and with the #1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft the Kings select...

[PurpleHaze]

I'm liking Thabeet more and more, but his game today didn't prove much. Seton Hall is now 14-10 putting up a stubborn fight against nations current #1 team at 24-1. Hall has a weak front line at 6'9 and 6'6 with no true center in a three guard offense. I'm waiting for the Final Four tournament to see what Thabeet and his team produce along with Griffin and #2 OU. March Madness will be the real test, not the lowly Seton Halls of the world or on the skids Texas Tech who fell hard in Norman, OK to go 12-13 overall.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I'll be paying attention the game against pitt on Monday.

 

[KingsCitizen]

A lot of people think the same of Jason Thompson who was playing in a less heralded conference. But even Jason, who is turning to be a solid player was not able to do a lot of things that Thabeet is doing on the defensive end. This goes to show that Thabeet will be pretty special once he gets into the NBA. He blocks shots like an addictive habit.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

Just want to remind everyone / let everyone know #1 UCONN is playing #4 PITT tonight on ESPN at 7:30 .. should be a good one.

 

[nbrans]

They've been showing some highlights of UConn/Seton Hall on ESPN News, and Thabeet drained a nice 15 footer in that one. If that jump shot keeps coming along... watch out.

 

[Vlade4GM]

Thabeet is not looking good so far. His strength is a huge concern for me, his legs are so long he just can't hold his position well.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Just want to remind everyone / let everyone know #1 UCONN is playing #4 PITT tonight on ESPN at 7:30 .. should be a good one.

Not a good half for Thabeet. I only managed to catch the last ten minutes but Blair was working him left and right until Thabeet left the floor with his second foul. 15/13 for Blair in the first half? Against 4/2 and only one block for Thabeet?

I don't know. It's a #1/#4 matchup, he's at home, he's 7'3", and he gets 2 rebounds in the first half. Against 20/20/9 a few nights ago? I don't get it - I see him on the court and it's like he just isn't trying very hard, then he goes to the floor for a loose ball. I don't get it. But he's not selling himself thus far.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

PITT & UCONN fist half -

Blair is having a huge game. He's short but very very strong .. reminds me of a better Leon Powe/Craig Smith type player. Good rebounder / enforcer .. type of player I wish Shelden Williams was and a player the kings could deffinetly use, wouldnt mind taking a look at him with our second pick.

Thabeet's numbers havent been all that great, and 1 on 1 blair has killed him, but he is making an impact on the game anyways keeping balls alive, drawing fouls, and altering some shots. Hopefully he can get it going in the second half, but it seems like theres a trend here were quicker, more physical players give him some trouble.

 

[Vlade4GM]

PITT & UCONN fist half -

Blair is having a huge game. He's short but very very strong .. reminds me of a better Leon Powe/Craig Smith type player. Good rebounder / enforcer .. type of player I wish Shelden Williams was and a player the kings could deffinetly use, wouldnt mind taking a look at him with our second pick.

Thabeet's numbers havent been all that great, and 1 on 1 blair has killed him, but he is making an impact on the game anyways keeping balls alive, drawing fouls, and altering some shots. Hopefully he can get it going in the second half, but it seems like theres a trend here were quicker, more physical players give him some trouble.

He's keeping the ball alive against much shorter players. Once he gets to the NBA and plays against guys that are more in his league in terms of length and athleticism, just having length isn't going to cut it, he's going to need to get strong position and have good hands; or else he's just going to get a lot of loose ball fouls.

 

[gunks]

Blair is superbeastin all over Thabeet! Given the haters some ammo.

Too bad Blair is just 6'7.....

I wouldnt mind him on the Kings though, maybe he'll slip to the second round? Seems like the type of player we need on the roster, even if he is just 6'7...Hey, maybe his ceiling is KT with a better attitude haha

 

[bajaden]

Blair is superbeastin all over Thabeet! Given the haters some ammo.

Too bad Blair is just 6'7.....

I wouldnt mind him on the Kings though, maybe he'll slip to the second round? Seems like the type of player we need on the roster, even if he is just 6'7...Hey, maybe his ceiling is KT with a better attitude haha

So if you had never seen Barkley before and this was the first time. What would his ceiling have been at 6'4"?

 

[gunks]

Rodman was under 6' 7 too...


Blair's 12 rebs in 26 minutes a game is pretty rediculous. I wouldnt mind him coming off the bench for us to work the glass. We need a brawny bully to fill the void left by Bonzi and Ron Ron's departure.



