In terms of expectations, I'd rate Petrie's drafting in the D to F range; not trying to Simon Cowell the situation, but all three of the picks he made were not value picks at all; I think Brick mentioned the situation about Petrie's lack of creativity, and it's really showing...if we really wanted Jason Thompson, our first rounder, we could've traded down--he most likely would probably be available in the 20s because quite frankly, his talent level is that of a late 1st rounder. I'll spare my post about Thompson's talent in another thread, and while I didn't like anyone at the 12th spot at the time we were drafting, we definitely could've gotten more value out of that pick. I may be wrong with my preconceived notions, but I think he's a tease--he appears to be a "unique" big man with almost a little bit of everything, with athleticism, mobility, shooting touch, shotblocking and others, but he seems to lack the intangibles players get from bigger schools, and seems to have too many ups and downs in the same game. There are reasons why people throw up comparisons to Mark Blount--he may not be as good as we perceive him to be.
Our first second rounder, Sean Singletary, could very easily have been undrafted. A great example of a wonderful college player that won't translate to the NBA--I think I've said this in other threads--but Singletary has no standout NBA attribute besides scoring--and for an undersized arguably below 6-foot guard, that's commonplace. Questionable court vision, trying defender but due to lack of physical tools it gets stymied, and is not a good enough shooter--and considering that he'll probably be a role player in the NBA, he'll need to fix those things. I was disappointed with this one because in terms of talent, other guys--Richard Hendrix, DeVon Hardin, Bill Walker, etc.--were still on the board. At least Petrie didn't fall into the facade that was Mike Taylor.
Patrick Ewing Jr.? Wonderful athlete yes, but basketball player remains to be seen. Amazing physical tools derived from his father, but doesn't have the skills to back it up. Obviously he didn't get much playing time at Georgetown, but he's a very old four-year senior without much polish--that doesn't bode well for the NBA, particularly with his age. Seems to have defensive potential and even slam dunk ability with his 41' vert, but yeah, again, he most likely would've been undrafted. Two questionable picks back to back. He wasn't even a starter for the Hoyas.
In terms of team fits, however, I may be more willing to give Thompson the benefit of the doubt. I mean, if we had the 20somethingish pick and picked Thompson, I probably would've been satisfied--part of my disappointment resides in the fact we didn't get optimum value with the pick, because the perception of Thompson was that he'd go further down the draft. Again, I'm interested to see how far we can tap into his potential, however, despite the fact that I think he's a role player at best.
The other picks? Most likely won't make the team, but if they do, they probably would last barely into the regular season. I actually see more hope for Ewing Jr than Singletary for us, because we do need that athlete, and although we are stacked at the position he's vying for (SF), that just illustrates my lack of interest in Singletary's game.
