- 4 hours ago
The Cam Boozer hype train is rolling along, but should Washington actually consider drafting him with the first overall pick?
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00:00I have not thought about Cam Boozer as that dude at number one at all.
00:06I have a friend.
00:07We have a – I don't know if you'll call him a friend,
00:09but I'll call AJ Atai a friend.
00:11Yeah, AJ cool, man.
00:12Wow, that's a nice thing.
00:15AJ's been hardcore on the Cam Boozer train texting me about it
00:18like I'm going to tell Will Dawkins what to do or something.
00:23And yesterday we had Nathan Grubel on from Draft Deeper,
00:27and this dude used to be an NBA scout
00:30and now runs his own kind of scouting service and website.
00:35His passion for Cam Boozer, if this dude was in sales,
00:41he could sell fire and hell.
00:42Yeah, I'm with that.
00:44He made me think.
00:46Jeffrey, let's hear just a snippet of Grubel on Boozer.
00:51What those two guys don't have that Cam and Boozer does have
00:54is the high-level processing to make someone else better
00:57or to make the right play when every single thing breaks down for them.
01:01I've watched Aaron Peterson struggle in terms of playmaking out of the pick-and-roll
01:05and trying to find other guys in passing windows and make them better.
01:08I've seen AJ DeBansa struggle with some turnover issues
01:11and have some poor shooting nets to where if the ball's not going in the basket for him,
01:14he's struggling to impact the game in other areas.
01:17So, yes, you can sell to a fan base and an ownership group
01:21the excitement level of one of those two guys.
01:24And, by the way, I'm not trying to despise them when I make any of those comments.
01:27They are excellent, excellent top-tier prospects in their own right.
01:31But it's of my belief and my opinion that when I evaluate and I watch these guys
01:36and I'm looking for someone who is consistently about making the right play
01:41every single time and driving winning to a degree in which no other prospect this century has done,
01:48I want that player on my team, not just the exciting player
01:53that I can maybe sell a little bit easier to an ownership group or a fan base
01:56who might not be able to yield me the same results that I want like Henry Boozer does.
02:01It's a very compelling case.
02:03So, let's look at some of the actual numbers.
02:06And I have a big question on driving winning, okay?
02:12In the conversation, A.J. DeBansa for months has been the presumed number one pick.
02:17It was kind of DeBansa or Peterson.
02:19Peterson missed some time.
02:21It seems like DeBansa is that dude.
02:23DeBansa has been very clear he wants to be the number one pick.
02:26And, hell, you should want to be the number one pick.
02:30The numbers, though, are really pretty similar.
02:34So, this is Cam Boozer who won player of the year,
02:38Naysmith player of the year in college basketball last year.
02:40Cam Boozer, Duke obviously got to the Final Four
02:42where they had that just tremendous, heartbreaking loss against UConn,
02:46which I enjoyed tremendously from an Arizona golf course.
02:50But Cam Boozer on the season averaged 22 points per game,
02:5410 boards per game, 4 assists, 1.4 steals, which is interesting.
02:59And you heard Grubel kind of talk about his defensive prowess,
03:03kind of breaking up passes, and about a half a block a game.
03:09If you look at DeBansa, he averaged more points.
03:11He was at 25.5 points.
03:13So, three more points per game.
03:16Fewer rebounds, about seven boards a game.
03:19Fewer assists, fewer steals, fewer blocks.
03:23Now, the difference is, if you look at three-point shooting percentage,
03:28are marginal.
03:30DeBansa was shooting at a 33% clip from three.
03:34Boozer was closer to 40.
03:35He hit about 39.
03:38But the attempts per game, Boozer was shooting less threes per game
03:44and making more.
03:45So, that makes a big impact.
03:48And if you look at just, like, field goal percentage,
03:52this is significantly different.
03:56So, DeBansa, yes, he was averaging more points,
04:00but he shot a lot more.
04:02DeBansa averaged 17 field goal attempts per game.
04:06For Boozer, that number's down below 14.
04:09And then, you've got fewer shots,
04:11and Boozer's shooting a better percentage from the field
04:14at about 56%.
04:17Now, DeBansa's at 51, which is still strong,
04:19but how much of that is Boozer's able to play
04:25with his back to the basket,
04:26and in times, you get better looks the closer in you are,
04:29versus DeBansa's a true wing guy.
04:31And when you look at the metrics
04:35and you dive in a little bit more,
04:39it is very interesting,
04:41because I can see why you make the case for Boozer.
04:45But here's my question.
04:48You talk about driving winning
04:51at a place like Duke,
04:54where you're loaded.
04:56How many Dukies are going to get drafted?
04:58I know the big kid's going to get drafted.
