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Kevin Love is a Portland area product, as he went to Lake Oswego HS outside of the city.
Sure thing but he was also born in Santa Monica and went down to Los Angeles frequently, where he has family, during his formative years. He also attended college in Los Angeles at UCLA with Russell Westbrook. College years are just as important, if not more important than high school years.
So while he spent the middle layer of his life in Portland mostly, he's just as, if not more influenced by his Los Angeles background too.
I want to pick your brain on something, feel free to just dig into it:
Higher upside: Philadelphia 76ers or Minnesota Timberwolves?
We're about 3 years away from these two teams taking over the NBA IMO. Personally I would go with the Sixers, Ben Simmons' upside truly is the best in a generation talent if he can stay on the court and develop organically with a coach that runs schemes that maximizes his talents. Simmons' talent level is ridiculous, huge fan. Simmons will likely be their de facto point guard, Fultz on the wing, and Embiid in the interior. Given his physical make up, oppositional guards will have a nightmare scenario on their hands when trying to stop Simmons.
I actually collected data on this for a few years - a handful of years ago - for which cities have the most D1 players from there. Not metro area but 2013-14 here were the top 25 cities in order:
1. NYC
2. Chicago
3. Houston
4. Los Angeles
5. Memphis
6. Philadelphia
7. Charlotte
8. Baltimore
9. Dallas
10. Atlanta
11. Detroit
12. Indianapolis
13. San Antonio
14. Cincinnati
15. Miami
16. Washington DC
17. Orlando
18. Raleigh
19. Toronto
20. Jackson, MS
21. Las Vegas
22. St. Louis
23. New Orleans
24. Phoenix
25. Richmond, VA
Sure thing but he was also born in Santa Monica and went down to Los Angeles frequently, where he has family, during his formative years. He also attended college in Los Angeles at UCLA with Russell Westbrook. College years are just as important, if not more important than high school years.
So while he spent the middle layer of his life in Portland mostly, he's just as, if not more influenced by his Los Angeles background too.
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i go by where a player graduated high school. e.g. - kg left miami for chicago his last year. he probably felt that areas scene was more beneficial to get to the next level.
When it comes to producing basketball talent recently, the Atlanta area is as fertile as any other area in the country. If the vast majority of the homegrown talent wouldv'e been staying in state (Georgia & Georgia Tech) instead of going to out of state blueblood schools to play ball, more than just recruitniks would know just how talent-rich the Atlanta area is.
Sure thing but he was also born in Santa Monica and went down to Los Angeles frequently, where he has family, during his formative years. He also attended college in Los Angeles at UCLA with Russell Westbrook. College years are just as important, if not more important than high school years.
So while he spent the middle layer of his life in Portland mostly, he's just as, if not more influenced by his Los Angeles background too.
I want to pick your brain on something, feel free to just dig into it:
Higher upside: Philadelphia 76ers or Minnesota Timberwolves?
We're about 3 years away from these two teams taking over the NBA IMO. Personally I would go with the Sixers, Ben Simmons' upside truly is the best in a generation talent if he can stay on the court and develop organically with a coach that runs schemes that maximizes his talents. Simmons' talent level is ridiculous, huge fan. Simmons will likely be their de facto point guard, Fultz on the wing, and Embiid in the interior. Given his physical make up, oppositional guards will have a nightmare scenario on their hands when trying to stop Simmons.
Yes, while he did have a strong connection with L.A., he did grow up and go to school primarily in the Portland area. He actually lost to Kyle Singler's team from South Medford in the state championship in HS.
As for upside, I'd say Minnesota due to know having some leadership in jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford and Jimmy Butler, who is still pretty young. They also have Towns and Wiggins, who are already putting up good numbers versus Simmons and Embiid, who are injury prone. Here's Minnesota's roster from the upcoming season, which is pretty solid and Thibodeau is a proven coach: Minnesota Timberwolves Roster
Yes, they are in the West, but I think they can overtake some teams that have made the playoffs in the Conference in recent years.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aceter
When it comes to producing basketball talent recently, the Atlanta area is as fertile as any other area in the country. If the vast majority of the homegrown talent wouldv'e been staying in state (Georgia & Georgia Tech) instead of going to out of state blueblood schools to play ball, more than just recruitniks would know just how talent-rich the Atlanta area is.
