There's something different about Knecht. I like his game. He may be the guy that breaks the "He's too old" mold. His D needs to improve for sure.
As an old fan, I remember the old days. They were all around 22 (give or take a year) Bill Walton was 22. No one worried about it. The only upside I see with the younger picks is there is the possibility for additional improvement in their body and their potential. The downside is they might never achieve that potential. Knecht just turned 23. He would still have a solid 9-10 years in his prime as a shooter.
It's not just that Knecht is old... it is that he's only had one impressive year in college. Out of five. Two years of Juco. One year at Northern Colorado where (at age 20) he averaged 8.9 ppg. He then shot up to 20.2 ppg in his fourth college year at Northern Colorado before having an excellent year at TN. Is it a case of a late bloomer who keeps getting better? Or a case of a guy who's just older and more experienced and more physically mature? I don't know for certain, but it's probably a mixture of the two and so his stats just aren't as impressive to me, especially with his spotty college track record overall.
that's definitely the case. Rookie ages: Bird 23 McHale 23 Kareem 22 Hakeem 22 David Robinson 24 Curry 21 Mychal Thompson 24 Jerome Kersey 22 Dominique Wilkins 23 Alex English 23 Manu 25 something else is that with rookie scale, teams control a player for a minimum of 7 years (usually 8 or 9). For many of these 19 year old guys, at least a couple of years of that control is spent on project development. If a player comes in NBA ready, the team may get a full 7 years of higher level impact Obviously if you're drafting some 23 year olds like Camara of Kris Murray, there may be a ceiling on upside. But for somebody like Knecht?
sure, that's a fair gauge. At the same time though is that he DID have a significant improvement in production and impact without noticeably reducing his efficiency: there is value in using a pick as high as 7 on a player that has a 2 year record of good production. Especially in a lower-upside draft class
Doesn't have to be just swinging for the fences though, I'm find with someone who has limits to their upside but young enough to have some real upside. Knecht would be like trying to bunt instead of swinging for a double.
Duncan was old too 4 year guy too but he was winning titles and dominating in college. Same as Walton. These 22 year old seniors weren't close to that level. It's not about how long his NBA career will be - its that a 22 year old doesn't improve as much in the NBA as an 18 year old. Knecht first two years he was down at junior college and now he finished as an old 5th year senior.
Reddick was a way better shooter, though. Reddick: Knecht: I just don't know what Knecht does well enough to make a difference at the NBA level. He's a good shooter, but not at the level of good NBA shooters, and while he's an efficient scorer, he's not going to be the first option on an NBA team. He's not a good passer. He's a "meh" defender. "Meh" rebounder.
Knecht's calling card is his shooting. Shooting doesn't deteriorate with age. If he relied on his athleticism I might hesitate for a split second, but I can't believe being 23 could work against a prospect. I just think #7 is too high, even in this draft.
I figured he was just a late bloomer too. He had a 8 inch growth spurt his sophomore year of high school 5'8 to 6'4 and then a second 4 inch growth spurt his second year of college 6'4 to 6'8. That is a lot of body to adjust to... twice. In the end I trust Mike Schmitz.
I think you're right. Even with shoes. It was in a video I watched recently. Go figure. The growth spurts probably happened but the numbers were exaggerated as usual.
Yeah Redick, was purely a spot shooter. The thing that made him so effective was he never stopped moving without the ball. Because of it, he was open a lot. Players hated guarding him. And when he was with the Clippers he was like the 4th option on offense so you really couldn't scheme against it. I love players like that.
This is where age is a big factor. Beal was 18 putting up those stats at Florida and had scored 4000 points in the NBA by the time he turned 23.
