James Harden: "The Next Brandon Roy?"

[Deebag]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=PreDraftTour-090515

LOS ANGELES -- Our draft workout tour moves from a player, Hasheem Thabeet, with some of the best physical tools in the draft to another player working out in L.A., James Harden, with some of the best mental tools there are.

There's only one phrase that seems to capture the essence of Harden -- "old school."

The reigning Pac-10 player of the year won't necessarily wow you with his athleticism. He's not the tallest guard at his position. He doesn't have a "SportsCenter" highlight reel. But he's sneaky.

You'll be watching a game with Harden and before you know it, he has 30 points and you struggle to recall how he did it. Harden has a way about him that's hard to categorize. He's the old guy at the YMCA that no one wants to pick, but ends up dominating all the young guys at both ends of the floor.

"He reminds me a little of Brandon Roy," another NBA executive said. "When you watched him in college, he didn't look like an elite athlete because he was using his knowledge of the game, not his athleticism, to get by people. Then he gets to the combine and does really well in all of the athletic testing and everyone was wowed.

"Harden's like that. He's got sneaky athleticism."

Interesting that Brandon Roy now has his own label.

 

[huevonkiller]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=PreDraftTour-090515


Interesting that Brandon Roy now has his own label.

Well he was the best player in the 2006 draft, a recent one obviously and he has a solid future ahead of him as well.

 

[ant]

Where is Harden realistically projected to go in the draft?

 

[Nikolokolus]

Where is Harden realistically projected to go in the draft?

top five.

 

[MAS RipCity]

hmm, I think he is a little more stocky than Brandon and little less athletic. He looked really "choppy" in his movements during the tourney, but he could end up being a good player.

 

[<-=*PdX*=->]

I got to see him play down here at OSU. He is a very silent type player like Roy. He does a lot but it seems so quite, like at Blazers games I will look up in the 2nd/3rd quarters to see Roy has 20 points already, and I'm like when the shit did he score all of them?!?! Harden has that aspect to him. He can penetrate and knock down the 3. Now, I am not saying he is as good as Roy, just that kind of style.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I like Harden a lot. I don't think he's quite the playmaker and distributor that Roy is, but I wouldn't be shocked to see him have a very good career.

 

[BasX]

The only thing that could hurt him is he had trouble in the tournament, and that could drop his stock. Personally, I think he's top 3.

 

[Minstrel]

The only thing that could hurt him is he had trouble in the tournament, and that could drop his stock. Personally, I think he's top 3.

Yeah, so do I. Rubio, Griffin and Harden are my top three.

 

[rocketeer]

harden will be the best player to come out of this draft.

roy is a good comparison to the way harden plays the game, but i don't expect harden to ever get to roy's level as a player. roy is a lot more smooth, while harden can get pretty choppy at times. he needs to work on polishing his dribble a little bit.

if the draft order stays like it is right now, i'd expect him to go 4th or 5th and be a playmaking sg next to westbrook or foye.

 

[PapaG]

Harden is 6'5" according to his college. Roy is a legit 6'6" according to the NBA.

I'm guessing Harden measures at closer to 6'4", and he doesn't seem to have the length or leaping ability of Roy by my untrained eye.

 

[rocketeer]

Harden is 6'5" according to his college. Roy is a legit 6'6" according to the NBA.

I'm guessing Harden measures at closer to 6'4", and he doesn't seem to have the length or leaping ability of Roy by my untrained eye.

from the link

He also has two other physical advantages that should help in the pros. While he's at the average height for 2-guards in the league (6-foot-5 ½ in shoes, according to his trainer) he has a 6-foot-11 wingspan that allows him to wreak havoc in the lane and a thick base that gives him the ability to post up smaller, weaker guards in the paint.

 

[PapaG]

from the link

6'5" in shoes, according to his trainer...as I was saying, and I notice his vertical isn't addressed. Flat out, the guy was shut down in the NCAA tournament. Why?

 

[Wheels]

6'5" in shoes, according to his trainer...as I was saying, and I notice his vertical isn't addressed. Flat out, the guy was shut down in the NCAA tournament. Why?

who gives a crap of the in shoes part.. you play basketball in shoes.. his wingspan is HUGE.

