Thorpe: Top 20 Rookies of 2008

[Skates]

I wonder what fans outside of Philly would rank him?  There are a lot of players with upside in his class that have not gotten (or earned) Thad's heavy minutes- so it will take a few years for everything to shake itself out.

I certainly hope he ends p top 3, but I will remain cautiously optimistic.  If his sweet looking jumper stays this god then I'll be convinced.  It is a big jump to go from a hustling, crafty opportunity scorer to a headliner, but he the potential is certainly there.

Right now someone like Thorpe would easily place him in the top 3 of his class.  Fans in other cities might still rank some other guys higher based on name recognition.  Imagine if we ran plays for Thad how big his numbers might be, oops, wrong thread.

[jemagee]

Thad gets a lot of 'outside philly pub' as a great young player and a 'steal' where he was picked.

I put Speights at '9' in the rankings that I listed because i he was the 9th name listed in the new article published yesterday, didn't see a link to his 'top 50' being updated so wasn't sure it was new...ah well - he'll be top 10 by end of the season assuming mo doesn't mess it up

[Skates]

Thad gets a lot of 'outside philly pub' as a great young player and a 'steal' where he was picked.

I put Speights at '9' in the rankings that I listed because i he was the 9th name listed in the new article published yesterday, didn't see a link to his 'top 50' being updated so wasn't sure it was new...ah well - he'll be top 10 by end of the season assuming mo doesn't mess it up

Thad is probably well known by more hard core fans in other cities, but for the more casual fan I don't think he has gotten the attention nationally that Oden, Durant and to some extent, Thornton, have.  I don't mind because one of the reasons he does not stand out as much is because we have better players around him to soak up some of the Philly publicity. 

Speaking of having better players these days, has anyone noticed the George Karl comments about how much better the Nug's offense has played since they replaced Iverson with Billups?

[jemagee]

Speaking of

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2008/11/18/thaddeus-young-takes-a-huge-step-forward/#cont

As for the 'casual fan' - I'm not sure why they would know thornton but oden and durant were 1-2 - so they'll know them for a while - thad will get his time as along as he continues to progress....

[Sub]

Top ten if we re-drafted Thad's class today:

1.  Oden - still early enough that most people would be afraid to pass on a possible franchise center, but he could slip fast with any more injuries.
2.  Durant - again on potential.  All he really does is score, but he will likely do it at a prolific level going forward.  Should move to SF.
3.  Thad - given his age he could challenge Oden and Durant down the road, his ceiling is that high.
4.  Horford - double-double machine, would be better at PF.
5.  Rudy Fernandez - looks like a real player so far, could move up the list.
6.  Thornton - Thad-lite and older.
7.  Jeff Green - still looks like he will be a do it all player, especially once he is surrounded by more talent.  Super glue guy with some offensive talent.
8.  Marc Gasol - looks like a future double-double center who blocks shots and shoots well, plus a good passer. 
9.  Spencer Hawes - even with Brad Miller back he is putting up good numbers offensively, rebounding and blocking shots.
10.  Ramon Sessions - has started to show that last year's end of season stats were not a fluke, Ridnour still starting unexplainably.
Honorable mention -  Any of the guys who have shown some flash and potential, but no consistency yet - Stuckey, Nick Young, Wilson Chandler, Brandan Wright and Noah.

I think if Fernandez and Gasol crack the top-10, Chandler would make it in there as well.