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F DeShaun "The Diesel" Thomas (Panathinaikos - Greece)

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Deshaun Thomas, 6-7 forward, Ohio State: "He's going to struggle. He has been a mismatch in college because he had the advantage in size and quickness, but that won't be the case in the NBA. He has always been a scorer, but he's too small to be a four, and that's where he played his whole career at Ohio State. He's not athletic or quick enough to create or guard the three, and he's not big enough to play the four. So he's your classic tweener."
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Seth Davis column compiling anonymous thoughts from 5 different scouts.
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BengalsAndBucks;2348585; said:
Seth Davis column compiling anonymous thoughts from 5 different scouts.
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The funny thing about DeShaun is he's the type of defender that has given LeBron some issues. A big body, not that quick laterally, but able to hold his own in the paint (Boris Diaw, Draymond Green).

I think DeShaun's poor defense has been exaggerated a bit, as he did a solid job last year, including guarding centers. He seems like a San Antonio type pick. A guy who comes off the bench with a specific role, and fills that role perfectly. I think he can get away in the "new" NBA as a PF (small ball line-ups), but also play the SF in spots, especially against SF's who aren't pure shooters (think Alonzo Gee, Gerald Wallace, Shawn Marion, etc.) His versatility should be looked at as much as his weaknesses. He'll allow a coach to go a pretty potent small line-up or let him steal minutes for the starting SF depending on who is in the game for the opponent. It's important to note, that as bench player, he won't be expected to check starting SF's, and back-ups at that position are largely limited in skill.

And just think about how many second units in the NBA struggle to get the ball in the basket. Even playoff teams like the Pacers, Grizzlies, Bulls, and Boston. All teams that knew when they went to the second unit were going to get gashed while the guys on the second unit struggled to find any looks. DeShaun has a valuable skill-set that will keep him in the league for a long time, IMO.
 
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I think he makes a ton of sense for the Pacers if they can get into that 10ish range in the second round, they're so desperate for bench scoring.

Chicago's another team that if they lose Nate could really use a volume scorer off their bench.
 
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Here is the thing about Thomas: He is an incredible shooter, and he is a crafty scorer. Those are his 2 skills which I think make him very good. Also, he is a hungry rebounder on offense. He could be a killer rotation guy.

When I read all these draft reports, everyone always wants a player to fit in a certain mold for a certain position. But look at how the NBA works now. The second unit is always made up of 2 kinds of players: Those that fit the mold but aren't good enough to start and those who don't fit the mold, but produce.

Put him on a team like the Pacers or the Spurs. You don't think the Pacers or Spurs could've used more scoring in their rotations against the Heat? Look at the stats from either series, both the Spurs starters and Pacers starters were even or better than the Heat, but the Heat just obliterated them when their starters came off the floor. Neither could score.
 
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NastyNatiBuck;2348608; said:
Here is the thing about Thomas: He is an incredible shooter, and he is a crafty scorer. Those are his 2 skills which I think make him very good. Also, he is a hungry rebounder on offense. He could be a killer rotation guy.

When I read all these draft reports, everyone always wants a player to fit in a certain mold for a certain position. But look at how the NBA works now. The second unit is always made up of 2 kinds of players: Those that fit the mold but aren't good enough to start and those who don't fit the mold, but produce.

Put him on a team like the Pacers or the Spurs. You don't think the Pacers or Spurs could've used more scoring in their rotations against the Heat? Look at the stats from either series, both the Spurs starters and Pacers starters were even or better than the Heat, but the Heat just obliterated them when their starters came off the floor. Neither could score.
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Pretty much all of this. The Pacers couldn't match up with the Heat in transition because they had to leave David West on the court to guard the PF position. West couldn't guard LeBron or find Miller in secondary breaks. Thomas really helps in that exact situation, as a guy who could guard Miller on secondary breaks on the perimeter, but also have to be accounted for on the offensive end.

Role players like Sam Young, Ian Mahimi, Tyler Hansbrough...they're all solid, but together on the court provide no challenges defensively. At all.
 
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Former IndyStar Mr. Basketball Deshaun Thomas is on the verge of his dream
Jun. 25, 2013

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DeShaun Thomas speaks to the press after the Pacer's predraft workout on Thursday, June 13, 2013, at Banker's Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Adam Wolffbrandt / The Star / Adam Wolffbrandt/The Star

Written by
Stephen J. Nesbitt

Deshaun Thomas has always had a shooter?s touch.