I mean, I'm still on the Gambit bandwagon...But jeeze, quite a game by Blair.

 

[Kingster]

Tweet-tweet

Tweet-Tweet demonstrated why he isn't worthy of a top 5 pick. Blair owned him, destroyed him, nearly dislocated his shoulder in a judo throw (ouch!). I'd love to have Blair on my team. I don't care if he's 6'7". He's a flat out rebound-monster stud. He plays big against big competition. How about Petrie getting another #1and then you could have:

1) Teague - Has top tier NBA quickness and is a great shooter
2) Blair - strongest player in college (great rebounder). The negative is he could hurt Hawes and Thompson in practice.
3) T. Williams. - quick and strong (great wing rebounder)

 

[Bricklayer]

So if you had never seen Barkley before and this was the first time. What would his ceiling have been at 6'4"?

Oh Barkley was special. Blair is not. People forget that Barkley could just jump out of the gym at 6'5" 260lbs, lead the break, drop a behind the back dribble on you and then either dunk over your head or throw a no look pass. Blair is just a physical beast, but he's limited.

Rodman BTW was 6'8", and of course his thing was that he was maybe the most amazing leaper I have ever seen in basketball. Not the first leap, whch anybody can do. But the second, third, fourth. First guy off the ground, first guy back up.

Which is not to say Blair cannot play -- I have a self-interested soft spot for guys built like that. But guys like Barkley and Rodman compensated for their stature with freaky athleticism. Blair is going to stay pretty close to the ground and have to power through you more like a Maxiel or Milsap type player.

 

[nbrans]

UConn/Pitt-

Pretty horrendous game by Thabeet. Blair body-slammed him a couple of minutes in, and after that he looked really tentative and never able to impact the game at all. Blair was able to score repeatedly on Thabeet by taking it straight to him, Thabeet didn't have his head in the game and got pulled away from the post too much on defense and didn't make it difficult for Pitt to get entry passes down to Blair, got into foul trouble on some BS ticky tack stuff.... The only thing I'd say in Thabeet's defense is it wasn't QUITE as bad as it looked from the box score -- Blair did a lot of his damage scoring and on the offensive glass while Thabeet was on the bench. But overall: yikes. Hardly played in the second half.

I don't think this game should seal anyone's judgment -- clearly Thabeet has some bad habits defending the post that he needs to break. He can't just let guys catch entry passes in deep. But it's games like this that make me nervous about drafting him. Definitely a reminder that he's still a major work in progress. It was somewhat encouraging that as the game went on he learned some of Blair's moves and sent some back, but he has a lot of learning to do.

And I'm sorry, let's not get out of hand, Kingster and others. Blair had a good game, but someone else can draft him. One good game doesn't change the fact that he's a 6'6"/6'7" power forward without outstanding athleticism. He's skilled and tough, but no thank you. The only guys that size who make that work are outstanding athletes.

Sam Young: really solid game. Has kind of a strange shooting motion, but just fills up the box score and has prototypical NBA SG size and athleticism. Have to consider him a late 1st sleeper.

This game really showed how much UConn is going to miss Dyson. Just a constant struggle to score, and Price can't do it all.

 

[Kingster]

UConn/Pitt-

Pretty horrendous game by Thabeet. Blair body-slammed him a couple of minutes in, and after that he looked really tentative and never able to impact the game at all. Blair was able to score repeatedly on Thabeet by taking it straight to him, Thabeet didn't have his head in the game and got pulled away from the post too much on defense and didn't make it difficult for Pitt to get entry passes down to Blair, got into foul trouble on some BS ticky tack stuff.... The only thing I'd say in Thabeet's defense is it wasn't QUITE as bad as it looked from the box score -- Blair did a lot of his damage scoring and on the offensive glass while Thabeet was on the bench. But overall: yikes. Hardly played in the second half.

I don't think this game should seal anyone's judgment -- clearly Thabeet has some bad habits defending the post that he needs to break. He can't just let guys catch entry passes in deep. But it's games like this that make me nervous about drafting him. Definitely a reminder that he's still a major work in progress. It was somewhat encouraging that as the game went on he learned some of Blair's moves and sent some back, but he has a lot of learning to do.

And I'm sorry, let's not get out of hand, Kingster and others. Blair had a good game, but someone else can draft him. One good game doesn't change the fact that he's a 6'6"/6'7" power forward without outstanding athleticism. He's skilled and tough, but no thank you. The only guys that size who make that work are outstanding athletes.

