DraftExpress breaks down pro prospects Osby, Pledger

[OUHoops]

http://oklahoma.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1475438

 

[BanjoCharley]

Wish 'em both luck.

 

[DenverSooner]

I don't think either them will make in the NBA. I hope they do but I think they will both make good money playing overseas rather than great money in the NBA. Osby just doesn't have a position in the NBA and I don't think Pledger is good enough.

 

[bocabull]

Osby reminds me a little of Corliss Williamson from Arkansas who had a nice nba career. He needs to turn his motor up to reach Big Nasty status though.

 

[WTSooner]

I don't think either them will make in the NBA. I hope they do but I think they will both make good money playing overseas rather than great money in the NBA. Osby just doesn't have a position in the NBA and I don't think Pledger is good enough.

This.

I like Pledger a lot as a player, but he just isn't an NBA player.

Osby is probably closer in all around talent, but I don't think he has a spot. I cannot see Osby playing SF in the NBA, and he isn't big enough to play PF.

Both should do very well overseas if they so choose.

 

[Smash Williams]

I think the proliferation of smaller lineups--specifically, big SFs shifting to PF more often--gives Osby more of a chance than he would have had 5-10 years ago. If he moved a little better laterally or had a reliable corner 3 (the latter of which certainly isn't out of the question), he would have much better shot as a tweener forward. However, I agree that the odds are stacked against him. He should make a good living overseas, though.

 

[AdaSooner]

This.

I like Pledger a lot as a player, but he just isn't an NBA player.

Osby is probably closer in all around talent, but I don't think he has a spot. I cannot see Osby playing SF in the NBA, and he isn't big enough to play PF.

Both should do very well overseas if they so choose.

Yep. As much as I appreciate what Ro and Bird have meant to OU's program, I'm afraid the closet either player will get to an NBA team is a chance at a free agency tryout or the opportunity to play for a D League team. An overseas career is the more likely scenario in their future. Nothing wrong with that, a number of former Sooners have had productive professional careers playing in foreign countries.

 

[Sooner-Bred]

and he isn't big enough to play PF.

Signed,

Glen Davis- 6'6

Chuck Hayes- 6'6

 

[Soonerlover12]

Y'all are crazy. There are plenty of tweeners. Isn't can be an energy guy off the bench. He can score and shoot! He will make a bench I guarantee it. If pledger wants to make an MBA team he needs to go practice his shooting then practice it some more and more and turn into a Korver or a Meeks. There's a place for shooters. He just needs to work on that.

 

[garyeb2]

Y'all are crazy. There are plenty of tweeners. Isn't can be an energy guy off the bench. He can score and shoot! He will make a bench I guarantee it. If pledger wants to make an MBA team he needs to go practice his shooting then practice it some more and more and turn into a Korver or a Meeks. There's a place for shooters. He just needs to work on that.

Firstly, Osby isn't a hair over 6'6". To be that size and make it, he needs to be much more skilled. Secondly, Pledger would never get himself open or get a shot off when defended by a pro basketball player.

 

[WTSooner]

Signed,

Glen Davis- 6'6

Chuck Hayes- 6'6

Hayes and Davis both move better than Osby, at a larger weight. If Osby gained the weight to be able to bang inside, he'd lose what little big of quickness edge he might have.

And I wasn't talking in absolutes. It's like saying it'd be impossible for a 5'8 guy to make it. Sure, there have been a couple, but the odds are stacked against them.

 

[AdaSooner]

Y'all are crazy. There are plenty of tweeners. Isn't can be an energy guy off the bench. He can score and shoot! He will make a bench I guarantee it. If pledger wants to make an MBA team he needs to go practice his shooting then practice it some more and more and turn into a Korver or a Meeks. There's a place for shooters. He just needs to work on that.

I would like nothing better than to be wrong about both players. I'm a huge Pledger fan, and I have said more than once that Osby is one of my all-time favorite Sooners.

I believe Ro has the best chance of the two, providing he can improve his perimeter shot enough to move to the three at the next level. And even if he does, I'm not sure he has the footspeed to defend NBA small forwards?

Steven has trouble in defending a number of the two guards he faces in college. How on earth do you think he will be able to hang with NBA shooting guards? Shooting from the perimeter will not be his biggest problem. It's defending quicker, stronger twos with the handles to drive by him like he's wearing concrete shoes.

