2022-2023 Rookie Watch

[ball junkie 277]

11 minutes ago, fan for too long 2 said:

If you are truly a Magic fan why do you keep posting this stuff about Sharpe?  What the f*** is the point of all of this? I really don’t understand what you are trying to prove. There are many many many drafts where the guy we drafted was outshined by other players drafted later. But you keep harping on this one where we actually got a good possibly great player. Please for the love of all good things, leave it be and just drive your family and friends nuts with this crap. 

I been here long enough that I don’t have to prove my Magic fandom to you or anybody else …it’s not a secret who I wanted drafted …my college team is UK so I followed him there …Sharpe got trashed by some here …looks as though the trash talk may not be true …I can like both players and I do …no rule says you can’t …hope the front office choice don’t come back to bitem in the rear …this is the rookie watch thread …if you don’t wanna read about Sharpe or me posting about him then ignore …I do that a lot on this site also …peace Fan 

[ball junkie 277]

Nate …you said you were gonna keep tabs on Sharpe …and hold me accountable for things I said and that’s cool bro …we now have one year in the books …what is your take on Sharpe now ? …Curious, you always tell it like it is …especially now see you cussing the front office about shooting and not drafting any shooters 

[jmmagicfan 302]

10 hours ago, ball junkie said:

 

Mr Hollinger, Shaquille O'Neal is on the phone for you, and he doesn't sound very happy. Something about you dissing him?!?

[ball junkie 277]

On 2/15/2023 at 10:01 AM, CTMagicUK said:

Shaedon Sharpe has probably been one of the worst defensive players in the entire NBA this year FYI (something you might not see on a highlight clip). 

You might be right …but I like the potential.

[ball junkie 277]

CT lol’d Sharpe vid then erased it …lol it’s cool bro …

[ball junkie 277]

Rookie of the Week: Shaedon Sharpe, SG, Portland

(Note: This section won’t necessarily profile the best rookie of the week. Just the one I’ve been watching.)

I haven’t done one of these in a while because I’ve focused on the draft, but we need to circle back and talk about how good Sharpe was over the final weeks of the season. While the Blazers were shutting things down and turning on the reverse thrusters (see above), Portland’s teenage rookie was doing everything in his power to undermine the Blazers’ efforts.

Yes, these were garbage games where the Blazers were often routed (again, see above). But it’s hard to ignore how good Sharpe looked, including in some highly competitive games. He led the way with 27 points, six rebounds and six assists in Portland’s one April win, an upset at Minnesota that cost the Timberwolves home court for Tuesday’s Play-In game. More recently, he had 26 points four assists and two steals in a competitive matchup against the Clippers.

All told, Sharpe averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists over the final 10 games on 57.4 percent True Shooting, which is respectable considering what was around him. The 19-year-old Canadian, took a “gap year” while not playing at Kentucky last season and was often invisible playing in an off-ball role for most of the season. But playing with the ball in his hands seems to have unlocked some athletic tools.

Notably, Sharpe is a special leaper who can attack bigs in the paint and finish. While there are elements of his craft (drawing fouls) that remain works in progress, Sharpe’s raw tools when he can get downhill are exhilarating. Watch here as he hustles back to steal a transition pass intended for Kawhi Leonard, then takes it back the other way and glides into a finish over Clippers’ rim protector Ivica Zubac.
 

Additionally, Sharpe showed some growth as a passer during his stint as the Blazers’ go-to guy. He more than doubled his per 36 assist rate over the final 10 games, and they weren’t all cheapies just from playing on the ball either. Watch here as he finds his path to the rim cut off and invents a kick-out to Kevin Knox for a triple:
 

Overall, Portland has to be massively encouraged by Sharpe’s season and should already be pondering what that means for its future. With the franchise seemingly committed to the Sisyphean task of winning with Damian Lillard and not much else, Sharpe becomes a huge part of the plan. That makes one wonder if Anfernee Simons— the opening-day starter at the 2, who averaged 21.1 points a game this season and is still only 23 — might become the expendable piece that the Blazers can parlay into some quality size and/or a wing-stopper for the league’s 27th-ranked defense.
 

https://theathletic.com/4396625/2023/04/10/nba-bronny-james-tanking-shaedon-sharpe/?amp=1
From Hollinger …click the link if you wanna see his video illustrations of Sharpe’s game 

[fan for too long 2 531]

7 hours ago, ball junkie said:

I been here long enough that I don’t have to prove my Magic fandom to you or anybody else …it’s not a secret who I wanted drafted …my college team is UK so I followed him there …Sharpe got trashed by some here …looks as though the trash talk may not be true …I can like both players and I do …no rule says you can’t …hope the front office choice don’t come back to bitem in the rear …this is the rookie watch thread …if you don’t wanna read about Sharpe or me posting about him then ignore …I do that a lot on this site also …peace Fan 

BJ, last time I checked your right, this is the rookie watch thread. But it’s not the Shaedon Sharpe thread. Your incessant video dumping of his videos here has hijacked this thread and since I called you out on it, you continue. So I will take your advice and just do a fly by now again to see if anybody is talking about, oh I don’t know, the MAYBE MAGIC ROOkIES.
Have fun

[ball junkie 277]

1 hour ago, fan for too long 2 said:

BJ, last time I checked your right, this is the rookie watch thread. But it’s not the Shaedon Sharpe thread. Your incessant video dumping of his videos here has hijacked this thread and since I called you out on it, you continue. So I will take your advice and just do a fly by now again to see if anybody is talking about, oh I don’t know, the MAYBE MAGIC ROOkIES.
Have fun

You’re right …but the irony of the whole thread is nobody gave 2 craps about me posting all the Sharpe stuff …cause he was basically an unknown and Portland just put him in the corner ala Suggs …certainly didn’t look like a soon to be or distant threat to Paolo in terms of best player in the class …but now that the Blazers gave him the keys to the car the last 10 games his outlook in the league has changed dramatically …hence we have hostility now lol or so it seems .

[Soul Bro 1,419]

“Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero has been named the Kia NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for March/April 2023. It is the fourth straight time that he has earned the league’s monthly honor.

Banchero joins Shaquille O’Neal as the only players in franchise history to be named the league’s Rookie of the Month in four consecutive months. O’Neal did it four straight times from November 1992-February 1993.”

https://www.nba.com/magic/news/paolo-banchero-named-kia-nba-eastern-conference-rookie-of-the-month-for-march-april-2023-20230411

[A Better DJ & Photographer 457]

It's official!!! https://sports.yahoo.com/paolo-banchero-named-nba-rookie-of-the-year-230257831.html

[Soul Bro 1,419]

Official tweet ❤️

[Soul Bro 1,419]