Carnage45's World: 2017

At all levels there are ball players that take their game to a new level every year. Many go under the radar for various reason. One of the main reasons is lack of TV time. Casual fans honestly only care about superstars that they see and hear about all the time. I decided to put yall on to some hoopers you may not be familiar with right now that I expect to level up this upcoming season. Let’s start at the high school level with RJ Barrett.

We’re a month away from knowing where the number 1 high school player in the country RJ Barrett will be committing. Setting the date for November 10th there will be a lot of anticipation from those who follow college basketball recruiting. He narrowed his final 3 choices of schools to Duke, Kentucky, and Oregon. Canadian bred RJ Barrett currently attends Montverde Academy. That same school has produced many high profile recruits like Ben Simmons, D’Angelo Russell, and Joel Embiid to name a few. This past summer he led Canada to a FIBA U19 championship. On that same championship run he destroyed the USA team coached by John Calipari in the semi-finals dropping 38 points and 13 rebounds. The 6’7 shooting guard made it clear that he wants no confusion about who is the best in the 2018 class so I can expect him to carry that energy into what will be his last season of high school ball.

To me Trae Young is the best pure point guard of this freshman class heading into this upcoming college season. He has limitless range on his shot that can take your attention away from how great of a passer and defender he is. I got a chance to see him in person when he was teammates with Michael Porter Jr. for Mokan Elite and I was sold instantly. He chose to stay home and play for the Oklahoma Sooners. I’m confident that he will bring the best out of his college teammates and will be a force to deal with in March. As far as skill I think he could be NBA ready after one season of NCAA ball, but I’d suggest that he stick around till his junior year at least. His style of play reminds me of Tyus Jones who I also think was good enough to be one and done but should have played another year or two in college. There’s nothing wrong with making sure you’re as sharp as possible when heading into the league. It worked for Dame Lillard and many others in the past.

Kyle Kuzma so far has looked like the steal of the draft. He’s a bucket everytime he touches the floor. I knew he was a solid shooter in college but I didn’t see him coming into Summer League and preseason scoring as easily as he has. The 22 year old rookie played 3 college seasons at Utah and he’s looking like a fully developed product. The 6’9 forward weighing in at 220 lbs has the body frame that most one and done rookies take years to grow into. He’s extremely skilled with his post moves and can create easy shots for himself in any scenario. Him slipping to 27th in the draft is mind blowing considering he worked out for multiple teams and they all passed on him. Lonzo Ball is the perfect teammate for him. Lonzo Ball likes to push the offense at an extremely fast pace and Kuzma has no problem keeping up. Getting that draft pick as part of a deal that sent D’Angelo Russell and Mozgov to Brooklyn for Brook Lopez don’t seem like it was a bad idea at all. Magic and Rob found a gem.

This season I expect the Denver Nuggets to be a playoff team and Gary Harris will be one of the key players to get them there. Playing for the Nuggets can be a legit reason to slide under the radar because….well who really watching the Nuggets other than actual fans, fans of the team they’re playing against, and diehard basketball fans like myself that’ll watch anyone? Casuals might not have a clue who Harris is right now, but I’m claiming it right now that he will be a top 10 shooting guard this season. His steady progress along with the growth of his teammates will be on full display this season. Having a big like Nikola Jokic that can pass as good as most guards can benefit the scorers on his team. I got Harris pulling 17-19 points a game this season and gaining many new fans along the way. Breakout year soon come.