2009-10 Kings draft position thread

hrdboild

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#121
#121
Trouble is... if Greg Monroe continues to play like he did in his last game, he's not going to last until the 12th pick. Big men that talented are always a premium commodity in the draft. I'm thinking about going to see Georgetown play in Anaheim this weekend so I'll have a scouting report soon if that happens.

And in other news...who else watched that UConn vs. Kentucky game yesterday? John Wall looked like god himself for the first five minutes and was inconsistent thereafter but he's some kind of athlete that's for sure. DeMarcus Cousins did nothing the first half but looked pretty impressive after that. That's just one game, but it looks to me like he's going to figure it out eventually and be a dominant presence. I think Kemba Walker was the guy that impressed me the most though. He's not the elite prospect that those guys are, but he's a very smart player and very competitive. If we still needed a PG I'd take a long look at him before the draft.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#122
#122
hrdboild said:
Trouble is... if Greg Monroe continues to play like he did in his last game, he's not going to last until the 12th pick. Big men that talented are always a premium commodity in the draft. I'm thinking about going to see Georgetown play in Anaheim this weekend so I'll have a scouting report soon if that happens.

And in other news...who else watched that UConn vs. Kentucky game yesterday? John Wall looked like god himself for the first five minutes and was inconsistent thereafter but he's some kind of athlete that's for sure. DeMarcus Cousins did nothing the first half but looked pretty impressive after that. That's just one game, but it looks to me like he's going to figure it out eventually and be a dominant presence. I think Kemba Walker was the guy that impressed me the most though. He's not the elite prospect that those guys are, but he's a very smart player and very competitive. If we still needed a PG I'd take a long look at him before the draft.
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I missed the Kentucky game yesterday, but they're replaying it today at 6 O'clock PM. I'll catch it then. Wall is going to be a great player. Right now his biggest problem is simply himself. He tries to do too much at times, hence the turnovers. He's averaging almost a 1 to 1 ratio in turnovers to assists. The great thing is that all of his flaws are easily correctable. Cousins has had three very good games out of the five that I've watched so far. The two that he didn't fare well in, he got into early foul trouble. He's hard to get a read on, because at times he appears to be just floating and then suddenly he'll explode and surprise you.

I remember when I first started watching Blake Griffin play, I had the same problem. It took me quite a few games to realize that he could jump higher than anyone else and was a lot quicker than anyone else his size. I'm by no means comparing Cousins to Griffin. Only in the sense that its hard to get a read on him.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#123
#123
I was excited about watching the DePaul/Mississippi St. game. It would have been my first chance to get a look at Renardo Sidney, a 6'9" 275 pound PF freshman. Then I find out he's not playing, and hasn't played one game this year so far. Apparently there is some question about his amateur status based on something his father is suspossed to have done. What that something is, is unclear at this time, and the NCAA is seemingly not in any hurry to come to a decision.

So while the NCAA drags it feet, and inches little by little toward enough games being played to make him inelligible, his career hangs in the balance. This is typical NCAA crap. Obviously if they had enough evidence, they would have made a ruling by now. He's missed seven game already, and officials say that they don't expect a ruling until far after what would have been his ninth game.

At this point the kid can't even go to europe since their halfway into their seasons. Just a damm shame..
 
N

Nighthawk1

Starter
#124
#124
bajaden said:
I was excited about watching the DePaul/Mississippi St. game. It would have been my first chance to get a look at Renardo Sidney, a 6'9" 275 pound PF freshman. Then I find out he's not playing, and hasn't played one game this year so far. Apparently there is some question about his amateur status based on something his father is suspossed to have done. What that something is, is unclear at this time, and the NCAA is seemingly not in any hurry to come to a decision.

So while the NCAA drags it feet, and inches little by little toward enough games being played to make him inelligible, his career hangs in the balance. This is typical NCAA crap. Obviously if they had enough evidence, they would have made a ruling by now. He's missed seven game already, and officials say that they don't expect a ruling until far after what would have been his ninth game.

