4 of the top 10 rookies are white

[Fightingtowin]

I think most NBA experts would agree that 4 of the top 10 rookies are white and arguably 3 of the top 5. Considering that the league is nearly 80% black, this is pretty good. I have not seen enough of these guys to be very confident in my rankings, but from what I've seen, read and heard below is how I would rank them right now. I also think Love and Fernandez have huge upsides and in 5 years will likely be higher on the list. I expect Mayo to only become a superstar like Vince Carter, AI and Gilbert Arenas; a guy who can put up a lot of points, but will never win a championship because he won't do enough of the other things. How would you rank the rookies? Any other insights from what you've seen?

1.Derrick Rose 17.0 PPG 6.3 APG
2.Brooks Lopez 12.5 PPG 8.1 RPG 1.9 BPG
3.OJ Mayo 19.3 PPG
4.Marc Gasol 11 PPG 7.1 RPG 1 BPG
5.Russell Westbrook 15.0 PPG 4.9 APG
6.Kevin Love 9.5 PPG 8.8 RPG
7.D.J. Augustin 12.7 PPG 4.0 APG
8.Michael Beasley 13.3 PPG 5.3 RPG
9.Eric Gordon 14.9 PPG 2.6 APG
10.Rudy Fernandez 10.6 PPG .389 3P%
Edited by: Fightingtowin

 

[j41181]

Brook Lopez is beginning to become my favorite white dude. He is by far the best white center-rookie I have seen in so many years!

There's no doubt in my mind he's white, he looks like your typical California beach-boy (he's from California of course). Let's hope brother Robin can catch up with his progress, old man Shaq, is getting in the way for this dude.

Love is another dude to watch for, I love his upsides, while the loss of Jefferson will make things harder for him, this is a great challenge for him to excel.

Gasol and Fernandez are both solid players, they will in no doubt become solid contributors (starter or 6th man) with any winning team.

But I bet my money on both Love and Lopez to become future NBA All-Stars.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Good analysis. I love how you realize Love is better than Beasley so far. I would actually rank Gordon (at #8) and Fernandez (#9) ahead of Michael Beasley . Beasley is scoring 13.3 points, but it is on 11.7 shots; not horrible, but certainly not quality efficiency.

Also for all the hype; Beasley isn't getting to the line at nearly as high a rate as Love and measures far below Love as a rebounder. Beasley also has 1.9 assists, steals and blocks combined compared to 1.8 turnovers. He just hasn't shown an all-round game and I like efficient players.

I would also put Gasol ahead of Mayo. I agree If you want a superstar you want Mayo, if you want a guy who is all-round efficient and helps teams win you want Gasol. Love would probably be my #2 rookie if he had seen more minutes early in the season, but for now I'd agree he'd be around 6th.

Rose isn't scoring at a phenomenal rate when you consider the amount of shots, but he is a good play maker; makes easy baskets for his teammates, he is phenomenal at getting into the lane and is a good defender. The guy is just a player. I still think Hinrich deserves at least equal minutes to Rose at this point but IMO Rose will probably end up having a "phenomenal" career.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Fernandez could very well become a Ginobili type player. A guy with a super-star all-round skill set, that will be a second or third scoring option on his team in the NBA, but continue to light it up in Olympic play.

The Lopez Brothers father was a half black Cuban if I am not mistaken. I saw pictures of him once and that's what he looked like. The fathers cousin was a 100% black Cuban baseball player named Marcelo (I think) Lopez.

I still might identify the Lopez Brothers as white though. They are half Hispanic and Hispanic culture doesn't have a quarter drop rule for identifying yourself as black. They also seem like they identify with white culture in general. They were strong students at Stanford and seem like Cali surfer types etc.

 

[whiteathlete33]

I can see Kevin Love putting up David Lee type numbers in the near future. The knock on Love is that he is "unathletic." He is nowhere near Lee in terms of athleticism but is solid.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Actually statistically Love tested out around equal to Beasley and better than Kevin Durant of last year athletically and both those guys were described as athletic phenoms.

IMO now that he's lost a bit of weight, Love is just as good an athlete as Lee. Lee is a bit more agile, but in fact Love tested out slightly better in vertical leap. Love is a great athlete; he isn't quite a Joe Alexander or Kevin Garnett in terms of athleticism for a big man, but he's still a freak. Love is a baller!

 

[whiteathlete33]

Tough J Riggins, were can I find information of Love's vertical leap. NBADRAFT.net doesn't have any information like that.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

It is on Draftexpress.com. (the other big NBA draft website). You go to the right and find the features heading scroll down and the first option says "Measurement History".

Love was unfairly labeled as nonathletic in part due to a slight weight problem (and of course we know the other big reason). He has now hired a personal chef to help him watch his weight. Love had a 35 inch vertical (good number) and I think ran a 3/4 court sprint in about 3.22 seconds at the Orlando Combine, which is also a good number for an NBA PF prospect.

I think David Lee had a better lane agility and virtually the same 3/4 court sprint numbers if I recall, but only registered a solid 32.5 inch vertical. I think he just had a bad day though, because I heard reports coming out of college that David Lee had a 37-38 inch vertical. He also had something like a 30.5 inch standing jump at the Combine; which indicates he could probably jump better in the two step if he performed better.

 

[whiteathlete33]

Thanks for the info. If Love has a 35 inch vertical than his is better than Oden's at 34. Oden is of course considered a "super" athlete. Do you have any idea what Van Horn's vertical was? I could have sworn it was like 40 inches or so.Edited by: whiteathlete33

 

[celticdb15]

I am kinda dissapointed by Joe Alexander's progress this year...