My humble apologies Capt. I was just reminding folks that it was the Pac 10 just a short year ago. But since your a Pac 12 guy, what the hell has happened to the Pac 12? The recruiting in general has been pitiful, although next season Arizona has some very nice recruits locked up, and UCLA landed Kyle Anderson, which I think Kyle will regret. I'm not a big fan of Howland. I really thought Washington would be one of the better teams in the conference, but they've underacheived. It just seems like all the talent is going to the ACC, SEC and the big 12 conferences.
It's early, but anybody have a draft wish list yet?
- Thread starter bluntsnbball
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My humble apologies Capt. I was just reminding folks that it was the Pac 10 just a short year ago. But since your a Pac 12 guy, what the hell has happened to the Pac 12? The recruiting in general has been pitiful, although next season Arizona has some very nice recruits locked up, and UCLA landed Kyle Anderson, which I think Kyle will regret. I'm not a big fan of Howland. I really thought Washington would be one of the better teams in the conference, but they've underacheived. It just seems like all the talent is going to the ACC, SEC and the big 12 conferences.
My indignance was all in fun, of course!
Yeah, the conference has taken a pretty big hit in recruiting the last few years. I don't know if it's that the quality of the west coast HS players has gone down, or what other reason might have caused it. USC's probation doesn't help the conference as a whole, of course. I think Arizona, at least, is pretty excited about their young kids, especially with Brandon Ashley coming in next year. UCLA bringing in Kyle Anderson is big, and Jordan Adams has some potential to develop into an upperclassman leader (the Afflalo-type, rather than the one-and-done type). UCLA of course is still in the running for Shabazz Muhammad and Tony Parker (and Arizona is also on the short list for Shabazz) so there's still a chance of some more power coming into the Pac-12 in the spring signing period.
History suggests that the Pac-12 will probably never be regarded quite as highly as they ought to be - there are always rumblings of an east coast bias in media coverage which seem to be validated by perennial "overachievment" in the Tourney, but it won't be until next year at the earliest that they have a chance of getting back up to par with the east coast majors.
Yeah, the conference has taken a pretty big hit in recruiting the last few years. I don't know if it's that the quality of the west coast HS players has gone down, or what other reason might have caused it. USC's probation doesn't help the conference as a whole, of course. I think Arizona, at least, is pretty excited about their young kids, especially with Brandon Ashley coming in next year. UCLA bringing in Kyle Anderson is big, and Jordan Adams has some potential to develop into an upperclassman leader (the Afflalo-type, rather than the one-and-done type). UCLA of course is still in the running for Shabazz Muhammad and Tony Parker (and Arizona is also on the short list for Shabazz) so there's still a chance of some more power coming into the Pac-12 in the spring signing period.
History suggests that the Pac-12 will probably never be regarded quite as highly as they ought to be - there are always rumblings of an east coast bias in media coverage which seem to be validated by perennial "overachievment" in the Tourney, but it won't be until next year at the earliest that they have a chance of getting back up to par with the east coast majors.
Yet recent Howland-coached players seem to be doing fine in terms of offense in the NBA. I've never heard anybody worry about Kevin Love's offense, or Russell Westbrook's, or Afflalo or Holiday or Collison for that matter. I think that Howland's grinding offensive sets frustrate talented offensive players, but I don't think it makes their offensive capabilities go away. Howland's draw, for a lot of guys, seems to be that he'll teach an aggressive man defense at a level where many coaches are happy to play zone, and Howland's recruits hope that defensive background will give them a leg up in their NBA transition.
Ok, recruits just never regress going from HS to UCLA but they do not progress there either. That was an exaggeration on my part but his stiff sets don't add anything to players repertoire which Anderson really needs. Iowa State is geared towards Royce White this year but he's still making a lot of mistakes. There's still player's natural progression with experience though.
Currently watching Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, and nothing but good things to say about him. He just got an and one as I typed this. Guy is a great athlete, shooter and defender. Has a high basketball IQ too, only takes good shots. Seems like the perfect fit for us at SF. Would love to get another pick to take him in the mid-late first.
