Luke Babbitt thoughts

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I didn't consider any of those teams. I considered the top 25 teams and his performance in the NIT tournament only.

Utah State, New Mexico and New Mexico state aren't worth looking at.

The NCU game he did score 15 points on 5 for 18 shooting. Pretty much ass.
The game against Rhode Island in the NIT game they lost he was 2 for 14.

He played a good game in a loosing effort in their WAC tournament loss.

It would have been nice to look at more games against good teams but Nevada didn't really play that many decent programs (only one game against a ranked opponent, North Carolina.)

And no, I don't consider other WAC teams good.



You don't consider New Mexico good? They were ranked in the top 10.
 
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Poor Monty had his pick ripped out right under his feet. I hope working out players to trade them to other teams was worth it. Who did he end up with? Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter? Did he even work them out?
 
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Seems to me that Luke Babbitt thoughts are better than Lorena Bobbitt thoughts.

Just sayin'.
 
I liked that Monty interview. It reflects well on Babbitt - and it also shows us why Monty was so well regarded. Fantastic, level headed answers from someone that clearly knows what he is talking about.
 
Chris Gatling comparison is a good one. I hadn't thought if that one.


So sad Monty is in NO instead of our head coach
 
Chris Gatling comparison is a good one. I hadn't thought if that one.

This is an ignorant comment on my part (moreso than normal) but.... Gatling? WTF?

Gatling was left-handed, sure. He had a good perimeter game. For a center. He only attempted 201 3's in his career, with almost ALL of them coming in his last two or three seasons. He also was a 66% free throw shooter.

I would/will be interested to see if the comparison is at all valid.

Ed O.
 
This is an ignorant comment on my part (moreso than normal) but.... Gatling? WTF?

Gatling was left-handed, sure. He had a good perimeter game. For a center. He only attempted 201 3's in his career, with almost ALL of them coming in his last two or three seasons. He also was a 66% free throw shooter.

I would/will be interested to see if the comparison is at all valid.

Ed O.


Gatling was only 6'10", so their size is about the same. I think he was refering to game, and not his shooting. Gatling isn't in Babbitt's league in shooting. Their shot also looks similar
 
One scout sees a little Rashard Lewis in Babbitt's game:


An Eastern Conference scout's take on Babbitt: "He won't go in the top 10, but I have him in my top five. I know he has the same issues as a lot of guys, such as who is he going to defend? There is some question about his lateral quickness, too. But he is just so gifted as an offensive player."

Is his offense advanced enough to get him in the lottery?

"Look at Rashard Lewis. Can he defend or rebound? Not really, but he gets you 20 points a night, and Babbitt is that kind of guy, but a better rebounder."

On film Babbitt doesn't resemble Lewis, but his production validates the comparison. Babbitt shows a collection of offensive moves rarely seen from a player his size. As a lefty he can create off the dribble, catch and shoot and uses his wide shoulders to set up in the post. The offense consistently operates around him, but when Babbitt is away from the ball he never stops moving.

An NBA coach will worry about his defense and probably tell him to leave the 30-foot attempts in Nevada, but you can't argue with his shooting numbers: 50.0 FG%, 41.6 3PT% and 91.7 FT%.

LINK
 
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Lock this thread please. He won't get any playing time! Unless we are hit with injuries again, he might not ever even be on the active roster!
 
I freely admit that I don't get a great feeling when I look at Babbitt and I openly bitched about the trade when it went down in the draft thread, but the more I look at film on him and his combine numbers, the less certain I am about my initial reaction. I'm willing to give the kid a shot, and if he can pass, dribble and hit an open three pointer he can potentially give you 12 valuable minutes a night. The main positive I take from his acquisition is that it firmly entrenches Nicolas as a 35 minute a night starter (if healthy).

If he turns out to be as good as Luke Jackson I won't be surprised, but if he really does have something more in the tank and can be an effective stretch 4 with the ability to do more than just stand on the wing and jack up shots then I'll be pretty happy.
 
If he turns out to be as good as Luke Jackson I won't be surprised, but if he really does have something more in the tank and can be an effective stretch 4 with the ability to do more than just stand on the wing and jack up shots then I'll be pretty happy.

Rather than Luke Jackson, I think his upside is closer to the PAC 10 player who beat Jackson for the conference Player of the Year award: Josh Childress. I don't know that Babbitt has J-Chill's defensive potential, but it seems to me that he has the athleticism and headiness to approximate Childress' all-around production.
 
I just think Jackson is his floor, a Rashard Lewis/Childress like player seems like his ceiling given his physical profile (take that as either a Rashard Lewis type that can pass and defend or a Childress type that can shoot the hell out of the ball.)
 
I like what I've seen of Babbitt. He seems much smoother and in control than Luke Jackson. The kid has plenty of tools to build a nice career in the NBA.
 
Gatling was only 6'10", so their size is about the same. I think he was refering to game, and not his shooting. Gatling isn't in Babbitt's league in shooting. Their shot also looks similar

No offense, but Chris Gatling? Really? I'd love it if Babbitt is as productive as Gatling, but I just don't see the simlarities in their games.

At. All.
 
If you put any stock in Yahoo's knowledge of prospects, here is how they see our picks' best case scenarios:

Luke Babbitt: Danny Granger

Elliot Williams: Manu Ginobli

Armon Johnson: Ramon Sessions
 
Luke Babbit's potential is Danny Granger? haha wow. That'd be a pleasant surprise.
 
