Can't confirm yet but hearing 5-star recruit, Terrance Ferguson, may end up in Australia. Adelaide is team I've heard.

— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) June 6, 2016

Interesting option for Adelaide.
Due to his age and lack of experience I assume he would be a back-up SGSF for the 36'ers.
Could be a good way to get future opportunities like this.

He is a 6'6" SG, this is his DraftExpress profile
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Terrance-Ferguson-71464/

Strengths
-Good size for a wing at 6' 7". Decent length - 6' 9.5” wingspan.
-Big-time leaper in transition. Best off of one foot.
-Can really get going from the perimeter with his feet set. Excellent when he's able to step into it in transition. Catches on the hop. Gets his feet set quickly. Nice elevation. Can run off of screens a little bit. Solid rotation and wrist action.
-Can make a one-dribble pull up.
-Capable of attacking a closeout.
-Outstanding feet on defense. Tremendous on ball defender when he digs in. Does a great job keeping the ball contained. Has the size and length to recover and contest.

Weaknesses
-Doesn't have a great frame – 186 lbs.
-Super bouncy but doesn't quite know how to use his athleticism in the half court. Very rigid ball handler. Offensive game is a little vanilla. Right-hand dominant.
-Can improve his ability to get to his jump shot vs a set defense.
-Dangerous when he gets going but can be very streaky as a shooter.
-Not much of a playmaker.
-Has some lapses as an off ball defender.

Outlook
Ferguson had an up and down week of practices before exploding in the game for 21 points on seven threes. He plays with a lot of confidence and proved how he can change a game when he gets going from three. There's not a whole lot to Ferguson's game but with his size, shot-making ability, and on-ball defense, there's most certainly a role for him at the NBA level in time.

Intriguing if there is an element of truth to this. For starters, not what I would expect from the Sixers to be so far on the front foot to be plucking High School kids requiring a gap year before the NBA draft!

If true is a huge risk, guy could come in an own it, or could come in and have a huge lack of respect for the league, low maturity etc. and destroy the entire season. Look forward to seeing this anyway if true.

I don't know about this guy, he seems too young and too raw to play NBL basketball. If he can get his 3 point shot dropping then he could be a dangerous player. He would fit Joey's running style, I'll give him that.

On the plus side, if this was his showcase year before a draft, he'd want to play well.

I don't know about this guy, he seems too young and too raw to play NBL basketball. If he can get his 3 point shot dropping then he could be a dangerous player. He would fit Joey's running style, I'll give him that.

If he is getting a decent deal from Under Armour they may get him for discount so he can showcase his skills in a Pro league.
Depending on his maturity he may want an English speaking country and coach.

Joey could probably argue he would be more interested in helping him develop then most Euro or Chinese teams would be.

Interesting move if true. NBL is a much better option culture-wise than China or a random European league for a teenager, but at the same time it's a strong league and the expectation would be there that he is going to showcase himself for the NBA. I think Sixers would be compelled to give him more minutes than he probably deserves at this stage of his development.

If the do sign him I assume they will need to sign a quality bigman import.
Only have 3 PFC at the moment.

Would feel better about it if Adelaide weren't relying so much on import production this season. The guy has only just turned 18.

The 36ers have a gap at small forward; the question is whether they start Mitch Creek and use Ferguson (if it's true) as the back-up, or vice versa.

If this is the choice they have made, Adelaide go into the season with a very inexperienced line-up, Jerome Randle, Mitch Creek, Brendan Teys and Daniel Johnson being the only players with more than one year as contracted pro-ballers.

Surely this won't happen. He'll get eaten up in the NBL. A young string bean who isn't a fluent ball handler that just shoots 3's. He sounds like a high school Clint Steindl type,and Clint had college experience and struggled adapting in his first NBL season. And being 18 he's on the turps over here,can he handle all of these changes?

He'd be on the first plane home before Rd 4.

Youtube highlights for the lazy

https://youtu.be/2uPeAY7xEjI

Darft Express info

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/terrance-ferguson

I don't think Clint Steindl was rated as a top 20 NBA draft pick, with a UA deal, out of high school though.

THE Adelaide 36ers are close to formalising a deal with US high school superstar Terrance Ferguson for the 2016-17 NBL season.

Ferguson, 18 and a high-scoring, athletic 201cm swingman, is expected to bypass attending University of Arizona for a year of seasoning in the NBL before declaring for the NBA's 2017 draft.

