Derrick Walton listed as top "sleeper" by ESPN
ESPN recently released their new top 100. Walton ended up at number 30 but here they mention that he could be a potential sleeper (in fact the number 1 sleeper). They talk about how he could very easily end up like Burke--regarding as a good prospect that turns into something phenomenal.
Personally I'm pumped for Walton. I expect him to be a very selfless point-guard that gets everyone involved. Obviously it will be a decline from Burke, but not a crushing blow to us.
Go Blue!
The article is Paywalled. Here is the link
stop posting tons of paywalled articles. seriously.
I'm not an insider, but you already told me what was critical. I love when front page stuff as well as stuff posted to the board forum summarizes the gist of paywalled stuff. The mods can delete what they need to, but I appreciate seeing the kernel and a bit more from other posters who pay for the access. Thank you for posting!
I am an insider but it is always nice to have someone post it in case I missed it.
ESPN's website is horrendous so I never actually log into my Insider account, so thanks!
Pyramids!
That was my thought as well. A top 30 prospect is hardly "Sleeper" material in my mind.
I guess if you don't go to Duke, UK, UNC, UConn or schools like that you're not that good?? Even if you are ranked the #30 player in the nation.
The way I understand the OP, they are saying he may be greatly underranked and he should really be a top 5 player. The proof will hopefully come in the tournament next year, when we're paired against Kentucky and their "best class ever" and we not only beat them, but Walton clearly is better than all their top 10 ranked recruits. Yeah, that's really counting your chickens a bit early, but that's what we hope for, isn't it?
c&p the article?
LeBron was quite the sleeper too.
To be considered a sleeper they looked at players outside the top 25. Since Walton is number 30, it makes sense that he would be one of the top "sleepers". So not bad news, but not really anything surprising either.
So....I'm left to wonder why they don't rank him higher.
Also, it's not that big of a strech for them to say that because his rating of 89 is equal to the #23 player in the country so even ESPN doesn't distinguish him from a top 25 prospect that greatly. Obviously, it's better that he makes the list rather than not...but it seems kind of foolish to me, overall.
Their point is he may be the 30th best player, but given the system/team/coach he is joining, he will PERFORM better than some people ahead of him
WHAT IS HAPPENING
No one who sees this gif is going to be a sleeper tonight.
"Interesting" would work, except that's positive. What really is wrong is seeing "normal" up there. It'd be great to have an "abnormal" choice. Or "weird." But none of the choices really fit.
(not flamebait, not trolling. All of the images together are "redundant," but I'd never want to see posts like this truly become "redundant.")
One other question: how long did it take to put that together?
That's weirding me out, man
What if he's better than Burke? Nevermind, my head just asploded.
Everyone was expecting a decline from Burke after following Morris and now the same of Walton (and he's the highest rated of the 3). Assuming he has work ethic (and I assume he does if he's a JB recruit), I actually expect Walton to be better than Burke as a point guard. Maybe not as a true alpha dog scorer/bigshot type, but in the true sense of distributing the ball and running the offense, I think he will be better if nothing but for he will have an overall better cast to distribute to than Morris or Burke.
I think I would predict exactly what I did for the 2012-13 team: struggle a bit early, learn from getting physically pounded in the Big Ten, peak by tournament time, and have a legit shot at the Final Four, where anything can happen.
The 2012-13 team exceeded even my rosy expectations with their start, but I am not going to panic if next season's version struggles out of the gate when they play elite competition, nor will I panic if they lose a few at the beginning of the Big Ten schedule. Nobody gets to the Final Four every year, and this year was a huge accomplishment, but the 2013-14 team could be playing even better at tournament time next year.
Michigan got a lot of "team of destiny" type contributions from what would appear to be unlikely sources, but they were missing one thing: a shooter who could fill it up every game, ala Glen Rice.
Nik Stauskas will be a year older. Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin can certainly shoot. Part of getting to the Final Four is luck. Every team seems to win one game that they "should have lost," ala Michigan/Kansas. All it takes is one guy who can be trusted to make open shots when needed. Belein's offense will get that player enough open shots.
If he's a sleeper why not just rank him higher?
Seriously, you're in charge of your own rankings system. It's hilarious to me whenever one of these rankings sites lists their "most underrated players." If they're underrated, rank them higher.
They do the rankings! If they think he's a sleeper it's in their power to change it. smh
What about this article is inside information? It's an opinion piece. Fuck ESPN and their shitty over sized magazine.
Point Guard U?
Hopefully he'll be able to step in and be close to freshman Burke, which would be awesome.
Walton so much, just like I did with Burke and D Mo, is that they are just oozing with confidence. All the great PGs dont think they can be stopped and I think this kid has it. I think Walton will have a great freshman year
From watching Derrick or as his AAU teammates call him.. D-Nice several times in person this year and speaking with him many times, I think he has a lot of potential. He is more a passer and likes to get his teamates involved more than Trey or Darius did once. Derrick is a true 1, PG, who when needs to takes over a ball game. Nearly averaged a triple double his senior year. Kid is a monster and should do big things.