Barefield and McQuaid give SMU #6 ranked 2015 class so far

[Lebanese4Life]

While I undoubtedly believe it will be a great class, we're only ranked #6 because most other 'powerhouse programs' only have 1 or zero commits. Average rank pleeeez..

[purduedavie]

Nic Moore will play pro ball across the pond so he'll be at SMU 2 more years, as for Kennedy it will be interesting to see what he does considering next year will be his 4th year in college, if he has a good year he without a doubt will gauge to see if he could possibly get a first round draft spot, lets be honest, if he works his way into a first round pick next year it means he had a great year for the ponies which is a very good thing!

[TDMustang]

Markus should definitely test after this year, and I bet he does

Really, hoopmanx? I'm surprised to hear this comment come from you. I suppose it's possible he "tests" but once told he won't be drafted, he would return for senior year.

Markus Kennedy isn't exactly an NBA prospect, at the moment at least. He literally has no jump shot. If he improves this summer and becomes a great jumpshooter we could talk about him potentially leaving early, but otherwise, I don't see it at all.

Draft Express ranks him the 59th best Sophomore at the end of last year and Nbadraft.net doesn't have him in their mock for 2015 either.

^This

I don't see Markus' game translating to the NBA well right now. I'm sure he will take every opportunity to test the NBA waters and I'm sure Larry is doing everything he can to get him there. With that being said, his greatest strength is his inside game, but he's undersized to play that way at the NBA level. He has great footwork and scores easily at times against NCAA bigs but that won't be the case in the NBA.

I kind of compare him in my mind to a poor man's Paul Millsap, but Millsap was a far superior rebounder and a better athlete coming out of college. When Paul got to the NBA he began to develop an outside game that made him an all-star for the first time this year.

I also think Markus is going to have trouble keeping the weight off. It looked like he started to gain some of it back towards the end of last season, and if he becomes more of a grounded player at his heaight, that would really hurt his chances at the NBA.

I hope he makes it, but I don't see it right now. If he can average around 18 and 10 next year like I hope he will, NBA scouts might be forced to take interest.

[EastStang]

It depends if he can improve his perimeter game even slightly. Look at Nene for the Wizards. Not that tall, but a big body who will not get shoved around and who can shoot from the free throw circle.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

I don't watch the NBA, but if you look at how much Markus improved from the beginning of the season to the end of the season and figure he will be in even better shape next year - who knows how good he will be by next March.

Granted, he hit a big peak in those first games after Yanick got hurt and then kind of plateaued a bit, but I certainly wouldn't rule out more significant progress for Kennedy in 2014-15.

[hoopmanx]

He's going to have a big year, and hed be wise to go through the process. Speculation on whose game translates, solely based on what you see on the floor in college, discounts the role of coaches. Just bc markus plays inside, in a inside out scheme, doesn't mean he can't hit the 16 ft jumper. I'd bet he knocks down a slew in individual workouts. He just rarely forced into that role for smu, and when he has been, he hasn't been as effective as you'd want. That's on him, but doesn't mean a mid range jumper isn't part of the nba arsenal. All that said, he could measure 6'6 for all I know

[StallionsModelT]

If Kennedy is gonna leave early he better learn how to knock down a shot outside of 5 feet.

[Pony ^]

MK rains 3's and outside shots in warmups from what I've seen. But why shoot jumpers when he has the arsenal that he has to get to the net?

[ojaipony]

This isn't football . . . the second guys get a GLIMMER of a paycheck they are gone. I seriously doubt MK will be back for another year (I heard rumblings about him coming out at the end of THIS year . . . EM was quoted as saying something along the lines of "would love to play with him if he comes back" . . . ). Nic Moore, I don't know (but if I'm him and graduated by the end of next year, I'm going to Europe minimum). You guys have to realize these dudes are older (especially MK) than their classification. They are itching to get to the next level and will bounce at the drop of a hat.

Keeeeth is also an interesting one. He probably stays 3 years, though, if he can stay in school (unless of course he has a MONSTER year next year).

[MFFL02]

Don't blame the offense for MK's lack of jumpers. If he was capable of knocking them down consistently, he would. See Cannen Cunningham.

