This is not a strong draft. If you have been following the NBA draft chatter since April, you have been hearing this. Expect to hear plenty more of it in the next 36 hours (leading up to and after the draft). As such, Steven Adams is sitting at the end of the lottery. Most projections have him going anywhere from 7 to 14. 10-12 being the most reasonable zone.

Depending on who you want to read, Adams is either undervalued or overvalued.

Overrated:

If he goes in the lottery … Steven Adams
Considering all of [Alex] Len’s flaws, how can a really poor man’s version of Len sneak into the top 14? Didn’t any scouts watch Pitt play this past season? Adams is raaaaaaaaaw. If he didn’t get stuff off the offensive glass, he barely got touches in the Panthers’ offense. He has poor hands. Even in a draft with this many question marks, the lottery is way, way too high for a long-term project like Adams.

Underrated:

Steven Adams, C, Pittsburgh — Adams is a just a perfect specimen. He can run, jump, catch and can even shoot a little, and though he struggled to break through in his only year at Pitt, some of that was due to the Panthers’ guards not sharing the ball, and the depth up front that Pitt had. Adams needs to develop, but the positive signs are there.

Yeah, that helps.

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That may or may not be of any significance for the upcoming college basketball season.

It goes without saying that the block/charge call is one of the toughest calls in basketball. For the most part, unless the action is blatant you can bet that the reaction by viewers regarding the legitimacy of the call almost entirely depends on whether the call goes for or against your team.

The NCAA announced an intent to change the way the block/charge would be called over a month ago, and yesterday the rule — along with some others — were made official.

The implementation of a charge circle was supposed to help offenses by not allowing defenders to camp underneath the rim, but it just ended up being a crutch for officials, who were forced to look at multiple things (foot placement and defensive positioning) at once, and ended up calling a lot of charges that should have been blocking fouls simply because the defender was outside the circle.

The change in the rule, which will require a defender to be established in legal defensive position prior to the offensive player beginning to raise the ball to initiate a shot attempt (rather than when he leaves the floor) should help shift that balance, and won’t reward defenses for last-second slide-ins after primary defenders are beaten off the dribble. It will be interesting to see what impact that will have on teams that teach and use help defense in that way.

This move favors offense over defense. Obviously. Will there be gaming of the system by some players who will try to go to the hoop with the ball already in a raised position to sell the call (and will some coaches try to teach this)? Yes. You can bet on that. But I still think this is a good rule change — once officials get used to making the call.

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I guess this clinches which was the final player cut to get the USA U19 roster down to 12 players. James Robinson, in a mild surprise, was not one of the final 12 players selected. But when Jerami Grant — sophomore Syracuse forward and Robinson’s former DeMatha High teammate — was diagnosed with mononucleosis, Robinson was tapped to for the spot.

The downside is that he will be with the U19 for three weeks rather than playing and being with his teammates in Pittsburgh. The upside, though, is probably greater with higher levels of competition.

This could turn out to be a critical three weeks for Robinson heading into the season. Pitt will need Robinson to be an anchor for the Panthers, who join the ACC. Having the experience of competing against some of the best players in the world in his age group should be immeasurable for Robinson.

Actual coaching (NCAA rules severely limit the amount of coaching players can receive in the summer) is another plus.