 6-foot-7, 190 lbs
- Age: 20
Adama Bal’s breakout has caught NBA attention, especially with Santa Clara producing quality pros in consecutive years. He’s had some off shooting nights lately that have brought the percentages down to realistic levels, but his ball-screen play, shotmaking versatility and finishing have been persuasive for a 6-foot-7 wing.
His game is not as polished as JWill and Podz. Another successful season would help becoming a first round pick. Of course at this time the last two seasons, neither Podz or Jalen was a first round lock.
The eval notes what Bal does well but if I were a NBA GM I’d be more concerned with what he doesn’t do well.
IMO he’s subpar defensively, doesn’t rebound well especially considering he’s 6-7, he’s not physical or strong, seems adverse to contact and his decision making and offensive fundamentals (too many one handed passes, doesn’t protect the ball, etc.) are shaky.
Things like willingness to defend, rebounding, and physicality tend not to improve when advancing from one level to the next. So is he a good enough shooter and scorer to accept his shortcomings which are likely to always be shortcomings???
All that said, it only takes one team/GM to be enamored with his offensive game and potential and be willing to take a flier on him in the 2nd round.
He’d be wise to declare for the draft, take advantage of the evaluation and workout opportunities, get some feedback and return to college to work on his weaknesses.
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100% concur with this. I am also a bit perplexed. His defense needs 100% improvement. And I am wondering what they mean by “ball screen play”. WHAT ball screen play? Not saying it won’t ever happen, but it is honestly not currently there. I think an additional year will help.
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Agree 'femme. Bal is a decent passer with decent court vision in transition and occasionally in half court situations but his ball screen / pick-n-roll play isn’t noteworthy.
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This link is an alternative to bypass the paywall and read the article: MSN
Absolutely! LOVE his court vision and ability to pass. Keep that up and work on the other pieces and he would be better positioned for long term success.
The PROGRAM might be better served if Bal gets drafted. He averaged 2.5 ppg at Arizona as a sophomore. Another rags to riches story should be pay handsome dividends in the portal for several years.
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Curious…I saw a clip of Draymond Green hard fouling (no surprise) Patti Mills in the W’s game last night against the Heat. Patti has been in the League 16(!) years. I don’t follow the NBA that closely, so I didn’t realize he was still playing.
I looked and Nash played 18 seasons.
Anyone know (or know where it could be found) what WCC players have the longest NBA tenures and who has the longest after Patti (assuming he is the longest). Sabonis is in his 9th season so I assume he would be among the longest tenured.
Great question!
I just did a quick lookup of some players that came immediately to mind:
Rambis: 1981-1995
Cartwright: 1979-1995
Russell: 1956-1969
Seems Nash might just be the longest-tenured NBA player from the WCC.
The other two who came to mind for me were Doug Christie and Dennis Johnson, both of Pepp. Double digit seasons but not more than Nash.
Rick Adelman may be it for playing + coaching in the NBA?
John Stockton 84-03 is probably the longest career.
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You can see how well my mental block on Gonzaga is working!
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Parlor game…killing time between F4 games…the last 4 year college
player to make waves in the NBA?
Patti Mills came to mind but there must be another more recent.