Bryan Penn-Johnson 7'0 C 2018 to Washington

[WSUwatcher]

Bryan, let us introduce you to Isaac Humphries.

He's that big guy a few seats down the bench...

Humphries has yet to average 10 minutes a game for Kentucky, and he's been ninth on the team in minutes played each of his two years (last season just behind another name familiar to us, Mychal Mulder, who was eighth -- and between the two of them combined they got less PT than the seventh man). Hope he's enjoying his stay in bluegrass country. I'm told it's very scenic, in a pastoral sort of way.

Meanwhile, if BPJ wants to have an actual on-court impact, he might consider a top ten team that will have to replace its top three bigs after next season, and will even sport another teammate with a hyphenated last name. Sound familiar?

[another shocker]

that young man kind of reminds me of lew alcindor.

[im4wsu]

He's that big guy a few seats down the bench...

Humphries has yet to average 10 minutes a game for Kentucky, and he's been ninth on the team in minutes played each of his two years (last season just behind another name familiar to us, Mychal Mulder, who was eighth -- and between the two of them combined they got less PT than the seventh man). Hope he's enjoying his stay in bluegrass country. I'm told it's very scenic, in a pastoral sort of way.

Meanwhile, if BPJ wants to have an actual on-court impact, he might consider a top ten team that will have to replace its top three bigs after next season, and will even sport another teammate with a hyphenated last name. Sound familiar?

In 24 games he appeared in since Jan 1, 2017, he has played double digit minutes exactly 4 times, his high being 21 in the loss to UNC in the NCAA.

[Aargh]

If we can get this guy, I'd be delighted to let Kentucky have Humphries.

[WuShock16]

He's that big guy a few seats down the bench...

Humphries has yet to average 10 minutes a game for Kentucky, and he's been ninth on the team in minutes played each of his two years (last season just behind another name familiar to us, Mychal Mulder, who was eighth -- and between the two of them combined they got less PT than the seventh man). Hope he's enjoying his stay in bluegrass country. I'm told it's very scenic, in a pastoral sort of way.

Meanwhile, if BPJ wants to have an actual on-court impact, he might consider a top ten team that will have to replace its top three bigs after next season, and will even sport another teammate with a hyphenated last name. Sound familiar?

Humphries left UK for the draft this past spring, went undrafted of course, and is now back in his homeland of Australia playing pro ball. I hope his stint in Lexington was all that he hoped it would be.

[Dan]

that young man kind of reminds me of lew alcindor.

He's a guy we could literally build a team around. He could literally be a one and done based on his current skillset, despite lack of experience. The NBA loves youth, size and potential.

[shockmonster]

He's a guy we could literally build a team around. He could literally be a one and done based on his current skillset, despite lack of experience. The NBA loves youth, size and potential.

I agree with your statement but if he's smart he doesn't go immediately to the NBA when they call and his Freshman year, he won't be ready. If you remember the 7'1 Patrick O'Bryant from Bradley, he left after his Sophomore year, and he never made it. The NBA is littered with players who left before they were ready (KU had a couple the past few years) who were left behind (Penn reminds me a little of POB).

Penn is raw, and needs to wait until at least his Sophomore year and build up his skills to be ready for the NBA. If he needs to, he can take out an insurance policy to make sure he has some money should he get hurt, but he needs to remain patient. The NBA is always ready to take a chance on a player who has great potential but presently isn't ready and at this time, they are poor developers of talent. Barring injury, the NBA will still be waiting for when he is ready.

[Kel Varnsen]

The NBA is the perfect place to develop a prospect's talent. The limitations of time, resources, and manpower that most D-I schools work within from a development standpoint are eradicated in the NBA. All of the time that a player has to use in college to go to class and do homework can now be dedicated to training, practicing, doing drills, watching film, and getting proper nutrition. The variables there are a prospect's real "ceiling", the effectiveness of the coaching/training staff, and the prospect's work ethic.

[shockmonster]

The NBA is the perfect place to develop a prospect's talent. The limitations of time, resources, and manpower that most D-I schools work within from a development standpoint are eradicated in the NBA. All of the time that a player has to use in college to go to class and do homework can now be dedicated to training, practicing, doing drills, watching film, and getting proper nutrition. The variables there are a prospect's real "ceiling", the effectiveness of the coaching/training staff, and the prospect's work ethic.

You mentioned a lot there and I disagree with much of it.

First of all, the NBA is a bottom line business more than the NCAA entities. WSU has always been involved with player development, used redshirts, daily practices, team building with team leaders to motivate younger team members, and show them how to act toward maturity. In other words, WSU is more willing to meet the athlete with where they are both emotionally and physically, and help them gain weight, gain strength, gain experience against other good players in practice, gain experience against others during games. Ask JT Durley about his talent level vs. his ability to work hard. Ask Shaq about his talent level vs. his willingness to being a winner. Ask Markis about his building strength, ask Darryl about his building his right hand to go with his left hand. Ask Ron about his ability to become a world class defender, and was Ron able to handle 10 million dollars over two years at 18? A negative factor, was Cle prepared to enter the NBA and understanding to stay out of trouble with millions of dollars at 22?

The NBA has a lot of resources, but the player is still expected to produce in an environment, while on their own. The NBA is a bottom line business and there is not a strong safety net in large cities. There is so much more to add to this but the bottom line is that at 18 and 19 years of age, a player does not need to hurry too much and then fail instead of succeed.

