Noah Vonleh Draftexpress breakdown

[Hwy 1 2,053]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqtlJ0fP_wA

 

 

 

 

Published on Feb 10, 2014

Noah Vonleh is the second youngest prospect (after Aaron Gordon) in this draft class, but still ranks as the #1 rebounder among our top-100 prospects at nearly 15 rebounds per-40 minutes.

With his 7-4 wingspan and terrific 242 pound frame, Vonleh has the body, length and intensity-level needed to compete on the interior in the NBA. He shows some ability to score both inside and out, flashing hook shots over either shoulder and range out to the 3-point line, but does not have the skill-level or aggressiveness needed to be a consistent scorer at the college level yet.

Vonleh has made over half of his 3-pointers on the season, but takes less than one attempt per game, which indicates he still has plenty of work to do in this area. Additionally, he lacks elite explosiveness as a shot-blocker and finisher around the basket, and ranks as one of the poorest passers in this draft class, posting the worst assist to turnover ratio and assist per possession rate, to go along with the third worst PPR, which could be an issue as he transitions from the center spot collegiately to the power forward position in the NBA.

Vonleh undoubtedly has the tools to play a significant role in the NBA for many years to come, but it will likely take a few years before we can accurately gauge whether he has the skill-level, assertiveness and offensive upside needed to develop into a featured option.

Considering that he's one of the youngest players in this freshman class, and the fact that his Indiana team is struggling at just 4-6 in the Big Ten and could be on the outside looking in on Selection Sunday, it wouldn't be a surprise to see his coaching staff make a major push to try and keep him to stay in school for another season.

Nevertheless, Vonleh's size, length and rebounding prowess, combined with the fact that he won't turn 19 until late August will almost certainly mean that teams drafting in the lottery will be happy to pick him and wait to see how he develops in an NBA uniform.

Matchups against the likes of Syracuse, Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Connecticut and others have given us ample opportunity to evaluate Vonleh's strengths and weaknesses as a prospect, which we've done in the following video scouting report, courtesy of Mike Schmitz.

 

[All_Hoosiers 873]

He really does not need to leave this year. He has a lot to work on and polish, and another year of college ball would do him a tremendous amount of good.


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[IUfan_Charlie 3,867]

He really does not need to leave this year. He has a lot to work on and polish, and another year of college ball would do him a tremendous amount of good.


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Players can improve just as much if not more in the NBA than in college, plus he'll be making 2+ mil a year while doing so. 

[JSHoosier 20,315]

Players can improve just as much if not more in the NBA than in college, plus he'll be making 2+ mil a year while doing so. 

And he might play in an offense where he's not limited to 5 touches per game.

[All_Hoosiers 873]

Players can improve just as much if not more in the NBA than in college, plus he'll be making 2+ mil a year while doing so. 

 

Sitting the bench will only delay his development into a possible star. It would do him more good to practice and play in the B1G than sitting in the NBA next year. Right now, he's all potential and rebounding and needs more time before even entering the pro ranks. And unless you're a can't miss star, which Vonleh is not, the more college the better.

[mark1981 1,346]

I hope he stays for selfish reasons. We could pretty good next year if he stays. I think this will make or break CTC career at iu.

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[CR3AMnCR1MS0N 1,867]

Players can improve just as much if not more in the NBA than in college, plus he'll be making 2+ mil a year while doing so. 

Go look at the article with this video on ITH and go to the comments and look for a post by spanky B'town. It shows good reason (money-wise) why Vonleh might rather stay here and improve for another year.

 

Of course, you could always argue against this and say he should go now and not risk getting injured coming back too tho. 

[JaybobHoosier 11,852]

Thanks Hwy for this. A lot of Hoosiers will be holding there breathe in the off-season.