At this point the kid can't even go to europe since their halfway into their seasons. Just a damm shame..
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Have you been able to catch any VCU (Virginia Commonwealth) games to see Larry Sanders... interested on your opinion on him
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#125
#125
Nighthawk1 said:
Have you been able to catch any VCU (Virginia Commonwealth) games to see Larry Sanders... interested on your opinion on him
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No, but he's on my list. So far I haven't had a chance to see any of VCU's games. I'm also interested in seeiing Washington who plays for Arkansas.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#126
#126
I caught the re-run of the Kentucky/UCONN game. Wall was absolutely fantastic in the first quarter, the picked up a couple of stupid fouls and that sent him to the bench. He, and the whole Kentucky team are a serious work in progress. They may be the most talented team in college basketball. They also may be the most skilled team in shooting themselves in the foot. Game after game they jump on the other team and grab a substantial lead, only to throw all team play out the window and play totally out of control. This is the sixth time this season that I've seen them play, and so far the result has always been the same. They end up winning the game in the end. This time however they were up against another very good team and it almost bit them in the butt.

Wall, being Wall, saved the day in the end with some spectacular play. His last basket was something to behold. He has the ball, and every player on UCONN knows he about to do something. He dribbles to the left side of the key, and merely turns his head to the left and then like a blurr drives past three defenders for a layup. He may be the quickest point guard that I've ever seen.. Remember, he's not some little 5'8" skitter bug. This kid is 6'3". There's simply not much he can't do on the court. Right now its the things he shouldn't do on the court thats hurting him. But those things when compared against what he can do, is insignificant.

Cousins played very well in the second half. I believe he ended up with 10 boards and 10 points. Nothing spectacular, just played defense and grabbed some key rebounds. He's certainly a big body and from time to time he shows off his skill set. As I've said before, he sort of a quiet athlete. He's capable of moving a lot quicker than you think he can. He's listed at 6'10" and looks every bit of it. He also appears to have very long arms. I also think that the contrast of him playing along side Patrick Patterson, who looks like the energizer bunny, makes him appear slow. Its just a difference in styles.

I have to give some credit to Kemba Walker of UCONN. He's a fun player to watch. He sort of reminds me of Johnny Flynn. He's just a tough, fearless, quick, little point guard thats capable of doing it all. As good as Wall is, Walker gave him fits at times. Both on the defensive and offensive sides of the ball. I see him as a very good disruptive player off the bench in the NBA.
 
H

hammystyle

Starter
#127
#127
^^
Cousins - He also looks huge compared to Patterson. Makes me wonder how big Patterson really is and how big Cousins is. The one thing I've noticed negatively about Cousins on a few occasions is his body language is really poor. Maybe I'm just reading into that too much based off his scouting reports but it seemed palpable.

Wall - Then there's this guy whose body language, poise and enjoyment of the game is even more recognizable. He tries to do too much, but you get the feeling it won't be long before he's actually able to successful complete the move he's trying to do...as opposed to the guys who need to learn to stop doing something like shooting three's, taking on three guys or a certain pass...this guy should keep trying because the sky is the limit.

Patterson - I like his attitude and production. He just seems small for an NBA four. He's not tall and he's not as thick as the Millsap, Blair prototype. Though I guess there's a lot of Leon Powe in his game.
 
Kingster

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#128
#128
bajaden said:
I caught the re-run of the Kentucky/UCONN game. Wall was absolutely fantastic in the first quarter, the picked up a couple of stupid fouls and that sent him to the bench. He, and the whole Kentucky team are a serious work in progress. They may be the most talented team in college basketball. They also may be the most skilled team in shooting themselves in the foot. Game after game they jump on the other team and grab a substantial lead, only to throw all team play out the window and play totally out of control. This is the sixth time this season that I've seen them play, and so far the result has always been the same. They end up winning the game in the end. This time however they were up against another very good team and it almost bit them in the butt.

Wall, being Wall, saved the day in the end with some spectacular play. His last basket was something to behold. He has the ball, and every player on UCONN knows he about to do something. He dribbles to the left side of the key, and merely turns his head to the left and then like a blurr drives past three defenders for a layup. He may be the quickest point guard that I've ever seen.. Remember, he's not some little 5'8" skitter bug. This kid is 6'3". There's simply not much he can't do on the court. Right now its the things he shouldn't do on the court thats hurting him. But those things when compared against what he can do, is insignificant.