Sam Young: really solid game. Has kind of a strange shooting motion, but just fills up the box score and has prototypical NBA SG size and athleticism. Have to consider him a late 1st sleeper.

This game really showed how much UConn is going to miss Dyson. Just a constant struggle to score, and Price can't do it all.

I just go by what I see, not by what other's think they should see or what others tell them to think. Blair can definitely play in the NBA. He's Big Baby with more considerably more athleticism. He played big against Georgetown and Connecticut. The guy is a gamer. All this talk about his size is ridiculous. He's got major strength, and he's got great hands, and he's very coordinated, and for his size he's pretty quick. Is he a top 5 pick? No. I wouldn't make that claim. But that can be a great opportunity to pick him up after somewhere after #5.

 

[gunks]

Yes yes...I wasnt really going on this single game either.

Fella is beastly. He's going to be bench material for sure in the NBA. But I feel like the dude can come in and give you 7 rebs a game in pretty limited minutes to go along with a putback or two.

I'm not sure about using our late 1st on someone who is 6'7 and isnt freakishly athletic. But considering how brawny he is I think he'd be worth a 2nd rounder, if Petrie decides to not waste them this year that is.

 

[Gary]

Just another potential NBA player taking it to Thabeet. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

 

[nbrans]

I just go by what I see, not by what other's think they should see or what others tell them to think. Blair can definitely play in the NBA. He's Big Baby with more considerably more athleticism. He played big against Georgetown and Connecticut. The guy is a gamer. All this talk about his size is ridiculous. He's got major strength, and he's got great hands, and he's very coordinated, and for his size he's pretty quick. Is he a top 5 pick? No. I wouldn't make that claim. But that can be a great opportunity to pick him up after somewhere after #5.

Gamer, coordinated, etc. etc. etc. Doesn't matter. There was no one stronger in college than Shelden Williams. He put up 18/10/4 in college, national defensive player of the year, everyone kept saying oh, this guy is at worst a double double guy in the NBA. He was coordinated, smooth offense, 15 footer, great defender. 6'9". Why didn't he pan out? Not athletic enough.

Michael Wright, University of Arizona. Crafty, crafty scorer on a really good team. Could score on anyone. 6'7". Not athletic enough.

You have to look beyond how guys perform in college and see how they fit into the NBA. Every inch a power forward is under 6'10" has to be made up for by superior athleticism. At 6'7" you have to be a true athletic freak with really great leaping ability. Blair doesn't have it. Not even close. He's a fine college player, but there have been literally hundreds of awesome, awesome 6'7" college power forwards over the years.

Only a few 6'7" power forwards have ever even been rotational players in the NBA. We had one of the better ones on our team the last couple of years. Yes, Kenny Thomas is one of the better 6'7" power forwards in the NBA in the past 10 years. Turned out great, didn't it.

 

[bajaden]

Oh Barkley was special. Blair is not. People forget that Barkley could just jump out of the gym at 6'5" 260lbs, lead the break, drop a behind the back dribble on you and then either dunk over your head or throw a no look pass. Blair is just a physical beast, but he's limited.

Rodman BTW was 6'8", and of course his thing was that he was maybe the most amazing leaper I have ever seen in basketball. Not the first leap, whch anybody can do. But the second, third, fourth. First guy off the ground, first guy back up.

Which is not to say Blair cannot play -- I have a self-interested soft spot for guys built like that. But guys like Barkley and Rodman compensated for their stature with freaky athleticism. Blair is going to stay pretty close to the ground and have to power through you more like a Maxiel or Milsap type player.

But how is this possible? I've been told by many on this fourm that if your undersized, its impossible to be sucessful. Do you mean, that if you have special talents, its possible to still be a good or great player? OK, that was said in jest, but in a way you have proved my point. Yes! size is a factor, but its not the only factor. I guess I just hate generalizations, and there's a lot of that on this fourm. Yourself excluded. You and I may not agree all the time, but you certainly think for yourself, and I can respect that. I just have trouble with people that simply ride the coattails of a thought process and accept it as the only truth possible.

 

[nbrans]

But how is this possible? I've been told by many on this fourm that if your undersized, its impossible to be sucessful. Do you mean, that if you have special talents, its possible to still be a good or great player? OK, that was said in jest, but in a way you have proved my point. Yes! size is a factor, but its not the only factor. I guess I just hate generalizations, and there's a lot of that on this fourm. Yourself excluded. You and I may not agree all the time, but you certainly think for yourself, and I can respect that. I just have trouble with people that simply ride the coattails of a thought process and accept it as the only truth possible.