Securing the exciting future NBA off-guard has been a club "project" for more than a month but Adelaide’s hand was tipped today with US reports confirming Ferguson would forego college to play professionally in Australia.

Looking back at Joeys previous imports on how they got along with Joey, I'm starting to wonder if he can coach men who are their mid to upper 20"s.

For the life on me i cant understand why he would risk the import position by consider a kids fresh out of high school no experience as a pro. Look at Marcus Thornton for the Kings. He was a disaster!

Unless this is a favor for a friend and exchange for a potential coaching position in the US.

I highly doubt this kid would come in and act like a moron when he has millions of dollars on the line. The only issue I could see is him getting sucked into the bar scene coming from a country where he wouldn't be legal for a few more years. I think he could tear up the league, and be a great asset though, so I'm all for it.

If the players are too good, they end up in the NBA. If they're not, it's because they're undersized, lack basketball IQ, can't shoot, don't play D, are now too old, etc. In this case, if he's a draft prospect and looking OS, it seems like it's because the guy wants to get paid and then declare for the draft - quicker and more money than college. All the talk has mentioned Brandon Jennings (played in Italy for a year, got drafted, averaged 15.5 PPG his first NBA season) and Emmanuel Mudiay (a year in China, drafted, now NBA).

If Ferguson is a 6'7" SG, then he has NBA size. Sounds like he has some holes in his game so we'll see - easy to find the same for other guys. For Randle, his height, etc.

Still got an import spot to use on a forward and good coverage at SG/SF with Drmic, Teys and Creek. Could be a very quick and entertaining team.

The kid is a top level talent for his age, he helped crush the World team at the Nike Hoop Summit in April. See below.
Any cheap import they get is going to come with question marks attached.
Looks like he will be an excitement machine, but yeah hard tell how he is going to go against Pro players until he gets a chance.


http://www.nbadraft.net/2016-nike-hoop-summit-usa-team-recap


Terrance Ferguson SG Undecided 1998 (6'7, 202.6, 6’9.5 wingspan, 8’7 standing reach)

Terrance Ferguson
Terrance Ferguson
With the closest thing to drama that this contest saw, the World team cut the lead to single digits, as the scoreboard read 22-14 with 7:08 remaining in the 2nd quarter. In Steph Curry-fashion, Ferguson decided to crush the World team's hopes of winning going on one of the most impressive scoring flurries in Hoop Summit history. He knocked down 6 three-pointers (a personal 18-2 run) that gave his team a 40-16 lead at the 3:23 mark. He was clearly the best spot-up shooter during the week as well, with a beautiful stroke, along with tremendous leaping ability and the desire and athleticism to be a pesky defender. In short, he stole the show with 21 points on 7-of-11 three-pointers.

Ferguson certainly possesses the size and athleticism, along with the consistent stroke, to become the highly sought after "3-and-D" wing at the NBA level. While he obviously needs to add strength, he also is pretty limited off of the dribble, preventing him from getting to the FT stripe as much as he should. If he wants to excel at the next level, it will require developing his midrange/driving game and contributing in other areas. His rebounding and passing are also both areas to improve upon. Regardless, his practice and in particular the Hoop Summit game have left a positive impression. While he is heavily tied to Arizona in recruiting, some have brought up possible concerns regarding NCAA eligibility, with a year overseas being seen as an option. At the very least, he has scouts attention after the long range barrage he unleashed during Saturday’s game.

At first I suspected this was more a signing for the vanity of the coaching. Now I just think bugger it ! This guy can say he started his career as a 36er.

Good Publicity for the league

3 and D guy is exactly what the 36ers need with Randle's ability to get in the lanes.

Looks like an exciting signing - he'll be cheap(ish), obviously has talent and will be keen not to do anything to devalue his future draft stock. And as tornado said, should complement Randle pretty well.

I wonder if Perth could steal him...

Bit of excitement and athleticism.

The 36ers are strapped for cash and going for the best possible option in my opinion. And let me qualify that statement by saying there could be better players available at the moment, but the upside and potential of this kid is enormous.

I would much rather pick up someone from high school touted to be a top 20 NBA pick next year, than someone from the Mongolian B league al a Jarrid Fry and late-career Ebi Ere. Developing an up-and-comming draft prospect does more for the league than picking up someone from a second rate league.

