The Man of Quail's Rookie v. Sophomore Game Predictions

[IamQuailman]

With All-Star Weekend just around the corner (like less than 1 hour away!), the Man of Quail is here with his predictions for the upcoming Rookie-Sophomore game!

Rookie Squad:
Center - Vernon Desantis, Orlando Magic
Power Forward - Dirk Hardpeck, Cleveland Cavaliers
Small Forward - Lavar Ball, Charlotte Bobcats
Shooting Guard - Melvin McCall, Boston Celtics
Point Guard - Lonzo Ball, Charlotte Bobcats
Back-up C - Chris Arruda, Boston Celtics (who?)
Back-up F - Dmitri Larionov, Miami Heat (who?)
Back-up F - Isaiah Stumpf, San Antonio Spurs
Back-up G - Buddy Hield, Milwaukee Bucks
Back-up G - F. Cole Medina, Brooklyn Nets
Wild Card - Lloyd Hightower, Washington Wizards
Wild Card - Alton Towers, Washington Wizards

Takeaways: The Starting 5 aren't much of a surprise. They are all Top 11 picks from this draft, all expected to do big things. Ben Simmons and Jeffery Duren are noticeable standouts; however, their respective teams are holding them out in favor of playing a more competitive line-up. The Ball Father-Son dynamic duo is not a surprise, as they are the offensive focal point in Charlotte's youthful squad. Dirk Hardpeck is the favorite to win Rookie of the Year this season, and Melvin McCall has started to shape into a nice player next to John Wall.

The bench is where we find a few surprise picks. Chris Arruda and Dmitry Larionov were picked to represent the front court. Both are playing in reserve roles, on their teams, and both are providing an offensive punch within the role they have been giving. Isaiah Stumpf might be the biggest surprise of the season. A 2nd round pick by the San Antonio Spurs, Stumpf has already won THREE Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards. Medina might have been the only other PG in this draft worth a damn and qualifies by default despite minimal stats. The Twin Towers round out the wild card spots, as they have been more than capable players for rookies.


Sophomore Squad:
Center - Odis Jackson, Detroit Pistons
Power Forward - Buddy Pedraza, Brooklyn Nets
Small Forward - Daniel Randle, Atlanta Hawks
Shooting Guard - Van Grimaldi, Philadelphia 76ers
Point Guard - Chet Dooley, Philadelphia 76ers
Back-up C - Gerard Carlsen, Dallas Mavericks (who?)
Back-up F - Damion McNary, Charlotte Bobcats
Back-up F - Byron Odell, Orlando Magic (who?)
Back-up G - Gustave Lecroix, Los Angeles Lakers
Back-up G - Harland Ellinger, Orlando Magic
Wild Card - Brian Stark, Golden State Warriors
Wild Card - Hubert Burgos, Sacramento Kings (who?)

Takeaways: Last year's draft class is looking very nice, with 9 players that are clear standouts. The Starting 5 has 1 surprise, and that is Van Grimaldi sliding into the starting Shooting Guard spot over Daniel Randle (last year's Rookie of the Year), Gustave Lecroix, and scoring sensation Brian Stark. Grimaldi is looking VERY good at the shooting guard. Odis Jackson is the most well-rounded Center out of the draft last year. Buddy Pedraza is the best player out of this draft class (right now). Daniel Randle is listed as a Small Forward this year, and instantly becomes the best option at SF (a class with few small forwards to start). Chet Dooley is the purest PG in this draft class.

The bench is where some question marks pop up. Ellinger was a PG but is listed as a shooting guard this season; as a result we gave him the back-up guard spot next to Gustave, who is putting slightly "worse" numbers up than Van Grimaldi. Damion McNary is still a work in progress, and the presence of the Balls remove some of the pressure off of his back to be the primary scoring option. Gerard Carlsen and Byron Odell are both players who have carved out a niche in the league. Brian Stark is a wild card since he's just buried behind stud guards, and that leaves us with the last spot for... Hubert Burgos? It's a weird pick, but looking at his stat line, he has put up some interesting stat lines in limited minutes.

[Inner_GI]

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