05:01And especially if you're talking about dudes
05:03that are on this team this year
05:04that will be drafted over the course
05:06of the next three or four years,
05:08it's significant.
05:10So, yes, you're driving winning.
05:13So, Duke, in this draft,
05:15I'm just looking at Tankathon.
05:17They project Boozer to go third.
05:19They project Isaiah Evans,
05:22sophomore small forward from Duke,
05:24to go in the late first round.
05:26They have him at 26 to Denver.
05:28And then they have Malik Brown
05:31going in the second round.
05:32So, that's three dudes getting drafted
05:34at a program that has elite talent
05:37all over the field.
05:38Now, BYU is projected
05:40to have another dude get drafted,
05:42and Richie Saunders,
05:43a senior guard.
05:45But with all those players...
05:46But driving winning at Duke is different.
05:48Yeah, but Boozer still stood out
05:50with those people.
05:51Sure.
05:53So, when you can stand out
05:55amongst better talent still,
05:57it shows you have something.
06:00So, it's not completely
06:01just a throwaway,
06:02just that he had better talent around him,
06:04because he did look better
06:05than all the others.
06:07Totally.
06:08So, he didn't have to keep
06:10his brother around him
06:11and he might have won some more games.
06:13Are you...
06:16I do not think Boozer goes one.
06:19I'm not thinking that at all.
06:21But are you starting
06:22to wrap your brain around...
06:24Maybe he should?
06:25Nope.
06:26Really?
06:27I'm still not wrapping
06:28my brain around that.
06:30Listen, man.
06:32One thing you always say
06:34is about the content gang.
06:36And, yes, the dude was a scout,
06:38but he's still trying to sell
06:40his content.
06:41Trying to promote his stuff.
06:44And he was very, very good
06:46at what he was doing.
06:47Sometimes you go into a courtroom
06:49and the lawyer that sounds the best
06:51still loses the damn case.
06:53Right.
06:54So, he may just be
06:56very good at presenting stuff.
06:58I think he's going to lose this case.
07:00I agree with that.
07:01I don't think Boozer goes one,
07:03but I kind of...
07:06Remember, we had Chase Hughes
07:07on a couple weeks ago
07:08and he presented his theory
07:09that, like,
07:10you can argue that
07:12playing above the rim
07:14is less important
07:15in the
07:15shoot threes,
07:17pace in space era
07:18of
07:19the NBA.
07:21Like,
07:22until they start
07:24drafting like that
07:26and stop promoting
07:27the people that kind of
07:28does it all the time,
07:29I'm not believing it.
07:33It sounds good,
07:35but when you look at the NBA,
07:38what do they promote?
07:40what gets picked
07:41year in and year out?
07:44Every once in a while,
07:46you find a Shea Gildress.
07:48You find a Brunson
07:49every once in a while.
07:51But for the most part,
07:52they salivate
07:54over the athletic
07:55above the rim guy.
07:59All-NBA team this year.
08:02This is first team
08:03all-NBA.
08:06SGA,
08:07Joker,
08:08Wemby,
08:10Luka,
08:11Cade Cunningham.
08:14Certainly,
08:14two of those dudes
08:15are not elite athletes
08:17in Joker
08:17and Luka.
08:19Wemby,
08:20absolute most
08:21freak athlete
08:22on the planet.
08:23Yeah.
08:23But the Joker
08:24does so much stuff.
08:25Right.
08:26Would you say SGA
08:27is that dude?
08:28Is it about the rim?
08:30SGA is a
08:32bucket.
08:32Totally.
08:33You know?
08:34That's the thing about it.
08:34One thing that got lost
08:35in Game 7,
08:36he was excellent.
08:38He was.
08:38He was.
08:40Cunningham
08:41is kind of
08:42an evolving SGA type,
08:44I would say.
08:46He doesn't have
08:47the jumper SGA does,
08:49but he's a young player.
08:51Second team
08:52all-NBA,
08:54Kawhi Leonard,
08:54Jalen Brown,
08:55Kevin Durant,
08:56Jalen Brunson,
08:57Donovan Mitchell.
09:00I don't know.
09:01It's interesting
09:02because Kawhi
09:04is obviously
09:05that kind of
09:06wing type dude
09:07that can get
09:08to the bucket,
09:09has wild
09:10athleticism.
09:11Mitchell,
09:11I mean,
09:12for a smaller
09:14guard like that,
09:14the way he can
09:15dunk is banana land.
09:17Brunson,
09:17not really an athlete.
09:19Durant,
09:20even though he's
09:20a seven-footer,
09:21he's a shooter,
09:22primarily.
09:24Jalen Brown,
09:25physical.
