Niels at Portsmouth - Day 2

[BigErnMcCracken]

Three triples in the first half. He's playing really well.

 

[UConnDad]

Is the final on line tonight?

 

[Bezzz]

Live streaming tonight, 8:00PM championship game.
http://www.slamonline.com/online/co...rtsmouth-invitational-tournament-live-stream/

 

[Stinger92860]

Nice!

 

[Sportsman5]

I'm very impressed with giffey in this tournament. He has a great shot at making an NBA roster.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I don't know who told Starks he needs to start gunning, but he has to cool it. I liked him at Georgetown too. The big guys on Neils' team can't catch.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Same old Niels. Looks good when he gets involved, but not aggressive enough.

Stockton would have a shot at the NBA if he was about 4 inches taller. 5'10 is just too short.

Gardner is not bad on O, but he is getting abused on defense.

Chiles sucks.

Giffey has gotten a lot of PT.

 

[superjohn]

Same old Niels. Looks good when he gets involved, but not aggressive enough.

Stockton would have a shot at the NBA if he was about 4 inches taller. 5'10 is just too short.

Gardner is not bad on O, but he is getting abused on defense.

Chiles sucks.

Giffey has gotten a lot of PT.

I would be in the NBA if I was a foot taller, by the way Stockton pretty much sucks.

 

[caw]

So three games:

10/19 from the field 5/8 from three. Good shooting display but not nearly enough shots (seems familiar). Last two games he was 6/7, 4/4 combined. Solid defense, rebounded decently. Typical Giffey. Decent run, not sure how much it helped him. One thing it showed was how much of a floor spacer and defender he is.

 

[Fishy]

It was a little rough tonight - there wasn't a lot of shots to go around after Gardner (7-17) and Starks (6-15) got done with things. Not a lot of assists tonight...

Niels was actually put in for defense with his team up one with 18 seconds left or so - he did get beaten off the dribble, but his man missed a shot that was followed by Roberts, of St. Joe's. (He had a great game.)

Down one, Starks held the ball before realizing that the clock was going to expire and then hit a long three to win for Giffey's team.

 

[Huskybass]

Another championship for Griffey.

 

[ford82]

It is no coincidence that Giffey's team won. We all know he impacts the game beyond the stat sheet.

 

[mauconnfan]

So three games:

10/19 from the field 5/8 from three. Good shooting display but not nearly enough shots (seems familiar). Last two games he was 6/7, 4/4 combined. Solid defense, rebounded decently. Typical Giffey. Decent run, not sure how much it helped him. One thing it showed was how much of a floor spacer and defender he is.

Everything he has done has worked out for him, he makes sure he learns and continues to strive to be better. Niels is up there with Jake as my favorite Huskies who were off the "Star Radar"……made such an impact off the radar and again, never forget he STAYED when others wandered away!!

This will help his development in becoming an impact player in Europe or wherever he lands, which will be successful because he's a hardworking, great kid!

 

[TheRogers]

Griffey and Stockton were the only ones who showed some basketball IQ.

 

[Rico444]

Griffey and Stockton were the only ones who showed some basketball IQ.

That's especially impressive considering one of those guys is a baseball player!

 

[mauconnfan]

That's especially impressive considering one of those guys is a baseball player!

Is Stockton a good baseball prospect?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Looking at the boxscore, Giffey did not do enough. He played great D, and his percentages were great. 10 for 19 from the field over 3 games, 5 for 8 from 3, but he probably needed to score a little more to get the attention of the NBA scouts. He has a nice career in Europe ahead of him regardless.

Roberts from St. Joe's looked good. I don't know if there is a position for him at the next level (too slow to play outside, too short to play inside), but he was the right balance of aggressive but under control.

 

[James]

Looking at the boxscore, Giffey did not do enough. He played great D, and his percentages were great. 10 for 19 from the field over 3 games, 5 for 8 from 3, but he probably needed to score a little more to get the attention of the NBA scouts. He has a nice career in Europe ahead of him regardless.

Roberts from St. Joe's looked good. I don't know if there is a position for him at the next level (too slow to play outside, too short to play inside), but he was the right balance of aggressive but under control.

Good thing NBA scouts don't just glance at boxscores to evaluate a prospect.

 

[tentoes4rings]

Griffey and Stockton were the only ones who showed some basketball IQ.

Thank you Stuart Scott.

 

[TheRogers]

That's especially impressive considering one of those guys is a baseball player!

Darn sausage fingers strike again.......

