Bajaden on College Hoops (merged)

bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#91
#91
Got some catching up to do. I've been getting behind with the holidays. Anyway one of the games I wanted to talk about was the Seattle U/Oregon St. game. Seattle U is back playing with the big boys in Div 1. So this was a good test for them. Well I think they passed the test by embarrasing Oregon St. 99 to 48. I was very interested in seeing this game so I could get another look at Charles Garcia, a 6'10", 230 lb, PF. Apparently I wasn't alone in this quest since there were nine NBA teams being represented. I saw Danny Anige in attendence.

The only thing I can think of was that all the ref's were from the Pac 10. Three seconds into the game they called a touch foul on Garcia. Two minutes and 58 seconds later they called a bump foul on him, when the other player clearly bumped him. So off to the bench he went. Much to the dismay of myself and all the scouts in attendance. If they were subconciously trying to help Oregon St. win, it ended up being a bad move because Seatle went on a run from which Oregon St. never recovered.

Garcia ended up with 4 fouls on him and only played around 12 minutes of the game. He did manage 10 points and I think 8 boards in that amount of time.

So what did we learn about him. Well, he handles the ball better than any big man I've seen so far this year. And I mean handles the ball. He has guard skills. Reason being is that he grew 7 inches in one off season and played guard until then. He's a very good passer and runs the floor like a deer. He can score from anywhere on the floor. He shoots the three very well and also has a 15 foot jumper. He can score in the post and is an outstanding rebounder. All in all he's a very skilled basketball player. He's every bit as good a player as Greg Monroe and a lot more athletic. You can expect his name to start climbing the draft board.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#92
#92
I watched the Baylor/Oklahoma game. I must be bad luck to the team that suspossed to win, because Baylor crushed Oklahoma something like 92 to 60. Two players I was interested in seeing were Willie Warren, a 6'4", 207 lb, SG from Oklahoma. First off let me say, that If he's actually 6'4" I'll eat the phone book of your choice. I'll be stunned if he's 6'1". But with that aside, he had a terrible game. I think the only two points he scored in the first half came from two freethrows. He got his pocket picked throughout the game and at times looked lost. He doesn't handle the ball that well and made some absolutely horrible passes. One would hope that this game isn't representive of his abilities.

On the other hand I was very impressed with Ekpe Udoh, a 6'10", 240 lb, C/PF. He blocked 6 shots in the game, and truely affected the game. Oklahoma tried time after time to go inside only to be rejected. I can't begin to tell you how many shots he altered. But aside from that, this guy can play. He's capable of putting the ball on the floor and taking players off the dribble. He hooks the ball with either hand, although he's seems more comfortable with his right hand. He twice surprised me with a little 18 foot jumper. He appears to have soft hands around the basket and catches that ball very well. He passes out of the double team well. By the way, Udoh plays for Baylor.

Defensively he seems to know when he can block a shot and when he can't, which keeps him out of foul trouble. He threw a couple of good outlet passes also. This is another talented big man with upside. He's very athletic and despite weighing 240, he has very wide shoulders and could easily carry another 20 pounds. Also despite appearing somewhat thin, he seems to have very good lower body strength. He was matched up against a player that was 6'9" and weighed 300 pounds. He held his ground in the post despite the difference in weight. Someone to keep you eye on. I suspect that if he keeps playing like this he'll rise further up the draft boards.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#93
#93
Been away for a while. Partly because of the holidays and then because of electical and phone problems. I did take in the Texas/Baylor game. I was really looking forward to it since it pitted two bigs I'm interested in up against one another. Dexter Pittman, a 6'10" 290 lb. Center, and Ekpe Udoh, a 6'10" 240 lb. PF/C. Unfortunately that particular matchup ended up being a disappointment. Neither of the bigs played particularly well. Pittman did end up with 14 points and a couple of blocked shots I believe, but only pulled down one board. Both teams got into an up and down the floor game at a breakneck pace. A pace that in my opinion favored Baylor. Its a pace that certainly didn't favor Pittman, who appeared to be winded at times. Udoh, who actually didn't match up against Pittman very much didn't fare a whole lot better. He ended up with 7 points and 6 boards. I believe he had 3 blocked shots.

