[Cracked Sidewalks] Hayward and Wade 2 of the only players still alive in the NBA playoffs; ranking the best COLLEGE players still playing

[CrackedSidewalksSays]

Hayward and Wade 2 of the only players still alive in the NBA playoffs; ranking the best COLLEGE players still playing

Written by: noreply@blogger.com (bamamarquettefan1)


As the NBA “Final Four” tips off shortly, Kevin Durant will be the best former college player on the court still playing for an NBA title. (if you’ve been away, before you read this read the great piece on Marquette taking on Ohio State on the aircraft career.)
Dwyane Wade isn’t far behind and is probably the 2ndbest, but since the Value Add database doesn’t go back prior to 2006, I can’t compare him to Tim Duncan at Wake Forest or tell for sure if he would rank ahead of the next best COLLEGE players still playing, James Harden and DeJuan Blair would rank as a greater player according to Value Add.  This table ranks the COLLEGE careers of the players on the four remaining teams, for players who were in college since 2006:

rankPLAYERCollegeNBACollege Career Based on Value Add/Class[/tr]

1	Kevin Durant	Texas	OKC	in 2007, he was the 1st freshman to be top Value Add, and Anthony Davis is the 4th
2	James Harden	AZ St	OKC	Only player to be top 10 as a FR and SO in 2008, 2009
3	DeJuan Blair	Pitt	SA	As a SO in 2009 already 3rd best behind Blake Griffin and Ty Lawson
4	Kawhi Leonard	SD St	SA	In 2011, 2nd best SO behind Derrick Williams
5	Nick Collison	UCLA	OKC	As SO in 2007 9th best overall, but slipped a little next 2 years
6	Russell Westbrook	UCLA	OKC	In 2008 as a SO already 11th overall
7	Mario Chalmers	KS	MIA	In 2008, 4th best as a junior which is better than 3rd as SR (Cole)
8	Rajon Rondo	KY	BOS	21st best overall in 2006, first year of database
9	Reggie Jackson	BC	OKC	In 2011 5th best junior, so could continue improvement
10	James Anderson	Okl St	SA	In 2010, 6th best JR, 3 spots behind Jimmy F Butler!
11	Cole Aldrich	KS	OKC	In 2009, was 5th as a SO but slipped a little JR year
12	Norris Cole	Cleve St	MIA	In 2011 3rd best player, but that was as SR
13	Eric Maynor	VCU	OKC	In 2009 was 6th best, but like Cole that was as SR
14	JaJuan Johnson	Purdue	BOS	Steady improvement until 7th best as SR in 2011
15	Lazar Hayward	Marquette	OKC	Also steady improvement until 34th at MU, but actually behind Jimmy F Butler even then
16	Cory Joseph	Texas	SA	In 2011, 12th best freshman
17	E'Twaun Moore	Purdue	BOS	Steady improvement until 63rd as SR in 2011
18	Daequan Cook	OSU	OKC	In 2007, 40th best freshman
19	Dexter Pittman	Texas	MIA	In 2009, was top 5% of players as a junior
20	Patrick Mills	St. Mary's	SA	In 2009, was already top 10% as a sophomore
21	Joel Anthony	UNLV	MIA	In 2007, top 10% of all players
22	Avery Bradley	Texas	BOS	In 2010, 46th best FR
23	Derrick Byars	Vandy	SA	In 2007 broke top 5%, but that was as senior
24	Sean Williams	BC	BOS	In 2007 broke top 10% as a junior
25	Terrel Harris	Okl St	MIA	Steady improvement, but still only broke top 5% as senior in 2011
26	Greg Stiemsma	Wisc	BOS	Was still not in 10% of all players in senior year of 2008

However, probably the most overused statement about former college players is, “He was so good in college, I wonder why he wasn’t great in the pros.”
There are 4000 D1 players every year, and even among the top 5% of players every year (ranked 1st to 200th) almost all are wishing they were sitting where Lazar Hayward is with Oklahoma City trying to grab a ring.

