Pro career comparisons. Specifically in the NBA.
Don't let anyone tell you differently, size matters. Especially in the NBA.
Previously I noted that I believed that Myles Powell had the better college career of the two recent superstars. Hell, even Whitehead himself said the same in a recent tweet congratulating Powell for his past season. But that success in college, as grandiose as it may be doesn't always translate to the next level where the competition doesn't only include the best players in the United States but the best in the world.
Case in point. In college Whitehead was a plus athlete. Now he's considered below average. Powell on the other had is a slightly above average college athlete. At the next level he's a step and maybe a major one below Whitehead.
Let's first touch on Whitehead's potential as an NBA player.
Listed at SHU on occasion at 6-5 Whitehead was measured at an NBA combine at 6-3 1/4, 6-4 1/2 in sneakers. A decent size, especially with his physically for a PG but on the small side for an NBA shooting guard which I believe that Whitehead is.
That last point was hammered home in his two years as a Brooklyn Net where they tried to play him at the point before scrapping that experiment late in his second year admitting that the former Seton Hall star was really a 2 guard.
Now calling him a shooting guard and playing him at that position brings expectations and challenges.
At the 2 you are going to be matched up against some of the very best scorers in the world. A shooting guard by definition in it most simplistic form is a guard in basketball whose chief role is as an outside shooter. The challenge playing that role is stopping the opposition while maximizing your performance on the other side of the court.
Unfortunately Whitehead, a good (not great) college defender is a below average one in the NBA, meaning he has to make up for that on offense. But being a career 41.1% shooter, 30.5% from the arc is not going to get the job done and is the primary reason that after two seasons with the Nets he was released.
Now playing for the Detroit Pistons' G League affiliate the Grand Rapids Drive Whitehead is putting up almost identical shooting stats as he did with the Nets and until that accuracy improves his quest to play for pay at the highest level is always going to be out of reach.
Now we get to Myles Powell. And here we will have to project as Powell failed to impress those in the NBA in his attempt to leave Seton Hall as an underclassmen to realize his dream of playing the game he loves at its highest level.
This article started with the words size matters and here even more than with the taller Isaiah Whitehead those words rear their ugly head for Powell. If Whitehead is 6-3 1/4 in bare feet one must wonder if the 6-2 listing for Powell is accurate.
Powell in short is a 2 guard in a point guard's body. One with average athleticism who can dominate in college but will struggle on both sides of the ball at the next level. Especially on defense.
The hope for Powell is that he can improve on his point guard skills to at least play some minutes at that position.
Basically the expectation for the SHU superstar is that he can become a mid to late second round pick. and take advantage of his scoring prowess while becoming a better playmaker. Powell does one thing better than Whitehead and in today's game that's at a premium, shooting the basketball.
The problem there is that Powell often forces shots and the result is a dip in efficiency. Acceptable in college due to his overall game and influence, but not at all in the NBA.
Bottom line. Both players face an uphill climb. Competing against the very best at what they do in the world is incredibly challenging. Not impossible, but far more college stars fail in that quest than succeed.
Whitehead had a taste with limited success. Powell's only venture at that level wound up with not even an invite to the NBA combine. That's shows how difficult it is to reach their common dream.
Each was a star in D1 college basketball and a superstar for Seton Hall. But their climb moving forward is going to be difficult. If I had to choose the player more likely to succeed I would have to pick Whitehead because of his superior size and athleticism. But that said I would never sell Myles Powell short. He has the heart of a lion and that is the reason he's the player he is at the Hall.
This concludes my 4 parts series.
COMMENTS
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
Don't let anyone tell you differently, size matters. Especially in the NBA.
Previously I noted that I believed that Myles Powell had the better college career of the two recent superstars. Hell, even Whitehead himself said the same in a recent tweet congratulating Powell for his past season. But that success in college, as grandiose as it may be doesn't always translate to the next level where the competition doesn't only include the best players in the United States but the best in the world.
Case in point. In college Whitehead was a plus athlete. Now he's considered below average. Powell on the other had is a slightly above average college athlete. At the next level he's a step and maybe a major one below Whitehead.
Let's first touch on Whitehead's potential as an NBA player.
Listed at SHU on occasion at 6-5 Whitehead was measured at an NBA combine at 6-3 1/4, 6-4 1/2 in sneakers. A decent size, especially with his physically for a PG but on the small side for an NBA shooting guard which I believe that Whitehead is.
That last point was hammered home in his two years as a Brooklyn Net where they tried to play him at the point before scrapping that experiment late in his second year admitting that the former Seton Hall star was really a 2 guard.
Now calling him a shooting guard and playing him at that position brings expectations and challenges.
At the 2 you are going to be matched up against some of the very best scorers in the world. A shooting guard by definition in it most simplistic form is a guard in basketball whose chief role is as an outside shooter. The challenge playing that role is stopping the opposition while maximizing your performance on the other side of the court.
Unfortunately Whitehead, a good (not great) college defender is a below average one in the NBA, meaning he has to make up for that on offense. But being a career 41.1% shooter, 30.5% from the arc is not going to get the job done and is the primary reason that after two seasons with the Nets he was released.
Now playing for the Detroit Pistons' G League affiliate the Grand Rapids Drive Whitehead is putting up almost identical shooting stats as he did with the Nets and until that accuracy improves his quest to play for pay at the highest level is always going to be out of reach.
Now we get to Myles Powell. And here we will have to project as Powell failed to impress those in the NBA in his attempt to leave Seton Hall as an underclassmen to realize his dream of playing the game he loves at its highest level.
This article started with the words size matters and here even more than with the taller Isaiah Whitehead those words rear their ugly head for Powell. If Whitehead is 6-3 1/4 in bare feet one must wonder if the 6-2 listing for Powell is accurate.
Powell in short is a 2 guard in a point guard's body. One with average athleticism who can dominate in college but will struggle on both sides of the ball at the next level. Especially on defense.
The hope for Powell is that he can improve on his point guard skills to at least play some minutes at that position.
Basically the expectation for the SHU superstar is that he can become a mid to late second round pick. and take advantage of his scoring prowess while becoming a better playmaker. Powell does one thing better than Whitehead and in today's game that's at a premium, shooting the basketball.
The problem there is that Powell often forces shots and the result is a dip in efficiency. Acceptable in college due to his overall game and influence, but not at all in the NBA.
Bottom line. Both players face an uphill climb. Competing against the very best at what they do in the world is incredibly challenging. Not impossible, but far more college stars fail in that quest than succeed.
Whitehead had a taste with limited success. Powell's only venture at that level wound up with not even an invite to the NBA combine. That's shows how difficult it is to reach their common dream.
Each was a star in D1 college basketball and a superstar for Seton Hall. But their climb moving forward is going to be difficult. If I had to choose the player more likely to succeed I would have to pick Whitehead because of his superior size and athleticism. But that said I would never sell Myles Powell short. He has the heart of a lion and that is the reason he's the player he is at the Hall.
This concludes my 4 parts series.
COMMENTS
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
