Knicks · Sharife Cooper...PG Prospect (page 1)

Positives:
Elite court vision and passing ability (best passer coming out of college that I've seen in a while and I watch a ton of CBB)
He passes his teammates open. He uses his eyes to make the defender move and get teammates open.
Damn near impossible to keep him out of the paint
Draws a ton of fouls
Shoots over 80% from the line
Elite handles
Can completely control the pace of the game
Really good pick n roll player in a pick n roll league
Constantly puts pressure on the defense

Negatives:
6'1 (maybe smaller)
Not much of a wingspan
Competes on defense, gets some steals but may struggle guarding bigger pg's
Shot 22% from 3 Slow-release and leans back on his jumper. (I think its fixable)
Has some high turnover games but that can be cleaned up with coaching. Goes for the homerun pass at times.

Outlook:
If Tre Man is off the board, I may take a shot at him at 19 or 21. The 3 point % is bad, but his release and shot needs to be broken down and built back up. The Ball brothers are living proof that its not impossible to fix a broken shot. Even without a jumper, he is still difficult to keep out of the paint since you can't touch most of the guards. Theres a chance he is too small and the shot never gets fixed, but when picking that late in the draft, why not take a homerun swing, especially since we have 2 picks so close together.

* Shout out to Fish, you motivated me to make this thread

I need these (kinda important to me)

- slightly better finishing
- hope he could possibly shoot atleast 35 percent from 3
- an inch or two taller would be great

Might have to pass 😢

We have enough picks to take a risk.

Chandler wrote:Doesn’t it come down to what you can fix and teach and what you can’t? Tough to teach court vision

We have enough picks to take a risk.

This is it for me as well - dude just seems to understand angles of attack and how to get the ball through traffic.

Will it be tougher playing against faster, bigger competition? Yes - but he should be able to bulk up to improve.

Seems instinctive to him.

Rondo, Kidd never were great shooters, but both had great careers.

The size issue is a concern for sure.

franco12 wrote:

Chandler wrote:Doesn’t it come down to what you can fix and teach and what you can’t? Tough to teach court vision

We have enough picks to take a risk.

This is it for me as well - dude just seems to understand angles of attack and how to get the ball through traffic.

Will it be tougher playing against faster, bigger competition? Yes - but he should be able to bulk up to improve.

Seems instinctive to him.

Rondo, Kidd never were great shooters, but both had great careers.

The size issue is a concern for sure.

We all said the same thing about Trae... hes too small and will get exposed. Well Trae has been killing and his defensive issue tmdue to size has been over blown. There aren't too many PGs in the nba with post up potential. But Trae offensive impact is so high, we stopped talking about his defense. If this kidd can be that impactful on offense, then pairing him with Thibs is a perfect marriage.

BRIGGS wrote:When I watch tre young’s success it gives u pause to look at coopers game. I know cooper is not the same shooter but does have many of same attributes

Similar to Trae in the way he controls the game, his quickness and more importantly, his playmaking ability. Trae is a much better playmaker than he is a long distance shooter. Trae only shooting 34% from 3. Think about this, A 6 foot player in Trae Young has made a 7 footer in Brooklyn Lopez totally unplayable in this series. Its a guards league. Sharife is one of the best guards in this draft.

TPercy wrote:His finishing is too suspect for me as well. I believe it was 45% wasn’t it? If he can’t finish or shoot then how can he reliably create his offense? I see Ish Smith 2.0

He needs to develop the floater, inbetween game. Most little guards rarely get all the way to the rack, usually its the 8 to 10 foot floater, See Trae Young floater and Chris Pauls pull up 12 footer. Sharife is more talented than Ish....

fishmike wrote:word! Courtvision is such a special thing and this is the kind of draft and with two picks this is exactly the type of guy I hope we gamble on

Exactly....really good chance we will see a Trae Young vs Chris Paul pg final. Two smallish guards that are elite playmakers, that completely control the game and force the other teams to gameplan against them. Cooper is my favorite player to watch of all the draft prospects... I really hope we take a shot at this kid because he can be a game changer.

Uptown wrote:

TPercy wrote:His finishing is too suspect for me as well. I believe it was 45% wasn’t it? If he can’t finish or shoot then how can he reliably create his offense? I see Ish Smith 2.0

He needs to develop the floater, inbetween game. Most little guards rarely get all the way to the rack, usually its the 8 to 10 foot floater, See Trae Young floater and Chris Pauls pull up 12 footer. Sharife is more talented than Ish....

I totally agree on the floater part but again right now you have a guy who can’t shoot, has no floater package, and can’t finish while being 5’11/6’0. That’s essentially slightly better version of Ish for the time being and that’s not even a knock on his Ish. The fact that he’s survived in the league for this much gives me hope for Cooper.

Chandler wrote:Tim Hardaway (version 1.0) was only like 5'10" -- generously list at 6' but not true

Different body type. Tim was very physical and even posted up.

BigDaddyG wrote:

Chandler wrote:Tim Hardaway (version 1.0) was only like 5'10" -- generously list at 6' but not true

Different body type. Tim was very physical and even posted up.

no dispute. but the issue is the same. being shorter is a negative but far from disqualifying. we have example in reverse too: guys with all the measurements, athleticism and tape and being busts. It all comes down to the size of the fight in the dog

BigDaddyG wrote:

Chandler wrote:Tim Hardaway (version 1.0) was only like 5'10" -- generously list at 6' but not true

Different body type. Tim was very physical and even posted up.

Tim Hardaway was a serious athlete when young

BRIGGS wrote:When I watch tre young’s success it gives u pause to look at coopers game. I know cooper is not the same shooter but does have many of same attributes

Welpee wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:When I watch tre young’s success it gives u pause to look at coopers game. I know cooper is not the same shooter but does have many of same attributes

Well, shooting is a major attribute to Young's game. Without it Trae can't do what he does.

you're also not going to be able to draft trae young with his skills at 19, 21 or 32.

I think this kid could be the change of pace pg we need- IQ with the heart and head of a pg, sans shot.