If I were a betting man, I put my money on Muhammad commiting to Kentucky. Calapari has heavily recruited him. Kentucky is also after Tony Parker. Arizona landed Kaleb Tarczewski the 7 footer, and probably the best center in the 2012 class not named Isaiah Austin. They also landed Grant Jerrett, the 6'10" PF. So when you throw Ashley into that class, they have one of the top five recruiting class next year. They also landed Gabe York, a very good combo guard. Unfortunately, other than Anderson going to UCLA, Arizona is the lone voice in the Pac 12 that looks like possible contender in the tournament next year. Of course I'm gettin ahead of myself a little. I thought Washington with the addition of Tony Wroten this year would be much better than they have. I like Wroten quite a bit by the way.
By him, I assume your talking about Jeffery Taylor. Great game against Ole Miss. This has been Jeffery Taylor week for me. I had about 5 Vandy games recorded that I hadn't watched not including the Ole Miss game. He's having a great year. My only knock on him over the last couple of years was his inconsistency offensively. But this year he seems to have conquered that problem. There's simply nothing not to like about him. Terrific defender, good rebounder, and now this year, he's shooting lights out. He plays with an edge as well. I'd love to have him.
Yes, I was talking about Taylor. Don't know how I managed to leave his name out of my post!
Also was impressed by Ezeli. He has an NBA ready body, is a good athlete, has a post game. Also he blocks and alters a lot of shots. Negatives seem to be he has average hands, and he doesn't rebound the ball particularly well. Keep in mind this is the only full Vanderbilt game I've seen all year, so I could be way off with him. But I certainly think he'll have an NBA career if that game was anything to go on.
Also was impressed by Ezeli. He has an NBA ready body, is a good athlete, has a post game. Also he blocks and alters a lot of shots. Negatives seem to be he has average hands, and he doesn't rebound the ball particularly well. Keep in mind this is the only full Vanderbilt game I've seen all year, so I could be way off with him. But I certainly think he'll have an NBA career if that game was anything to go on.
Gonna disagree with you a little bit. No one disagree's on Howlands abiltiy to teach defense, and thats the good thing. But he has a tendecy to stiffle players on the offensive side of the ball with his rigid style of play. and it hurts his recruiting. We can argue about how much Westbrook improved at UCLA, but the biggest knock on Westbrook was his lack of fundamentals for a PG. There were a lot of scouts that doubted he could be a PG in the NBA and had him projected as an undersized SG. But thats just one player and its not fair to make a judgement on Howland based on that.
The point is, UCLA used to recruit itself. It was the meca of basketball in the west. Not anymore, and its mostly changed under Howland. The top highschool offensive players are turning to other schools for their road to the NBA. Now that could all change if Shabazz Muhammad decides top hang his hat there. But I'll be surprised if he does. I think Arizona has a much better chance of landing him in the west. As I said, if I were betting, I'd bet on Kentucky. Calapari also preaches defense, and he's a tough SOB when you make a mistake, but at the same time he playes an uptempo dribble drive style of offense where everyone touches the ball and everyone has a chance to shine. Thats attractive to young talented players whose main interest is making it to the NBA, and being as high a draft choice as possible.
If Howland was coaching Webber St., I wouldn't be as critical of him. But he's not, he's coaching at the school that put basketball on the map on the west coast, and at one time dominated all of college basketball. Hey, I wasn't that huge a fan of Steve Lavin at the time either, but at least he won the title.
The point is, UCLA used to recruit itself. It was the meca of basketball in the west. Not anymore, and its mostly changed under Howland. The top highschool offensive players are turning to other schools for their road to the NBA. Now that could all change if Shabazz Muhammad decides top hang his hat there. But I'll be surprised if he does. I think Arizona has a much better chance of landing him in the west. As I said, if I were betting, I'd bet on Kentucky. Calapari also preaches defense, and he's a tough SOB when you make a mistake, but at the same time he playes an uptempo dribble drive style of offense where everyone touches the ball and everyone has a chance to shine. Thats attractive to young talented players whose main interest is making it to the NBA, and being as high a draft choice as possible.