Atlanta has definitely kept the pace up with other metros recently. I have noticed that this decade especially the number of at least high school to D-1 recruits has picked up a lot. Heck, my little cousin down in Alpharetta has a chance he's going to Oak Hill in a year.
i go by where a player graduated high school. e.g. - kg left miami for chicago his last year. he probably felt that areas scene was more beneficial to get to the next level.
He actually left Mauldin SC, which is near Greenville in Upstate SC.
Actually, speaking of SC, Columbia is a smaller metro that has produced some good players. For the old heads, former players like Alex English(Dreher), Xavier McDaniel, Tyrone Corbin(McDaniel and Corbin played together at A.C. Flora HS) and Jermaine O'Neal(Eau Claire) are all from there.
As for upside, I'd say Minnesota due to know having some leadership in jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford and Jimmy Butler, who is still pretty young. They also have Towns and Wiggins, who are already putting up good numbers versus Simmons and Embiid, who are injury prone. Here's Minnesota's roster from the upcoming season, which is pretty solid and Thibodeau is a proven coach: Minnesota Timberwolves Roster
Yes, they are in the West, but I think they can overtake some teams that have made the playoffs in the Conference in recent years.
I both agree and disagree with some of your take.
I agree that first both Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid need to demonstrate that they could stay on the court and injury-free, that's a fair point.
I also agree that trading for and acquiring Jimmy Butler was a great move for Minnesota and he's relatively speaking pretty young. He's a core foundational piece for them, maybe their best player.
I disagree with these points though:
- Jamal Crawford goes about his business and plays like he's a timeless talent. The reality is that he's not. He's 38 years old and he's quite clearly at the end of the line in his career. Three years out from now he may not even be in the NBA.
- Coach Tom Thibodeau is probably the most revered NBA headcoach that there is for accomplishing so very little. None of his Chicago Bulls teams ever posed a real threat to LeBron James, never. Usually they would go out and win Game 1 every single time and then they'd get swept the next 4 games in a row (minus the 2015 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, where Rose made the last shot and everyone started thinking the Derrick Rose of old is back, LOL, so they lost in 6 instead of their standard 5 to LeBron that year). Thibs hasn't proven that he can get to the Timberwolves, they were supposed to make a leap forward but stayed in the treadmill of mediocrity last season. Thibs does have older personnel this year and he's got his guy, Jimmy G. Buckets, so that may help but we'll see.
- Andrew Wiggins is a disappointment. Yes, he's very talented but he's lived below his potential line the 3 years he's been in the NBA. Aside from some high volume scoring games, he hasn't shown consistent development in much else. He was drafted to be a two-way player but his defense has been abysmal and that's with Thibs as his headcoach!
- Joel Embiid played enough games to showcase his talent last season. In 20 minutes (he was on minutes restriction) his production and output were pretty crazy for a first time NBA player. He also has the full arsenal offensively, can shoot and score from the paint, the midrange, and the three point territory. I would say at a minimum that Embiid and Towns are on par with one another. Towns is a great talent, but much like Wiggins, he was drafted to be a two-way player that specialized defensively but has been well short of those expectations. This can be fixed but Embiid's showcased the full arsenal of talent, both ends of the court, when he played.
- Fultz's job is to score, he's a volume shooter and playing off Simmons will unlock his talent. When Simmons sits or needs a relief, Fultz, quite obviously is a competent floor general.
- Simmons is 6'10" and is a point guard, a true floor general. He's a tough cover for anyone in the NBA and his height allows him to have an unparalleled advantage when he's passing the ball or shooting, he can just pass and shoot over people. His court vision is expanded because he's bigger and taller than opposing point guards, all opposing point guards.
We'll see though. You're right, we still have to watch Ben grow but if his headcoach can put him in a position to grow organically with Fultz, Embiid, and Dario then its done (F.E.D.S. = Fultz-Embiid-Dario-Simmons). That is the next NBA dynasty and frankly, I think that they are going to go all the way in a few years when they take over. It wont show next year or even the year after because these kids still need to grow and play together but if they do and continue to develop, in 3 years time that is the team to beat. In the Eastern Conference? LOL, for sure, but I'm referring to them as the team to beat in all of the NBA. Minnesota is a close second. Both will be awesome for years to come. Hopefully injury issues become a thing of the past for these guys. That's really the only thing that could hinder their progression.
