Update on Ricky Minard

[Greg Ostertag]

For those who were wondering how Ricky Minard has been doing after being selected #1 overall in the recent NBDL draft, here are his stats.

Columbus Riverdragons: 5-1

Ricky Minard
22.1 ppg (#2 in the league)
4.6 rpg
3.1 apg
1.7 spg
0.7 bpg
2.7 TOpg
34.7 mpg

Also has the NBDL season high of 33 points.

Well good for Ricky. He's getting "developed" in the NBDL..hopefully someday he'll have a nice career in the L.

 

[Alacron]

Good for him... it's kind of surprising the season high in the NBDL is only 33 points. I guess it's partly because the coaches delve deep into the bench every game.
~~

 

[bibbyweb]

Good for him. Hope that he has a good career!

 

[RaY Z]

Good for him. Hope that he has a good career!

i hope the kings can sign him back in the future someday... of course when his better that is...

 

[jon e]

we resigned rodney buford last year

 

[Mad D]

we resigned rodney buford last year

i think if we do something like that it will be alexander who we call first

 

[HndsmCelt]

Good job, brush up you chops and make another run at the NBA next season...

 

[Lamar_Odom]

Minard is struggling to get off scrub status but maybe he'll get better.

 

[Bricklayer]

Still a SG in a PG body. There is a class of player like that who always do well at lower levels, because they aren't faced wih nearly as many top/big athletes, and then will always struggle to transition to the big leagues.Minard could still make it -- maybe he just had a bad camp. But tweener guards have to be VERY good in order to really make it in the NBA. They basically get away with it while they are still some of the best athletes ion the court, but once faced with bigger and/or quicker guys just doesn't work anymore.

 

[kingskings!]

Still a SG in a PG body. There is a class of player like that who always do well at lower levels, because they aren't faced wih nearly as many top/big athletes, and then will always struggle to transition to the big leagues.Minard could still make it -- maybe he just had a bad camp. But tweener guards have to be VERY good in order to really make it in the NBA. They basically get away with it while they are still some of the best athletes ion the court, but once faced with bigger and/or quicker guys just doesn't work anymore.

But what about guys like our lately departed Peeler? Or Voshon Leonard? Eric Strickland, Milt Palacio, Cat Mobley, or our other more distantly departed Vinny Del Negro? Weren't they all similar in size doing the same thing? They all managed to find a way to play in the NBA for a number of years. I'm not comparing talent or basketball IQ, I'm talking about size and position, none are super stars but they find a way to make a team and a living in the league...I hope the kid does well, and if having the Kings cut him gives him an earlier wake up call than Gerald got, then I credit the Kings for cutting him if it makes a responsible man and better ball player out of him. I still wonder what got Minard dropped to the second round (and I hear faint echoes of Celt describing Rafer's college career), I wonder what Ricky's college intructors would have to say about him...

Oh well, I'll go back and hang out in the lounge where I belong now!


KK!

 

[Mad D]

But what about guys like our lately departed Peeler? Or Voshon Leonard? Eric Strickland, Milt Palacio, Cat Mobley, or our other more distantly departed Vinny Del Negro? Weren't they all similar in size doing the same thing?

side note on Mobley.. (if i remember right from those NBA player speciaks) he has a wingspan of a 6'10 guy, so that might give him an advantage over those other guys listed

 

[LPKingsFan]

Reason #344534.5 why it would be awesome for the NBA to have a real farm system.

 

[Bricklayer]

But what about guys like our lately departed Peeler? Or Voshon Leonard? Eric Strickland, Milt Palacio, Cat Mobley, or our other more distantly departed Vinny Del Negro? Weren't they all similar in size doing the same thing? They all managed to find a way to play in the NBA for a number of years. I'm not comparing talent or basketball IQ, I'm talking about size and position, none are super stars but they find a way to make a team and a living in the league...I hope the kid does well, and if having the Kings cut him gives him an earlier wake up call than Gerald got, then I credit the Kings for cutting him if it makes a responsible man and better ball player out of him. I still wonder what got Minard dropped to the second round (and I hear faint echoes of Celt describing Rafer's college career), I wonder what Ricky's college intructors would have to say about him...

Oh well, I'll go back and hang out in the lounge where I belong now!


KK!

You can actually see the problem when you look at those guys. First, I don't think Minard is really 6'4", but we'll set that aside for a moment. At that size he has simply got to develop a lethal three point shot if he plans to remain an OG, or suddenly become a top flght athlete who can play above the rim despite his height. The alternative, and more likely in Ricky's case, is he has to follow in the shaky footsteps of the Vinny D's, Milt Palacios and Erick Stricklands. Learn how to be an adequate PG. But you can see from those guy's borderline careers (except Vinny who again developed a very good J) that that rarely leads to glory.

What he can't do is continue to try to attack the rim from underneath it at his size as an OG. On most nights, his man is bigger than him now (or would be in the NBA), and probably at least as good vertically. He can't consistently get good shots off against NBA OGs and big men the way he could at a small college. So he has to either a) dunk everything and basically be unblockable, or b) develop a three point shot out beyond where the defense would normally cover him. Alternately if he could develop some real PG skills he could keep the ability to shoot over his opponents the way he did in college (still would have good size for a PG). But that's a mentality thing, and if you've been basically a selfish shooting type player your entire life, hard to make the transition to worrying about setting other people up instead of yourself.

P.S. the farm system thing cuts both ways. Sure we would get to keep ouor own guy sitting around, but it also means that we would lose access to the guys for the other 29 teams. Think I would rather have our guys exposed as FAs but be able to get access to the other 95% of the free agents than just be trapped with only our own guys.