ESPN rankings

[joey_hesketh]

Hahah I know man. I couldn't believe I saw Dunleavy there. Ugh.

This is what we get for being Raptors fans.
ESPN (and most American media) neglecting to ever actually watch any of our games, but still manage to pass judgement on the team and players.

[joey_hesketh]

Demar Derozan will officially be ranked higher than Vince Carter. Vince just got ranked #121.

According to ESPN, we've got two of the Top 120 players in the league ... not bad, I guess, right?

[joey_hesketh]

Upon discussing who in the 151-200 range, will most unhappy about their ranking, Zach Harper from SI.com had this to say:

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: Jerryd Bayless. He's seemingly never happy about anything and will undoubtedly use this as motivation. He's like the anti-Vince Carter. And speaking of Vince ...

Lifelong VC fan, always will be; but I love to hear things like this. haha



He then followed it up by answering "Most disappointing Player in the 121-150 range" with:

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: It's still Vince Carter. Even though he's 34 years old, he should still be a lot more productive than he is. When guys such as Reggie Miller, Ray Allen and Clyde Drexler were his age, they put up impressive and productive seasons. Vince managed to have by far the worst season of his career last year. We'll always be left wishing he cared more than we do.

Amen, sir. Amen.

[RaptorDan]

Upon discussing who in the 151-200 range, will most unhappy about their ranking, Zach Harper from SI.com had this to say:



Lifelong VC fan, always will be; but I love to hear things like this. haha



He then followed it up by answering "Most disappointing Player in the 121-150 range" with:



Amen, sir. Amen.

Funny!

[joey_hesketh]

Well ESPN went ahead and ruined the Surprise.

They haven't even finished the countdown to 101, and yet they're already having a Roundtable discussing who deserved to be in the Top 100:

James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom: DeMar DeRozan clearly should have been ranked higher in my opinion. I expect huge numbers in 2011-12 from the high-flying third-year guard out of USC. DeRozan improved in almost every category last season except 3-point shooting, something I'm sure he's working on this offseason.

So we don't yet know where Demar will land, but it's going to come within the next few spots being announced today.
I think he got hosed. Still, he's ahead of some pretty quality players as well ...



Also, when discussing which player will rise the highest that is NOT in the Top 100, we get:

Tom Haberstroh, ESPN.com: Jonas Valanciunas (No. 313). Key word: eventually. No one in the 2011 draft has a higher ceiling than this guy. As an 18-year-old in the Euroleague last season, he averaged 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game on 71 percent shooting. Translated to 40 minutes per game? 20 points and 15 rebounds. Not bad, kiddo.

So a little bit of Raptor love, even though we've only got one guy in the Top 100, and many around here probably don't even think he should be.

Good ol' Mr. Andrea Bargs. How high will you rise, sir? How high, indeed.

[joey_hesketh]

What's also quite humorous about this whole "Top 500 players" is that with a Roster Limit of 15 players, and only 30 teams, there SHOULD only be 450 players to rank ... I'm confused.

[Tim W.]

What's also quite humorous about this whole "Top 500 players" is that with a Roster Limit of 15 players, and only 30 teams, there SHOULD only be 450 players to rank ... I'm confused.

With free agents (some of whom won't ever play in the NBA again) and rookies who have yet to play, there are more than 450 players to rank.

[joey_hesketh]

With free agents (some of whom won't ever play in the NBA again) and rookies who have yet to play, there are more than 450 players to rank.

Indeed. I guess we've already discussed how silly it is to include the rookies on a list like this.
But even the free agents. How can one speculate the quality of play from a player, if they can't even tell you which team they will play for? Its ludicrous.

I think SI.com had it right by ranking the Top 100 and having an "Outside Looking In" as well.
ESPN just has to over-do things. As usual. Haha

[joey_hesketh]

Derozan in at 101.

Fair ranking I guess.

Give the man some time though and he'll be flying up the charts.

[GarbageTime]

Derozan in at 101.

Fair ranking I guess.

Give the man some time though and he'll be flying up the charts.

Yeah I think thats a fair spot for Derozan... if not a big high.

Thought this was funny though:

DeMar DeRozan clearly should have been ranked higher in my opinion. I expect huge numbers in 2011-12

and here I thought this was based on how good they are right now...............

[Matt52]

This is a popularity contest - no more, no less - among the ESPN 'brain-trust'.

[WhatWhat]

Hey, Bargnani (assumingly) being in the top 100, that must mean that he has some good trade value, right...?

101 for DeRozan is a tad high...but the list in general has been pretty bad. The reasoning, or rather lack there of for the rankings is really poor.

[joey_hesketh]

Hey, Bargnani (assumingly) being in the top 100, that must mean that he has some good trade value, right...?

He will indeed be Top 100. He was ranked #66 by SI.com a couple months ago.

I think the opinion of Bargnani around these parts doesn't necessarily reflect that of the Basketball World at large.

I think he ABSOLUTELY has trade value. All these people wondering if we could even get a draft pick for him are completely playing up the doom and gloom.

[Tim W.]

I think the opinion of Bargnani around these parts doesn't necessarily reflect that of the Basketball World at large.

That's because we've actually seen him play.

[joey_hesketh]

Some of the feedback on Demars ranking:

@DJAG88: I can think of a 101 reason why @DeMar_DeRozan will make a huge jump in #NBArank next year.

@itsNEALHERE: @DeMar_DeRozan did you dunk on the guys from NBA2k AND #NBArank or something? They rank you at "101" in the NBA. HATERS!

[NoPropsneeded]

2K better fix their shit. They ranked demar 69 overall rating, that BS! In 2k11 paul georges ranking was 80 and demars was 73! paul george is a rookie for god sake. 2K better bump his rating to the high 70's or low 80's.

[joey_hesketh]

Its usually his "Defensive Awareness" that brings his score down in 2K, which is not far from reality.

You up that stat in the game, and his Overall goes up to 80 in no time flat.
He ups that stat in real life and he'll go from ranked 101 by ESPN to 11.

69 sounds low, but they change their Ratings almost every year.
I'd have to see whos ranked closely to him to see if he was robbed.
If I see a guy like Kawhi Leonard ranked at 69 then I'll be pissed.

[joey_hesketh]

Judging by ESPN Thumbnail pic up today for the ESPN #NBArank, Andrea will fall today, somewhere in the 81-90 Range.

ADD #81. Our highest ranked player is the 81st best player in the league according to ESPN ... bummer.

[Miekenstien]

looks like they are starting quincy in the top 500 of nba players. not bad. haha

poor mike bibby. where did all his skills go.


i am thinking we might have 1-4 players in top 100. bargs, jose, lowry, demar

[theycallmeZZ]

Here's the article

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/82...nkings-401-500

Also, it's 4 Raptors (kinda)... Acy, Magloire, Alabi, and Anderson

Also a bunch of Canadians >.<