 

[bigbailes]

i like his game alot but his performance in the NCAA's is a little troubling. i also don't expect him to have the rookie season that roy had, as he is coming out as a sophomore and doesn't have a polished game like roy. i do expect him to have a nice career but doubt we'll be seeing him as a 2nd team all nba guy any time soon.

 

[rocketeer]

6'5" in shoes, according to his trainer...as I was saying, and I notice his vertical isn't addressed. Flat out, the guy was shut down in the NCAA tournament. Why?

the main reason i posted that was because of his length. roy's wingspan is 6'8. harden's was talked about as being 6'11. clearly that would make harden longer than roy.

and it was 6'5.5. there is a difference. though honestly, it doesn't matter.

oh and why was he shut out in the tournament? because there was no one else on the team that could create their own shot.

 

[BasX]

the main reason i posted that was because of his length. roy's wingspan is 6'8. harden's was talked about as being 6'11. clearly that would make harden longer than roy.

and it was 6'5.5. there is a difference. though honestly, it doesn't matter.

oh and why was he shut out in the tournament? because there was no one else on the team that could create their own shot.

Not only was he shut out in the tournament, also in the Pac-10 championship game, averaging just under 10 per each 3 games. All other 4 starters scored 20 in one of the two tournament games.

 

[cloudydays]

There will be no "next Brandon Roy". Nobody in the game today has Roy's combination of skills.

That said, Harden plays a similar style to Roy's, but I doubt he ends up being an All-Star.

 

[Sinobas]

I would NOT call Roy a "silent player" or a "sneaky scorer". Anything but. He scores the majority of his points by abusing his man one on one in isolation sets. He's about as silent a scorer as Dwayne Wade or Michael Jordan.

 

[Wheels]

I would NOT call Roy a "silent player" or a "sneaky scorer". Anything but. He scores the majority of his points by abusing his man one on one in isolation sets. He's about as silent a scorer as Dwayne Wade or Michael Jordan.

I think "silent" is more in the sense that they arent (usually) above the rim, fancy dunks. There have been COUNTLESS times in his career where you wouldnt even have thought Roy took more than 10 shots, but you look up and by the time the game is over he has 27 points.

 

[cloudydays]

I think "silent" is more in the sense that they arent (usually) above the rim, fancy dunks. There have been COUNTLESS times in his career where you wouldnt even have thought Roy took more than 10 shots, but you look up and by the time the game is over he has 27 points.

LOL @ your sig

 

[mook]

Don't have any opinion about Harden.

However, I have a feeling in the years to come we'll be seeing many, many "The Next Brandon Roy"s. Take any guard who had a pretty unspectacular college career until his final season. Add in the ability to do all things reasonably well, but nothing spectacularly. Top it off with an agent looking to sell that package.

I suspect a lot of "The Next Brandon Roy"s wind up being "The Next Adam Morrison"s.

 

[Wheels]

LOL @ your sig

lol thanks. Its how I feel.. and I had to find a way to use the gif to pay homage to one of the funniest things I have ever seen in sports.

 

[rocketeer]

Don't have any opinion about Harden.

However, I have a feeling in the years to come we'll be seeing many, many "The Next Brandon Roy"s. Take any guard who had a pretty unspectacular college career until his final season. Add in the ability to do all things reasonably well, but nothing spectacularly. Top it off with an agent looking to sell that package.

I suspect a lot of "The Next Brandon Roy"s wind up being "The Next Adam Morrison"s.

i don't think that's what people mean when they say "the next brandon roy". especially not in regards to harden. harden was on the first team all pac 10 as a freshman. it's his all around game and being able to control the game with more than just scoring from the shooting guard spot along with him playing a smart game rather than just relying on his athleticism that gets him compared to roy.

 

[mook]

i don't think that's what people mean when they say "the next brandon roy". especially not in regards to harden. harden was on the first team all pac 10 as a freshman. it's his all around game and being able to control the game with more than just scoring from the shooting guard spot along with him playing a smart game rather than just relying on his athleticism that gets him compared to roy.

Yeah, I'm not saying Harden is necessarily a candidate for what I describe.

I'm just saying that Brandon Roy will probably be described as the upside for a lot of mediocre players. It's no slam on Roy--he just has a low-key, effortless style and a versatile game with no real specialty.

Most draft picks who are described that way tend to be washouts or role players. Now they get to be "The Next Brandon Roy!" At least until they aren't.