2016Dad posted:I've followed the 2016 #18 pick since he's local and wondered about this comment...
"Rutherford slipped out of the top ten for two reasons. One, his age. He turned 19 in May, which makes him older than most high school draftees. And two..."
What's the negative of being a year older, stronger and more mature?
It is not really a disadvantage but it leaves less room for projection. I think rutherford will have a good Chance and top20 Overall is still very good but generally when you draft HS guys you draft for upside. If a Player is older he is basically "playing down" in HS and Teams are not sure if part of his dominance Comes from being more physically mature against inferior competition.
If you want to draft mature Players you usually go for college Players, while when drafting a HS Player you expect that strength and mechanics still Need some Kind of developement.
but that is just one factor. maybe you get a 15% Penalty or so (made up number) but if you really dominate like rutherford you still get drafted in a good spot. it is just that Teams see more upside if they see a 17.5 year old guy (like harper) posting the same stats than if they see a 19 yo rutherford posting those stats.
´most important Thing remains that you have the Tools.