Sorry, but that's how I see it. Remind me if I'm wrong and I'll rejoice with you.

 

[campbest]

Y'all are crazy. There are plenty of tweeners. Isn't can be an energy guy off the bench. He can score and shoot! He will make a bench I guarantee it. If pledger wants to make an MBA team he needs to go practice his shooting then practice it some more and more and turn into a Korver or a Meeks. There's a place for shooters. He just needs to work on that.

No, he needs to take the GMAT.

And minus the fact Korver and Meeks were two of the best shooters in college over the past 10 years, Pledger isn't close to the same category.

 

[earlpearl]

Osby reminds me of a poor man's Joey Grahm. I do not believe he is quite NBA material, but he is a very good college player.

 

[AdaSooner]

No, he needs to take the GMAT.

And minus the fact Korver and Meeks were two of the best shooters in college over the past 10 years, Pledger isn't close to the same category.

He fit that description in the first half. He even had me questioning what I had said on this thread. My thoughts went to J. J. Reddick, who was not particularly good at creating his own shots at the college level.

That was before I watched the second half. And therein lies the problem Steven has had his entire career. Great shooters who are NBA worthy don't all but disappear from one half or one game to another.

 

[Smash Williams]

Signed,

Glen Davis- 6'6

Chuck Hayes- 6'6

Big Baby measured 6'7.75" without shoes and 6'9" with shoes before the 2007 draft, so unless you have some evidence that his height shrunk in the last six years, you're way off. He's also exceptionally quick for someone pushing three bills. Big Baby's combination of size, strength, and athleticism makes him a poor comparison to Osby.

Hayes was an elite defender in college, and in the NBA he's a smart defender that uses his strength and understanding of leveage to stonewall bigger players in the post. Do you think Ro can defend NBA centers the way Hayes often does?

There are always exceptions to the rule, but in this case, you're providing examples of guys that compensated for lack of height for their positions with other exceptional traits. What sets Romero Osby apart from typical NBA PFs that offsets his his size disadvantage? Otherwise, what you're doing is akin to using Charles Barkley's success to make a case for Ernie Abercrombie as an NBA star.

 

[Smash Williams]

Y'all are crazy. There are plenty of tweeners. Isn't can be an energy guy off the bench. He can score and shoot! He will make a bench I guarantee it. If pledger wants to make an MBA team he needs to go practice his shooting then practice it some more and more and turn into a Korver or a Meeks. There's a place for shooters. He just needs to work on that.

There are plenty of tweeners, but the vast majority don't make the jump from college to the NBA. Pledger is undersized and a poor athlete compared to NBA SGs. He's also not an elite shooter by NBA standards. Korver is a 6'8" SF that converts NBA 3-pointers at a higher rate than Pledger does at the collegiate level. Meeks is significantly more athletic than Pledger and was a more efficient scorer that carried a greater scoring load in college.

 

[Soonerman]

The whole "Osby isn't big enough for the NBA" crap is the same argument that people still trot out about QB's having to be at least 6'2 in the NFL. It's old, antiquated, out of date, and largely proven completely wrong. Smaller 3's and 4's are playing and succeeding quite well in the NBA. I see Osby as a 3 in the NBA (or overseas) anyway.

I really like Pledger, but he's nowhere near an NBA athlete. He'll play professionally and probably make decent money overseas if that's the route he wants to go.

 

[campbest]

He fit that description in the first half. He even had me questioning what I had said on this thread. My thoughts went to J. J. Reddick, who was not particularly good at creating his own shots at the college level.

That was before I watched the second half. And therein lies the problem Steven has had his entire career. Great shooters who are NBA worthy don't all but disappear from one half or one game to another.

JJ could create a lot space for his shot better than most realize...he was a great step-back shooter.

 

[AdaSooner]

JJ could create a lot space for his shot better than most realize...he was a great step-back shooter.

True, but he never really refined that move until his senior season. Pledger would do well to copy it, or find a signature move of his own to offset his lack of footspeed.

IMO, Steven's best chance to make a living playing pro ball somewhere is to prove he can be consistent in scoring the way he did in the first half of the Baylor game. That still leaves a question about his ability to defend quicker two guards who as just as big or bigger than him. But a player with a great stroke does have value, providing he can knock down shots on a consistent basis.