Okay, so, let’s talk about this dude Brandin Podziemski. I’ve been digging into his game recently, and I gotta say, there’s some interesting stuff going on there. This whole process started because I saw some buzz around him being a potential first-round pick, a real sleeper in the draft. So, you know me, I had to see what the fuss was about.
First thing I did was pull up a bunch of his game footage. You know, I just threw myself into watching him play. I watched a bunch of games, I watched his highlights, I watched his lowlights, you name it. I started with his time at Santa Clara. I watched a ton of his games there. The kid’s got a smooth stroke, no doubt about it. He can shoot the lights out, and he’s not afraid to let it fly from deep. I noticed he’s also got a nice touch around the rim, he can finish through contact, and he can hit some floaters, that kind of thing.
But, like, it’s not just about scoring with this guy. What really caught my eye was his agility. I mean, this kid can move. He’s shifty with the ball, always seems to be one step ahead of the defense. I saw him make some pretty slick passes, too. Nothing too flashy, but he clearly has a good feel for the game. He gets his teammates involved. He’s like one of those guys who doesn’t force it, you know? He lets the game come to him.
Then, I moved on to his numbers. I looked at his stats, his shooting percentages, his assist-to-turnover ratio, all that good stuff. And you know what? They matched up pretty well with what I saw on film. This wasn’t a case of the stats lying. They were telling the same story as the eye test.
Now, I wasn’t just looking at the positives. I tried to find some weaknesses, too. I mean, nobody’s perfect, right? One thing I noticed was that he’s not exactly a lockdown defender. He’s not terrible, but he’s not going to be locking up the other team’s best player. I also saw that he can be a bit turnover-prone at times. Not a huge issue, but it’s something he’ll need to clean up at the next level. And hey, I heard the dude suffered an abdominal strain recently and even broke his nose in the preseason! But he’s tough, I’ll give him that. He bounced back, maybe even put on a protective mask, and kept playing. You gotta respect that.
After all that, I started looking at some mock drafts and scouting reports. I wanted to see what other people were saying about him. And, like I said before, there was a lot of buzz about him being a first-round pick. I saw him mocked as high as the late teens, which is pretty impressive for a guy who wasn’t even on the radar a year ago.
My Conclusion
So, after all this digging, what’s the verdict? Well, I think Brandin Podziemski is a legit prospect. He’s a skilled offensive player with a good feel for the game. He’s got some weaknesses, sure, but they’re definitely fixable. I’m not saying he’s going to be an All-Star, but I think he has a chance to be a solid NBA player for a long time. I’d say he’s a definite sleeper pick, a guy who could surprise a lot of people. And who knows, maybe that abdominal strain and broken nose will just make him even hungrier. Time will tell, but I’m definitely keeping an eye on this kid.
- Pros:
- Can shoot the lights out
- Agile and shifty with the ball
- Good feel for the game, gets teammates involved
- Stats back up the eye test
- Tough and resilient, played through injuries
- Cons:
- Not a lockdown defender
- Can be turnover-prone at times
Anyway, that’s my take on Brandin Podziemski. I just wanted to share my process and what I found. Hope you found it interesting. Let me know what you think in the comments! Oh, and by the way, I heard the guy’s got some Polish roots, which is pretty cool. Always interesting to learn about a player’s background.