09:26Third team,
09:27Maxie,
09:28Murray,
09:29Jalen Johnson
09:29in Atlanta,
09:30Jalen Durant
09:31with the Pistons,
09:31and your boy,
09:33Chet Holmgren.
09:37Not my boy.
09:38Is he on the
09:39Josh Allen list now?
09:44No.
09:45I just think he's
09:46soft as cotton.
09:47Clearly.
09:48Well,
09:49cotton candy.
09:50Clearly.
09:51Soft and sweet.
09:52So I guess the
09:53question,
09:53if you're really
09:54trying to make
09:54an argument for
09:55Boozer is,
09:55does he fit in?
09:57Like,
09:58the Wizards have
09:59done this
10:00teardown,
10:00right?
10:01And they traded
10:01away a guy
10:01that's become
10:02an all-star
10:03in Denny Avdia,
10:03which couldn't
10:04have been that
10:05popular as far
10:06as like marketing
10:07and butts in the
10:08seats goes.
10:09But it made sense
10:10for their timeline.
10:11Like,
10:12I've wrapped my
10:12head around that.
10:14do you think
10:16if
10:18Dawkins and
10:19Winger are like,
10:20yo,
10:20we think Boozer
10:21helps us win
10:22the most,
10:23that there would
10:24be pushback
10:25to that pick
10:26considering the
10:27leeway these guys
10:28have gotten
10:28with this rebuild?
10:29I would say this.
10:30People,
10:31if they were to
10:32go there,
10:32people are going
10:33to push back.
10:33But you know
10:34what?
10:34They got to go
10:35with their mind
10:36and all the
10:38answers they got
10:39to tell them.
10:41I understand
10:42like fans get
10:42mad,
10:43this,
10:43that,
10:43and the
10:43other.
10:43But eventually
10:44you got to
10:44make this stuff
10:45according to
10:45what you believe
10:46is right
10:47for what you're
10:48trying to build,
10:49not what they
10:49want to say.
10:51Like,
10:54fans are happy
10:56sometimes when
10:56they shouldn't be
10:57and they're mad
10:57when they shouldn't
10:58be,
10:59but you can't
10:59make all your
10:59decisions based
11:00off of that.
11:02And if you're
11:02in that position,
11:03guess what?
11:04People are not
11:04going to always
11:05agree with what
11:05you do.
11:08I just got this
11:09tweet from Chris,
11:10Chris Park.
11:11He said,
11:11you go with
11:12AJ if you
11:13want flashy
11:13and sell
11:14tickets,
11:14et cetera.
11:15You go
11:15Boozer if you
11:16truly value
11:17winning.
11:18He's won at
11:18literally every
11:19level.
11:20Not saying AJ
11:20isn't worthy of
11:21one overall.
11:22I'm just saying
11:22Boozer always
11:23makes winning
11:24plays.
11:25That said,
11:26they're going to
11:26go with AJ.
11:28I get the
11:29Boozer's won at
11:30every level and
11:31that's commendable,
11:33certainly.
11:34I don't care about
11:35winning.
11:35He's also Carlos
11:36Boozer's son.
11:38He probably was
11:39on the best
11:39AAU team.
11:40And then his
11:41brother may not
11:42be an NBA player,
11:43but his brother's
11:44damn good.
11:44And they played
11:45together every
11:46step of the way.
11:47And then he was
11:48at Duke.
11:49And oh,
11:49by the way,
11:50they didn't win
11:51at all.
11:52They lost.
11:54My thing is when
11:55I hear people say
11:56someone won at
11:58every level,
11:59I don't care
12:00where you won
12:00at.
12:01I don't care if
12:01you win at this
12:02level.
12:02I know a lot of
12:03people that won at
12:04every level until
12:04they got to the
12:05NBA.
12:08I remember
12:09talking with a
12:11high-ranking
12:12Redskins official
12:13at the time
12:14when they went
12:16back-to-back
12:17John Allen and
12:18Deron Payne in
12:19the draft.
12:20And in the
12:21Allen draft,
12:22which I want to
12:22say was 16,
12:23maybe 17,
12:24in the Allen
12:25draft,
12:26not only they
12:26went John Allen
12:27in the first
12:28round and Ryan
12:28Anderson in the
12:29second.
12:29Yeah.
12:30Now John Allen
12:31where they got
12:31him, I want to
12:32say 16, 14,
12:33whatever that was,
12:34they got real
12:35value in John
12:35Allen at that
12:37pick.
12:37And he slipped a
12:38bit in the draft
12:39because there was
12:39concerns about
12:40arthritic shoulders.
12:41He's now in what,
12:42year nine?
12:43I think he's proven
12:44those to not be a
12:44concern.
12:45Yep.
12:45But to go Ryan
12:47Anderson in the
12:48second was a
12:49significant overreach
12:50of where his talent
12:51was.
