Three-star wing Saddiq Bey is one of three targets Northwestern is pursuing for its final two 2018 scholarship spots.
Story: Bey still a priority for Northwestern ($)
Story: Bey still a priority for Northwestern ($)
Meet wing Saddiq Bey, 1 of 3 targets NU is after for its last 2 spots
- Thread starter lou v
- Start date
That school he goes to is a very expensive private school. And exclusive. I believe the Obama girls were students.
So we're sure it's THT, Kopp and Bey, first come, first served? They've got different styles, but essentially three SFs and no guards/bigs in the mix?
I don't think coaches can comment on recruits until they sign a LOI. Who do you consider to be forthcoming about recruiting? Just curious.....
I think both Kopp and Bey are athletic enough to defend 2guards at the college level. THT with one of the others seems to me the likely goal.
I mostly only follow the Cats so I may be biased by the numbers between football and BB, or simply the recent recruitment of the fellow who seemed a sure thing but went to Stanford (I don't even remember his name, that is how little press he got).
I imagine we are talking to more than four guys right now but you would never know it.
Bey definitely looks like a fit at Wing in the mold of Scottie Lindsey. I also like that he seems comfortable creating his own shot. This is very helpful when the shot clock starts ticking down. We'll need guys who can do that once BMac and Scottie have graduated.
I think it is a mistake to still think of traditional position roles in CC's offense. He doesn't want a traditional SG / 2 in his system. He wants a Lead Guard, 2 Wings, a Stretch 4, and an athletic Center that can run, finish, get put backs, and grab rebounds. This is the setup for the 3 & D system. A long athletic Wing that can hit the 3 is more useful than a smaller SG in terms of defense and finishing on the break. I totally get why CC is after these guys for his system. Look at the 2018 Depth Chart for these roles as it stands today:
LG: Lathon, Brown, Ash
W1: Gaines
W2: Law, Turner
S4: Falzon, Rap, Nance
C: Pardon, Benson
The wing positions, SO critical for this system, really lack depth for 2018/19 season right now. Nance might be able to play one of the spots, but I think he is going to need some time to get B1G ready. Everyone that reports on him writes of his "potential". That tells me that he's got some work to do.
Also, this depth chart assumes Law stays for a 5th year. That's no guarantee, especially if the Cats have the kind of season we all hope they have. If he continues his development trajectory since his freshman year, you could see how he might project to be draft-worthy. Needs to show consistency this season, and more ability to create his own shot.
So, what this adds-up to for me is a critical need to grab at least one Wing in the class, possibly two. It'd be nice to nab a Center, but with the depth there, it will be hard to offer any playing time in 2018/19. I think it'd be amazing to finish off this class with THT and Bey. I don't know enough about Kopp to get as excited about him yet. But, if the coaches are still high on him, so am I. Trust!
It would be nice if lou linked his profile. Then i wouldnt have to go to 247 and get it for free. He is a top 100 over there.
After seeing Peter Jok, Melo Trimble, Malcolm Hill and Derrick Walton Jr. all go undrafted, I have a hard time imagining anyone on our current team getting selected in the NBA Draft.
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Three positions, not five. Free your mind.
Ballhandler
Wing
Big
Sorry for sullying this board with BR. But there are quotes!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2720250-brad-stevens-says-celtics-have-3-not-5-positions-now
I hear you, but Law has one thing that those others don't... the height and the athleticism to play well above the rim. He's a true two-way player. Jok was pretty much useless on D.
Hill, well, he played for the pitiful Illini. And, didn't he have some injury issues? Law obviously has this as a risk area as well with his shoulder.
We'll see... would be nice to see a Cats player on CC's team get taken in the draft.
Vic needs to demonstrate he can create off the dribble. He also needs more muscle. A couple more seasons of college ball will do wonders for his prospects.
Law is not a particularly good athlete by NBA standards, more "par for the course." His age will also work against him, as the NBA seems hesitant to draft fourth or fifth year guys early.
Conversely, it's becoming more and more difficult for college seniors to be drafted in the first round (if at all).
Thanks for posting. I saw this video a while back, but had forgotten about it. He does show a clear scoring ability. There are a couple of clips in there where he just gets beat on D which is a bit of a concern. Again, I trust the coaches. They must like what they see and believe he can be a contributor or they wouldn't have offered.
This is modern basketball! Well stated by Stevens. I still see CC's system with four positions as it seems like he recruits a different skillset and build for the "stretch 4" vs. the Center. However, one could also make an argument that Falzon, Rap, and Nance are Wings as well. Especially since Rap and Nance seem quite comfortable with the ball in their hands. Falzon still strikes me as more of a spot-up shooter (stretch 4).
