The 48% from 3 wasn't meant to show that he was expected to be a knockdown 3 point shooter at the next level. Simply that he had a much more developed all around offensive game than McKay and he was only 18 at the time. Lot of upside there. McKay is 22 and has shown no signs of any jumper at this point. A 6'9" big guy with a jumper is a lot more valuable than a 6'9" guy who does all his scoring within 5' of the rim. Could McKay show next year that he can hit the jumper? I suppose so, and that would change things but until he does, the Vonleh comparison isn't a real good one.
What does McKay need to do..
- Thread starter ClonesTwentyOne
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The 48% from 3 wasn't meant to show that he was expected to be a knockdown 3 point shooter at the next level. Simply that he had a much more developed all around offensive game than McKay and he was only 18 at the time. Lot of upside there. McKay is 22 and has shown no signs of any jumper at this point. A 6'9" big guy with a jumper is a lot more valuable than a 6'9" guy who does all his scoring within 5' of the rim. Could McKay show next year that he can hit the jumper? I suppose so, and that would change things but until he does, the Vonleh comparison isn't a real good one.
There are many things that are comparable between them. Just because there are one or two things that don't fit perfectly doesn't mean you can't compare them at all.
And I'm not saying McKay will go #5, just that he will get drafted because he possesses certain skills that helped to contribute to Vonleh going top 5. He has a couple weaknesses that Vonleh didn't, but also some strenghts Vonleh doesn't.
I'd love to hear your comparison to McKay, because you obviously are extremely knowledgeable on this type of thing.
The problem is the two things between the two that are not comparable are huge difference makers. At what would be 24 years old when he enters the NBA, McKay has shown no offensive skills outside of scoring on dump passes at the rim and offensive rebound put backs. He has very little offensive game in the post and nothing outside the paint. He has a smallish/slender frame. He will be going up against guys that are stronger, taller, and likely close to as athletic. For those that think Fred will develop his outside game, he has already been on campus for 1.5 years. It seems unlikely a huge improvement in that area is on the horizon. If Fred thought an outside game was possible, it would have been developed by now.
I love McKay and I think he is a very good college player, but I think that if he makes it in the NBA, it will be an end of the bench player early in his career. I hope I'm wrong but being a first round pick does not seem reasonable.
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I think Jarvis Varnado is one of the better case comparisons for McKay. Varnado was 6'9", thin and bouncy like McKay, similar offensive games. Varnado was a better shot blocker, he actually holds the NCAA record for blocks, and rebounder than McKay has shown so far. He was a second round draft pick and bounced around the league for a little bit.
Jameel just needs to be Jameel keep the motor & effort going and let the chips fall where they may. After Kane was snubbed by the NBA I'm not going to pretend to understand, much less comprehend anything about the NBA.
He was drafted with the 41st pick...... due largely to the features I compared with Vonleh.
Maybe you're misunderstanding what I'm saying, I don't know. That is essentially right where I think McKay's trajectory is going right now.
I can't help it if people can't understand I was comparing traits between the two players.
He brought up a much better comparison with almost the exact same measureables and that guy went 41st. Which was exactly my point. Even accounting for age and maybe a little better jump shot McKay is still getting drafted.
I don't know what he plugged in to which database to spit out Jarvis Varnado but I don't have his player profile in my brain off the top of my head.
There are a lot less people on the planet with McKay's athleticism and length than Kane's physical tools. He has that going for him. I would guess in a few components of the combine McKay would blow the doors off much of his NCAA competition, vertical, shuttle come to mind
In what fashion was Varnado better offensively than Jameel McKay? And Varnado was like 22 when drafted.
And I never said McKay was as good as Vonleh. Everyone seems to be having trouble with this.
Vonleh got over drafted due to his physical tools. Those tools are the reason he went #5 overall, not because he made 16 3s last year or because he put up like 12 points per game or whatever.
If he has a good base for a jumpshot and is young but his wingspan is 6'9 instead of 7'4 like McKay's, he's not nearly as valuable.
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McKay's ceiling is a poor Larry Sanders. Sanders offensive game was better at the time
[video=youtube;7ynIbRLG87E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ynIbRLG87E[/video]
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So we've reached a consensus that McKay will absolutely be drafted if he stays at his current trajectory based on all these comparisons that are better than Vonleh, right?
I stand corrected. Unofficially he has a larger wingspan than Evans, but he's much less bouncy and less skilled offensively. Of course, I'd probably wait for pre-draft measurements to get an accurate number for McKay's wingspan.
You put up Anthony Davis' height and wingspan up for comparison. So I was referring to him and Vonleh. Bringing up guys that will be 19 year old rookies instead of 24 year old rookies aren't good comparisons.
I'm not sure why there has to be a comparison to an NBA player. McKay has a unique skillset and background. He doesn't have much of an offensive game right now but that could change. This is all speculation... assuming he will improve steadily, won't have any major injuries, gains weight, his wingspan is actually 7'4 and not 7'0 or 7'1, etc.
Comparing McKay to a current NBA player is never going to be accurate because we have no idea where McKay will be when he enters the draft (if he ever does).
Comparing McKay to a current NBA player is never going to be accurate because we have no idea where McKay will be when he enters the draft (if he ever does).