Avery Bradley of Texas, a 6'1" to 6'3" SG/PG is a player I like. Once again, unfortunately, this was not his day. Particularly when he was matched up against A.J. Walton of Baylor who comes off the bench. Bradley had 9 points but turned the ball over 5 times. Most of them to Walton who stole the ball 6 times. The best player on the floor for Texas was once again Damion James, a 6'7", 227 lb., PF/SF. James is the glue that holds Texas together. He had 20 points and 19 boards. Although he plays PF for Texas, he's really a SF, and is underrated in my opinion. I'd take this kid on my team any day. He plays hard every game. For Baylor the hero was Tweety Carter, a 5'8"/5'9", PG. He's another of those little skitter bug point guards that drive the opposition crazy. He was all over the floor. Sometimes out of control, but he only knows one speed, and thats warp speed. He ended up with 27 points. He didn't do much in the assist dept. I think he only had one of two. In the end, Baylors defense and the speed of the game sunk Texas ship.

Baylor is a very good defensive team. They have a lot of length at the center and PF positions. Their problem is depth at those positions. To beat Baylor you have to put thier bigs on the bench with foul trouble. Texas didn't do that and they lost. I don't believe Baylor is ranked in the top 25 right now, but they're a dangerous team that I wouldn't want to play in the tourney. They just upset Texas, although I don't think it was that much of an upset. They almost upset Kansas, who did get their bigs in foul trouble. I wouldn't be surprised to see them climb into the top 25.
 
kennadog

kennadog

Dog On It!
#97
#97
I check in, too. :) Tweety...what an awful nickname. Of course, I have hated Tweety Bird since I was a child, so I am particularly biased. :p
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#103
#103
Mississippi St. vrs South Carolina:

Fun game that in which Mississippi St. took the lead early and never let it go. South Carolina made several runs, but just couldn't quite get over the hump. Jarvis Varnado, a 6'9" PF/C from Miss St. had a nice game with 19 points, 12 boards and 1 blocked shot. The only unusual stat is the one blocked shot since he's the all time leading college shotblocker. Strangely enough, he's not the current leading shotblocker this season. That title is being held by Hasson Whiteside, a 6'11" C from Marshall. Varnado had help from Barry Stewert, a 6'3" SG. I really like Stewert. He and Varnado both come from small towns in Tennesee. Their both laid back kids. Stewert is a very good three point shooter. He was 5 for 7 in this game and ended up with 18 points to go along with 5 assists. Ravern Johnson a 6'7" SG/SF donated 15 points on 5 of 11 shooting. Johnson is a good scorer, but not one of my favorites. He tends to be a selfish player at times, or blind, I don't know which. In one instance Stewert stole the ball and tipped it to Johnson who took off down the court. When he reached halfcourt there was one defender between him and the basket standing about half way. Under the basket stood Varnado with no one within 20 feet of him. A simple pass over the defender would have ended in a dunk. Instead he tried to take it all the way to the basket himself. Had the shot blocked and the result was a made basket at the other end.

The main player for S. Carolina is Devan Downey, a 5'8" PG. Yep, another one of those little quick pesky points. He's very skilled though. He's great at penetrating and dishing, or finishing. His outside shot is a little suspect and he tends to be streaky. In this game Dee Bost, a 6' PG for Miss St. did a great job on him defensively. While he was at it he contributed 11 points and 7 assists. Varnado showed some nice post skills in this game. He lacks a little touch around the basket, but he was able to get his shot. He also showed a nice 15 foot jumper, which I wish he would shoot more often. Although he only blocked on shot, he definitely affected just about every shot in the post when he was present. I like Varnado. He's listed at 6'9". Well see at the combine. He's also said to have a 7'6" wingspan. And he looks to have it. He doesn't have the frame to put on too much weight with his narrow shoulders. But he's not afraid of contact and plays bigger than he is.

