2026 NBA Draft

[Shinzaki]

You want points in the paint against Wemby?  Find another Kareem or a similarly sized guy with a sky hook

[gehringer_2]

Just now, Shinzaki said:

You want points in the paint against Wemby?  Find another Kareem or a similarly sized guy with a sky hook

Kareem said the hook was an easy shot to learn but I don't know if most guys would agree -🤔

So with all the help defense in the league today, would the hook be more at risk of a backside block or steal? A lot of people complain that old style/back to the basket play is a lost art in general, but how much of that is because that was a man to man defense league where a Center backing down didn't often have to deal with a (usually  quicker) guy in his face as well as the one behind him?

[Shinzaki]

Yeah...defenses close so quickly today.  Plus with your back to the basket on the sky hook you have to rotate into the shot and ...likely...a defender.  Awful pretty when it goes in though.  I hated playing with my back to the basket.  Played a lot of rec league ball, because I'm 6-5 I got to play a lot of C.  Hated it.  Much preferred to be on a wing facing the basket...so I would generally not play C even ig that's what I was supposed to do.

Players are so quick these days..maybe they need to widen th court and the paint a bit to create more traffic to the rim.  I detest the run to the corners and stand there offense we see so much of today

[Deleterious]

Number six is a pretty big reach for both of those guys.  But the Nets taking Mara would eliminate them from the Duren sweepstakes, most likely.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft/

Quote

eam Fit

A few weeks ago I reported that the Nets were drawn to Nate Ament and Aday Mara. That remains true as we enter June, though there are still workouts to be done and there are plenty of teams interested in trading into this spot. For now, Ament gets the nod with this choice given Brooklyn already has so many guards on the roster. Players like Ament who can handle, shoot off the dribble, and stand at 6-10 don’t grow on trees. This physical foundation kept Ament in the lottery consideration even after a dreadful start to his freshman season when he struggled to score efficiently and make an impact defensively. But over the second half of the year for Tennessee, he flipped a switch and shots began to fall. He averaged 23.8 points over a six-game stretch in January and February that reminded everyone why he was a top recruit in the country. Then he dealt with an ankle injury that ruined his momentum entering March and severely struggled during the