12:52And then to go
12:52Deron.
12:53Well, when he got
12:53drafted, people loved
12:55him because he
12:56talked the talk.
12:57He was a guy who
12:58didn't care about
12:59nothing, just wanted
13:00to win and had this
13:01mean look, never
13:03smiled and couldn't
13:04make a play.
13:05The next year to
13:07go again with
13:08Deron Payne out
13:09of Alabama, who's
13:10been a very good
13:10player.
13:11I'm not knocking
13:11the players, but I
13:13remember talking with
13:14at the time a
13:15high-ranking Redskins
13:16official and his
13:17concern was, yeah,
13:19Dan wants us to
13:20draft Bama guys
13:21because Bama keeps
13:22winning.
13:22And what the, what
13:24this person said to
13:25me is that's great.
13:27And these Bama
13:27players are really
13:28good, but winning
13:30on the college level
13:31and winning at this
13:32level is not the
13:33same thing.
13:34You know what Bama
13:35has?
13:35The best players at
13:36every position.
13:37That doesn't mean
13:38there aren't kids
13:38from Wisconsin or
13:40Clemson or Oregon or
13:42UC Santa Barbara.
13:43They can't help us
13:44win.
13:45We can't think with
13:46that mindset.
13:47And I just, if you
13:49want to point to the
13:50numbers and the play
13:51on the field or the
13:52play on the court
13:53rather with Cam
13:55Boozer, I'm with that.
13:56But to talk about him
13:57being a winner when he
13:59goes and plays at a
13:59program like Duke, you
14:02could, you could flip
14:03that argument on its
14:04head and say, you're
14:05more impressed by
14:06DeBansa winning at
14:07BYU.
14:08They got to the
14:09tourney, right?
14:10I think they got
14:11bounced early, but
14:12like BYU is hardly
14:13a tourney lock every
14:15year.
14:15And I understand that
14:16the Mormons have a
14:17ton of cash and the
14:18NIL is throwing
14:19things on its head,
14:20but like white
14:22bride, you're, you're
14:23the most college
14:24basketball addicted of
14:25all of us.
14:27Couldn't you argue
14:27AJ DeBansa made a
14:29bigger impact to BYU
14:31than maybe Cam
14:32Boozer did to Duke?
14:33I think definitely,
14:34especially after
14:35Richie Saunders on
14:36BYU, their second
14:36best scorer was out
14:37for the year.
14:38And DeBansa almost
14:39won the big 12
14:40tournament by himself
14:42in that game against
14:43Arizona.
14:43He had like 35, 10
14:44and 10 and they
14:46lost.
14:46They barely lost.
14:48And Arizona was a
14:49one seed.
14:49Loaded like BYU has
14:52a really proud
14:54basketball tradition,
14:56but not like Duke
14:57does.
14:59Yeah.
15:01The, the, the, he's
15:02a winner stuff gives
15:03me a little bit of
15:04pause.
15:06I don't think we
15:07know what DeBansa
15:08is at all.
15:11Yeah, that's true.
15:13Could be very good
15:15or could not be.
15:17We'll see.
15:17I also think he's
15:18going to be the guy.
15:19I, the further and
15:20further we get at the
15:22more and more, I
15:22think he's going to be
15:23the guy that that
15:25spot, you mean at
15:26one.
15:26Yeah.
15:27Yeah.
15:27I mean, I can see
15:28that happening.
15:29I wouldn't be shocked
15:29at that at all.
15:31I, I like Ken
15:32Boozer's game a lot
15:33and I, and I find him
15:34a compelling figure in
15:36this draft.
15:38If they are able to
15:39trade and they get
15:40Boozer and they get
15:42more stuff, that to me
15:44is a path I can walk.
15:46But Boozer at one, I
15:48just, I don't know
15:49that I can get there
15:50no matter how
15:50compelling the case
15:51is.
15:52Yeah.
15:53Caleb Wilson, I mean
15:54what John Wall told us
15:55he's a baby Kevin
15:55Garnett, that has stuck
15:56with me too.
15:57Yeah.
15:58But all that stuff
16:00that people say though,
16:00Jay, all that stuff
16:01sounds good.
16:02When they get on the
16:03court is what matters.
16:04Not what somebody say.
16:06You and I both know
16:06this, B.
16:07You know what players
16:07can do?
16:08Continue to evolve.
16:10Yeah.
16:10Continue to get better.
16:11That's what SGA has
16:13done.
16:13That's what Cade
16:14Cunningham has done.
16:15Like these absolute
16:16stud guards wreaking
16:18havoc in the NBA right
16:19now.
16:20Jalen Brunson did that.
16:21He's in the finals
16:22tonight.
16:23Yeah.
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