If he were sitting there on the board in the second round, I would take him. At worse, he would be a great weakside defender and shot blocker. And I think he could play a lot of the PF's in the league straight up.

I forgot to add that Mississippi St. won the game 76 to 63
 
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bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#104
#104
I also took in the Villanova/Syracuse game. Wow, where to begin. First off Syracuse won the game going away 95 to77. It was still sort of a game at halftime, but Villanova faded into the sunset quickly in the second half. Villanova is a good basketball team, but this just wasn't their night. I think Syracuse is one of the best teams in the country, and I wouldn't bet against them winning the whole banana come tournament time.

Ok, first Villanova. Scottie Reynolds, a 6'2" SG/PG, may be their best player as far as scoring the basketball. He's a terrific outside shooter with a very quick release. I noted that some draft boards have him listed as a point guard. Probably because of his height. I really doubt he could play the point in the NBA. At least as a starter. He handles the ball OK. But his ballhandling and passing skills are nothing special. I could see him as a Jim Kerr type of point. He's a good athlete and played decent defense. Anyway, old Scottie pumped in 16 points on 6 of 14 shooting. I believe he had 3 assists. He's a senior by the way.
Mouphtaou Yarou, a 6'10" 250 lb C, contributed 13 points on 6 of 8 shooting and grabbed 8 boards. I like what I've seen of this kid. He's athletic and has some skills. He's also a freshman. I dare you to pronounce his first name.. Antonio Pena, a 6'8" PF also had 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting, and had 6 boards.

For Syracuse you have to always start with Wesley Johnson, a 6'7" SG/SF, Who had a rare bad shooting night. He had 14 points on 2 of 11 shots. He did have his ususal 10 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and 2 steals. Fortunately, it was a night where he could have taken the night off if he wanted. Arinze Onuaku, a 6'10" 275 lb C/PF, had a good night, scoring 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting, to go along with 9 boards and 3 blk's. Up to now I haven't been overly impressed with Onauku. But tonight he showed me some skills around the basket, and was simply unstoppable when he got the ball near the basket. He's a very physical player and extremely strong. What impressed me the most was that he showed me some athleticism that I didn't know he had. He gets off the floor pretty good for a man that size. His counterpart in the paint, Rick Jackson, a 6'9" 240 lb PF, also showed some skills around the basket. He contributed 19 points on 9 of 15 shooting with 8 boards and 2 blocks. As you can see Syracuse just killed Villanova in the paint. Villanova had no answer. Then you add in Kris Joseph, a 6'7" SF and Scoop Jardine a 6'2" SG/PG off the bench. Syracuse uses a seven man rotation and thats it. Both these guys scored 16 points a piece. Jardine also had 7 boards and Joesph had 5 boards.

I saved one player for last. This is the glue guy for Syracuse. Most people have never heard of him, but he's probably just as valuable if not the most valuable player on their team. He's Andy Rautins, a 6'4" PG/SG. He ended up with 12 points on 3 of 9 shooting. But had 8 assists and 3 steals. He makes the engine run. He's a very good ballhandler, but not spectacular. He's a great passer, but not flashy. He seldom makes mistakes. He's a good penetrater, but not great. He's an outstanding outside shooter. He's a good midrange shooter. He's a good defender in the mode of the pesky type. He's always there in your face swatting at the ball, and banging into your body.. He's tough as nails. His demeanor reminds me of John Stockton. Don't misread that. I'm not saying he's Stockton. I'm just saying he plays with that same coolness and toughness. Nothing rattles him. Pressing him in the backcourt is plain sucide. Villanova tried it and it cost them three dunks at the other end of the court.

I wouldn't call him a great athlete, but he's certainly a good one. He's currently not listed on any of the draft boards and he's a senior. Someone will pick him up and I guarantee you they won't be sorry. The kid can ball..
 
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