How Good Was Tim Duncan at 18?

 
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LandsbergerRules
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PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2015 11:57 am    Post subject: How Good Was Tim Duncan at 18?

The draft talk about our next possible big-man made me wonder about this. At 18, could anyone project that Duncan had the potential to be the greatest PF of all-time? Or were there "red flags" that made people think he would be limited in some way? Free-throw shooting? Athleticism? I'm not a huge Wake Forest fan so I missed most of his college career. Were his post-game and defense already better than Okafor's right now?
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PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2015 3:13 pm    Post subject: Re: How Good Was Tim Duncan at 18?

LandsbergerRules wrote:
The draft talk about our next possible big-man made me wonder about this. At 18, could anyone project that Duncan had the potential to be the greatest PF of all-time? Or were there "red flags" that made people think he would be limited in some way? Free-throw shooting? Athleticism? I'm not a huge Wake Forest fan so I missed most of his college career. Were his post-game and defense already better than Okafor's right now?


I know when Duncan was 20, Jerry West said he'd probably be the top pick in the draft if he came out. Duncan stayed four years in college. He was considered a "can't miss" prospects on par with guys like Kareem, Shaq, Lebron, and Larry Bird. Okafor isn't anywhere close to Duncan at a similar age.
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PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2015 4:01 pm    Post subject:

There weren't really scouting websites back then, so finding old scouting reports isn't so easy. I stumbled upon a Reddit thread where one of the commenters pasted some old Duncan reports (without linking them) so take it with a grain of salt. Don't know where it's from:

Quote:
Duncan is the best player available in the draft and a lock to be the first overall pick. He has the ability to become a NBA superstar.
Scouts have mixed opinions on Duncan's NBA position. He may be a more dominant player early on in his career at power forward but has the tools to be a dominant center. His position will depend on the team that selects him.
In terms of comparisions I have heard David Robinson and Brad Daughtery. I feel Hakeem Olajuwon is a closer comparison because of his mobility and size.
In terms of physical skills Duncan has great mobility. He is capable of consistently beating his man down the court. He has long arms and excellent timing for blocking shots. His footwork on post moves is constantly improving.
In terms of basketball skills, Duncan has the total package. Duncan can score is a variety of ways. He can take his man down low with an assortment of post moves. He uses the glass well on his turn around jump shot. He can also step outside and hit the mid-range jumper.
Duncan's passing ability is incredible for a player of his size and experience. He led Wake Forest in assists. Duncan handles the ball better than most post players.
Duncan greatest attribute is his defense. He averaged double figures in rebounds in his final three years of college. This past season he averaged close to fifteen boards a game. Duncan can swat shots with the best of them. He is the all-time blocked shots leader in the history of the NCAA.
Despite his overall game he has a few things to work on. His biggest need is adding strength and weight. He will need to adjust to the power of the NBA. He needs to continue to develop is offensive game. One concern is his low free throw percentage (64%). However, his was his lowest total of his four years.
As NBA Scouting Director, Marty Blake says "He may be the most complete player to enter the NBA in the last ten years".


Quote:
Tim Duncan is not the most talented player in this draft. However, he is the best player in it, and he will be a successful NBA player, both because of his style of play. For Duncan, it is simple: he plays. He plays hard every minute, with confidence and emotion, at both ends of the floor, and he plays to win. He has a winning attitude that will greatly help the team that drafts him, going beyond what he will do that shows up in the box score.
Duncan is the type of player who can lift his team with his play, as he can take over games at either end of the floor, and is the consummate team player. He can dominate defensively, as he is an excellent shot-blocker and rebounder. At the offensive end, he is constantly adding to his game, as he has expanded his shooting range with time. When double-teamed, he will pass the ball back out to an open teammate; he involves his teammates as though he were a point guard, as he realizes that he alone will not win ball games.
Duncan will be a franchise player because he makes his teammates better, in addition to being a great individual talent. He averaged a double-double in each of his last two seasons in college, in scoring and rebounding. If Tim Duncan is not the first pick in the draft, the GM doing the selecting will be referred to the best psychologist within a fifty-mile radius. This holds even if the team selecting first is set at center, as Duncan can play power forward as well.



Quote:
Duncan is one of college's most dominating centers to play the game since HAKEEM OLAJUWAN. Duncan makes all the right plays offensively which is perhaps his only weakness is that it is raw but still developing.
He is a HUGE defensive presence in the paint as a rebounder and a shot-blocker. He isn't the kind of leader that some coaches would prefer.
But if you look at wake forest's record you'll see that he did just fine. If he had desired to go into the past 2 drafts he would have been number 1 overall. But there is no doubting that he is a huge talent that will surely develop into a fine superstar his averages 20.8 PPG, 14.7 RPG, AND 2.9 APG. This is the most complete player i've seen in years


Quote:
Tim Duncan-- An extraordinary college ballplayer; if you haven't seen him night in and night out you can't appreciate it. Needed badly to stay the extra year to work on his offense, but now has excellent footwork inside. Can nail the mid-range J. Good rebounder, both athletic and technical; reasonably good shot-blocker. Man defense not really tested in the ACC (no other centers of note). Starts as a 12/10 guy like Mutombo (fewer blocks) but his work ethic could make him into an Olajuwon type. To my mind a very easy #1 pick, the only guaranteed star and the most probable superstar in the draft.
Worst he could be: Otis Thorpe with a few assists thrown in.
Best he could be: Olajuwon.
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PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2015 4:39 pm    Post subject: Re: How Good Was Tim Duncan at 18?

activeverb wrote:
LandsbergerRules wrote:
The draft talk about our next possible big-man made me wonder about this. At 18, could anyone project that Duncan had the potential to be the greatest PF of all-time? Or were there "red flags" that made people think he would be limited in some way? Free-throw shooting? Athleticism? I'm not a huge Wake Forest fan so I missed most of his college career. Were his post-game and defense already better than Okafor's right now?


I know when Duncan was 20, Jerry West said he'd probably be the top pick in the draft if he came out. Duncan stayed four years in college. He was considered a "can't miss" prospects on par with guys like Kareem, Shaq, Lebron, and Larry Bird. Okafor isn't anywhere close to Duncan at a similar age.


Duncan's freshman year stats don't seem that eye-popping, but I'm curious if it's because his coach didn't give him enough opportunities.
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PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2015 7:02 pm    Post subject: Re: How Good Was Tim Duncan at 18?

LandsbergerRules wrote:
activeverb wrote:
LandsbergerRules wrote:
The draft talk about our next possible big-man made me wonder about this. At 18, could anyone project that Duncan had the potential to be the greatest PF of all-time? Or were there "red flags" that made people think he would be limited in some way? Free-throw shooting? Athleticism? I'm not a huge Wake Forest fan so I missed most of his college career. Were his post-game and defense already better than Okafor's right now?


I know when Duncan was 20, Jerry West said he'd probably be the top pick in the draft if he came out. Duncan stayed four years in college. He was considered a "can't miss" prospects on par with guys like Kareem, Shaq, Lebron, and Larry Bird. Okafor isn't anywhere close to Duncan at a similar age.


Duncan's freshman year stats don't seem that eye-popping, but I'm curious if it's because his coach didn't give him enough opportunities.


Duncan only picked up basketball in the 9th grade and he had trouble with the transition from the Virgin Islands, where the level of basketball was pretty low. The first half of his freshman year was rocky, but he figured it out and became a monster in the second half of his freshman year.
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PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2015 9:43 am    Post subject:

I thought he would be a sound player in the NBA. I also thought Marcus Camby would be better. I watched them go head to head while in college. Tim at Wake, Marcus at UMass.
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