Barkley was one of the most incredible athletes that have ever played the game. Not just good, but a truly incredible one-of-a-kind athlete. People forget now because he's old and fat, but he was big and strong and could jump out of the gym and run incredibly quickly. There has never been a player like him since, and certainly not anyone in college right now.

 

[bajaden]

UConn/Pitt-

Pretty horrendous game by Thabeet. Blair body-slammed him a couple of minutes in, and after that he looked really tentative and never able to impact the game at all. Blair was able to score repeatedly on Thabeet by taking it straight to him, Thabeet didn't have his head in the game and got pulled away from the post too much on defense and didn't make it difficult for Pitt to get entry passes down to Blair, got into foul trouble on some BS ticky tack stuff.... The only thing I'd say in Thabeet's defense is it wasn't QUITE as bad as it looked from the box score -- Blair did a lot of his damage scoring and on the offensive glass while Thabeet was on the bench. But overall: yikes. Hardly played in the second half.

I don't think this game should seal anyone's judgment -- clearly Thabeet has some bad habits defending the post that he needs to break. He can't just let guys catch entry passes in deep. But it's games like this that make me nervous about drafting him. Definitely a reminder that he's still a major work in progress. It was somewhat encouraging that as the game went on he learned some of Blair's moves and sent some back, but he has a lot of learning to do.

And I'm sorry, let's not get out of hand, Kingster and others. Blair had a good game, but someone else can draft him. One good game doesn't change the fact that he's a 6'6"/6'7" power forward without outstanding athleticism. He's skilled and tough, but no thank you. The only guys that size who make that work are outstanding athletes.

Sam Young: really solid game. Has kind of a strange shooting motion, but just fills up the box score and has prototypical NBA SG size and athleticism. Have to consider him a late 1st sleeper.

This game really showed how much UConn is going to miss Dyson. Just a constant struggle to score, and Price can't do it all.

First off, when Dyson went down, my gut told me that UConn's chances at a national championshp went south with him. Dyson was the heart of that team. Secondly, yes Thabeet had a bad game. But it could be the best thing to happen to him. This is what he's going to face in the NBA on an almost nightly basis. I pointed out that he lived in the paint, and that wasn't going to happen in the NBA. They were going to pull him away from the basket. He needs to get stronger and tougher. Being tough with 6'7'' normal college players is easy. But being tough with the Boozers of the world is entirely different.

This doesn't mean he can't still be worthy of a high pick. Just as one good game doesn't make a season, neither does one bad game. Lets see how he responds. Lets see if the guy has a little tiger in him. UConn is going to need him to step up if there going anywhere in the tournament.

 

[KingsCitizen]

The thread is about #1 draft pick.

Maybe it's just that "undersized big man" and "#1 draft pick" haven't been in the same sentence in the history of basketball so far or maybe just too uncommon if there ever was. That's why you got responds like those.

 

[Gary]

First off, when Dyson went down, my gut told me that UConn's chances at a national championshp went south with him. Dyson was the heart of that team. Secondly, yes Thabeet had a bad game. But it could be the best thing to happen to him. This is what he's going to face in the NBA on an almost nightly basis. I pointed out that he lived in the paint, and that wasn't going to happen in the NBA. They were going to pull him away from the basket. He needs to get stronger and tougher. Being tough with 6'7'' normal college players is easy. But being tough with the Boozers of the world is entirely different.

This doesn't mean he can't still be worthy of a high pick. Just as one good game doesn't make a season, neither does one bad game. Lets see how he responds. Lets see if the guy has a little tiger in him. UConn is going to need him to step up if there going anywhere in the tournament.

Well we all know he's going to respond with a big game.. Against a weak opposing center on a avg team.

 

[Bricklayer]

The thread is about #1 draft pick.

Maybe it's just that "undersized big man" and "#1 draft pick" haven't been in the same sentence in the history of basketball so far or maybe just too uncommon if there ever was. That's why you got responds like those.

Well there was Brand, but then again he has tunred into a losing player of Shareef like proportions.

Undersized = bad. 9/10 undersized big guys go floppoli when they hit the big leagues, and you can count the stars on one hand. You always have to look out for special talents, of any size or shape, but being an undersized big is like being a slow PG. Bad news unless you are special.