[DocLibby 761]

This is a Deja Vu of some sort. I feel like we're talking about Cody Z. I'll say what I said about him last year (mostly to myself lol) Staying another year helps with development but money talks. Having hopes of going early in the first round is sure to make any 18yo salivate. It's hard for any NCAA team to compete with that. If he (Noah) wants to stay and help a promising future team play deep into the tournament he should stay. If he's afraid of injury (a realistic threat for any athlete) or he is embedded with other motivation then he should do what ultimately makes him feel like he is getting a good deal despite the fact that he may be doing more sitting than playing in the league. As Cody sits, I imagine him having a heck of a workout at practice and next year he will come out in beast mode. Who knows? Just maybe.


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[Hovadipo 56,484]

[quote name="DocLibby" post="36924" timestamp="1392083009"]This is a Deja Vu of some sort. I feel like we're talking about Cody Z. I'll say what I said about him last year (mostly to myself lol) Staying another year helps with development but money talks. Having hopes of going early in the first round is sure to make any 18yo salivate. It's hard for any NCAA team to compete with that. If he (Noah) wants to stay and help a promising future team play deep into the tournament he should stay. If he's afraid of injury (a realistic threat for any athlete) or he is embedded with other motivation then he should do what ultimately makes him feel like he is getting a good deal despite the fact that he may be doing more sitting than playing in the league. As Cody sits, I imagine him having a heck of a workout at practice and next year he will come out in beast mode. Who knows? Just maybe.


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I think if Cody came and talked to Noah, he would tell Noah to stay the extra year. I read that scouts say the Bobcats reached on Cody, and if he doesn't develop an outside shot, his days in the league are limited. So if Noah has something to work on (I, along with others, thinks he needs some more post work) I think he should do it in college, because the NBA doesn't wait on people, they go draft or sign someone who can do what you can't. Noah would go high this year, but next year? Very possibly #1. It would be pretty hard to say no to guaranteed millions now, though.


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[Hwy 1 2,053]

As a fan I want Noah to stay another year (at least). I'm not sure that fandom allows me to form a rational opinion on what I think he should do.

[Stuhoo 81,318]

I'm usually a sunshine pusher, but threads like these tend to tick me off because they often neglect what could be considered the truly important factors:

 

He may want to stay in college, and not solely to develop as a basketball player:

 

He may want to stay in college to develop as a young man. A young man that matures on a personal level and works toward his college degree. A young (and he is very young) man who does not spend over 100 nights a year in out-of-town hotel rooms. A young man who can hang out with other teenagers, not a bunch of 25-35 year olds who have the kind of problems that he can only imagine, and is not required to be placed in the middle of.

____________________________________________________________________________

 

From the aforementioned DraftExpress, on April 12, 2012: "Indiana’s center Cody Zeller is considered a lock lottery pick — DraftExpress has him there — but he released a statement through the university Tuesday that he is staying for his sophomore year in college."

 

And the response, from Cody Zeller: "I grew up hoping that one day I would get the opportunity to play in the NBA, but at this point, I'm not ready for my college experience to be over," said Zeller. "Coach Crean and my family were very supportive and helpful as I made my decision. My college experience at IU this year has exceeded my expectations, on and off the court. I look forward to playing at Assembly Hall next year in front of the greatest fans in the country. Go Hoosiers!"

 

AND:  "My final decision was that I wasn't ready to grow up yet," Zeller said. "Everyone tells me that college will be the best years of my life.

"I'm not ready to pay bills, buy a house, start paying rent and everything else. There was no reason for me to leave. We're going to have high goals this year. We'll see what happens."

 

I will close my quite long post/rant with this: The post in this thread that looks at college basketball purely as a means to NBA ascendancy reminds me WAY too much of UK/Rupp Rafters logic. 

[LockdownD 2,245]

Watched a little of a D league game Sunday afternoon. Fab Melo and Devin Ebanks played. I could have watched a church league game and been more entertained. Opportunity is what you make of it. Staying in school to better himself would be a wise choice to best prepare Noah for a lifetime. IMO.