It is very rare to have an NBA player who was not excellent as a college player.  Of the 26 players on the four remaining rosters who played in college since 2006, only Greg Stiemsma did not make it into the top 10% of all college players by his senior year.  This is not a criticism of a former rival, Stiemsma is in the top 50% of NBA players, but he is one of the rare exceptions like Andre Drummond who is trying to become an NBA player WITHOUT being at least pretty dominant at the college level.
When pulling up the database for the other players on the roster, Durant is clearly the greatest since he was already the best Value Add player in the country as a freshman â€" just as Anthony Davis was this year.James Harden stayed around for two years, and is the only player I can find who was one of the best 10 players in the country both his freshman and sophomore seasons, according to Value Add.
It’s a close call between him and DeJuan Blair for the 2ndgreatest Value Add player in the Final Four.  I give a slight edge to Harden for two incredible years, but actually as a sophomore Blair was better.  He was already the third best player in the country in Value Add behind only Blake Griffin and Ty Lawson, and is on pace to be in the top 10% of all NBA players by the time he hits his peak performance in the next few years.
San Antonio has stayed at the top of the NBA by correctly valuing players like Blair both in drafts and in trades.  In 2009, they didn’t pick until 37thand let 36 other teams pick before they grabbed Blair with their first pick.  Many of those picks were on guys who it was clear at the time would never reach Blair’s level.As for Lazar Hayward’s great career at Marquette, there are really 14 players left who were even bigger stars in college.  Lazar was the 34th player, but it was as a senior.  Guys who make the top 50 as a freshman or sophomore are usually big stars, and guys like Jimmy Butler who break into the top 10 as a junior usually do very well. 
Norris Cole as the 3rd best Value Add player last year while at Cleveland State, and should be good, but that’s not the same as a guy like Harden or Wade who is already dominant as a sophomore.
Still, Hayward’s steady climb throughout his MU career gives him the 15th best COLLEGE career of any player still on the court, and the ranking of the 26 below puts them in order.



http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2012/05/hayward-and-wade-2-of-only-players.html

[chren21]

SUNDAY, MAY 27, 2012

Hayward and Wade 2 of the only players still alive in the NBA playoffs; ranking the best COLLEGE players still playing

As the NBA "Final Four" tips off shortly, Kevin Durant will be the best former college player on the court still playing for an NBA title. (if you've been away, before you read this read the great piece on Marquette taking on Ohio State on the aircraft career.)

Dwyane Wade isn't far behind and is probably the 2nd best, but since the Value Add database doesn't go back prior to 2006, I can't compare him to Tim Duncan at Wake Forest or tell for sure if he would rank ahead of the next best COLLEGE players still playing, James Harden and DeJuan Blair would rank as a greater player according to Value Add.  This table ranks the COLLEGE careers of the players on the four remaining teams, for players who were in college since 2006:


rank   PLAYER   College   NBA   College Career Based on Value Add/Class
1   Kevin Durant   Texas   OKC   in 2007, he was the 1st freshman to be top Value Add, and Anthony Davis is the 4th
2   James Harden   AZ St   OKC   Only player to be top 10 as a FR and SO in 2008, 2009
3   DeJuan Blair   Pitt   SA   As a SO in 2009 already 3rd best behind Blake Griffin and Ty Lawson
4   Kawhi Leonard   SD St   SA   In 2011, 2nd best SO behind Derrick Williams
5   Nick Collison   UCLA   OKC   As SO in 2007 9th best overall, but slipped a little next 2 years
6   Russell Westbrook   UCLA   OKC   In 2008 as a SO already 11th overall
7   Mario Chalmers   KS   MIA   In 2008, 4th best as a junior which is better than 3rd as SR (Cole)
8   Rajon Rondo   KY   BOS   21st best overall in 2006, first year of database
9   Reggie Jackson   BC   OKC   In 2011 5th best junior, so could continue improvement
10   James Anderson   Okl St   SA   In 2010, 6th best JR, 3 spots behind Jimmy F Butler!
11   Cole Aldrich   KS   OKC   In 2009, was 5th as a SO but slipped a little JR year
12   Norris Cole   Cleve St   MIA   In 2011 3rd best player, but that was as SR
13   Eric Maynor   VCU   OKC   In 2009 was 6th best, but like Cole that was as SR
14   JaJuan Johnson   Purdue   BOS   Steady improvement until 7th best as SR in 2011
15   Lazar Hayward   Marquette   OKC   Also steady improvement until 34th at MU, but actually behind Jimmy F Butler even then
16   Cory Joseph   Texas   SA   In 2011, 12th best freshman
17   E'Twaun Moore   Purdue   BOS   Steady improvement until 63rd as SR in 2011
18   Daequan Cook   OSU   OKC   In 2007, 40th best freshman
19   Dexter Pittman   Texas   MIA   In 2009, was top 5% of players as a junior
20   Patrick Mills   St. Mary's   SA   In 2009, was already top 10% as a sophomore
21   Joel Anthony   UNLV   MIA   In 2007, top 10% of all players
22   Avery Bradley   Texas   BOS   In 2010, 46th best FR
23   Derrick Byars   Vandy   SA   In 2007 broke top 5%, but that was as senior
24   Sean Williams   BC   BOS   In 2007 broke top 10% as a junior
25   Terrel Harris   Okl St   MIA   Steady improvement, but still only broke top 5% as senior in 2011
26   Greg Stiemsma   Wisc   BOS   Was still not in 10% of all players in senior year of 2008


