A view of Tyreke from Philly:

[bajaden]

Nice article on Tyreke.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports..._making_name_for_himself_with_Sacramento.html

 

[kennadog]

I liked this from Tyreke:

"They [older brothers] were tough on me, and I started to become tougher on myself. I don't want to hear how great I am, I want to do anything I can to avoid getting bigheaded. It's why I refuse to watch any highlights of myself on TV. Once you start thinking you're something special, you stop working hard to reach that higher level. You start becoming unspecial."

 

[Asaf]

I liked this from Tyreke:

I like that mindset too, a lot. I hope he actually manages to keep it up because it's going to be hard with all the attention he's getting.

One thing I don't like about all the hype, though, is that things get blown out of proportion. For example, in this article they make it seem like Tyreke single-handedly won the game against the Bulls, when in reality it was the bench, namely Udoka and Brockman, who brought us back. Tyreke was amazing in the final 3 minutes, but that wouldn't have done any good had the bench players not carried out that amazing comeback. Of course, that's not Tyreke's fault. It's the media's fault for trying to paint a picture that will create their superhero. They do that with other superstars as well ("Kobe hit those two 3-pointers without any feeling in his right arm"... gimme a break). This is the one thing that I've always disliked about the NBA - It's turned basketball from a team sport to a game of superstars and their servants.

 

[Kingsguy881]

Petrie hit the jackpot. This here is a guy who will not rest on his laurels, who will keep working harder and harder to get better. He will not settle(Martin) for just being good, he wants to be great and he will work and work and work until he retires. I sure hope he retires a Sacramento King.

 

[FaStRmAn]

WOW! High praise from an unbiased source. It would seem that 'REKE is turning some heads back east! That is a good thing, because those East Coast voters make a BIG difference when it comes time for the R.O.Y. Voting. Most of those voters are asleep when Tyreke is playing his games here on the west coast. So he needs as much exposure as possible back east to keep him in the running for the ROY.

I believe he has made believers of the teams he has faced in the east. Pretty sure those people in Milwaukee are believers. Pretty sure those voters in Chicago have become believers. And this game against Philly will be important for Tyreke again to show the East Coast voters what this kid can do! Make no mistake about it. If there is an East Coast rookie that is even close, they will win the Rookie of the Year honors.

Tyreke will have to play above and beyond any East coast rookies and leave no DOUBT! It is an uphill battle for West coast teams to get the recognition they deserve because of the East Coast Bias that has existed for many many years. But the way Tyreke is playing right now, he is certainly opening some eyes on the East coast, that is for sure. Articles like this are an example of how Evans is transcending the bias and achieving the notoriety necessary for a West Coast Rookie to even get consideration for the Rookie of the Year Honors.

A few more great games against quality East Coast teams, and by the Allstar Break the voters will have made up their minds. It will be a CRIME if Evans does not make it onto the Rookie Allstar team! In truth, it would be a crime if Omri Casspi does not make that team! I think if the Kings continue to win and have at or near a .500 record, the Kings rookies will get more recognition and quite possibly we will have 2 rookies playing for the rookie squad. And maybe even a Sophomore Power forward playing for the Soph squad in Jason Thompson! And the way that Donte Greene has been playing, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that HE might get consideration for the Soph team! In fact, of Greene keeps playing the way he has been, he very well could get Most Improved Player honors as well!

Lets face it, these young Kings are starting to turn some heads! As a Kings fan, I am very excited to see the team that Geoff Petrie has created through his awesome drafting skills and the mega trade that brought us Greene, Bobby Jackson, and a draft pick that we later used to draft Omri Casspi for Ron Artest !! At the time, I remember there were a lot of doubters that said the Kings just GAVE Artest away and got nothing in return. Well, when you look at that trade TODAY, Artest no longer plays for Houston (although he is still playing well for the Fakers). Jackson retired, and so the Kings ended up with Donte Greene, who is looking better and better every game, and they also got Omri Casspi, who is looking like the absolute STEAL of the 2009 draft. There are 22 GM's scratching their heads wondering WHY they did not see what Geoff Petrie SAW!

Casspi is just the kind of magical draft pick that the Maloofs have seen time and time again from Petrie. It lead to the resigning of Petrie to a long term contract. As far as I am concerned, they can sign Petrie for LIFE, as good as he is. He is THE BEST GM IN THE NBA! His ability to judge young talent and project their future success is astonishing! Selecting Evans over Rubio might turn out to be the best decision EVER!

At the time, fans were down right ANGRY that we passed on Rubio. Fans were in love with the YOU-Tube Highlight videos and were so angry when Petrie passed on Rubio that they wanted Petrie fired! Well, now that we look back on THAT decision, we can clearly see that Petrie is a GENIUS !!! Rubio man NEVER play in the NBA, and he clearly prefers playing in Europe. Evans looks like he may become one of the best players in the NBA!

