James Harden, a 19 year old shooting guard out of Arizona State, is the next great player for the NBA and should be drafted second this year. Yes I know the NBA finals are on right now, but the NBA draft is the only event for teams that aren’t involved in the playoffs look forward to. James Harden is one of the most complete players in this year’s draft, and got all the respect he deserved at the start of the college basketball season. Many teams ranked him as the 2nd best player in this year’s draft. Now as we near the NBA draft, his stock has fallen and he has moved down a lot of mock drafts. This is greatly undeserved, Harden is a spectacular player that could be the next great player in the NBA.
James Harden as only a 19 year old sophomore led his Arizona State Sun Devils in scoring with 20.1 points per game, got 5.5 rebounds a game, with 4 assists a game. He was the feature player in an offense that centered around him. This guy knows how to slash to the hoop and get to the line, going almost 8 times a game. He is in fact almost a spitting image of University of Washington great Brandon Roy. Lets look at the similarities of their last year in college:
| Name | Min | Pts | FG | FGA | FG% | 2pt | 2pta | 2p% | 3pt | 3pta | 3p% | Ftm | Fta | Ft% | Reb | Asts | Stls | Blks | Tos | PFs |
| Harden | 35.8 | 20.1 | 6.3 | 12.9 | 48.9 | 4.7 | 8.3 | 56.4 | 1.7 | 4.7 | 35.6 | 5.8 | 7.7 | 75.6 | 5.6 | 4.2 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 3.4 | 2.8 |
| Roy | 31.7 | 20.2 | 6.9 | 13.6 | 50.8 | 5.7 | 10.7 | 53.7 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 40.2 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 81.0 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
After looking at these numbers we see two players who play very similar to each other. The points per game, assists, rebounds are almost exactly the same. The only main differences being, Harden shot more 3s a game, and Roy turned the ball over one time less a game. Now remember these stats were taken while Brandon Roy was a four year senior, Harden has played only two years of ball, and will continue to improve. They were both the focus of their offense, meaning that teams planned their defense around stopping them, and often enough that didn’t work. Both are known for their slashing ability, as well as having great court vision to get others the ball as seen by their assist totals. Just like Roy, Harden has question marks going into the draft.
Scouts’ biggest gripes with Harden are his height and athleticism. Lets look at the numbers comparing Roy and Harden’s athleticism, from last week’s scouting combine:
| Name | Height w/oShoes | Height w/ Shoes | Weight | Wingspan | Standing Reach | Body Fat | No Step Vert | Max Vert | Bench Press | Lane Agility | ¾ Court Sprint |
| Harden | 6’ 4” | 6’ 5.25” | 222 | 6’ 10.75” | 8’ 7.5” | 10.1 | 31.5 | 37.0 | 17 | 11.10 | 3.13 |
| Roy | 6’5.25” | 6’ 6.25” | 207 | 6’ 8” | 8’ 5” | 7.6 | 34.0 | 40.5 | 6 | 11.13 | 3.27 |
Both Players are very similar physically and athletically. Roy is about an inch taller but Harden makes up for this with a longer wingspan and standing reach. Roy is still more athletic jumping wise but are about as quick as each other. Harden is stronger than Roy and has a weight advantage. Harden and Roy are both not the quickest players or the most physically talented, but they play basketball to win. Both can pass, score, and defend, and are the total package for a basketball player.
Harden should be the second pick in this years draft. He has proven he can play and carry a team, and if that isn’t enough he is almost the spitting image of a current NBA all-star Brandon Roy. And if you don’t think Brandon Roy can play in the league you haven’t seen him carry his Blazers team. James Harden will become an all-star in the NBA and is just waiting for an NBA team to Draft him, hopefully it’s the team you root for.
all stats courtesy of draftexpress.com
1 comments:
I officially jumped on the James Harden bandwagon.
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