Cousins played very well in the second half. I believe he ended up with 10 boards and 10 points. Nothing spectacular, just played defense and grabbed some key rebounds. He's certainly a big body and from time to time he shows off his skill set. As I've said before, he sort of a quiet athlete. He's capable of moving a lot quicker than you think he can. He's listed at 6'10" and looks every bit of it. He also appears to have very long arms. I also think that the contrast of him playing along side Patrick Patterson, who looks like the energizer bunny, makes him appear slow. Its just a difference in styles.

I have to give some credit to Kemba Walker of UCONN. He's a fun player to watch. He sort of reminds me of Johnny Flynn. He's just a tough, fearless, quick, little point guard thats capable of doing it all. As good as Wall is, Walker gave him fits at times. Both on the defensive and offensive sides of the ball. I see him as a very good disruptive player off the bench in the NBA.
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Walker has a lot of talent. Still hasn't totally put it together yet.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#129
#129
hammystyle said:
^^
Cousins - He also looks huge compared to Patterson. Makes me wonder how big Patterson really is and how big Cousins is. The one thing I've noticed negatively about Cousins on a few occasions is his body language is really poor. Maybe I'm just reading into that too much based off his scouting reports but it seemed palpable.

Wall - Then there's this guy whose body language, poise and enjoyment of the game is even more recognizable. He tries to do too much, but you get the feeling it won't be long before he's actually able to successful complete the move he's trying to do...as opposed to the guys who need to learn to stop doing something like shooting three's, taking on three guys or a certain pass...this guy should keep trying because the sky is the limit.

Patterson - I like his attitude and production. He just seems small for an NBA four. He's not tall and he's not as thick as the Millsap, Blair prototype. Though I guess there's a lot of Leon Powe in his game.
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I'm not sure about Patterson. He's listed as 6'8" in some fourms and 6'9" in others. Probably means he's around 6'6" without shoes. Just guessing though. Cousins looks to be almost 4 inches taller than Patterson. So I'm guessing that his 6'10" measurement is close to correct. Patterson is very strong though. If you see him up close he's just chiseled. As I stated, Cousins is very hard to get a read on, but he does get results in the game. He did show a lot of emotion at the end of the game. Calapari is a good coach and doesn't like slackers, so I would expect improvement for Cousins as the year goes on. Right now he's definitely a player that may be available when the Kings pick.

The irony of the situation is that you want to get a very good player, but if the player you want plays too well, he moves up the draft board and out of reach.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#130
#130
Kingster said:
Walker has a lot of talent. Still hasn't totally put it together yet.
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Thats true, and we really don't need another point guard, unless of course we get a shot at Wall. Which isn't likely. I just thought I would applaud his game a little. He's fun to watch.. Not as much fun as Wall though.:)
 
Vlade4GM

Vlade4GM

All-Star
#133
#133
bajaden said:
Thats true, and we really don't need another point guard, unless of course we get a shot at Wall. Which isn't likely. I just thought I would applaud his game a little. He's fun to watch.. Not as much fun as Wall though.:)
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I don't see a problem with having Evans play SG defensively. If Martin and him don't work out together, I can see Evans fitting with a Mario Chalmers type PG.
 
Sptsjunkie

Sptsjunkie

Starter
#134
#134
I just started looking at the ESPN and DraftExpress rankings for the first time today. Am I the only one who gets the feeling that unless we get lucky in the lottery and land a top 3 pick, that we can start printing up those Grag Monroe jerseys right now?
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#135
#135
Sptsjunkie said:
I just started looking at the ESPN and DraftExpress rankings for the first time today. Am I the only one who gets the feeling that unless we get lucky in the lottery and land a top 3 pick, that we can start printing up those Grag Monroe jerseys right now?
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I think your way too premature. This is going to be a deeper draft than last year. Most of the highly touted kids coming out of highschool are living up to their press clippings. Unlike last year when we spent most of the college season waiting for the likes of DeRozan and Holiday to show us something. As for Monroe, he's at least playing under the basket this year, and it shows in his increased rebound totals. Someone has lit a fire under him and its working so far. My main concern with him is that he isn't really a great athlete, and he doesn't have very good lateral movement. But he is highly skilled.