If Howland was coaching Webber St., I wouldn't be as critical of him. But he's not, he's coaching at the school that put basketball on the map on the west coast, and at one time dominated all of college basketball. Hey, I wasn't that huge a fan of Steve Lavin at the time either, but at least he won the title.
Ezeli is an interesting player. He was born in Nigeria, and graduated from highschool over there at age 14. His parents wanted him to have the best education possible, so they sent him to live with his uncle in Yuba City california. At this point he had never touched a basketball in his life. He even attended Jesuit Highschool in Sacramento, but the story is that he was ruled ineligible to play for them because he had aleady graduated from school in Nigeria. Not sure of the entire story. His uncle got him into AAU basketball in Yuba city at age 15/16. He started and quit a couple of times out of frustration. Remember, he was playing with kids that grew up with basketball, and this was the first time he had ever touched a basketball.
In his second year of AAU ball he played well enough to get invited to one of the major highschool basketball camps, where a lot of college coaches come to check out the talent. He ended up being recruited by several colleges including Vanderbilt, who also had A.J. Ogilvy coming in that same year. They told him up front they would redshirt him for a year and give him a chance to learn the game. Rumors are that by the end of his redshirt year he was starting to block all of Ogilvy shots in practice. He only averaged around 12 minutes a game his first two years backing up Ogilvy, and then last season had a sort of breakout year.
This was suspossed to be his big year, and unfortunately he's been plagued by some injuries, and has missed 10 games. So basicly what you have is a very good athlete that is still learning the game. He's very smart, and according to his coach, he's just now starting to aquire a natural feel for the game. Stallings has stated that Ezeli is the best player on the Vanderbilt team. Thats pretty high praise on a team with Taylor and Jenkins. Ezeli is one of those players that you easily gamble on in the second round, and hesitate a little in the first round. He could be the next Ibaka, or he could be the next great athlete that never quite gets it. I tend to lean toward the former.
As his coach Stallings said, this is a kid that had to learn the game while playing in the SEC, and thats just amaziing.
In his second year of AAU ball he played well enough to get invited to one of the major highschool basketball camps, where a lot of college coaches come to check out the talent. He ended up being recruited by several colleges including Vanderbilt, who also had A.J. Ogilvy coming in that same year. They told him up front they would redshirt him for a year and give him a chance to learn the game. Rumors are that by the end of his redshirt year he was starting to block all of Ogilvy shots in practice. He only averaged around 12 minutes a game his first two years backing up Ogilvy, and then last season had a sort of breakout year.
This was suspossed to be his big year, and unfortunately he's been plagued by some injuries, and has missed 10 games. So basicly what you have is a very good athlete that is still learning the game. He's very smart, and according to his coach, he's just now starting to aquire a natural feel for the game. Stallings has stated that Ezeli is the best player on the Vanderbilt team. Thats pretty high praise on a team with Taylor and Jenkins. Ezeli is one of those players that you easily gamble on in the second round, and hesitate a little in the first round. He could be the next Ibaka, or he could be the next great athlete that never quite gets it. I tend to lean toward the former.
As his coach Stallings said, this is a kid that had to learn the game while playing in the SEC, and thats just amaziing.
Two of my favorite players had very nice games yesterday. 1st, Michael Gilchrist, who has been struggling on the offensive side had 18 pts on 7 of 12 shooting. He added 10 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocked shots.
2nd, Kendall Marshall proved he can shoot the ball if he desires to do so. He had 22 points on 7 of 8 shooting, including 4 of 5 from the three. He added 13 assists against 0 turnovers, and 1 steal.
2nd, Kendall Marshall proved he can shoot the ball if he desires to do so. He had 22 points on 7 of 8 shooting, including 4 of 5 from the three. He added 13 assists against 0 turnovers, and 1 steal.