[AZ Shocker]

With development over a 4 year college career (for this young man) from Gregg Marshall and staff...an NBA career is a sure fire way to make a nice living for Mr. Johnson. Listening to his interview...he may actually want a college degree for back up.

[another shocker]

i would more compare him to willie cauly-stein before patrick o'bryant. he's raw but athletic.. with a 7'8" wingspan to boot.

but you need a guy like that to advance in the ncaa tournament.

no patrick o'bryant, no sweet sixteen for bradley in 2006. no ehemin orukpe, no final four for wichita state in 2013.. and nothing since then (final four speaking).

shockers are missing the rim protector.. no final four again until they get one.

[Kel Varnsen]

You mentioned a lot there and I disagree with much of it.

First of all, the NBA is a bottom line business more than the NCAA entities. WSU has always been involved with player development, used redshirts, daily practices, team building with team leaders to motivate younger team members, and show them how to act toward maturity. In other words, WSU is more willing to meet the athlete with where they are both emotionally and physically, and help them gain weight, gain strength, gain experience against other good players in practice, gain experience against others during games. Ask JT Durley about his talent level vs. his ability to work hard. Ask Shaq about his talent level vs. his willingness to being a winner. Ask Markis about his building strength, ask Darryl about his building his right hand to go with his left hand. Ask Ron about his ability to become a world class defender, and was Ron able to handle 10 million dollars over two years at 18? A negative factor, was Cle prepared to enter the NBA and understanding to stay out of trouble with millions of dollars at 22?

The NBA has a lot of resources, but the player is still expected to produce in an environment, while on their own. The NBA is a bottom line business and there is not a strong safety net in large cities. There is so much more to add to this but the bottom line is that at 18 and 19 years of age, a player does not need to hurry too much and then fail instead of succeed.

I will certainly concede that the expectation of performance and safety net is different at the NBA level compared to the college level. Good point there.

I think the difference between the players you mentioned and the players who end up in the NBA after one year is the raw talent level and the advanced development of some prospects. None of the Shocker players you mentioned would have had a shot at playing in the NBA at 21 years of age sans maybe Baker (and some of them may not have a shot period, like JT Durley). We have never really had any players that came in as freshmen and were ready to physically compete at an NBA level like one-and-done players such as John Wall, Aaron Gordon, or Ben Simmons. We've had to rely on development, scouting, and choosing good kids who will embrace the culture here and strive to improve. Players like Markis, Darral, and Shaq all have certain deficiencies that would really hurt them at the next level (ball-handling, weak hand, height) whether we like it or not, and some of that they may never be able to overcome simply because of how they're made biologically. But they serve to be important pieces of a really good and maybe great college team. I obviously hope that our players make it to the next level in the NBA, but for some of them, that may not be realistic.

[shockmonster]

i would more compare him to willie cauly-stein before patrick o'bryant. he's raw but athletic.. with a 7'8" wingspan to boot.

but you need a guy like that to advance in the ncaa tournament.

no patrick o'bryant, no sweet sixteen for bradley in 2006. no ehemin orukpe, no final four for wichita state in 2013.. and nothing since then (final four speaking).

shockers are missing the rim protector.. no final four again until they get one.

Ok. Willie stayed at U.K. For two-three years. You made the argument I was making. POB was raw and nobody had heard about him because he hadn't played very much in high school and my point was he should have stayed at Bradley instead of leaving for the NBA after his freshman year. He was drafted late in the first round but wasn't ready to leave. Penn probably has more ability than POB, but for you to dis O'bryant is just stupid.

[shockmonster]

I will certainly concede that the expectation of performance and safety net is different at the NBA level compared to the college level. Good point there.

I think the difference between the players you mentioned and the players who end up in the NBA after one year is the raw talent level and the advanced development of some prospects. None of the Shocker players you mentioned would have had a shot at playing in the NBA at 21 years of age sans maybe Baker (and some of them may not have a shot period, like JT Durley). We have never really had any players that came in as freshmen and were ready to physically compete at an NBA level like one-and-done players such as John Wall, Aaron Gordon, or Ben Simmons. We've had to rely on development, scouting, and choosing good kids who will embrace the culture here and strive to improve. Players like Markis, Darral, and Shaq all have certain deficiencies that would really hurt them at the next level (ball-handling, weak hand, height) whether we like it or not, and some of that they may never be able to overcome simply because of how they're made biologically. But they serve to be important pieces of a really good and maybe great college team. I obviously hope that our players make it to the next level in the NBA, but for some of them, that may not be realistic.

You obviously are a Big NBA guy who consistently says that players should jump most of the time and refuses to point out the down side for jumping. I think that Penn is raw and not a one and done player and you think he is that good. You point all of the success that the NBA has developing players but you didn't mention Cliff Alexander who fell from prodigy status to failure status in two years. He was viewed as a sure thing.

[WSUwatcher]

Whether the NBA is a good place for player development or a bad one doesn't matter as much as whether they can be projected to draft a player high enough for him to be willing to take a shot at the draft. That's the risk associated with a guy (especially a center, because they're almost always in short supply) who might stay one year and then leave even if he hasn't become a consistent impact player in college yet. See, for example, Justin Patton, who left the Jayboys after a season in which he played 25 mpg and averaged 13 and 6. Most potential lottery picks aren't like Miles Bridges.

Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine that WSU wouldn't take the risk for a guy like BPJ and then let the chips fall where they may after his freshman season, because this sort of opportunity doesn't come along every day.