There are some good big men in this coming draft. They all have a flaw or two, but they also show a lot of promise, depending on what your looking for. I just posted a long thread about Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi St. on my college basketball thread in the General section. The guy is a terrific shot blocker. If you only looking for bigs, yes then your limiting youself somewhat, but when you see guys like Evan Turner and Wesley Johnson, both of whom are going to be terrific players at the next level, I don't think you have to worry about getting a talented player.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#137
#137
Kingster said:
Monroe is on my "prove it" list. Saw him against Washington, and it was a ho-hummer.
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Yep, I watched the game too. Nothing special today. But he has played better in the two prior games I watched. I have my own top ten list right now and I can assure you that he's not on it at the moment.
 
Kingster

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#138
#138
Alabi

Has anyone seen him play this year? I keep channelling this guy. I'd take him over Monroe today. I'd take him last year over Monroe today. Twenty blocks so far, 90% free throw percentage, .560 shooting percentage. The coach is hiding this guy, just like he did last year. He's only playing him 23 minutes a game. (That's one way to keep a guy from going pro). He's the only guy that excites me so far this year, and I haven't even seen him this year - that's based on last year's performance. Yeah, Wall makes me tingle a little bit, but still I'm seeing Alabi in my crystal ball...
 
H

hammystyle

Starter
#140
#140
Kingster said:
Has anyone seen him play this year? I keep channelling this guy. I'd take him over Monroe today. I'd take him last year over Monroe today. Twenty blocks so far, 90% free throw percentage, .560 shooting percentage. The coach is hiding this guy, just like he did last year. He's only playing him 23 minutes a game. (That's one way to keep a guy from going pro). He's the only guy that excites me so far this year, and I haven't even seen him this year - that's based on last year's performance. Yeah, Wall makes me tingle a little bit, but still I'm seeing Alabi in my crystal ball...
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To me it makes very little sense to not play a guy in the hopes that his draft stock stays down and he won't go pro. Not only is that immoral, but it seems like a dumb gamble. Play one of your best players less (hurting your current season) in the hopes you can keep him an extra year?

That said, its about the only reason I can figure why he's not playing more unless he has terrible conditioning. Because he's clearly their best player.
 
hrdboild

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#141
#141
Alright so I went to see the Wooden Classic in Anaheim on Saturday which featured two match ups: Georgetown vs. Washington and Mississippi St. vs. UCLA. Mostly I wanted to see Greg Monroe play and Georgetown almost never plays around here so I couldn't pass it up.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a very good feel for Greg Monroe from this game. I was sitting very far away and missed the first 5 minutes of the game for one thing, but also Greg Monroe still doesn't look very assertive out there. Every five minutes or so he'll do something terrific -- run a perfect give and go from the top of the key and give one of his teammates an open layup, face up his defender outside the key then cross him over and finish with a reverse layup -- but the rest of the time you're wondering what he's doing out there. It's not that he's a lazy player. He does a lot of little things well -- sets good screens, boxes out for rebounds, rotates well on defense. But he seems to be a non-factor for too much of the game offensively for a guy with that kind of skill.

He's clearly the most talented player on his team so it's confusing that it often looks like he's their third or fourth option. Some of the blame should go perhaps on his teammates for taking jump shots instead of getting him the ball. I also noticed that they were having trouble with the entry pass whenever he established himself in the lane. The post defender would often pick off the pass or it would get deflected on the way in by the perimeter defender. This seems to a problem in a lot of other college basketball games I've watched though and it's hard to fault Monroe himself, although he could do a better job sealing off his man. When he does get the ball down low his footwork looks good, he's got an assortment of fakes and counter-moves, but he relies too much on his left hand -- forcing up shots into the defense when he'd be better off using his right. His athleticism isn't impressive. He got blocked from behind on a fast-break dunk attempt where it didn't look like he got much elevation. He should have been able to dunk that ball easily.

He's at his best with the ball in his hands at the high-post. I suppose that's what earns him the post-injury CWebb comparison. He can take his defender off the dribble and score (more effectively than he can in the post actually) or he can throw a perfect pass to one of his teammates cutting to the basket off a screen. Georgetown runs a version of the Princeton offense and it often will take them two or three passes to set up their shot. When the ball goes through Monroe he makes smart decisions more often than not. That's where his potential really shines. When you say a guy is a good passer, that means he puts the ball where it needs to be but it also means that he watches the defense and makes the pass only when it's actually there. I don't think he completes our front court very well -- he's not strong enough as a defender or consistent enough as a low-post scorer -- but he does a lot of things well. Enough that I can see him being a very valuable NBA player at some point.

