Author Topic: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?  (Read 12224 times)

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Offline BigDanz2000

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Just wondering while I watch USA take on Lithuania, who would have been the the most dominating player of the few I have selected? if there was a draft of them who would be first? 
Im watching Dwight Howard just make it look so easy, now I might be just a bit overzealous here, but I think it is safe to safe that he would have been a 30pts 15 boards 5 block guy. Maybe?
anyways here are the guys.

Moses Malone, Shawn Kemp, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine Oneal, Tracy McGrady, Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, and Al Jefferson.  I know I probably forgot a few but these I believe are the biggest Impact prep to pros.  So if they were all seniors coming out for the '09 draft in what order would they be taken?

With the First Pick of the 2009 NBA draft:
1: Moses Malone - I had a hard time with this pick between him and D.Howard.  I think Malone in college would have put                    up similar numbers to the one I put above for DHoward if he had gone to college.
2: Dwight Howard - Same as above, I think he probably would have been top 2 most dominating big men in college history.
3: Lebron James - This is that Jordan Pick, best player in college basketball who can do it all but falls behind the big men.Well we have seen what he has done in the Nba at such a young age, imagine if he went to college for 4 years? he would have been a legitimate triple threat every single night.  28-10-10, am I being realistic?
4: Kobe Bryant -   Kobe in college would have been sick. 35 pts a game? is that too much for a D1 college player? it wasnt for Pistol Pete.  Kobe would have been one of the most offensively dominate players to ever play College basketball.
5: Kevin Garnett - Long, thin and dominate. Garnett probably wouldnt have been a big time scorer until his junior and senior years, 18-20 points a game, but could easily be considered the best defensive player in the draft.  12-15 boards a game 7-8 blocks a game with shutdown defense that wins championships. I love KG on the celtics.
6: Amare Stoudamire - Very Similar to Garnett except a scorer.  He isnt going to give you the Defense but he is going to put up big Scoring numbers. 23-27 pts a game.  He is taken 6th because there really is no room for him above this pick.
7: Tracy McGrady - In this draft a poor mans Kobe Bryant, score score score, that is what he is going to do, maybe a little defense sprinkled in with a history of injuries, probably could have gone anywhere from 5th on down, but teams are scared off by his injury history.  Probably could have been a 25-30 pts per game guy.
8: Jermaine Oneal - He didnt show up as a beast until his junior season.  Probably a 18-10-4 blocks guy.  Teams question his fire but know that he is a sure fire beast in the paint.  Would have been a great college player.
9: Shawn Kemp - The NBA loves guys who can fly and thats what Kemp does, Flys.  This guy is an above the rim player with unbelievable talent and would have been a monster scorer and rebounder.  His points would probably be inflated as he players for a lower level college.  He will take his team to the final 4 and lose in the championship game, making the world aware of him. 32 points a game with 9 boards for the Reign Man.
10: Al Jefferson - Would probably of been a big time scorer and rebounder but is over shadowed by the beasts ahead of him.

So thats how I would draft them. 
I chose the 10 best that I could think of
How would you rank them?

Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2008, 10:00:00 AM »

Offline Jeff

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I'd probably go with LeBron just because he could/would have controlled the ball more and college is not ideal for bigs to dominate

plus he was super polished coming out of school
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Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2008, 10:04:41 AM »

Offline Big Ticket

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Interesting topic, TP for that!

I can't imagine LeBron not being the most dominate (are we assuming they stay 4 years?).  Dwight was still "skinny" (skinnier than now) coming out of high school, LeBron was already a man.  Remember, the two big men you put ahead of LeBron only have about 1-2 inches in height on him.  There are a lot of 6'8"-6'9" PF and C in college... LeBron is that big, all muscle, and with guard skills.  I think he could've dominated college ball at any of the 5 positions.

I think KG could have definitely been a big scorer in college.  He averaged 26 points and 6 assists his senior year of high school, while playing with a guy that was one of those 'Next MJ' types (Ronnie Fields).  He basically had a slightly skinnier body than Oden did at Ohio State, but he was much better offensively and more athletic.  I don't really see anyway he'd be stopped from scoring or facilitating (whichever he chose) by his sophomore season.  And you're right about his D in that setting.


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Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2008, 10:07:18 AM »

Offline Who

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(1) Kevin Garnett
(2) LeBron James
(3) Tie between Kobe and T-Mac. I have a hard time separating them.

Kemp, Dwight and Amare all needed time to round out their games. It depends how long they stayed in college. If they were three-four year players they're definitely in the count. As freshmen? Not so much.

Didn't see Moses play until he joined the Rockets so it's hard to comment on him because I didn't see him play the first two years as a pro while in the ABA.

Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2008, 10:25:25 AM »

Offline oldmanspeaks

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Moses Malone might have been a 25 and 20 guy in college. He was an incredible rebounder from day one and meaner than a rabid dog on the offensive boards with putbacks. He avoided fouling too much on defense and so could have stayed in the game. He was so relentless that he never seemed to tire. Basically the guards would have shot from anywhere and let Moses do this thing. Moses never expanded his game over his career but as an instant success, there were few too match him no matter what the age.

Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2008, 10:28:56 AM »

Offline Big Ticket

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I also disagree with the Amare summary.  He was quite unpolished out of high school and relied heavily on athleticism.  It would've served him well in college, but he didn't have the post moves or face up jumper that he's since developed in the pros.  He may have fallen victim to his athleticism in college also, because he probably wouldn't have needed a more polished game. 

Coming straight from high school and those knee injuries may have actually been the best thing for the long term offensive portion of his career.


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Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2008, 10:31:22 AM »

Offline Roy Hobbs

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I'd probably go with LeBron just because he could/would have controlled the ball more and college is not ideal for bigs to dominate

plus he was super polished coming out of school

Yep, agreed.  I would go with Lebron.  He was the first real "NBA ready" high schooler, and I think he would have absolutely dominated from his first game in college.  Literally, he'd be man amongst boys.

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Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2008, 10:51:55 AM »

Offline oldmanspeaks

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LBJ would have been hit with continual zones as he can't hit the midrange jumper even now. In college he might even be called for his continual traveling, pushing off and charges. All those body bumps he does would be called as would knock the smaller players down. He would have been a top player due to his athletic talent but not a college superstar.
How many non-big men college guys have dominated (and not just be good) without a midrange game?

Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2008, 10:56:44 AM »

Offline BigDanz2000

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Ah your probably right about Lebron James, but we all know that the NBA loves the big man.  It is without doubt he is the best player coming out of this draft, but the big man is harder to fill.  Thats why I went with MM and DH over LBJ.

Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #9 on: August 01, 2008, 11:02:46 AM »

Offline Big Ticket

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LBJ would have been hit with continual zones as he can't hit the midrange jumper even now. In college he might even be called for his continual traveling, pushing off and charges. All those body bumps he does would be called as would knock the smaller players down. He would have been a top player due to his athletic talent but not a college superstar.
How many non-big men college guys have dominated (and not just be good) without a midrange game?

Don't forget that he took his high school team to the unofficial/official national title in his senior year, despite having only 1 other small school D1 prospect with him, over several teams that basically rent big name D1 prospects for 1 year.  I don't see any possible way a guy that wins a national high school title like that, then puts up 20-5-5 as a 19 year old rookie in the NBA would struggle to absolutely obliterate college competition in between. 

Not a college superstar?  Are you serious?


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Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #10 on: August 01, 2008, 11:14:04 AM »

Offline oldmanspeaks

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Dominating in high school doesn't mean much. I had a friend who set scoring records that might never be matched at my high school. He had no talent around him and yet he scored at will despite facing all sorts of trick defenses focused on him. In his case he couldn't penetrate against a college zone and never got off the bench in college.
I repeat, LBJ would have been a very good college player. However without the NBA rules (and their lack of rules) and without the mid-range game, I fail to see how he would have been a superstar in college. The other team would zone him up and make him shot the midrange shot. LBJ would have had to go down in the post if he wanted to score and risk offensive fouls. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Dantley, Mount, and other college super stars all had midrange games. 

Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #11 on: August 01, 2008, 11:27:29 AM »

Offline Roy Hobbs

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LBJ would have been hit with continual zones as he can't hit the midrange jumper even now. In college he might even be called for his continual traveling, pushing off and charges. All those body bumps he does would be called as would knock the smaller players down. He would have been a top player due to his athletic talent but not a college superstar.
How many non-big men college guys have dominated (and not just be good) without a midrange game?

Lebron shoots slightly below 40% on midrange jumpers, which puts him at right about Kobe's level, along with a whole host of other players.  It's certainly not a dominant skill for him, but the claims of many (not just yourself) that Lebron has "no" mid-range game are simply inaccurate.

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Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #12 on: August 01, 2008, 11:33:11 AM »

Offline Gemini

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My vote you probably have to go to Amare. Until Lebron came in he had the best high school to rookie numbers that at least i can remember. He would have completely dominated at the college level and would be somewhere in the line of 30ppg 20 boards and 5 blocks. D Howard could easily take the title as well.
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Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #13 on: August 01, 2008, 11:34:35 AM »

Offline Who

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LBJ would have been hit with continual zones as he can't hit the midrange jumper even now. In college he might even be called for his continual traveling, pushing off and charges. All those body bumps he does would be called as would knock the smaller players down. He would have been a top player due to his athletic talent but not a college superstar.
How many non-big men college guys have dominated (and not just be good) without a midrange game?

Lebron shoots slightly below 40% on midrange jumpers, which puts him at right about Kobe's level, along with a whole host of other players.  It's certainly not a dominant skill for him, but the claims of many (not just yourself) that Lebron has "no" mid-range game are simply inaccurate.

When LeBron was a rookie he shot 35.6% on his jumpshots.

Anyway it's a flaw no doubt for LeBron but he'd dominate the college game because the rest of his game is so strong and nobody on the court would be able to stop him from doing what he wanted to do.

Re: Which prep to pro would have been the most dominating in college?
« Reply #14 on: August 01, 2008, 11:40:10 AM »

Offline oldmanspeaks

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Bringing up Kobe as a comparison isn't the best since Kobe also has some midrange problems. LeBrons 1-18 streak in midrange jumpers in last years playoffs and some of Kobe's problems in this years playoffs are related to their mediocre midrange games. In zone defenses these are brought out more.