The 2010 IndyStar Mr. Basketball, projected as a late first-round or early second-round selection in Thursday?s NBA draft, has spent the past month flying from city to city for pre-draft workouts.

On Thursday, Thomas will finally take a rest and anxiously wait for an NBA team to bet on the 6-7, 220-pound lefty with the smooth shooting stroke.

?Getting drafted is getting drafted,? Thomas said after a workout with the Pacers on June 13. ?That?s one of the greatest compliments. Hopefully you land at the right spot and you land on the right team.?

Thomas averaged 19.8 point and 5.9 rebounds per game as a junior at Ohio State before declaring for the draft this spring. He moved to Indianapolis in April, settled into a room at the Embassy Suites and started training at St. Vincent Sports Performance.

The NBA has always been his dream.

He has known it since he saw Reggie Miller rise up on the TV screen. He has known it since he determined in middle school that basketball, above all, would be his ticket out of Fort Wayne, Ind. And his family has known it since seeing young Deshaun pick basketballs off store racks and dribble them up and down the aisles.

Thomas was already a prolific scorer when he arrived at Bishop Luers High School in 2006.

?When he stepped into the door as a freshman, he showed all the signs of greatness,? former Bishop Luers coach James Blackmon remembered. ?And when you have your best player outworking everybody on the team, that?s a good sign. Deshaun led by example.?

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http://www.indystar.com/article/201...-Mr-Basketball-Deshaun-Thomas-verge-his-dream
 
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[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PLnk-eI3xU"]Deshaun Thomas: Courting the NBA Part Two - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXe_UF5gxbg"]James Whittaker on Deshaun Thomas interview part one - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkfAWwVPSTE"]James Whittaker on Deshaun Thomas interview part two - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOm4fZfZLQw"]DeShaun Thomas: Courting the NBA Part 3 - YouTube[/ame]
 
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billmac91;2348602; said:
The funny thing about DeShaun is he's the type of defender that has given LeBron some issues. A big body, not that quick laterally, but able to hold his own in the paint (Boris Diaw, Draymond Green).

I think DeShaun's poor defense has been exaggerated a bit, as he did a solid job last year, including guarding centers.
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I disagree. Boris Diaw is an ox and a good defender in the NBA. Thomas was a mediocre defender in college, and would get embarrassed by LBJ. Green is a tougher player than DT and plays harder.

DT did make an occasional good defensive play, and he did a good job of denying entry passes to the post, but he was a liability trying to guard the perimeter and got blown by off the bounce by way too many guys. Anthony Booker, an unheralded PF/C from Iowa State, even got by him off the dribble. Last year DT was clearly the worst defender on the OSU team among guys who played more than 20 minutes on average.
 
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June 27, 2013
City?s star will have to prove himself
Thomas faces questions about what his NBA role will be
Justin A. Cohn | The Journal Gazette

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Associated Press photos
Thomas averaged 19.8 points as a junior and left Ohio State as the school?s No. 9 career scorer.

FORT WAYNE ? When Deshaun Thomas walked the halls at Bishop Luers, he would hear the chatter.

?He?s going to make it,? they said.

And Thomas always believed he would make it to the NBA, and that could be tonight as the league holds its draft.

Not since Tracy Foster was taken by the Philadelphia 76ers in the sixth round of the 1987 draft has someone from Fort Wayne been selected.

Thomas has the talent. You don?t get a scholarship offer from Ohio State as a freshman in high school, as Thomas did, unless you have talent.

There have been many cautionary tales of players not making it to the NBA, and Thomas? greatest achievement may be that he remained focused and didn?t let the hype get the better of him.

?I have come a long way,? Thomas said. ?Growing up and playing at Bishop Luers, this was always the dream. All my friends would be like, ?Oh, you are going to be the one that makes it.? It was just fun coming out of Luers and keeping my dream and keeping my head level.?

The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Thomas spent the last three years playing at Ohio State. But before that, he honed his skills at the YMCA, where he was coached on the AAU circuit by Jim Whittaker, and Luers, where he played for James Blackmon.

Blackmon said that Thomas separated himself from the pack well before he arrived at high school.

Thomas won two middle-school championships and was a star AAU player.

?People had expectations for him because of his great potential to be a great player,? Blackmon said. ?As a coach, you evaluate young players and people say, ?If he plays to his potential, he will really go places.? He did that.?

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http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130627/SPORTS20/306279980/1008/SPORTS
 
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