Kings 2008 Summer League – Player Rankings

(From the FanPosts. Sussing out Darnell Jones' potential is much better than arguing Ron-Ron for the 250th time, in my opinion. - TZ)

Some of you know about my statistical system that scores current college players by comparing them to past college players. Since we have some new faces coming to the Kings’ Summer League team I thought I would take a look at these players from a statistical prospective to see how they measure up and who may be sleepers (if anybody) to make the team based on past performance.

(Note: “Inc.” means that I could not find statistics to score that player)

Guards:

Quincy Douby (PG/SG)/6-3, Score = 87.5

Sean Singletary (PG)/6-0, Score = 86.5

Zabian Dowdell (PG/SG)/6-3, Score = 78.5

Bo McCalebb (PG/SG)/6-0, Score = 77.5

Marcus Malone (SG)/6-5, Score = 36

Darnell Jones (PG/SG)/6-4, Score = 26

David Johnson (PG/SG)/6-4, Score = Inc.

I hope this is Douby’s year. He needs to really shine in Summer League this time. I am hoping this is the season he shows his potential. I have faith in him still! Sean looks to be a very solid back-up behind Beno Udrih. He has the talent to possibly challenge Beno in the next couple seasons for the starting role. I look for him to be one of the better point guards in the camp, especially among the rookies. Zabian Dowdell and Bo McCalebb both have a chance to make a roster somewhere if they can show to be really good in at least one or two areas. Players scoring in the 70s will rarely ever play major minutes unless they do at least one thing very well. Bo (at only 6’ tall) was a big time scorer for the past two seasons (25.0 and 23.2 ppg respectively) for the New Orleans Privateers (who?) and shot the ball fairly well (50.5 FG%, 40% 3-pt) but will need to be able to shoot lights out and score very consistently to make the Kings. Both he and Zabian do not seem to be true playmaking point guards so they will have to either be fantastic lock-down defenders or lights-out scorers to make the Kings. Marcus Malone played on Houston and showed little signs of life. He averaged 7.2 points in 23 minutes of action with 1.5 assists while shooting a whopping 35% from the field. He has basically no chance to make the team. Darnell Jones played for Mesa College. Yah, a big powerhouse. Not only is that a WEAK college but he was not even close to being the best player on the team. He shot 33.5% from the field (32% 3-pt) and averaged just over 8 points per game with 2 assists and 3.9 rebounds. His stats indicate he played more of the big guard role ala Quincy Douby. Why he is on this summer league team I absolutely have no clue.

Forwards:

Jason Thompson (PF/C)/6-11, Score = 89

Matt Walsh (SG/SF)/6-6, Score = 85

Justin Hawkins (SF)/6-7, Score = 70

Patrick Ewing, Jr. (SF)/6-8, Score = 67

Juan Palacios (SF/PF)/6-8, Score = 56

Noel Felix (SF/PF)/6-9, Score = 41.5

Patrick Sanders (SG/SF)/6-6, Score = 40

Matt Walsh looks like a possible player. For a 6-6 guard/forward he has some decent passing skills and a decent stroke. He shot 42.6% from 3-pt range in a tough conference in his junior year at Florida. He has some athleticism and can create his own shot fairly well. He may score pretty well in Summer League but with Garcia, Artest, Martin, Salmons and Ewing on the roster, he has very, very little chance to make the roster. Justin Hawkins is an interesting player. He is a very good scorer and is fairly athletic. He played under Reggie Theus for two seasons at New Mexico State so Reggie should know about what he getting. To make the team he is going to have to show something very special. He is a longshot but should be fun to watch. Patrick Ewing only scores a 67 but he excels in areas that just are impossible to quantify statistically. He is a superstar athlete and a lock-down defender. He also has that ability to just go non-stop for every second he is on the floor. He will tip the ball away, dive for loose balls and harass everybody he can. His score should probably be more in the mid-seventies because of those intangibles but even still, I find it hard to believe that he will make a big impact on the Kings this season, if he even makes the team. Juan Palacios, Noel Felix and Patrick Sanders have basically no shot to make the roster.

Centers:

Spencer Hawes (C)/7-0, Score = 91

Shelden Williams (PF/C)/6-9, Score = 86.5

Darian Townes (PF/C)/6-10, Score = 80

I can’t wait to see Spencer’s new hook shot. He said he would be working on it this offseason so I look forward to the unveiling. Shelden needs to bring it this season. It’s now or never for him. Darian Townes is a guy that can rebound fairly well, score fairly well, block shots fairly well and shoots a high percentage of 60% from the field. 21 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.9 bpg per 40 minutes. Those are very solid numbers but nothing extra special. He could possibly push Spencer and Shelden a bit in practice but as far as making the team, I really doubt it. A good showing though, could get him taken in the NBDL draft.