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Post by myk13 on Feb 1, 2015 15:03:04 GMT -8
3. Although he looks like he can make a nice shot from 3. Can he create shots for himself in the mid range game? If you look at the upper half of SFs in the league. They all can create some space for themselves and pull up for a BALANCED jump shot from 15 feet out. Haven't seen this from Pope yet. He's hit that between the legs step back jumper quit a few times
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Post by aztec10 on Feb 1, 2015 15:14:29 GMT -8
It's unfathomable to think he broke his left leg twice, two years ago. Indeed. Given an off-season of work on his dribbling, footwork, and strength/conditioning...oh man we have something special on our horizon. Shooting almost .500 from three, dribbles like a point guard, wants to make superstar plays by dunking on entire teams. Runs like an antelope. He's a low-rent Kevin Durant; next year he'll have his own identity as a playmaker/scorer.
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Post by uncledougy on Feb 1, 2015 16:54:24 GMT -8
Next year add Z to the mix! Could be a fun year
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Post by heuschele on Feb 1, 2015 21:06:16 GMT -8
So here is the Oracle's no BS scouting report on Malik Pope. What the Oracle likes: 1. He's long and will fit in well physically in the NBA. 2. He handles the ball well for someone his size. 3. He has the POTENTIAL to develop a great outside shot. He's shown flashes of having a good shot, but needs to be more consistent. This looks like something that will come with time and experience. Areas of Concerns: 1. Despite being able to dunk, it looks like he doesn't get much lift when he jumps. Compared to his high school highlights, he's lost a noticeable amount with his jumping ability. 2. Building on the jumping abilities issue, he doesn't get much lift on his jump shots. This can be an issue especially if you have to shot over the likes of Kawhi, KD, LeBron, Paul George, Dirk, ect. Actually, Dirk Nowitzki at 36 years old looks like he gets more lift than Pope does right now. For the Oracle, this is a cause of concern regarding Pope's shelf life in the NBA. 3. Although he looks like he can make a nice shot from 3. Can he create shots for himself in the mid range game? If you look at the upper half of SFs in the league. They all can create some space for themselves and pull up for a BALANCED jump shot from 15 feet out. Haven't seen this from Pope yet. 4. As others have noticed, he does at times get lost on defense. In the NBA, this will cost you playing time. Part of the reason why Malcolm Thomas does not get much PT is because he gets lost on defense too. You can't do that. Especially if you are going to be playing the toughest position in the NBA, the SF. Also, since the SF is the toughest position in the NBA, you've got to have decent lateral quickness to stay in front of the offensive player. There has not been enough sample size to determine this yet with Pope's play, but hope that this is not an issue like it is for Jamaal Franklin who has zero lateral quickness. In all, you can see the potential in Pope, but before anyone anoints him as the next KD, he does have several things that need to be shown before he can be considered at 1st round pick. The Oracle thinks it is safe to say that we've got at least 1 more year of Pope at SDSU. He seems to be able to fly from my perspective. I believe he possibly elevate more if he was not already as high as he needed to be. I agree on his defense still needing worked. My biggest fear is that he gets injured. I like that he is being brought along slightly slow as I want him to stay healthy as he has so much talent that if he stays healthy he will be awesome.
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Post by aztecfankrishnan on Feb 1, 2015 21:49:32 GMT -8
He is the best talent this program has ever had. Bar none. It remains to be seen whether he can maximize it like Kawhi. However, in my opinion he has an even a higher upside. Of course, you never know? He could end up more Quincy Miller than Kevin Durant?
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Post by hoobs on Feb 2, 2015 5:12:23 GMT -8
Re. Pope's defense... considering that he hadn't much competitive basketball for 2 seasons due to injury, I have a feeling that especially with Coach Hut's tutelage he'll be just fine on D by the start of next season. Unknown if he'll be an elite level defender but I'd wager he'll be at least "good."
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Post by Pasadenaztec on Feb 2, 2015 5:20:03 GMT -8
He is the best talent this program has ever had. Bar none. It remains to be seen whether he can maximize it like Kawhi. However, in my opinion he has an even a higher upside. Of course, you never know? He could end up more Quincy Miller than Kevin Durant? Quincy Miller?
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Post by untitled on Feb 2, 2015 6:42:32 GMT -8
Dudes lift on his jumper is like 6 inches and he'll still never be blocked.
I'm not even mad. That's amazing.
And if he scores 30 a night he can play jimmer level of Defense and still be the most important part of the team.
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Post by chauchat on Feb 2, 2015 8:28:05 GMT -8
On a side note I think Shepard doesn't allow Pope's popularity to get into this head, which is good. Their contributions will always differ. I hope you're right. So far everyone seems to be team-oriented. Question, though: Was Pope shaking his head in disgust when Chol missed his pass?
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Post by therealoracle on Feb 2, 2015 8:37:00 GMT -8
So here is the Oracle's no BS scouting report on Malik Pope. What the Oracle likes: 1. He's long and will fit in well physically in the NBA. 2. He handles the ball well for someone his size. 3. He has the POTENTIAL to develop a great outside shot. He's shown flashes of having a good shot, but needs to be more consistent. This looks like something that will come with time and experience. Areas of Concerns: 1. Despite being able to dunk, it looks like he doesn't get much lift when he jumps. Compared to his high school highlights, he's lost a noticeable amount with his jumping ability. 2. Building on the jumping abilities issue, he doesn't get much lift on his jump shots. This can be an issue especially if you have to shot over the likes of Kawhi, KD, LeBron, Paul George, Dirk, ect. Actually, Dirk Nowitzki at 36 years old looks like he gets more lift than Pope does right now. For the Oracle, this is a cause of concern regarding Pope's shelf life in the NBA. 3. Although he looks like he can make a nice shot from 3. Can he create shots for himself in the mid range game? If you look at the upper half of SFs in the league. They all can create some space for themselves and pull up for a BALANCED jump shot from 15 feet out. Haven't seen this from Pope yet. 4. As others have noticed, he does at times get lost on defense. In the NBA, this will cost you playing time. Part of the reason why Malcolm Thomas does not get much PT is because he gets lost on defense too. You can't do that. Especially if you are going to be playing the toughest position in the NBA, the SF. Also, since the SF is the toughest position in the NBA, you've got to have decent lateral quickness to stay in front of the offensive player. There has not been enough sample size to determine this yet with Pope's play, but hope that this is not an issue like it is for Jamaal Franklin who has zero lateral quickness. In all, you can see the potential in Pope, but before anyone anoints him as the next KD, he does have several things that need to be shown before he can be considered at 1st round pick. The Oracle thinks it is safe to say that we've got at least 1 more year of Pope at SDSU. The Real Oracle approves. The Real Oracle Out
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