Michael Kidd Gilchrist would be a perfect fit here.
I think the team is set in the backcourt with Reke and Thornton and then you have DMC at center. The forward spots are still up for grabs and they could use an upgrade. Obviously, there are tons of PF possibilities in Davis, Drummond, Sullinger, Henson and Jones but I'm thinking that if we don't get any of them, they can still role with JT or Hickson for the time being.
OTOH, I'm not wild about any of the SF's currently on the roster. Salmons, Outlaw and Greene aren't long term solutions. MKG would be a great addition. Plus, he's playing for Coach Cal right now, just like Reke and DMC so they have something in common right off the bat.
I think the team is set in the backcourt with Reke and Thornton and then you have DMC at center. The forward spots are still up for grabs and they could use an upgrade. Obviously, there are tons of PF possibilities in Davis, Drummond, Sullinger, Henson and Jones but I'm thinking that if we don't get any of them, they can still role with JT or Hickson for the time being.
OTOH, I'm not wild about any of the SF's currently on the roster. Salmons, Outlaw and Greene aren't long term solutions. MKG would be a great addition. Plus, he's playing for Coach Cal right now, just like Reke and DMC so they have something in common right off the bat.
Yep, I'm about to do one on the best SF's. I'm just doing as much research as possible, and trying to watch all the games I have recorded on the players I'm posting on. In some cases I'm watching games twice because some of the teams just aren't on that much. For instance, today is a bonus day because I get to see Creighton again, and get another look at Doug McDermott. This will be only the third game I've been able to see Creighton.
Also, I've been involved in moving, so that set me back quite a bit. It was worth it though. I'm now living right on the beach with a spectular view. Makes it easier to absorb some of the losses. Life is still good! Beats the alternative....
Also, I've been involved in moving, so that set me back quite a bit. It was worth it though. I'm now living right on the beach with a spectular view. Makes it easier to absorb some of the losses. Life is still good! Beats the alternative....
Well, being a steal depends on where you get drafted. Such as I. Thomas, being the last pick in the draft. So we'll see with Orlando. But I have Johnson listed in with my SG's. Regardless of where he might play in college, such as Gerold Wallace playing center in college, he's only 6'5", and that would be giving away a lot of height in the NBA at the SF position.
To touch on some results from college B ball yesterday, Anthony Davis was a one man wrecking crew for Kentucky. He had 28 pts on 10 of 11 shooting, 11 rebounds, 2 steal, and 6 blocked shots. And he scored in a variety of ways. 15 foot jumpers, a left handed hook shot, and many offensive put backs. One other note about Davis is that he seldom gets into foul trouble despite his aggressiveness on defense. And blieve me, the other team is doing everything they can to get him in foul trouble.
Jeffery Taylor had a nice game in a losing effort to Kentucky. He had 19 pts on 8 of 16 shooting and was 2 of 5 from beyond the stripe. He also added 9 boards, 1 steal, and 1 blocked shot. Taylor is shooting lights out this season, and still playing great defense. He's a terrific athlete.
Drummond is starting to look like the player everyone thought he would be. He had 17 pt's for UCONN on 8 of 14 shooting to go along with 14 boards and 3 blocked shots. Unfortuantely in a loss.
And finally, my boy Thomas Robinson, Davis only real competition for college player of the year, had 28 pts on 10 of 21 shooting, 12 boards, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.
Jeffery Taylor had a nice game in a losing effort to Kentucky. He had 19 pts on 8 of 16 shooting and was 2 of 5 from beyond the stripe. He also added 9 boards, 1 steal, and 1 blocked shot. Taylor is shooting lights out this season, and still playing great defense. He's a terrific athlete.
Drummond is starting to look like the player everyone thought he would be. He had 17 pt's for UCONN on 8 of 14 shooting to go along with 14 boards and 3 blocked shots. Unfortuantely in a loss.
And finally, my boy Thomas Robinson, Davis only real competition for college player of the year, had 28 pts on 10 of 21 shooting, 12 boards, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.