No one else really stood out to me in that game. On Georgetown, Julian Vaughn was doing a good job of finishing at the basket. He was their most consistent scorer and most of his points were the direct result of his teammates setting him up. That's the Princeton offense in effect. Jason Clark was doing a good job harassing Washington's guards and coming up with steals in the backcourt. Neither one is exciting as an NBA prospect though.

For Washington, Isaiah Thomas is one of those small guards who almost looks like he's too fast for his own good. He'll blow by everyone with a nice crossover and spin move and then throw the ball hard off the glass. Just a little bit too out of control. His scoring carried his team for stretches, but he didn't do it efficiently. Quincy Pondexter has got some buzz as a draft prospect. I didn't really even notice him that much until I looked up and he had 20 points somehow. He's a senior who probably has reached his peak which is good enough to dominate in college basketball some nights but that's about it. He didn't do much on the boards. Had a couple nice steals, but mostly eh. Oh and Abdul Gaddy is looking like Jrue Holiday part 2. I was real disappointed in that guy especially after he impressed me in the McDonald's game. Maybe it's because they have him playing off the ball.

In the second game UCLA got demolished by Mississippi St. If this game was any indication, UCLA is going to make a lot of opposing players very happy this year. Either UCLA is really that bad or Mississippi St. could make some noise as a bubble team this year. Maybe some of both. Ravern Johnson was getting his 'Kevin Martin' on with a very efficient scoring night. Early on he drained two open threes before passing on a third to take a pull-up midrange jumper which of course he nailed too. Then he came back down a couple posessions later and took it all the way to the basket for a nice layup. One of those games where you're more surprised when the guy misses. He finished with five threes in the game and threw in 7 boards to go with it.

Javaris Varnado played center for them and it's easy to see why he's leading the NCAA in blocks per game right now (by a mile at that). He had the triple crown of blocks out there. Got some of the weak-side moving across the lane variety, some where his man backed him down and he just sent it back, and even one where he went up and snatched the would-be alley oop right out of the air then sent the outlet pass back the other way for an open layup. Keeping up with the comparisons, he looked like the second coming of Marcus Camby. Naturally he looked similarly stiff and uncoordinated on offense whenever he attempted something more complicated than an open layup. He won't be much of a scorer but man can he get up and block shots. Nothing is more fun to watch in a basketball game than a shot swatted back to the second row. I'd almost rather we drafted him with our first-round pick than Greg Monroe. Under-sized or not, he made his presence felt.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#142
#142
Kingster said:
Has anyone seen him play this year? I keep channelling this guy. I'd take him over Monroe today. I'd take him last year over Monroe today. Twenty blocks so far, 90% free throw percentage, .560 shooting percentage. The coach is hiding this guy, just like he did last year. He's only playing him 23 minutes a game. (That's one way to keep a guy from going pro). He's the only guy that excites me so far this year, and I haven't even seen him this year - that's based on last year's performance. Yeah, Wall makes me tingle a little bit, but still I'm seeing Alabi in my crystal ball...
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Seen him play three times so far. One of his problems has been getting into foul trouble. As a result it has limited his time. Of the three games he only played well, or should I say played like an impact player in one of the games. Florida St. is a guard oriented team on offense. And as a result they don't make a lot of attempts to get the ball inside to any of their post players. As a result its very hard to get a read on Alabi on offense. What I did see was crude at best. I would say he has a long way to go to be any kind of effecient offensive player.

I'm also not sure how good of game shape he is right now. Even when not in foul trouble he's constantly in and out of the game, and for no apparent reason. At the beginning of the year he was at the top of my list at the center position. Right now he has moved considerably down the list. But that can all change between now and draft day.

The most impressive shot blocker I've seen this year is Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi St. He's 6'9" and has a 7'8" wingspan. When he stands under the basket with his hands straight up in the air, his fingertip can almost touch the basket. He blocked 6 shots against UCLA probably affected at least 10 more shots and caused two jump balls when he tied up the other player. He's the best instinctive shot blocker I've seen in the last 10 years. He led his conference in blocked shots the last three years and is leading his conference again this year. Give him a look see. I've seen him play three times now and he seriously impacts every game he playes.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#143
#143
hammystyle said:
To me it makes very little sense to not play a guy in the hopes that his draft stock stays down and he won't go pro. Not only is that immoral, but it seems like a dumb gamble. Play one of your best players less (hurting your current season) in the hopes you can keep him an extra year?