If you put any stock in Yahoo's knowledge of prospects, here is how they see our picks' best case scenarios:

Luke Babbitt: Danny Granger

Elliot Williams: Manu Ginobli

Armon Johnson: Ramon Sessions

I tend to put more faith in Kevin Pelton's player comparison tool, it had them rated as such:

Babbitt = Troy Murphy
Williams = Mo Williams (I guess the 6'4" version of Mo)
Johnson = Sessions
 
Lock this thread please. He won't get any playing time! Unless we are hit with injuries again, he might not ever even be on the active roster!

And you are so sure of this how?

Dude can fill it up. During some stretches of last season we needed bench scoring punch in the WORST way. Webster and Rudy were a fucking DISASTER last season.

I don't know what happened to those two. But screw them for BOTH having bad seasons. Couldn't they alternate? If Webster had improved his consistency, and Rudy had built on his solid rookie year we should have had a SICK bench unit. Instead we have to rebuild the bench. I think we will see quite a bit of new blood getting a shot to show what they can do during the regular season until the rotation is tightened up.
 
Yahoo said, "Babbitt is very reminiscent of former Oregon forward Luke Jackson, another highly skilled swingman whose lack of athleticism prevented him from creating his own shot in the NBA or being a competent defender."
 
Yahoo said, "Babbitt is very reminiscent of former Oregon forward Luke Jackson, another highly skilled swingman whose lack of athleticism prevented him from creating his own shot in the NBA or being a competent defender."

Yahoo is full of shit, at least in terms of measurable athleticism. Babbitt had the highest vertical and best lane agility times of any forward or center at the combine. Why would Yahoo research Babbitt, though, when they can just compare him to another white dude named Luke and call it a day?
 
Difference is Babbitt is almost 2 inches taller, 3 inch longer wingspan, 3 inch higher no step vert, and a 10.98 lane agility compared to Jackson's 11.10.
 
Babbitt will struggle individually on D regardless of what his athletic testing might indicate.

Last year at Nevada he was often the biggest guy on the floor, because of this his defensive fundamentals (mainly getting into a proper defensive stance) were poor. He just didn't look comfortable guarding on the perimeter.

Nevada was also a horrible defensive team. They were a small team and had no real defensive anchor inside so it is hard to tell if he has the IQ to at least become a solid team defender in the NBA.

I really hope the Blazer staff quickly realizes this summer that if he has any chance at making a serious impact in this league that it will have to come at the 3 position and not as a 3/4. Right now he only weighs 218lbs and he's already a bit of a plodder overall when you watch him actually play despite showing flashes of explosiveness when not in traffic or pulling up from mid-range. I just don't think it would benefit him at all to add much more weight to his frame in hopes of guarding 4's more effectively (he got pushed around easily down low when up against a decent sized big at Nevada). Plus his standing reach is only 8' 8 1/2" despite being nearly 6' 9". I mean Martell was measured at 6' 7 1/2" at 230lbs with a standing reach of 8' 10" as a senior out of high school. He's trimmed down considerably since, but did we ever think of Marty having the potential or ability to guard 4's back then?

If Portland agrees with me and gives him plenty of reps on the perimeter, guarding high level athletes, he has a chance to be a solid player in this league, perhaps even a starter. But if they insist he is guy that is able to swing and be a face up/ stretch 4, I'm not nearly as optimistic about his future in the NBA.

I hope that Babbitt's scoring is at least somewhat translatable which I'm still a bit weary about. It's just tough to really know because he was rarely playing against guys his size and strength. Nevada again was small so he was the 5 for them a lot of time on floor so he was almost in constant mismatches because even if the opponent chose to keep their big inside the paint, there weren't many 6' 9" athletes playing the perimeter in the WAC.

He's mainly an Iso guy (at least with the Wolfpack) with a good pull-up game, but doesn't have the first step or the quickness or the ball handling in traffic to get all the way to the basket consistently in NBA. Showed a nice post-up game and potential as spot up shooter. He was not a stand-out in college here, probably due to the amount of Isos he was in, meaning maybe he is more so a rhythm shooter than a pure knockdown shooter at the next level. Luck Jackson had much the same skill set at Oregon and had troubles translating it to the NBA hence all the comparisons, although Babbitt is bigger and a slightly better athlete.

I know we have Nic at the three but if Babbitt can translate unlike Luke, and Nic can become a better ball handler and back-up Brandon at the 2, that could be a nice wing rotation for the future.
 
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I hope to see that beautiful left-handed jumper a lot next season.
 
Doesn't seem like a spot up shooter. Looks like a pull up guy with the occasional dunk. Eh, Travis Outlaw?
 
With his skill-set and excellent jumpshot, what's his absolute best case scenario?

Peja? Mullen? Mike Miller?
 
Doesn't seem like a spot up shooter. Looks like a pull up guy with the occasional dunk. Eh, Travis Outlaw?

Based on... what?

Ed O.
 
With his skill-set and excellent jumpshot, what's his absolute best case scenario?

Peja? Mullen? Mike Miller?


I have a friend who is a scout for the Mavericks, and I asked him about Babbitt. He said he reminded him a little bit of Chris Mullen. "If his motor is there, he could be a good one."
 
Difference is Babbitt is almost 2 inches taller, 3 inch longer wingspan, 3 inch higher no step vert, and a 10.98 lane agility compared to Jackson's 11.10.
how anyone (not saying you) can compare another player to Luke Jackson to project their NBA future without mentioning Jackson blowing out his back his rookie year is beyond me. Dude was never the same athlete or player following the injury/surgery that caused him to miss most of his first two seasons in the league. Not having suffered such an injury is what I'd say is the biggest difference between these two

STOMP
 

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