 

[aceboon]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2014-Portsmouth-Invitational-Tournament-Final-Recap-4476

if someone can handle the copy and paste duties, I can never paste from the site with my phone. good write up of Niels, I still think a 3 & D role is possibile for him in the pros, Dirk needs to put the bug in Cuban and Donnie Nelson's ear, lol.

 

[nomar]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2014-Portsmouth-Invitational-Tournament-Final-Recap-4476

if someone can handle the copy and paste duties, I can never paste from the site with my phone. good write up of Niels, I still think a 3 & D role is possibile for him in the pros, Dirk needs to put the bug in Cuban and Donnie Johnson's ear, lol.

6-7, Small Forward, UConn
11 Points, 4 Rebounds, 2 turnovers, 1 steal 1 block, 1-2 2P, 3-3 3P

Jonathan Givony

One of the last players invited to attend, and reportedly forced to pay for his own plane ticket, Niels Giffey had a very strong showing at Portsmouth, just ten days after winning his second NCAA Championship.

Measured a solid 6-7 ½ in shoes, with a 6-10 wingspan, Giffey has good size and length for a NBA small forward, even if he saw a good amount of minutes at power forward for UConn as well. He's a better athlete than you'd think, showing nice quickness in transition and impressive leaping ability on both ends of the floor at the PIT.

Giffey projects as a role-player at the professional level, which won't require any type of adjustment considering that's exactly what he was at UConn the past four years: spacing the court with his jumper, running the floor when given the opportunity, staying within himself, and always competing on defense.

Giffey's jump-shot will be his calling card at the pro level, something he showed he can do quite well at Portsmouth, making 5 of his 8 attempts in three games. He converted 48% of his 3-point attempts as a senior at UConn, hitting half of the shots he took with his feet set, which played a major role in the terrific spacing his guards were able to enjoy in their forays to the rim. He rarely shoots off the dribble (19 times this season), but wasn't terrible when doing so (42%).

Although he doesn't have great ball-handling ability and isn't someone that will be called upon to create his own shot very often (isolation plays made up just 1.4% of his offense this season), Giffey showed the ability to attack a closeout when defenders rotated out too aggressively to the 3-point line. He's strictly a straight line dribbler, but converted an excellent 71% of his attempts around the basket on the season in the half-court and 64% of his transition opportunities.

Giffey is also extremely competitive on the defensive end, coming up with a number of very impressive plays throughout the week both in the passing lanes and at the rim. His lateral quickness is average, and he's at times too upright in his stance and will get beaten off the dribble by more explosive opponents, but he doesn't give up on plays, is highly intelligent, and shows great timing on this end of the floor.

One of the lowest usage players that can be realistically considered a draft prospect, Giffey's performance at Portsmouth was somewhat eye-opening. He demonstrated that the very important role he played in UConn's two championships was certainly not a fluke, nor was his performance as a starter on the German national team last summer at the European Championship. Giffey showed that he deserves consideration as a prospect in his own right, as there's certainly a market for 6-7 wings with decent athleticism who shoot nearly 50% for 3 and are competitive defensively.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2zS9vkEFx
http://www.draftexpress.com

 

[ford82]

That is a tremendously thorough and accurate summary of Niels' game. Nailed it!

 

[Matrim55]

Very nice and accurate write-up. It's nice to see the "he lacks athleticism!" conventional wisdom dying out - he clearly doesn't, and it won't surprise me if he tests out as more athletic than a guy like Shabazz Muhammad, who was a lottery pick last year. You don't compete on the defensive glass the way Niels did if you can't get off the ground.

The biggest number, though, is the wingspan. Niels was 6-foot-10.5, while Cody Zeller was 6-foot-10.75. Paul George is 6-foot-11.25. Danny Green - who Niels will need to emulate if he's going to get into the league - is 6-foot-10.

I bet the kid goes at the tail end of the second round, pretty much anywhere from pick 51 onwards.

 

[djct1999]

Very nice and accurate write-up. It's nice to see the "he lacks athleticism!" conventional wisdom dying out - he clearly doesn't, and it won't surprise me if he tests out as more athletic than a guy like Shabazz Muhammad, who was a lottery pick last year. You don't compete on the defensive glass the way Niels did if you can't get off the ground.

The biggest number, though, is the wingspan. Niels was 6-foot-10.5, while Cody Zeller was 6-foot-10.75. Paul George is 6-foot-11.25. Danny Green - who Niels will need to emulate if he's going to get into the league - is 6-foot-10.

I bet the kid goes at the tail end of the second round, pretty much anywhere from pick 51 onwards.

Count me in the camp that also believes Giffey will hear his name called in the mid to late 2nd round.