That said, its about the only reason I can figure why he's not playing more unless he has terrible conditioning. Because he's clearly their best player.
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They've got a couple of other players that are pretty good. Chris Singleton springs to mind. One thing that has bothered me about Alabi this year is that he's not rebounding very well. Long way to go, so hopefully he'll pick up his game more.
 
Kingster

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#144
#144
bajaden said:
Seen him play three times so far. One of his problems has been getting into foul trouble. As a result it has limited his time. Of the three games he only played well, or should I say played like an impact player in one of the games. Florida St. is a guard oriented team on offense. And as a result they don't make a lot of attempts to get the ball inside to any of their post players. As a result its very hard to get a read on Alabi on offense. What I did see was crude at best. I would say he has a long way to go to be any kind of effecient offensive player.

I'm also not sure how good of game shape he is right now. Even when not in foul trouble he's constantly in and out of the game, and for no apparent reason. At the beginning of the year he was at the top of my list at the center position. Right now he has moved considerably down the list. But that can all change between now and draft day.

The most impressive shot blocker I've seen this year is Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi St. He's 6'9" and has a 7'8" wingspan. When he stands under the basket with his hands straight up in the air, his fingertip can almost touch the basket. He blocked 6 shots against UCLA probably affected at least 10 more shots and caused two jump balls when he tied up the other player. He's the best instinctive shot blocker I've seen in the last 10 years. He led his conference in blocked shots the last three years and is leading his conference again this year. Give him a look see. I've seen him play three times now and he seriously impacts every game he playes.
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I saw Varnado in the UCLA game recently and last year in the NCAAs. Just don't like him. Don't like his lackadaisacal loping up the court. Is it laziness or slowness or arrogance? Whatever it is, it doesn't bode well. Saw the same thing in the NCAAs: The guy was blown away by the speed of the game. And that's the college game.

Too bad about Alabi. I was hoping some great things for him. Maybe in a couple of months...One criticism has been his lack of love for the game, or maybe work ethic. If that's the case, the Kings wouldn't touch him, and rightfully so.

As an aside, UCLA is so pathetic this year. It used to be I could get a read on how good a player is when he went up against UCLA. Not this year.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#145
#145
Kingster said:
I saw Varnado in the UCLA game recently and last year in the NCAAs. Just don't like him. Don't like his lackadaisacal loping up the court. Is it laziness or slowness or arrogance? Whatever it is, it doesn't bode well. Saw the same thing in the NCAAs: The guy was blown away by the speed of the game. And that's the college game.

Too bad about Alabi. I was hoping some great things for him. Maybe in a couple of months...One criticism has been his lack of love for the game, or maybe work ethic. If that's the case, the Kings wouldn't touch him, and rightfully so.

As an aside, UCLA is so pathetic this year. It used to be I could get a read on how good a player is when he went up against UCLA. Not this year.
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First off, yeah, your right about UCLA. They have no one on the team that stands out. Malcom Lee is suspossed to, but so far he's having a hard time of it.

Secondly, I'm surprised at your statement about Varnado. I'll admit that at times it looks like he's taking his time going down the court, but your not voted the SEC defensive player of the year two years in a row by being lazy. He is by the way the only player in the history of the SEC to have won that honor two years in a row, and he's on course to do it again this year. He currently has 413 blocked shots in his college career, and that happens to be the record for the SEC. Which was held by none other than Shaq himself with 412 blocked shots.

Last season he was nominated for the John Wooden award. I've done a lot of back ground checking on this guy and I find nothing bad said about him. Quite the contrary. He's one of the articles that I dug up..

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1162930/index.htm
 
Kingster

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#147
#147
bajaden said:
First off, yeah, your right about UCLA. They have no one on the team that stands out. Malcom Lee is suspossed to, but so far he's having a hard time of it.

Secondly, I'm surprised at your statement about Varnado. I'll admit that at times it looks like he's taking his time going down the court, but your not voted the SEC defensive player of the year two years in a row by being lazy. He is by the way the only player in the history of the SEC to have won that honor two years in a row, and he's on course to do it again this year. He currently has 413 blocked shots in his college career, and that happens to be the record for the SEC. Which was held by none other than Shaq himself with 412 blocked shots.