The exciting part is the kid could be anything at this point. He could come here and have a Joe Ingles/Brad Newley type rookie year. Or, he could come here and barely get it together - a risk we take with all imports.

With his length, athleticism, and ability to hit the three, I think he is just what the doctor ordered off the bench for the 36ers. Any reservations about his strength or maturity are valid, but less so when you consider that most guards in this league do not have his height or athletic ability.

For the peanuts we have to give, this is as good a grab as any. It will help strengthen NBA pipelines (or atleast it should), and we could very well get some good highlights and a solid three point threat.

Go for it, I say.

Let's remember the criticism Ferguson faces is no different to Exum. If Ferguson performs similarly to Exum in his first year in the NBL, he has really done all we've needed him to do here on the money he is given.

He sounds like a really interesting pick up.

He has great pedigree, has played USAB at juniors, and can clearly shoot it. He is young, but only a year younger than Ben Simmons for example.

His challenge will be playing against men, but stretching the defence alongside Randle has the potential to cause real problems for opponents.

I love that the Sixers have been a little creative with this one. It may or may not come off but it is one hell of a gamble worth taking.

(Trimlet, you can't be serious? Did you see the roster Wright actually won the championship with? One of the main criticisms (in my view, unwarranted) against Wright is that he can't win without a stacked aging team!)

I don't understand the comparisons with Thornton. Thornton was here because he wasn't good enough for the NBA. Sounds like this guy's coming here solely because he isn't old enough for the NBA.

Interesting pick up. Will certainly add interest, and will ensure that NBA scouts are paying closer attention to the nbl for the season.

The risk is that he'll be viewing it as a showcase or that he's unable to make an impact for the first time against grown men. I think he'll be ok. Randle should get him plenty of open looks and he'll get some good opportunities in the fast break to show his jump.

He doesn't need to dominate the league to be a first rounder. Brandon Jennings numbers in his season in Italy were fairly average and then had a great NBA rookie season - including that 50 point game that I was at (sorry)

The closest comparison we've had here is probably Stephen Jackson who was drafted out of High school (I think a second rounder) back when you still could and played for the Kings for part of a season before getting injured. While he wasn't quite as highly touted as Ferguson, it was back before high school guys were common, or even one and dones, so he slid a bit.

From memory he averaged about 8ppg. Similar type player in a tall athletic wing who can defend when he tries and hit 3s in bunches.

He was a bit of a knuckle head, but seemed one of those guys that could keep it together if he was in a good environment.

Good luck to this kid

If this works out well for both sides, this could open up new opportunities for the club/league/players also. Imagine the NBL, and 6ers, being the preferred destination for big time high school recruits. What if a player like Simmons had skipped college for NBL.

This is interesting..I think the 36ers will be talented but too raw and too young. Exciting for the future, but if they don't play for the 36ers in the future then it's a little bit of all for nothing.

For a budget/less rich team Drmic, Deng, Ferguson is a very solid effort.

C Johnson/Hodgson
F Import/Deng
F Creek/Ferguson
G Drmic/Teys
G Randle/Sobey

With his blend of height and athleticism I think he could be a plus on defence and he will most likely start at the 2 which gives him a big size advantage at 6"7. I expect 15ppg from him and a few big dunks a game.

The exciting thing about the young guns is you really don't know what you might get from them. You could spend the same amount getting older guys that no one wants, whose ceilings have already been established, or some kids who could blow away all expectations and be a more than competitive team. The latter is the best option on the money we have.

I think we're going to be pretty good this season. We do still have a few established guys and Randle will be worth some wins on his own. I'd hate to be up against the sixers on the fast break. I wouldn't count them out of playoff action.

1. Melbourne
Add C Jackson to C Goulding & Co and I see them repeating top ladder finish

2. Perth
Consistent Perth as usual, loss of Jawai won't be too problematic, expect some good imports

3. New Zealand
Loss of C Jackson covered in part by return of Penney

4. Sydney
High predictions won't go so badly for Sydney this time, K Lisch is a known quantity and capable of lifting a side to top 4, the other talent will be interesting but can't complain with Kazzouh by Lisch's side

5. Adelaide
Return of Jerome, keeping Johnson plus some good young pickups should see Adelaide play well at home and be competitive overall

6. Brisbane
Really depends on who they pickup, but so far reasonable quality signings

7. Cairns
Feels like a bit of a cop out to have them 7th particularly after signing Jawai, they could easily compete for 4th. These guys could beat anyone anywhere on their day, but I just can't see them troubling the top 3-4 sides by the end of the season standings wise. I think Adelaide's talent is just a bit better, and Brisbane is an unknown but there could be some serious talent to that side as well.