[BlueDevil 8,693]

[quote name="Stuhoo" post="36932" timestamp="1392085155"]I'm usually a sunshine pusher, but threads like these tend to tick me off because they often neglect what could be considered the truly important factors:

He may want to stay in college, and not [i]solely[/i] to develop as a basketball player:

He may want to stay in college to develop as a young man. A young man that matures on a personal level and works toward his college degree. A young (and he is [i]very[/i] young) man who does not spend over 100 nights a year in out-of-town hotel rooms. A young man who can hang out with other teenagers, not a bunch of 25-35 year olds who have the kind of problems that he can only imagine, and is not required to be placed in the middle of.
____________________________________________________________________________

[size=4][font=arial]From the aforementioned DraftExpress, on April 12, 2012: "Indiana’s center Cody Zeller is considered a lock lottery pick — [url="http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Cody-Zeller-6241/"]DraftExpress[/url] has him there — but [url="http://www.iuhoosiers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/041012aab.html"]he released a statement through the university[/url] Tuesday that he is staying for his sophomore year in college."[/font][/size]

[font=arial]And the response, from Cody Zeller: "I grew up hoping that one day I would get the opportunity to play in the NBA, but at this point, I'm not ready for my college experience to be over," said Zeller. "Coach Crean and my family were very supportive and helpful as I made my decision. My college experience at IU this year has exceeded my expectations, on and off the court. I look forward to playing at Assembly Hall next year in front of the greatest fans in the country. Go Hoosiers!"[/font]

[size=4][font=arial]AND: [/font][b][color=rgb(56,56,56)][font=arial][background=rgb(241,241,241)]"My final decision was that I wasn't ready to grow up yet," Zeller said. "Everyone tells me that college will be the best years of my life.[/background][/font][/color][/b][/size][color=rgb(56,56,56)][font=arial][size=3][background=rgb(241,241,241)]
[size=4][b]"I'm not ready to pay bills, buy a house, start paying rent and everything else. There was no reason for me to leave. We're going to have high goals this year. We'll see what happens."[/b][/size][/background][/size][/font][/color]
[background=rgb(241,241,241)]
[font=arial]I will close my quite long post/rant with this: The post in this thread that looks at college basketball purely as a means to NBA ascendancy reminds me WAY too much of UK/Rupp Rafters logic. [/font][/background][/quote]

Man this is a great post... The same reasons why Jabari Parker may be staying another year at Duke.

[Dalton26 16,892]

As a fan I want him to stay for obvious reasons, but if I were in his shoes I'd give going pro some serious thought. The thought of playing in the NBA and making millions has some serious pull. Hopefully he still chooses to stay.


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[IU Hoosier41 14,465]

When analyzing if a kid is going to stay or go, I try to put myself in their parents shoes instead of from a fans perspective.

Here's my argument to go pro:
GREG ODEN.

Had ODEN suffered that injury in college instead of the NBA, there is no chance he goes Number 1. I know money isn't everything, but when you are dealing with that kind of money, it matters.

Also, more importantly, you want to get your rookie contract over with as soon as possible so you can make big boy money on your second contract. You only have so many quality years in the NBA before your body can't take it anymore.

Look at the NBA Superstars right now, take one or two years off the end of their contract/ career and it will cost them $15-$30 million... Coming back to college is a HUGE financial burden because it is one less year on the end of your career.

Hopefully that gibberish makes sense lol


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[BubbleKnuts 569]

You wave a couple mil in a 19 year olds face, what do you think he's going to do? Oladipo was more than ready. Zeller not so much. But let's keep our fingers crossed for it. All we can do.


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[IU Hoosier41 14,465]

[quote name="BubbleKnuts" post="37047" timestamp="1392138556"]You wave a couple mil in a 19 year olds face, what do you think he's going to do? Oladipo was more than ready. Zeller not so much. But let's keep our fingers crossed for it. All we can do.


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I think the decision is less about how ready you are and more about if it's the right choice at that time. I'm assuming they had some decent info that Charlotte was seriously interested with the 4th pick. If that's true, you can basically only hurt your draft position by coming back. Going 1,2,3 really doesn't make a big difference, but dropping to 10-20 definitely hurts.


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