For those of you that have been MIA this last week, we just updated the site with some corn-fed farm fresh player rankings (never frozen!) ...

http://kfba.net/cs/blogs/broham/archive/2009/08/13/new-rankings-reviewing-the-top-5-rounds.aspx

The basics (again):

"...new player valuations are based on the indefetigable work of 8 veteran Kentucky Fried GMs (myself included).   Drafting in a predetermined (snaked) order we would each select the best availalbe player (in our personal opinion) regardless of position...  "

and...

"...selection order was was designed to optimize the various waking hours for participants across various timezones.  It was as follows: ZZRay, DLBass, Doug, Colonel, BRoham, Schottsie, Ciwasko, Younggod....."

And since then I've been making fun of their efforts.  Today we'll tackle rounds 10, 11 and 12....

At this point things get dicey - the 1st pick of the 10th round is the 145th player selected and as in any fantasy NBA game, all the good players are long gone.   Subjectivity is high and, as it is responsible for laying down the default rankings, dangerous.  I continue to contend that KF GMs tend to place WAAAAAAAY to mugh weight on the rankings defaults...  Always good to remember our brains are just fried as anyone else, we just mocked the draft that counted.

So far whats its worth...

Round 10

Worst pick:  The rookie hating colonel jumps head first into the crazy pool with the selection of Hasheem Thabeet.   Yes he was the 2nd overall pick in the draft. So were Marvin Williams, Darko Milicic, Tyson Chandler and Keith Van Horn (and who wants any part of that?)  Here's an 'upside" player touted for his "defensive skills" suiting up for this year's vegas fave to become the biggest circus touring the NBA. (Which incidentally is an award Z-Bo squads have picked up three years running even though he's switched teams every off-season - quite the feat).  And that's without signing Iverson.

A quick look into Thabeet's sterling summer league numbers this summer:

And David Thorpe's backhanded compiments: "This much is certain: The Grizzlies knew they were getting a project when they drafted him. And although his attitude seemed positive and his demeanor on the court was professional, his effort level never came close to what it will take for him to have success in the NBA. His lack of strength, balance or scoring skills is not the issue. Give him that same set of weaknesses, but replace his passion for the games with Blake Griffin's, and Memphis would have a center who would be the envy of the entire league."

So if you're into seven footers with "tremendous upside" and "blockshotability" i suggest passing on Thabeet this early and picking up Ian Mahinmi or Saer Sene in the 14th round instead.  (Also expected to be available at the tail end of your dratt: Johan Petro, Robert Swift, Patrick Obryant, Darko Milicic and yes!, Tyson Chandler).

Another terrible pick:  Shelden Williams has been a perennial Broham super sleeper over the years and I'm here to tell you the jury is IN and dude just sucks.   He got beat out by Zaur Pachulia and a then rookie Josh Smith back in the ATL.  A little later he got schooled by a rookie Al Horford (even though Shelden had a couple of seasons of NBA experience up on him). Then he got shipped to Sacramento where he got beat out by Jason Thompson (yeah, another rookie), sophomore Steve Hawes and the artist formerly known as Mikki Moore.  Brad Miller was injured for weeks and dude could not break into the rotation.  Now he's playing in Boston behind Garnett, and Rasheed Wallace and Kendrik Perkins and Glen Davis and he's going to get on the court how exactly?   Doing the Tonya Harding to the knee?

Other questionable picks: Tyler Hansborough was drafted sans controversy, but it seemed to me there will still rookies with more talent on the board.   Yes I'm betting he'll probalby be a rotation guy in the NBA, but what kind of numbers is he going to put up realistically?  In his rookie season?  I actually like DeAndre Jordan (as a super sleeper not in the 10th round!) but i think minutes are going to be very hard to come by in the LAC.  I see him as the 3rd big man off the bench, playing behind Griffin, Camby, Kaman and Craig Smith though not everyone agrees.

Best Pick:  This was an awful, awful round.  But I think that Mike Miller has some bounce-back-ability coming off a subpar year on the team the NBA (and its fans) forgot.  I like that the Wizards have assembled a collection of taleted vets playing for pride.  Maybe there won't be enough ball to go round, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a motivated Miller (who's been stuck in NBA purgatory for most of his NBA career) regain mid-700s form.  And with Flip Saunders at the helm this might be one of those teams that gives up 112 ppg but scores a 110 (and produces a disproportionate number of KF impact players).

 Mike Miller's numbers (yeah he's been pretty good):

Round 11

Blair Gate:

And here's when it happened.  Schottsie upset the entire balance of the draft universe - the dreaded "draftverse collapse"! - by selecting the man with no ACLs: NBA draft pariah and Spurs 2nd round steal, DeJuan Blair.

The play by play:

Schottsie - "Dejuan blair"

Doug - "Hey, I don't think it makes sense from a rankings standpoint to put DeJuan Blair ahead of at least some of the guys who were drafted way ahead of him.  I mean, I can certainly see someone wanting to take Blair here, but should he be ranked ahead of Earl Clark, Ty Lawson, Jordan Hill, Jeff Teague -- guys who have similar fantasy potential and were taken in the lottery or the mid-first round? "

Broham - "I think Blair is a better pick KF wise at this point than the other 1st rounders…  You could argue that he doesn’t have the upside of Ricky Rubio or Demar Derozan… but he’s by far the likeliest to post 20 minutes with an .800 avg of everyone left on the board (in my opinion)…"

Doug - "Blair's also the likeliest to blow his knees out, not make it through training camp and not play a single minute in the NBA.  He doesn't have ACLs!  As I said, there are plenty of good reasons to take him here.  I just don't think it makes sense to rank a second rounder above first rounders with comparable talent and some NBA readiness.  I'm not saying we have to rank rookies according to their draft positions -- Rubio should, imo, be lower than Blair ubless we find out he's for sure playing in the NBA this year.  But guys like Lawson and Clark are gonna play roles with their teams, and they were taken twenty to thirty spots ahead of Blair." 

