I don't think Matas will go as high in the draft as Jarrett Allen did. Allen was a freshman who could score, rebound, and play defense. I might take Matas over Hayes and Bamba. Myles Turner? IDK. But certainly he is no LMA or LaSalle Thompson. Matas just isn't the defender that any of those I named were.

1 hour ago, MarkInAustin said:

I don't think Matas will go as high in the draft as Jarrett Allen did. Allen was a freshman who could score, rebound, and play defense. I might take Matas over Hayes and Bamba. Myles Turner? IDK. But certainly he is no LMA or LaSalle Thompson. Matas just isn't the defender that any of those I named were.

Yeah, he may not go as high. But Matas is a better college player than Allen IMO.

2 hours ago, akhookem said:

I like 50 more than 10% 3 weeks ago😂feels like a complete different world now compared to then, thankfully.

that was a statistics answer.

1 hour ago, MarkInAustin said:

I don't think Matas will go as high in the draft as Jarrett Allen did. Allen was a freshman who could score, rebound, and play defense. I might take Matas over Hayes and Bamba. Myles Turner? IDK. But certainly he is no LMA or LaSalle Thompson. Matas just isn't the defender that any of those I named were.

Hayes was good. Allen was good. Turner was very good. Who's Bamba? He play here?

The Durant class is the closest comparison. This is the second best class. Three of those in that class played in the NBA. Dexter didn’t last that long but he got there. This class could end up being the best in college. If Goosby returns they definitely will be.

I don’t know that Texas has had a player like Matas. All the other bigs were much more athletic than him. Cameron Ridley is the closest comparison I can think of.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Jordan91

18 minutes ago, TexShoe said:

that was a statistics answer.

Obviously, point is that Texas has won 3 of the 4

This class was way more impressive to me than the one with Durant given how many pieces were brought in and the caliber each one is. By sheer numbers it is almost incomparable. It was an eleven/twelve man class. Not one scholarship seems like a stretch.

3 hours ago, MarkInAustin said:

I don't think Matas will go as high in the draft as Jarrett Allen did. Allen was a freshman who could score, rebound, and play defense. I might take Matas over Hayes and Bamba. Myles Turner? IDK. But certainly he is no LMA or LaSalle Thompson. Matas just isn't the defender that any of those I named were.

I think that's fair. Matas has a chance to be a really good player, but Allen was a different level of defensive prospect. People forget Allen was a one-and-done freshman who went in the first round largely because NBA teams already knew he could rebound, protect the rim, and defend at an NBA level.

I'd probably put Matas in the Hayes/Bamba/Myles Turner discussion as a prospect, but Aldridge and Allen feel like a tier above. If Matas ends up getting drafted that high, it'll be because teams are betting on his versatility and upside, not because he's already the defender that Allen was coming out of Texas.

1 hour ago, Bobby Burton said:

Yeah, he may not go as high. But Matas is a better college player than Allen IMO.

Also fair point. If we're talking college player, I think there's a strong argument for Matas. If we're talking NBA prospect, I'd still take Allen. Allen was drafted for elite traits. Matas is being evaluated more on versatility and overall basketball skill. Those are two different conversations.

Edited 11 minutes ago11 min by HonkEm