[TDMustang]

Don't blame the offense for MK's lack of jumpers. If he was capable of knocking them down consistently, he would. See Cannen Cunningham.

Agree. Watched Markus closely all season and at times early in the season he would shoot an open midrange jumper, usually missing badly. He became more and more hesitant to shoot an open midrange jumper as the season progressed, with good reason. A perfect example of this was in the NIT came against UC Irvine and Mamadou N'diaye in the middle of their 2-3 zone. Markus got several open midrange looks at the elbow and on the baseline, bricked a couple, then decided to go right at Mamadou several times to no avail. Cannen came in, hit the open midrange shots, and kind of saved us in that game.

Markus' lack of midrange game is more to do with his ability than lack of opportunity. As further evidence, someone who shoots around 50% from the free throw line usually isn't a great midrange jump shooter.

All that being said, it is something he can work on and I hope he does to help the team and his draft stock.

[East Coast Mustang]

Markus does a lot of things well- run the floor, passing, and defensively- but I think he'd need to step up in a big way next year to seriously consider entering the draft. He should shoot about 1,000 15 foot jumpers everyday this offseason.

I'd be interested to know his actual size- 6'9" 245 is NBA-size for a 4, but if that's exaggerated and he's undersized , he'd have a lot of trouble doing the things he does well now around the rim at the NBA level in my opinion.

How often do guys leave after their Jr. years (if they've graduated) to go to Europe? Does it pay well enough to justify a guy like Nic doing that?

[hoopmanx]

Don't blame the offense for MK's lack of jumpers. If he was capable of knocking them down consistently, he would. See Cannen Cunningham.

Ummm, no. Their roles tend to be quite different depending on personnel and position. I don't think we know about MKs mid range. That doesn't mean it doesn't need work

[smoodtwice]

Markus should definitely test after this year, and I bet he does

Really, hoopmanx? I'm surprised to hear this comment come from you. I suppose it's possible he "tests" but once told he won't be drafted, he would return for senior year.

Markus Kennedy isn't exactly an NBA prospect, at the moment at least. He literally has no jump shot. If he improves this summer and becomes a great jumpshooter we could talk about him potentially leaving early, but otherwise, I don't see it at all.

Draft Express ranks him the 59th best Sophomore at the end of last year and Nbadraft.net doesn't have him in their mock for 2015 either.

^This

I don't see Markus' game translating to the NBA well right now. I'm sure he will take every opportunity to test the NBA waters and I'm sure Larry is doing everything he can to get him there. With that being said, his greatest strength is his inside game, but he's undersized to play that way at the NBA level. He has great footwork and scores easily at times against NCAA bigs but that won't be the case in the NBA.

I kind of compare him in my mind to a poor man's Paul Millsap, but Millsap was a far superior rebounder and a better athlete coming out of college. When Paul got to the NBA he began to develop an outside game that made him an all-star for the first time this year.

I also think Markus is going to have trouble keeping the weight off. It looked like he started to gain some of it back towards the end of last season, and if he becomes more of a grounded player at his heaight, that would really hurt his chances at the NBA.

I hope he makes it, but I don't see it right now. If he can average around 18 and 10 next year like I hope he will, NBA scouts might be forced to take interest.

I could see him work out a DeJuan Blair type game. Quick releases and using his body inside. I think he could make that work. I know what Blair looked like out of Pitt. I am not saying that MK is the same as Blair was then, but I see some flashes of similar play. Plus, I believe that MK is not bone on bone in the knee.

[MFFL02]

Don't blame the offense for MK's lack of jumpers. If he was capable of knocking them down consistently, he would. See Cannen Cunningham.

Ummm, no. Their roles tend to be quite different depending on personnel and position. I don't think we know about MKs mid range. That doesn't mean it doesn't need work

Of course we know about MKs mid range. There's a reason why teams left him wide open 12-15 feet from the basket and he rarely attempted them. And when he did, he shot a very lower percentage from there. If he was an above average shooter, he would have knocked them down all the time. That would have significantly opened up the paint for the rest of the team as well.