Matas Buzelis

[KB21]

Legitimate option for Atlanta.

[KB21]

 

[KB21]

I love his confidence.  "I know I can shoot the ball, so I'm not tripping."  He has also called out Risacher and challenged him to work out one on one with him.  

[theheroatl]

Last Woj pod had him on.. was a big part of the g league ignite going 2-32

 

his per 36 is not great in relation to other upside talent

Edited May 20 by theheroatl

[KB21]

14 minutes ago, theheroatl said:

Last Woj pod had him on.. was a big part of the g league ignite going 2-32

 

his per 36 is not great in relation to other upside talent

That Ignite team was so poorly coached and developed that I don't think you can make much of their stats.  

[KB21]

Tyler Jones mentioned in a podcast the other day that had Sarr, Buzelis, and Holland played in college instead of overseas/ignite this year, the view on what they are as prospects would be drastically different.  There would be less questions about them.  

[AHF]

10 minutes ago, KB21 said:

Tyler Jones mentioned in a podcast the other day that had Sarr, Buzelis, and Holland played in college instead of overseas/ignite this year, the view on what they are as prospects would be drastically different.  There would be less questions about them.  

I think it is fair to say they would have been on a much brighter stage.  How they did would influence that a ton so saying they would be rated higher than the top 1, top 5 or top 10 prospects that they are I think assumes they would have been successful but we've seen plenty of games who were projected to the top of the draft coming out of HS who hurt themselves with bad freshman years in college or who invited more questions based on holes exposed in their play.

Look at UK's 2023 recruiting class to see how this played out last year.

#3 overall recruit Justin Edwards - Exposed problems in his game and hurt his draft stock

#5 overall recruit Aaron Bradshaw - Exposed problems in his game and hurt his draft stock

#6 overall recruit DJ Wagner - Exposed problems in his game and hurt his draft stock

#21 overall recruit Rob Dillingham - Strong performance boosted him into a top 10 pick

#79 overall recruit Reed Sheppard - Strong performance boosted him into a top 10 pick

 

So I'd agree with Jones that playing at UK would have been a more advantageous platform to feature themselves than the G-League or an Australian Pro League but it isn't a guaranteed path to a high draft slot either.  It depends on your performance.

[Packfill]

15 minutes ago, KB21 said:

Tyler Jones mentioned in a podcast the other day that had Sarr, Buzelis, and Holland played in college instead of overseas/ignite this year, the view on what they are as prospects would be drastically different.  There would be less questions about them.  

I guess with ignite done there are fewer options for prospects going forward, which means these issues should be reduced going forward.  

I don't necessarily view Sarr's route in particular (overtime elite then NBL) as a good model for others to follow.  I am probably wrong but almost seems like he was dodging real competition.  

[bird_dirt]

4 hours ago, KB21 said:

That Ignite team was so poorly coached and developed that I don't think you can make much of their stats.  

I think you can absolutely put some weight into their stats. The coach didn’t shoot Holland’s sub 30% threes for him. 
And I would think as many times as you’ve post about Sarr’s big game against Ignite that you would have put some weight into their performances too. Can’t have it both ways. Either Sarr had a great game against a talented (if underwhelming) team, or they were so bad that you can’t put any weight into Sarr dominating them. 

[KB21]

2 minutes ago, bird_dirt said:

I think you can absolutely put some weight into their stats. The coach didn’t shoot Holland’s sub 30% threes for him. 
And I would think as many times as you’ve post about Sarr’s big game against Ignite that you would have put some weight into their performances too. Can’t have it both ways. Either Sarr had a great game against a talented (if underwhelming) team, or they were so bad that you can’t put any weight into Sarr dominating them. 

No, the coach didn't shoot them, but he also didn't put him into good position with scheme.  

[bird_dirt]

Just now, KB21 said:

No, the coach didn't shoot them, but he also didn't put him into good position with scheme.  

Come on, dawg. His scheme may have increased or decreased the number of threes he took, but it’s on the player to shoot if it’s a good shot and make it. 

And you still have to weigh the team’s ability vs Sarr’s performance against them. If Ignite are inept to the point of their data being worthless, then you have to throw out Sarr’s game against them as worthless data too. 

[macdaddy]

What's the argument for Buzelis over Risacher?

[kg01]

1 hour ago, macdaddy said:

What's the argument for Buzelis over Risacher?

Smokescreen (imho).

  

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, macdaddy said:

What's the argument for Buzelis over Risacher?

Not sure but Buzelis is not afraid of competition against Risacher but Risacher ducked Bru cuz he knows a one on one workout scenario is bad for him (Risacher), Bru would fck him up all day.

 

Bru has problems shooting right now but this dude will die for you.

Risacher is more finesse like a lil weenie but a creative and smart lil puddy if I may.

11 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Smokescreen (imho).

  

Bru>Ris

[h4wkfan]

It was a bush league move to challenge Rish imo. He’s in the middle (or was) of the playoffs. What was he supposed to do? And 1v1 is not Zach’s calling card and doesn’t translate at all impacting winning. Matas knew all of this but it’s a great, empty sound bite. 
 

I wouldn’t take Matas or Zach top 5. May not take either top 10 … even in this draft. I’d still take Matas over Zach tho. 
 

Matas was one of the worst impact players on the GLI. Holland > Smith > Matas in terms of prospects from that team. 

[AHF]

No agent is going to approve his client going one on one when the only possibility for that player is moving down the draft.  I guarantee that Wemby didn't do one on ones with anyone last year.  Also, @h4wkfan rightly points out that Risacher has been in the playoffs in France so that seems unrealistic.  Matas hasn't played a meaningful game in more than a year and is considered universally to be the lower rated prospect so I definitely get the upside for him both in terms of making a statement to the GMs that he is fearless and in terms of how a 1v1 showing is likely to impact him (much more upside for him).

[Spud2nique]

On 5/20/2024 at 7:43 AM, KB21 said:

He has also called out Risacher and challenged him to work out one on one with him.

Ya I mentioned this and Ris backed out but rightfully so as he has more to lose at this point since he’s a lock at #2.

 

For me, Matas is a top 4 pick.

[KB21]

18 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Ya I mentioned this and Ris backed out but rightfully so as he has more to lose at this point since he’s a lock at #2.

 

For me, Matas is a top 4 pick.

I think there is a good chance Houston takes him at 3.