Of course he can. What a stupid question.
I ask this because, during yesterday’s game chat, some guy who clearly duped the screeners (sample screening question: What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?) decided to trash Darius the entire game, saying he peaked as a freshman, and that he wouldn’t be in the NBA next year.
To which I say, bullfeathers.
Let’s not sugarcoat things; to say Darius has underwhelmed at times would not be hyperbole. But to say he can’t play in the NBA is simply wrong.
I’ll get the facts out of the way first. In four years, Darius has career averages of 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, while shooting 44% overall and 38% from three. Not eye-popping numbers by any means.
But remember, the NBA Draft is as much about potential as it is production, and we’ve all seen flashes of Darius’ potential. At 6’8″, 235lbs, he has an NBA-ready body, and would be a good-sized small forward. We’ve also seen his ability to get hot from outside, as he shot a very solid 44% as a junior (good enough for 22nd nationally in overall % that season). And yesterday’s nasty dunk showed his athleticism.
So why the Darius hate? I think a lot of it is due to his slow-starting nature, as pretty much every season he starts slow, then finishes strong. We first saw this when he was a freshman, and when it didn’t quite carry over to his sophomore year, fans got upset. Then there’s the incident at Ole Miss last year, when he passed up a WIDE OPEN shot as Kentucky lost at the buzzer. It was theme pretty much all year, as “Disappearious” Miller showed up often, at least until the SEC tournament, when Darius laid waste to everything around him on his way to Tournament MVP.
That, in a nutshell, is the Darius Miller quandary: flashes of brilliance, surrounded by moments of disappearance. But, when it comes to NBA potential, production goes out the window.
Want proof? Here’s proof: [I]Daniel Orton was a first-round draft pick[/I]. After averaging 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds as a 6’10” person, Daniel Orton got a guaranteed contract.
But you are going to tell me that Darius Miller can’t get to the league?
One reason for his lack of consistent production is the fact that he does need to score 20 points a game. Go look at the Kentucky roster for this season. Four projected first-round picks (Anthony Davis, Terrance Jones, Doron Lamb, and MKG) are averaging 13.8, 12.3, 13.8, and 12.0 points a game, respectively. Darius is averaging 9.9 a game. How is it that the first four mentioned are future pros, but are only averaging 3-4 points a game more than the “scrub”? Because points per game doesn’t matter.
What matters to an NBA scout? Size, athleticism, basketball IQ, and ability. Darius has all of those. His biggest flaw is spending his last three seasons on teams loaded with NBA talent.
Do you honestly think Darius wouldn’t be averaging 20 points a game on any other team? He would be an All-SEC player at Vanderbilt, or Georgia, or Tennessee. But the fact is, he doesn’t have to score 20 points a game for his team to win.
Remember Josh Selby? He was drafted after averaging 8 points a game.
If nothing else, there’s [URL=”http://nbadraft.net/2012mock_draft”]this[/URL]: as of 3 days ago, NBADraft.net had Darius going as the last pick in the second round.
There’s also [URL=”http://www.draftexpress.com/rankings/NCAA-Seniors/”]this[/URL]: Draft Express has Darius ranked as the #25 senior.
Darius may not get drafted, but you’d be a fool to think he won’t be on an NBA roster somewhere this fall.