However, probably the most overused statement about former college players is, "He was so good in college, I wonder why he wasn't great in the pros."

There are 4000 D1 players every year, and even among the top 5% of players every year (ranked 1st to 200th) almost all are wishing they were sitting where Lazar Hayward is with Oklahoma City trying to grab a ring.

It is very rare to have an NBA player who was not excellent as a college player.  Of the 26 players on the four remaining rosters who played in college since 2006, only Greg Stiemsma did not make it into the top 10% of all college players by his senior year.  This is not a criticism of a former rival, Stiemsma is in the top 50% of NBA players, but he is one of the rare exceptions like Andre Drummond who is trying to become an NBA player WITHOUT being at least pretty dominant at the college level.

When pulling up the database for the other players on the roster, Durant is clearly the greatest since he was already the best Value Add player in the country as a freshman – just as Anthony Davis was this year.
James Harden stayed around for two years, and is the only player I can find who was one of the best 10 players in the country both his freshman and sophomore seasons, according to Value Add.

It's a close call between him and DeJuan Blair for the 2nd greatest Value Add player in the Final Four.  I give a slight edge to Harden for two incredible years, but actually as a sophomore Blair was better.  He was already the third best player in the country in Value Add behind only Blake Griffin and Ty Lawson, and is on pace to be in the top 10% of all NBA players by the time he hits his peak performance in the next few years.

San Antonio has stayed at the top of the NBA by correctly valuing players like Blair both in drafts and in trades.  In 2009, they didn't pick until 37th and let 36 other teams pick before they grabbed Blair with their first pick.  Many of those picks were on guys who it was clear at the time would never reach Blair's level.
As for Lazar Hayward's great career at Marquette, there are really 14 players left who were even bigger stars in college.  Lazar was the 34th player, but it was as a senior.  Guys who make the top 50 as a freshman or sophomore are usually big stars, and guys like Jimmy Butler who break into the top 10 as a junior usually do very well. 

Norris Cole as the 3rd best Value Add player last year while at Cleveland State, and should be good, but that's not the same as a guy like Harden or Wade who is already dominant as a sophomore.

Still, Hayward's steady climb throughout his MU career gives him the 15th best COLLEGE career of any player still on the court, and the ranking of the 26 below puts them in order.


bamamarquettefan1 at 7:26 PM
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[bamamarquettefan]

http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=169561

Didn't see this interview with Lazar until after I posted.  Guess he summed it up with:

"There are plenty of guys that would love to be in my shoes and I don't take anything for granted. It's fun, it's exciting, I'm living my dream."

[LA]

I must have missed those great years Nick Collison had at UCLA. 

[bamamarquettefan]

Ouch, and just watched Darren Collison play a whole series.  I believe I permanently blocked out all memories of Kansas 2003 team, where Nick obviously really played, and for some reason don't remember any of their games.  Thanks for the catch, and I will correct on cracked sidewalks.

[LA]

Ouch, and just watched Darren Collison play a whole series.  I believe I permanently blocked out all memories of Kansas 2003 team, where Nick obviously really played, and for some reason don't remember any of their games.  Thanks for the catch, and I will correct on cracked sidewalks.

I have vague memories of the drunken freshman version of myself throwing chairs around in McCormick while cursing captain Kirk and his side kick Nick.