8. Illawarra
Losing Lisch AND Penney will be troubling for this team, a fair drop expected

This is probably the earliest I've seen a top 8 prediction! But I'll add to it by saying "This is the most even competition we've seen in years!!!!" and "anyone of the 8 can make the 4!!!"

Perth Champs if Martin is healthy.. ;)

Good luck to Terrance if true to try and showcase his talent in the NBL. Zone defence and fouling players on fastbreaks won't help his cause.

The lack of draft doesn't work against building for the future, it works against tanking to build for the future. A good coach with rapport with upcoming players has value - look at how Bevo brought across such crucial players as Martin and Knight.

KET, I think Cedric was a massive part of NZ and that will hurt them with or without Penney. Vukona bit older, no Wesley. Meanwhile, in Sydney coaching could be the issue.

Illawarra, who knows. But the ins/outs aren't too catastrophic at this stage if they can cover for Lisch which is admittedly hard.

Penney out, Clarke? in (different positions, but fairly even?)
Davidson out, Kay in (upgrade)
Weeks out, Norton in (upgrade)

Two import spots to go. If Bevo has looked at Hire, I wonder if he's not keen on Coenraad? If they get at least one import who can bring some of what Lisch did, they could be in the mix. If he went the import route, he can get a defender and a scorer and cover needs.

It's shaping up to be a tight 8 this year that's for sure.

NZ while losing Jackson, Penney is still around a 20ppg player, Webster similar and there's still Abercrombie, Pledger etc. I don't think they'll be as strong as previous years though.

Sydney with Newley added gives them a big 3 and I think JK will be more motivated with Newls and KLisch by his side.

Hawks it really depends on who they get import wise, I think Lisch in MVP form and Penney scoring 20ppg was huge to them - this is 40 points they need to account for, replacing 2 of the top 5 league's scorers ain't easy.

Norton an upgrade on Weeks? Surely not Isaac. At best, the same value. Personally, I'd take Weeks (good thing he's gone to CNS).

I'd take Norton over Weeks every day of the week.

Is there even a question for Norton over Weeks?

Norton has way more to his game. Weeks can dunk and hustle - that is it.

I think Weeks could've been a bit of a flash in the pan? Tapered off after his early form.

Norton's PPG last year was around the same as that of Adam Gibson. Won his club's players' player, and best defensive in a previous year too.

In NZ, Penney might add the scoring, but Jackson is a do-all defensive presence and that is a major loss. Previously they had Jackson and Abercrombie locking down people 1-3. Now there's Abercrombie. There are not many defensive guards in the Jackson tier - Lisch, Martin, ... ? You might notice a few recent championship winners in that list.

Yes Cedric Jackson was a massive loss for NZ but Shea Ili is developing quickly and if they can land the right imports to fit around the super solid core of Webster/Penney/Abercrombie/Vukona and Pledger they will be decent.

Remember when Penney left and people thought NZ would be one-and-done?

The two constants in the NBL since 2010 have been NZ and Perth. Last year the hype was around a greatly improved league, but NZ and Perth were still there at the end.

Not saying those two will be there again, but other teams will have to play some quality team basketball to overtake them.

Interesting how much NZ struggled the year Jackson left though.

I think it was Johnson or something; talented but couldnt do the same stuff.

Don't forget they also changed coach that year to a first-time coach whose recruitment and game plan were completely out of step with the way the league was going to officiated.

Recruiting Johnson was one thing, but Lazare in the frontcourt was a poor choice, and then to replace him with Wilkinson they also needed to get rid of Trueman leaving a rookie SF in Te Rangi as their backup PF.

With Vukona constantly in foul trouble under the tighter officiating, and Pledger and Wilkinson being constantly exploited when on-court together, the team was a defensive mess.

Losing Jackson hurt, but those things hurt much more.

Some thoughts of how the potential signing of Terrance Ferguson

-I think he will be one of if not the most athletic player in the NBL,
-6'7 shooting guard who brings size, athleticism, 3 point shooting, defense, being just what the 36ers need
-I predict he will be just as good as Brad Newleys rookie season.

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