Brendan Marks sees a 'successful, long-term player' in Caleb Wilson (Hour 2)

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Rahimi & Grote Show 25 min 5 speakers 6 chapters transcribed 3 months ago
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What is the significance of Caleb Wilson being drafted fourth overall?

Mark Grote 0:02
We're getting there and definitely not where we want to be, but we're establishing an identity. I think that's really important for this organization, especially where we're at right now. Both Caleb and Daylon, they fit the bill. We're not addressing every skill yet. A lot of people might, where's the shooting at? And things of that nature. And I'm not typically worried about that right now. There's just a certain mentality and a certain profile in a way that Coach Tiago and myself want to play. And we feel like today was a good layer for that.
Vinny Rotino 0:47
That is Bryson Graham talking about his draft picks. And yeah, I'm laughing because, well, I'm one of the people asking about where the shooting is. Caleb Wilson going fourth overall and then 15th overall is Daylon Swain out of Texas. So we go to our hotline, and that is where we find Brendan Marks, who also joins us on Twitch, twitch.tv slash thescorechicago. He's the national college basketball writer for The Athletic, based in Durham, North Carolina. Brendan, thanks for coming on today.
Brendan Marks 1:21
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having me.
Vinny Rotino 1:22
What are your thoughts at first blush of seeing Caleb Wilson, who we made a lot about here, of course, a very highly coveted draft pick, going to the Bulls at the fourth overall pick?
Brendan Marks 1:34
Yeah, to be honest with you, I couldn't love it anymore. I've been covering North Carolina players in general since about 2014. I've covered college basketball for the athletic for eight seasons now. And he is as competitive a player as I have covered at any school, but especially in North Carolina. You're asking for a personality, a guy who can be a leader, a guy who can unite people. He has all of that. And then physically, I mean, he's still very much growing into his body, but he's already incredibly productive. He's a tremendous athlete, one of the best athletes in all of college basketball this year, one of the best athletes entering the NBA in this year's class. And I think it's going to be a couple of years until he puts it all together.
Brendan Marks 2:13
No, he's not a great shooter yet, but the flashes are so exciting. And knowing his demeanor and knowing how he operates, it's hard for me to imagine a situation in which he isn't a really successful long-term player.
Marshall Harris 2:25
Brendan, you scared me a little bit with the beginning of your answer because you're like, to be honest, I was like, whenever someone says, to be honest, you're scared that they're going to give you a hard truth that you might disagree with. But I like your answer there. I want to know, because he is so young, right? He's got probably the most upside of any of these players that we're seeing that were taken in the top four. What are the chances that he ends up being the best player in this draft?
Brendan Marks 2:47
It wouldn't surprise me at all. Not one bit. I mean, I think you can make the argument that of those top four guys, he's the most athletic. And, you know, to me, I kind of liken him physically to a giraffe. Like he's still growing into his body. He's still growing into that role. You know, this was a guy who until last year at North Carolina had never really been that featured guy, you know, in the grassroots circuit, he played alongside Cameron Boozer and Caden Boozer and was kind of that complimentary star. And then, you know, I'll tell you guys, I remember having a conversation last October with Huber Davis in his office and he UNC had just finished playing BYU and A.J. DeBonson at a preseason exhibition, and by all accounts, Caleb had outplayed A.J.
Brendan Marks 3:23
I think he had 22 and 10 and three blocks and a couple of steals, and it was kind of an eye-opener for me and for a lot of us who cover college basketball, and I asked Hubert, I said, is that like a one-off? Was that like the best you've seen him, or is that kind of what you expect on an every-game basis? And You know, he just shrugged and smirked kind of like he knew a secret the rest of the world didn't. And so I think, you know, the fact that this guy is as productive as he is already, you know, obviously says a lot, but there's a lot more untapped potential here.

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