Broham - "Lest we forget… Blair was a rebounding beast in College…He only dropped to the 2nd round because of the ACLs…  So I suppose the question is whether he can last a full season…

From NBADraft.Net

NBA Comparison: Paul Millsap/Anthony Mason

Strengths: Powerful post player with tremendous rebounding ability … Uses his wide base, long arms and soft hands to inhale every rebound in his area … Has a true NBA skill, rebounding … Particularly dangerous on the offensive glass (averaged an astounding 5.6 offensive boards per game in his sophomore year) … Big personality. Plays the game with great love and passion. Appears to really have fun playing the game, almost always has a big grin on his face … An intimidating post presence, despite not possessing great leaping ability … Enjoys physical contact and understands how to position himself for rebounds … An excellent passer for a post player. Difficult to double team, has a strong court sense with excellent vision and passing skills … An efficient offensive player … Has a tremendous pair of mits, allowing him to grab boards and gather in post passes with ease ... Post skills are strong. He understands how to create space against shot blockers by leaning into them (as he showed matching up with Hasheem Thabeet) … One of those type of players who seems to have better touch around the basket with contact … Converts a lot of And 1s … Extremely A natural leader and strong competitor who wills his team to wins and consistently comes through in the clutch … A solid set of post moves. Very comfortable playing in the paint and using fakes to get defenders off balance and off their feet ... An underrated athlete.

Colonel - "When was Millsap drafted his rookie season?  Anyway, I definitely think we should drop Blair a little…  If this were a draft, and this was the spot that Schottsie took him – then our default draft ranking should have him dropped down one round or so…  I’m sure there will be a few people in every League who peg him as someone they want, and have to decide at what pick to take him – so that nobody else beats them to the prize…  But don’t make him out to be a sure thing prospect…"

Broham - "Hater! Certainly a not a sure thing prospect on par with the great Nesterovic!!!!"

Colonel - "We’re not drafting prospects…  We’re drafting certainty – for our default draft list!  If someone let their team be auto-drafted, they should expect mediocracy!"

Broham - "summer League numbers for what its worth:

I guess he’s the new Sean May.   When Sean May was new though, he went much higher than this…(and was not as controversial!)… but he burned many a fantasy GM….I’m a huge Ty Lawson fan btw… I think he will be a great NBA player in a.690 sort of way… and while in Denver he’s only going to play 10 minutes a game…"

Colonel: "FYI – Milsap (after leading the NCAA in rebounding for three straight years) was drafted with the 2nd pick of the 15th round his rookie season…  (Behind Kevin Martin…) Sure, we missed the boat – but he was a 2nd round draft pick!  I see Blair projected in the 13th round…  And let someone take him in the 10th, 11th or 12th if they want to…"

And that my friends was that.   Blair's draft position was never updated. (So all yee unsuspecting haters and naysayers beware!  He might sneak up on your team sight unseen at Draft and 171st!  And destroy it!  Slowly and from the inside!)

But there were two important lessons to be had: Blair has no ACLs and if you let your team autodraft you should expect mediocracy.

Free Agent Alert:  McCants' .749 is certainly high enough to warrant an 11th round ranking, but as of yet no team has added him to their roster.   And as the old saying goes "No team, no minutes, no KF points."  Caveat emptor.

Round 12

Best Picks:  While the rookies dominated a round that was all about "upside potential", I think Ciwasko stole the show with his dual .640 picks - Jordan Farmar and Darrell Arthur.  Posting a .640 average is heresy here at the KFBA, where players are promptly delegated to the dustbin in favor of the devil rookies we don't know.  But Jordan Farmar and Darrell Arthur remain talented NBA prospects in spite of last years middling averages and either could break through next season (or at least break through enough to be worth a 10th round pick up next season) and both are young enough that the slightest uptick in numbers will be considered a positive trend.  Remember that player averages still owe much to their various roles.  Every season is different.  Every summer there are new tricks to be had.  Every fall there is new confidence to be gained.  And every winter there are roster altering trades.   Don't hate on the .640 players, hate on their coaches and ball-hogging teammates.

Rookies: In regular drafts the rookie pot usually gets raided much earlier.  If you can get a decent risk/reward guy like DeMar DeRozan, or potential NBA readies like Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague and Jordan Hill this deep, its well worth the gamble.  In fact - i hereby declare any lottery pick remaining in your draft to be a decent gamble in the 12th, 13th or 14th rounds.

Sophomores:  GMs tend to sleep on the 2nd year players that don't sport the gaudy averages, but many a Kentucky Fried star blossomed from humble beginnings.    Of this year's projected 1st round selections: Dirk Nowitzki posted a .678 his rookie season.  Danny Granger walked away with a .681, Deron Williams finished with a .658 and Tony Parker boasted a measly .588.  Now there have been 100s of other rookies with crappy averages during that time span that never developed into anything worth owning in Kentucky Fried leagues... but miracles do happen.

What say you Kentucky Fried peoples?