Michael Beasley

Height: 6-10, Weight: 235, Class: Freshman

PPG: 26.2, APG: 1.2, 3P%: .379, RPG: 12.4, BPG: 1.6, SPG: 1.3

Blake Griffin

Height: 6-10, Weight: 251, Class: Sophomore

PPG: 22.7, APG: 2.3, 3P%: .375, RPG: 14.4, BPG: 1.2, SPG: 1.1

Honestly, they might as well have gone ahead and listed both of these guys at 7’3. I always say if you’re going to tell a blatant lie, you might as well make it a doozy. Beasley is somewhere between 6’7 and 6’8 based on his predraft measurements a year ago, and I would guess Griffin is in the same vicinity from watching him on TV, though we won’t know for sure until the NBA’s version of the combine. The statistical comparisons are remarkably similar. They both physically dominated the Big 12. Beasley scored a bit more, while Griffin was a little better on the boards. During both of their respective seasons, analysts tabbed each as the #1 pick in the upcoming draft, and NBA teams drooled at their athleticism.  I think it’s fair to say that both players used their physical tools to dominate opponents at the college level moreso than any great repertoire of low post moves. We know now that Beasley’s college game has not translated smoothly to the NBA, as the 30-20 nights are a distant memory.  It seems reasonable to suspect, then, that Griffin will have similar problems next season.

We must also remember that as similar as their years were, both in terms of statistics and publicity, this comparison is actually shortchanging Beasley. First of all, 2008 was a tougher year in the Big 12. Kansas’s loaded team would win the National Championship. Texas and Baylor were much better than they were the following year, and some of the midlevel teams also had more talent. And secondly, the real fly in the ointment of this whole comparison is that Grffin himself played in that same Big 12 in 2008, at the same age as Beasley, and only averaged 14 and 9. Granted, Griffin was able to put up 27 and 14 in their one head to head matchup (Beasley scored 32 including the game winner), but the fact remains they were both freshmen and over the course of the season, Beasley completely overshadowed Griffin. Does anyone really believe that Beasley wouldn’t have dominated the Big 12 in 2009 just like he did in 2008? 

Another point I need to make is that Tyler Hansbrough, who’s around the same size, dominated the ACC for 4 years in a similar way these two guys dominated the Big 12, and everyone agrees he’s never going to come close to duplicating that dominance in the NBA. My question is why isn’t the same logic used when evaluating guys like Griffin and Beasley? All three were able to dominate inside at the college level without great size or a very refined low post game. Don’t get me wrong, I hate Hansbrough and wish him nothing but failure. Certainly, Beasley and Griffin are much more physically gifted, and therefore are much more likely to contribute to an NBA team. As we saw with Beasley this past year, however, guys like these are going to have just as much trouble trying to play the same game they did in college and come away with a double-double every night, even with that superior athleticism. Everyone’s athletic in the NBA.  There’s also a precedent for relatively undersized big men dominating the Big 12, getting drafted in the lottery, and then turning into either busts or role players (Drew Gooden, Nick Collison, Marcus Fizer, Joey Graham to name a few).  I really don’t think we can ignore any of this when evaluating Griffin, and it’s not as if it’s just a case of not having a Derrick Rose-type player in this year’s draft to compare against him.

Anyone who watched a 17 year old Ricky Rubio play admirably against the likes of Chris Paul and Deron Williams in the Olympics knows he has a chance to be a special player in the NBA. He doesn’t have the athleticism of Rose, but he makes up for it in other areas, as he’s a much more natural playmaker. Rose flew by Beasley for the title of #1 pick, and now a year later, that decision looks like a no brainer; so why on earth wouldn’t Griffin vs. Rubio at least be a major discussion when the characteristics of the players involved are so similar? Perhaps, it’s as simple as the fact that no one has seen a lot of Rubio, while Rose was able to make his move during a terrific tournament run. Certainly, that’s a factor, but I also think people may be falling into the very same traps with Griffin that they fell into with Beasley a year ago, and let’s face it if weren’t for a jaw droppingly athletic point guard having a terrific March, he would’ve been the consensus #1 pick. Beasley dominated the Big 12 for a year and then bolted for the NBA, while Griffin had a good year that same season then stuck around to own a weaker league. They’re similarly sized, play the same position, and while there are differences in their playing syles, they too are comparable. So after watching how the 08-09 season worked out for the top 2 in last year’s draft,  all I have to say to whomever ends up with the #1 pick next week is RUBIO! RUBIO! RUBIO!.

(You never thought I’d have the balls to close with a Hook reference. Did you?)