So, this would mean a typical lineup of:
BH, W1, W2, W3, Big
When needed, you could play small ball to create mismatch issues with:
BH1, BH2, W1, W2, W3/C
I think the 2018/19 roster is shaping up quite nicely to fit this modern basketball system. I like it! Just need a couple more Wings in the fold.
Exception being the Chicago Bulls. Who draft and trade for four year college players.
The NBA game is uber situational. Two things potentially put Law on an NBA roster or D League roster. His defense which is elite. His three point shooting which in a year or two may approach elite.
This is not a player the NBA is going to ask to bang down low. It's needed at NU but every NBA team already has that.
He's not going to be asked to create off the dribble. He's going to be asked to defend 2's and 3's which will be some of the most dangerous players on the floor. And he's going to be asked to get to his spot and knock down a three when the ball comes his way.
Think about the Bulls last few years and now...they had one legit three point shooter -- McBuckets -- who can't play defense to save his life. Sort of the same with Valentine who is solid on O but a major deficit on D. The Bulls just traded for a guard from Minny who is one of the best perimeter defenders in the game, but cannot knock down a shot or really do anything else on offense.
Law has something to sell.
I agree that he may have something to sell if he makes a lot of improvement. He has to make some statements against big-name offensive players this year and put himself in the race for B1G DPOY. There can't be games where we make Melo Trimble look like MJ. He also has to make himself more consistent with his existing offensive skills. If he does that, and I personally think he can, there will be serious discussions about him skipping his final year.
The question is whether Law is/will be good enough to stick in the NBA as a "3-and-D" guy. Not sure he's done enough in his college career so far to separate himself from the other candidates, of which there are TONS.
True. I thought of that as I wrote it. It's Catch 22 for him, he's not good enough to get drafted now but very few 5th year guys are drafted these days.
I think he has better chances than Drew in professional ball, but I don't see him as NBA. I think it was you who said that he has to show what he can do off the dribble. I'm sure he has created here off the dribble but I don't remember much of that. He is athletic enough to play good defense but the NBA doesn't seem like much of a league that treasures defensive play. But, I'd guess Law could have a shot in the NBA, I just don't think much. Even All Big10 guys who stayed, like Valentine, barely squeezed in the NBA and have to work their butts off. I'm mostly ignorant on the draft but the reality to me (Whether fake or not) is that if someone wants to go to the NBA then they need to make their move when they are sophs or juniors and declare. So sorta catch 22 for coaches. Do you recruit a Russell, like OSU did, then he plays 1 or 2 years and goes to the Lakers, or do you recruit someone who projects to stick in your program for 3+ years? Hell, I don't have the answer for that, I guess we can figure it out when the Cats get there. Prolly a both/and, i.e., never pass up a true stud, but make sure you are prepared if the program starts becoming a pipeline and got the gaps covered. I think Duke has handled this a helluva lot better than Caliperi.
Correct, and so was Chelsea Clinton I believe. (Probably not a 2,3, or 4 among them, but I would guess all 3 of them can go to their left!)
Law has not yet shown himself to be strong enough or consistent enough.Maybe in two more years but not yet.
Not yet. He is not consistent from 4. His ball handling not quite good enough. Stuffed a bunch so he needs to get stronger. In a couple more years, possibly but not yet.
Hard to see him showing enough this year to be a high draft pick. Likely to take 2 years if he can get it done. Way to inconsistent from NCAA 3 range to make them think he is good from NBA three range
Law shot 40% beyond the arc last season. To me, this is quite consistent for a sophomore forward.
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One thing that I have read consistently about Law from the day they started recruiting him is that he is a very unselfish team player. He has a reputation of playing intense defense and dishing off to other talented team mates, inflating their numbers and diminishing his own. This could either be a sign of something lacking in the killer instinct that demands center stage or of a guy who makes his team always better by his presence. It will take a better eye than mine to determine which is more important. Maybe the higher levels of competition demand a more selfish performance and maybe we will see that if he ever is on a team where he is the clearly dominant athlete.
Personally I think Law will be more fully recovered from the shoulder surgery and stronger this year. He will be able to assert himself over more players.
Personally I think Law will be more fully recovered from the shoulder surgery and stronger this year. He will be able to assert himself over more players.
We're in agreement.
