who is watching the draft tonight ? Jake LaRavia

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SycamoreStateofMind said:
I didn’t mean to say I identified him as an NBA talent - no. But it’s not that surprising given the way the game is going - the kid played all the right cards as well. A lot went into outside of what he did at Indiana State on the basketball floor. Had he stayed at Indiana State he wouldn't have been drafted in the first round this year - maybe one day but probably not this year. He then played his cards right after having a good year this past season - declaring for the draft - hiring an agent. Like his timing and decision making has been pretty solid - he clearly has good people in his ear.
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Understand, excitement of the moment. Hell I watched Bird the whole time he was at ISU, all home games & a few road trips (tourney in Deland FL, at Tulsa, at Creighton, at Bradley & others I don't remember at the moment)). Our group knew he was good, better than most by far, but none of us realized that we were watching a future NBA star at the time. Until Red Auerbach drafted him & he said no for a year did we know that he would be going to the league. Again none of us really thought he would be the player he was when he got there right out of the box. Sometimes while enjoying the moments watching him play the game a step ahead & a level above the rest you don't see what you are looking at.
 
FanSinceArenaDays said:
Understand, excitement of the moment. Hell I watched Bird the whole time he was at ISU, all home games & a few road trips (tourney in Deland FL, at Tulsa, at Creighton, at Bradley & others I don't remember at the moment)). Our group knew he was good, better than most by far, but none of us realized that we were watching a future NBA star at the time. Until Red Auerbach drafted him & he said no for a year did we know that he would be going to the league. Again none of us really thought he would be the player he was when he got there right out of the box. Sometimes while enjoying the moments watching him play the game a step ahead & a level above the rest you don't see what you are looking at.
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Yeah, you can pretty much see it for most of the recent Valley NBAers except a couple of the guards just because there are so many good guards. I wasn't sure on FVV because he isn't prototypical NBA athletic, but he is a 100% winner and hard worker so he willed himself into a career. But Doug McDermott jumped off the page and when Jake was here, he was what I'd call a poor man's McDermott in he had a similar body, lots of the same skills but he wasn't as far along in his development and was inconsistent compared to McDermott.
 
Jake has a great all around game with some athletic ability. I watched the condensed Wake/UNC game and he made a couple of Bird-like plays resulting in assists. The good players, like Bird almost never miss inside shots that should be made. When Jake got within 6 feet he was unstoppable and almost never misses.
 
sycamorebacker said:
Jake has a great all around game with some athletic ability. I watched the condensed Wake/UNC game and he made a couple of Bird-like plays resulting in assists. The good players, like Bird almost never miss inside shots that should be made. When Jake got within 6 feet he was unstoppable and almost never misses.
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The average NBA-level player shoots over 70% from within 5 feet and like 75% within 3 feet. I believe those are the numbers I saw on an analytics site.
 
Jason Svoboda said:
The average NBA-level player shoots over 70% from within 5 feet and like 75% within 3 feet. I believe those are the numbers I saw on an analytics site.
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I recommend that some of you watch the link I posted above. He has a one-hand shot with a very high release that is really effective.
I would love to see Avila shoot a shot like that.
 

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4Q_iu said:
Memphis Grizzlies get B+ on 2022 draft...

Memphis crushed it in this draft. LaRavia is a jumbo floor spacer with the ability to put the ball on the floor (he’ll be cover for Kyle Anderson should he leave in free agency).

https://newarena.com/nba/draft-grad...edium=tbdt-2022_dt_10&utm_term=msn-anaheim-us
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Cover for Kyle Anderson?? Kyle better be planning on sticking around another year or 2. I really hope Jake gets to slow cook. The Grizz have enough talent to be able to do that unless the injury bug goes wild.
 
CardLake49 said:
Cover for Kyle Anderson?? Kyle better be planning on sticking around another year or 2. I really hope Jake gets to slow cook. The Grizz have enough talent to be able to do that unless the injury bug goes wild.
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He didn’t he signed with another team which is why they said JL will cover.
 
FanSinceArenaDays said:
Understand, excitement of the moment. Hell I watched Bird the whole time he was at ISU, all home games & a few road trips (tourney in Deland FL, at Tulsa, at Creighton, at Bradley & others I don't remember at the moment)). Our group knew he was good, better than most by far, but none of us realized that we were watching a future NBA star at the time. Until Red Auerbach drafted him & he said no for a year did we know that he would be going to the league. Again none of us really thought he would be the player he was when he got there right out of the box. Sometimes while enjoying the moments watching him play the game a step ahead & a level above the rest you don't see what you are looking at.
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That is really interesting that Bird wasn’t the can’t miss NBA stud before his senior year that I assume he was. I think most of us assumed that he was “that” guy in year one.
As for Jake, he was a steal of a recruit. I can’t believe he was originally committed to a D2 school. However, he was getting the same minutes in the Indiana All Star games as Trayce Jackson Davis and he made their whole offense run smoother. His basketball IQ was obvious, good size, and a good handle to a guy w size. There was a lot to work with. He immediately gave Coach Lansing a chance to salvage his reputation…Something that dwindled steadily after Jake Odom graduated.
I think the year at Wake gave him an extra motivation. It also gave him confidence that his skills translate just fine to a bigger conference and against higher rated competition. Add in that his shooting continues to get stronger and also he got the chance to continue to play point forward and you can see why he improved as a junior.
I get that as alumni and fans, we wish that he would have stayed two more years but life is about relationships. He had a strong one with Coach Lansing and that’s pretty normal. Young guys often view coaches as mentors and father figures. I can’t blame him for transferring. That is just the cost of change. I’ll be rooting for him going forward. I’m also glad we have Coach Schertz.
 

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I just thought it was interesting that he is playing 18 min/game and shooting 60% on 3's.

I was a big fan when we signed him, of course, but not so much now.
 
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