At this point, I am DONE trying to second guess Petrie. He is the MASTER of the Draft Board! Where many of us thought that falling to 4th was the worst luck ever, Petrie just smiled and said "there is a lot of talent in this draft, and we will get a good player with the 4th pick" All the draft pundits and talking heads were claiming that the 2009 draft was the weakest draft in recent memory. But even at #23, Petrie was able to select a player who is occasionally STARTING for the Kings and playing very well! Lets see, whom would you take over Casspi? Here is my honest opinion list...

#22 Victor Claver - no

#21 Darren Collison - no

#20 Eric Maynor - perhaps in 3-4 years

#19 Jeff Teague - no

#18 Ty Lawson - no

#17 Jrue Holiday - no

#16 James Johnson - no

#15 Austin Daye - no

#14 Earl Clark - no

#13 Tyler Hansbrough - he has potential and work ethic. A Maybe!

#12 Gerald Henderson - no

#11 Terrence Williams - no

#10 Brandon Jennings - I MIGHT conciser Jennings. He's got game.

#9 DeMar DeRozan - Had a lot of hype b4 draft. But no.

#8 Jordan Hill - another possible skilled big. but right now, no.

#7 Stephen Curry - Gonna be a great scorer...maybe a concider

#6 Jonny Flynn - Better than Casspi? Maybe in 3 years...

#5 Ricky Rubio - HA HA HAAA!

#4 Tyreke Evans - I would certainly take Tyreke over Casspi!

#3 James Harden - NOPE, not at this point.

#2 Hasheem Thabeet -Potential Oliwakandi caliber bust. Major mistake

#1 Blake Griffin - Too early to tell. Hasn't played. Maybe??




I am sorry for this long post. I didn't mean to ramble on an on. But you can see that Petrie did as fine a job in this draft than any GM had done in ANY draft! Petrie made magic with 2 picks. Evans pick was phenomenal! But the Casspi selection is starting to look like a MIRACLE!

Geoff Petrie! Kings GM FOR LIFE !!!

 

[Kingsguy881]

FastRMaN, good to see you boss. Nice post.

 

[bajaden]

I like that mindset too, a lot. I hope he actually manages to keep it up because it's going to be hard with all the attention he's getting.

One thing I don't like about all the hype, though, is that things get blown out of proportion. For example, in this article they make it seem like Tyreke single-handedly won the game against the Bulls, when in reality it was the bench, namely Udoka and Brockman, who brought us back. Tyreke was amazing in the final 3 minutes, but that wouldn't have done any good had the bench players not carried out that amazing comeback. Of course, that's not Tyreke's fault. It's the media's fault for trying to paint a picture that will create their superhero. They do that with other superstars as well ("Kobe hit those two 3-pointers without any feeling in his right arm"... gimme a break). This is the one thing that I've always disliked about the NBA - It's turned basketball from a team sport to a game of superstars and their servants.

The NBA is what it is. And if it has to be that way, then I prefer that one of the players being elevated to star status is one of our own. Tyreke is the leader of this team. He, along with Casspi and Brockman have brought a mental toughness to the Kings. Of course everyone contributed to the victory. But make no mistake about who the leader is. One statement by Petire said it all. Tyreke wanted the ball in his hands at the end, but more importantly, his teammates wanted the ball in his hands.

 

[Nighthawk1]

I think it's important to note that Tyreke is from the Philly area so this article isn't exactly unbiased because he is their hometown boy... It would be similar to the articles we would see on local players drafted from the Sac Area...

That being said, not trying to downplay the article because it's a really great article!

 

[Kingsguy881]

I think it's important to note that Tyreke is from the Philly area so this article isn't exactly unbiased because he is their hometown boy... It would be similar to the articles we would see on local players drafted from the Sac Area...

That being said, not trying to downplay the article because it's a really great article!

I didn't see any articles like this about Barnes....and this is a much smaller town than Philly, a sports town that is huge on all four major sports, especially hockey, football and baseball before basketball.

 

[kennadog]

Petrie hit the jackpot. This here is a guy who will not rest on his laurels, who will keep working harder and harder to get better. He will not settle(Martin) for just being good, he wants to be great and he will work and work and work until he retires. I sure hope he retires a Sacramento King.

I think this is unfair. Martin didn't "settle" for anything. He is a very hard worker. His ceiling was never close to what Tyreke's is. If they both work as hard as they can, Tyreke will be the better player.

Martin was drafted 26th and many of the "experts" doubted he'd even make it in the NBA. Sure I'd like to see him improve his defense, but he's worked hard and proved those experts wrong about him.

Sometimes I just get tired of people feeling the need to disparage one of our own players to make a point about another of our own. Kevin was never cut out to be a franchise player. That doesn't mean he can't be a valuable player for the Kings or for a lot of other teams.