I agree that first both Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid need to demonstrate that they could stay on the court and injury-free, that's a fair point.
I also agree that trading for and acquiring Jimmy Butler was a great move for Minnesota and he's relatively speaking pretty young. He's a core foundational piece for them, maybe their best player.
I disagree with these points though:
- Jamal Crawford goes about his business and plays like he's a timeless talent. The reality is that he's not. He's 38 years old and he's quite clearly at the end of the line in his career. Three years out from now he may not even be in the NBA.
- Coach Tom Thibodeau is probably the most revered NBA headcoach that there is for accomplishing so very little. None of his Chicago Bulls teams ever posed a real threat to LeBron James, never. Usually they would go out and win Game 1 every single time and then they'd get swept the next 4 games in a row (minus the 2015 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, where Rose made the last shot and everyone started thinking the Derrick Rose of old is back, LOL, so they lost in 6 instead of their standard 5 to LeBron that year). Thibs hasn't proven that he can get to the Timberwolves, they were supposed to make a leap forward but stayed in the treadmill of mediocrity last season. Thibs does have older personnel this year and he's got his guy, Jimmy G. Buckets, so that may help but we'll see.
- Andrew Wiggins is a disappointment. Yes, he's very talented but he's lived below his potential line the 3 years he's been in the NBA. Aside from some high volume scoring games, he hasn't shown consistent development in much else. He was drafted to be a two-way player but his defense has been abysmal and that's with Thibs as his headcoach!
- Joel Embiid played enough games to showcase his talent last season. In 20 minutes (he was on minutes restriction) his production and output were pretty crazy for a first time NBA player. He also has the full arsenal offensively, can shoot and score from the paint, the midrange, and the three point territory. I would say at a minimum that Embiid and Towns are on par with one another. Towns is a great talent, but much like Wiggins, he was drafted to be a two-way player that specialized defensively but has been well short of those expectations. This can be fixed but Embiid's showcased the full arsenal of talent, both ends of the court, when he played.
- Fultz's job is to score, he's a volume shooter and playing off Simmons will unlock his talent. When Simmons sits or needs a relief, Fultz, quite obviously is a competent floor general.
- Simmons is 6'10" and is a point guard, a true floor general. He's a tough cover for anyone in the NBA and his height allows him to have an unparalleled advantage when he's passing the ball or shooting, he can just pass and shoot over people. His court vision is expanded because he's bigger and taller than opposing point guards, all opposing point guards.
We'll see though. You're right, we still have to watch Ben grow but if his headcoach can put him in a position to grow organically with Fultz, Embiid, and Dario then its done (F.E.D.S. = Fultz-Embiid-Dario-Simmons). That is the next NBA dynasty and frankly, I think that they are going to go all the way in a few years when they take over. It wont show next year or even the year after because these kids still need to grow and play together but if they do and continue to develop, in 3 years time that is the team to beat. In the Eastern Conference? LOL, for sure, but I'm referring to them as the team to beat in all of the NBA. Minnesota is a close second. Both will be awesome for years to come. Hopefully injury issues become a thing of the past for these guys. That's really the only thing that could hinder their progression.
I still think Crawford can contribute, while winding down his career.
Thibodeau has only been in Minnesota a year and still a better coach than what the Sixers have. He at least has playoff experience, including a Conference Finals appearance.
Wiggins may have been hyped up a bit too much, but he at least has proven that he can score and I think he has the tools to become a good two way player, especially under this coach and under Jimmy Butler's tutelage.
Embiid gave people a glimpse of the talent he has, but he has been injury prone since he's been at Kansas, while Towns has at least stayed healthy, while improving and with numbers to boot.
Fultz is just too young and couldn't even make his University of Washington team better as a point guard. So, he's a volume shooter that is very young and has to prove that he can help make his team better.
Simmons is again talented, but is again also injury prone and I dare say that he may need to get tougher/stronger. His shot from outside could use some improvement.
I like the talent that the Sixers have, but they need to add some toughness and need to stay on the court long enough before declaring anything, in my opinion.
If anything, I think the Milwaukee Bucks is a young team in the Eastern Conference to keep an eye on, if they can keep that team together.
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