P.S. Regarding Balir -- he does not have great athletic ability, other than freakish strength (which as I have mentioned is actually one of the core athletic attributes). But that strength, and the willingness and knowledge of how to use it, makes up a lot of ground. Some guys are strong, but just stand there. Blair on the other hand loves contact and throws himself into it, gets low, braces himself, uses those shoulders. There's still going to be a major issue when the other team has 4 guys on the floor taller than him, but he's a load inside.

 

[Sptsjunkie]

First off, when Dyson went down, my gut told me that UConn's chances at a national championshp went south with him. Dyson was the heart of that team. Secondly, yes Thabeet had a bad game. But it could be the best thing to happen to him. This is what he's going to face in the NBA on an almost nightly basis. I pointed out that he lived in the paint, and that wasn't going to happen in the NBA. They were going to pull him away from the basket. He needs to get stronger and tougher. Being tough with 6'7'' normal college players is easy. But being tough with the Boozers of the world is entirely different.

This doesn't mean he can't still be worthy of a high pick. Just as one good game doesn't make a season, neither does one bad game. Lets see how he responds. Lets see if the guy has a little tiger in him. UConn is going to need him to step up if there going anywhere in the tournament.

These two teams play each other again soon. I am going to be very interested in seeing how Thabeet responds. I've been pointing to this game for awhile, because of my concern about Thabeet's play against fringe NBA players. I won't beat a dead horse about the game today, because Gary, Bajaden, etc. already have sentiments close to mine here. We'll see how the rematch goes.

 

[bajaden]

Barkley was one of the most incredible athletes that have ever played the game. Not just good, but a truly incredible one-of-a-kind athlete. People forget now because he's old and fat, but he was big and strong and could jump out of the gym and run incredibly quickly. There has never been a player like him since, and certainly not anyone in college right now.

You get no argument from me about Barkley. The question is, how many people on this fourm would have recogonized how good he was coming out of college, or would he have fallen into that undersized trap. I know you understand. With you and I its just a difference of opinion on the overall ability of some players. I just don't want people to think that just because someone isn't the, so called required height, that he can't play in the NBA. Didn't anyone read my post on the Griffin thread. Almost 90% of all the PF's in the league are under 6'9" without shoes. It comes down to individual talent. You have to factor everything in. Oscar Robertson credited some of his great assist ability to his peripheral vision. Turns out it was so good he could almost see behind him. Sure, he had to have all the other abilities too. But sometimes its just one small thing that takes you from good to great. You can be a great athlete and have terrible hand/eye coordination.

Don't get me wrong. If you can find me a 7'1", 270 pound player, that can jump out of the building, run like a deer, handle the ball like a guard, rebound and score with either hand, I'll take him in a heartbeat. Unfortunately Wilt died some time ago.

 

[hearns]

The thread is about #1 draft pick.

Maybe it's just that "undersized big man" and "#1 draft pick" haven't been in the same sentence in the history of basketball so far or maybe just too uncommon if there ever was. That's why you got responds like those.

Elton Brand, Larry Johnson

 

[Kingster]

Gamer, coordinated, etc. etc. etc. Doesn't matter. There was no one stronger in college than Shelden Williams. He put up 18/10/4 in college, national defensive player of the year, everyone kept saying oh, this guy is at worst a double double guy in the NBA. He was coordinated, smooth offense, 15 footer, great defender. 6'9". Why didn't he pan out? Not athletic enough.

Michael Wright, University of Arizona. Crafty, crafty scorer on a really good team. Could score on anyone. 6'7". Not athletic enough.

You have to look beyond how guys perform in college and see how they fit into the NBA. Every inch a power forward is under 6'10" has to be made up for by superior athleticism. At 6'7" you have to be a true athletic freak with really great leaping ability. Blair doesn't have it. Not even close. He's a fine college player, but there have been literally hundreds of awesome, awesome 6'7" college power forwards over the years.

Only a few 6'7" power forwards have ever even been rotational players in the NBA. We had one of the better ones on our team the last couple of years. Yes, Kenny Thomas is one of the better 6'7" power forwards in the NBA in the past 10 years. Turned out great, didn't it.

Blair is no Sheldon. He's a better athlete than Corliss was. He can score like a Corliss and he's >>>>>>> rebounder than Corliss. He's also >>>> Big Baby. So if you want to compare, at least be in ballpark.

 

[nbrans]

Blair is no Sheldon. He's a better athlete than Corliss was. He can score like a Corliss and he's >>>>>>> rebounder than Corliss. He's also >>>> Big Baby. So if you want to compare, at least be in ballpark.

Honestly, this is absurd. You really must not have seen Corliss in college.