Last season he was nominated for the John Wooden award. I've done a lot of back ground checking on this guy and I find nothing bad said about him. Quite the contrary. He's one of the articles that I dug up..

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1162930/index.htm
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Last year in the NCAAs he looked pathetic. Out of shape, on drugs, slow, or just didn't care. I'd really like to see him go against some teams that are good, like NC or Kentucy. I think their speed was just blow him out of the gym. Sometimes I think stats drive opinions more than they should, and his shot blocking stats may be driving those opinions.

I want to go back to Alabi. Now that I think of it, your description of Alabi is very reminescent of last year. Going out of the lineup for no reason. The foul issue. But regarding the foul issue, what I saw was a coach being so ultra-conservative with the "foul issue" that he needlessly was taking this player out of the game for huge stretches of time, instead of just playing the guy until, or if, he fouled out. For both those reasons - 1) going out for no apparent reason, and 2) staying on the bench for huge stretches of time for "apparent" foul trouble I really started thinking this coach was "hiding" this player. Either that, or the guy is an idiot. Wouldn't be the first time that a coach made poor decisions with the result of lowering the value of a player - i.e. Wallace being played out of position.
 
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hammystyle

Starter
#148
#148
Kingster said:
Last year in the NCAAs he looked pathetic. Out of shape, on drugs, slow, or just didn't care. I'd really like to see him go against some teams that are good, like NC or Kentucy. I think their speed was just blow him out of the gym. Sometimes I think stats drive opinions more than they should, and his shot blocking stats may be driving those opinions.
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You're letting one bad game drive your opinion. A game where he had 5 blocks in 22 minutes lethargic or not. Varnado has been a four year player in the SEC, back to back defensive player of the year, and a kid who started off as a non-prospect and got better each year.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#149
#149
Kingster said:
Last year in the NCAAs he looked pathetic. Out of shape, on drugs, slow, or just didn't care. I'd really like to see him go against some teams that are good, like NC or Kentucy. I think their speed was just blow him out of the gym. Sometimes I think stats drive opinions more than they should, and his shot blocking stats may be driving those opinions.

I want to go back to Alabi. Now that I think of it, your description of Alabi is very reminescent of last year. Going out of the lineup for no reason. The foul issue. But regarding the foul issue, what I saw was a coach being so ultra-conservative with the "foul issue" that he needlessly was taking this player out of the game for huge stretches of time, instead of just playing the guy until, or if, he fouled out. For both those reasons - 1) going out for no apparent reason, and 2) staying on the bench for huge stretches of time for "apparent" foul trouble I really started thinking this coach was "hiding" this player. Either that, or the guy is an idiot. Wouldn't be the first time that a coach made poor decisions with the result of lowering the value of a player - i.e. Wallace being played out of position.
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First on Alabi. I will grant you this. Its hard to get into a flow when your constantly in and out of a game. Some players can do it and others can't. Alabi falls into the can't catagory so far. I really want to like him, but so far he just hasn't been impressive. Of course I haven't see all of his games and I'm not about to pass judgement just yet.

On Varnado, I think your wrong. I've seen him play quite a bit. He certainly wasn't lethargic in the UCLA game. Its almost as if were watching two different players. I'm by no means saying that the Kings should draft him, but I'am saying that he's the best shotblocker I've seen in some time. Please don't judge him on one game in the tourney.

I had people telling me last year, after watching Griffin play one game that he could't jump. Wasn't athletic, and that he was too short. This is a guy I had seen play at least 20 times and these people are arguing with me based on one game. I never get too excited about one game either way. Too many times the first time I see a player he'll go for 25 points and 10 boards. But the next time I see him he goes for 6 points and 4 boards. So which is the real player. You've got to see a guy play a lot of games to really get a feel for what he capable of. And even then, you can get fooled sometimes, because of the system he plays in, or the lack of competition in his conference. Oh well, I won't bore you with things you probably already know. Anyway, try watching him again and see if you don't see a different player than you thought...
 
Kingster

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#150
#150
hammystyle said:
You're letting one bad game drive your opinion. A game where he had 5 blocks in 22 minutes lethargic or not. Varnado has been a four year player in the SEC, back to back defensive player of the year, and a kid who started off as a non-prospect and got better each year.
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Actually, two games. Both gave me the same negative impression. Call it a trend.
 
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