And Backdoorpass, continuing the example of Doug McBuckets, he shot 45% from three and solidly over 50% from the field his last college season. That with pretty high volume. Moving half a percent is really difficult to achieve. You're jumping a ton a very good basketball players when you do that.
Vic's main issue might be maintaining consistency. Up one game, down the next. Even would be better.
This past season two issues potentially got in the way of higher offensive numbers. He got dinged up and was playing with a bit of difficulty. And the second is that he's serious about school and his non athletic responsibilities.
To cite one example on the latter, the Sunday night that pairings were announced and NU had made the tournament for the first time, Vic Law sent an email confirming the date and time that his summer internship was to start.
What D1 college basketball player does that? It's never happened.
His focus needs to be basketball 100% of time. Screw the degree and setting yourself up for a great career and life after basketball.
McBuckets was College Player of the Year and the Bulls traded up to draft him. He was drafted PURELY on his shooting. He is not a good comp at all for Law. I'm talking about Law's draft potential, not being player of the year or a potential lottery pick. McBuckets might be a good comp for Shurna, not Law. Law has far more athleticism and defensive ability than Doug. I'd argue that he's also a better ball handler and rebounder.
To quote Gene Hackman in Hoosiers: "I've seen that you can shoot, but there's more to this game than shooting. There's fundamentals and defense."
He was under 40% overall and under from 3 at about 38%. And only 33% in BIG. I can also remember a lot of times he got stuffed. And remember that though he was Soph by experience, he was RS. He would have to have his game progress a lot to be ready for the league. As for D he was not strong enough to get around screens and Trimble went off against him. I can see it in two years but a hard time seeing it after 1. Another view... It says 39.9 but that does not jive with numbers I found which were about 1.6 made 3s per game and 4.3 shots taken. Again he made some hay against lesser opponents but was less consistent against the big boys.
https://www.insidenu.com/2017/5/9/1...film-analysis-length-shooting-drought-st-rita
Also at 6'7" sort of about position. about SG size but less developed ball handling skills. He likely needs two years
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Law shot .403 from the floor and .399 from 3 last season.
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/77/northwestern-wildcats
Not according to this.
https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/nbd/stats/
However, it shows participation in 31 games and 36 were played so not sure what games not included. I am guessing Tourney games not included where he went 8/15.
Sorry, I just don't think he will be ready after this year unless he develops substantially. His value is versatility and his D but he has not yet shown to be strong enough. I still see two years as his best shot.
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Only the very best of defensive wings in the NBA are asked to guard PGs. Trimble was one of the quickest in D1 this past year, but didn't make the draft, likely due to his size and 3 point shooting. For drive and kick (or more to the point, finish) PGs in the league, they're looking for size and explosive above-the-rim play exhibited by Rose, Wall, Irving, Westbrook, etc. Trimble was a driving PG vs. a shooting (i.e. Curry) in my view. Anyways, back to the point... I don't see a lot of wings in the NBA being tasked with guarding these.
Regarding size to play the wing in the NBA, do you really see a significant difference between Law and the likes of Tatum, Hayward, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler, etc when these guys came into the league? And, again, this is comparing to the very top of the heap. You can have a successful NBA career without being drafted in the top 15 or being in the top 5 at your position.
We'll see... I hope we see Law for a 5th year as I care more about the Cats' success than players making the league, but I'm selfish.
Regarding size to play the wing in the NBA, do you really see a significant difference between Law and the likes of Tatum, Hayward, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler, etc when these guys came into the league? And, again, this is comparing to the very top of the heap. You can have a successful NBA career without being drafted in the top 15 or being in the top 5 at your position.
We'll see... I hope we see Law for a 5th year as I care more about the Cats' success than players making the league, but I'm selfish.
Just saying he is not a 2 because he does not have the ball handling skills so more of a 3 where his size is a little small. Yes he can guard NCAA guys but NBA guys are bigger stronger faster etc and more consistently better than the NCAA guys he has played against. . At this point, he would fall a little short. As he gets stronger, he has a better chance. I just see that as taking more than this year. His shooting was such that he did well against lesser teams but struggled more against BIG teams averaging only 33% from 3 and likely mid 30s overall. That won;t cut it in the league. Just needs more than I think he will develop in just one year. I think this year he falls just short but with another year of development, I see him having a chance.
By the way. Here are his game by game states. Way too inconsistent. Hopefully as he gets stronger, he gets more consistent but one year unlikely to convince. Two might.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/players/playerpage/2152711/vic-law
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I have a couple of friends who have visited Greece in the last year...after checking out their pictures, there are worse places that one could get paid to play basketball!
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