Where did all these young, promising centers come from all of a sudden?

shakespeare · January 11th, 2015, 9:42 pm

Hassan Whiteside - Miami. Heat might finally have a real center:

Jusuf Nurkic - Denver. Nurkic got inside Marc Gasol's head: https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/1B3CA1 ... ziCZWeEuOT

Alex Len - Phoenix. Block on Nerlen Noel: https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/76492312 ... NI8Mgv.yX7

Rudy Gobert - Utah. Gobert blocks Serge Ibaka: https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/0F3F73 ... oA_0_Mqk8l

I'd never heard of either of these players before this season. This dude Nurkic has already become a fave of mine. Too funny where he taunted DeMarcus Cousins: https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/A2164F ... Ie1OKyTsN6

Here he is taunting Marc Gasol again after shot block (Gasol traveled and still got his shot blocked): https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/A7F756 ... jOWAdMtrQY

Memphis Grizzzlies actually waived Whiteside, but I guess they're already stocked with front court talent. He destroyed the Clippers, today.

taowave · January 11th, 2015, 9:53 pm

have no clue to where Nurkc came from,but i love that guy..hes out of his mind..

always liked Whiteside..no suprise Riley signed him for 2 years

Mr3037 · January 11th, 2015, 11:21 pm

Whiteside has bounced around hasn't he?

Good thread though as compared to a few years ago there are now plenty of young big ben stamping their claim.
The best of them probably D.Cousins.

It's funny because a few years ago all the hype was around Howard and how he was the 'man-child' etc etc
Whereas now, he can be owned by any of the dudes mentioned in this thread on any given night!

SALfromNY · January 11th, 2015, 11:59 pm

We want Okafor!!

Mr3037 · January 12th, 2015, 12:32 am

SALfromNY wrote:We want Okafor!!

YES PLEASE!

NYKCroatia · January 12th, 2015, 2:35 am

taowave wrote:have no clue to where Nurkc came from,but i love that guy..hes out of his mind..

always liked Whiteside..no surprise Riley signed him for 2 years

Nurkic played in Croatia last couple of years so I got to see him develop.
Interesting thing is he wasn't even a starter over here, couldn't stay on the floor for a longer period of time, always getting into foul trouble, he was just too physical for euro basketball, NBA suits him a lot better, and now he can really show that he can play.
His character is another thing that can get him in trouble, kind of like Cousins for that matter, it looks good now when he's the "challenger", but soon enough someone will get into his head and then he breaks easily.
But he's a great guy overall and I'm really happy that it's working out for him in Denver

DolanCurse2001 · January 12th, 2015, 9:06 am

What about our boy Cole?

cragganmor · January 12th, 2015, 11:55 pm

i wouldn't quite put them in the "good" category quite yet, each of them has significant holes in their game and none of them average more than 21 mpg, but each is promising. each of those young c's have either excellent length or size.

yes, cole belongs in this conversation, averaging 5.8 ppg/5.1 rpg/ 0.9 bpg in 17 mpg. personally, i think that cole would be a much better player if he hit the weight room and put on 20# of muscle; he needs to get stronger to carve out position in the paint, push guys off their spot and leaning in on his shots instead of fading away.

rebound · January 13th, 2015, 2:20 pm

dont forget nikola vucevic of the magic.

shakespeare · January 13th, 2015, 2:28 pm

rebound wrote:dont forget nikola vucevic of the magic.

Nikola didn't have to do Pau Gasol like this. Check out the reaction of the Magic's bench. https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/F5C2BC ... PrHtdZANe9

rebound · January 13th, 2015, 2:38 pm

shakespeare wrote: Nikola didn't have to do Pau Gasol like this. Check out the reaction of the Magic's bench. https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/F5C2BC ... PrHtdZANe9

i think aaron gordon's jaw literally hit the floor.

shakespeare · January 13th, 2015, 2:39 pm

cragganmor wrote:i wouldn't quite put them in the "good" category quite yet, each of them has significant holes in their game and none of them average more than 21 mpg, but each is promising. each of those young c's have either excellent length or size.

Agreed. I should've said "promising" young centers. Matter of fact, let me go ahead and change the thread title. And yeah, Cole would really do himself some good if he'd dedicate himself to the gym this offseason. If so, he'll remain in the league for awhile.

shakespeare · January 13th, 2015, 2:39 pm

rebound wrote:
i think aaron gordon's jaw literally hit the floor.

Hilarious.

StevoStarks · January 13th, 2015, 2:43 pm

DolanCurse2001 wrote:What about our boy Cole?

For a backup center, I'd keep him.

Don Che · January 13th, 2015, 8:38 pm

Was big in Nurkic during the draft last year...was looking at picking him up and another pick IF we traded Melo for their first round picks.

Come to think of it...if we grabbed him another pick like Gary Harris..Jimmy Butler AND have our first rounder this year...I'd be one happy man.

But ....w/e Melo is a star..I get it and you need a star to win in the playoffs.

Hasaan Whiteside was a fan of out of Marshall just didnt want to pick him too early because he was time but we had MULTIPLE chances to sign him in the past and when guys talk sh*t about a 20 year old not being good but has all the physical tools ppl forget that players take time...they also need reps in the league for a bit to get a feel for the game. Whiteside is ready now. Happy for him...same reason I wanted Cole.

Alex Len...good prospect out of Maryland(I think) big frame..blocks shots..mobile..he's a classic Euro Center...like Big Z and Sabonis...not athletic out the gym but def mobile and can play. I dont think we had a chance to draft him that year...would def trade for him tho...only 21 years old.

Out of this group the only one I crapped on is Rudy...just never saw him panning out..too skinny to compensate.

With that said we might see the game shift....Anthony Davis WILL be the best player in the NBA in 2/3 years and a lot of big guys are top 4 picks in this draft and next draft...PGs haven't been as high profile...guards that actually play over a year in college are the game changers like Lillard and Curry. Wall is the last high profile guard taken that lived up to the hype and even he took his lumps there was a time where ppl on this board asked if he was a max player. Now he's shown what he is.

Don Che · January 13th, 2015, 8:41 pm

cragganmor wrote:i wouldn't quite put them in the "good" category quite yet, each of them has significant holes in their game and none of them average more than 21 mpg, but each is promising. each of those young c's have either excellent length or size.

yes, cole belongs in this conversation, averaging 5.8 ppg/5.1 rpg/ 0.9 bpg in 17 mpg. personally, i think that cole would be a much better player if he hit the weight room and put on 20# of muscle; he needs to get stronger to carve out position in the paint, push guys off their spot and leaning in on his shots instead of fading away.

agreed Cole needs to actually prepare his body like he wants to start instead of prepare his body to get a check every year.

This off season I'd challenge him if i was fisher because he could be a starter in this league if he wanted to. Just not sure if he wants too.

KnicksRUs · January 13th, 2015, 9:24 pm

None of those original highlights were good.....

rebound · January 21st, 2015, 11:07 pm

is hassan whiteside legit?
i don't watch the heat.

shakespeare · January 22nd, 2015, 6:49 am

I hadn't had the opportunity to watch Whiteside since the game against the Clippers which left me thoroughly impressed. I had never heard of him. Don Che says we had multiple times to sign him. I wish we had.

He had a great game against Clippers.

Against the Rockets, he had a nice dunk around the 1:36 mark:

Don Che · January 22nd, 2015, 10:16 am

There will always be talent that slips...guys that were projected high as juniors but slip going into college are still as talented just need more time to mentally get what it takes. Very common in bigs

Or guys with growth spurts late

New York Knicks Fan Page

Where did all these young, promising centers come from all of a sudden?

Login • Register

Donate