He still started at SF for the first bunch of games in his career. I watched the games live, or listened on the radio. His move to SG was a project early on in his career. He was absolutely going to play SF full time his second season with Wooldridge moving to PF. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...7_1_bulls-coach-stan-albeck-gervin-bulls-plan Later in his career, I think he played SF or PF for the Bulls. Pippen was the PG and Ron Harper was the SG. Jordan was automatic from the low post, where a PF normally plays, during the 2nd threepeat. During the 1st threepeat, Pippen played PG and 3pt specialists played the SG position - guys like Paxson, Hodges, Armstrong, and Rory Sparrow. Granted, Pippen played SF on defense. But you guys in Portland know what he can do as PG, as do we Bulls fans.
It doesn't. It just means that if Portland had drafted Jordan, one would have played SF, the other SG.
Of guys who might be available. Oladipo, Porter, Alexei Len. If none of those available; I don't know. Mc Adoo if they can figure out why he shot so poorly both from the field and free throw line.
He shot so poorly from the field because UNC misused him. His role as a Tarheel was schizophrenic, and coach Roy and company never really developed his talent (not really a shocker given their history with talent). He should really have been developed as a post player, but they did everything they could do to have him shooting perimeter jumpers, trying to put the ball on the floor, and guarding guys who were too quick for him. I still like his potential, but he's not a three. I think he could be a great four, maybe with a pick-and-pop aspect to this game, but just because the guy hit some outside shots in the past doesn't mean he's a three.
he was all right hand too, but such a good athlete that it really didn't matter as he'd either rise above or blow by everyone. Being such a lethal scoring threat, helped him average a robust amount of assists for a SG (which was always his primary position). To me it's not really a SG's handles, it's their ability to create offense for himself and others and Clyde certainly could do that http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/drexlcl01.html of the guys in this draft I'm most intrigued by Smart and Gobert. The addition of Maynor has shown how much a second playmaker from the wing improves PDX's attack and Smart seems much more physically capable of defending 2's then Dame or Eric. I figure Batum can help shed some light on whether Rudy has the drive to put in the work that he'd obviously needs to reach his physical potential. There are others I'm intrigued by but want to see the pre-draft stuff to reveal whats really what especially regarding the incoming SGs... as usual, I think some are really fudging their listed size. btw, I'm guessing/expecting some draft day movement shaking up the starting lineup a little STOMP
I like Patric Young as well, but he just announced he's returning. Good decision on his part. Florida's shaping up to be a great team next year, and with another year, he can go from a mid-first to a lottery level player. I also very much agree with you on Aaron Craft. He's been one of my favorite players in college ball for a while, and I really think he's being slept on too much. I love his defensive tenacity and his floor general skills. He's never going to be a go-to-guy, but he could be a great back-up pg for years. If guys like Mario Chalmers and Steve Blake can make it in the league, then I don't see any reason why Craft won't. I don't think he was ever in the conversation for leaving early though. He's only a junior and will almost undoubtedly be back for his senior season. (Although, I honestly thought he was a senior as well until recently. He's one of those guys that got a lot of playing time for a big time program off the bat as a freshman, so it seems like he's been playing college ball forever.)
BTW - To all the casual NCAA fans out there, get ready to be repeatedly hit over the head with Aaron Craft propaganda next season. Just looking at the landscape, he's very likely to return, and his team loses it's primary offensive weapon (DeShaun Thomas, even though he shouldn't declare early as a fringe first rounder), but they do return enough talent to keep Ohio State in the top 10-20 all season long, and Aaron Craft will be the quarterback of that effort. He's got all of the makings of a media darling, being a short, white, unassuming kid that plays a style of basketball that is all about defense, effort, and playmaking, but when called upon he's clutch. Not to mention he's always on the All-Big 10 Academic team, was valedictorian, and has a pretty difficult major (Finance I think). He's the perfect powder keg of media publicity ready to get ignited.
I want to throw a name out that I don't think many people have on their radar. End of the first round, high second round guy now, but I wouldn't be surprised after workouts if he didn't move up into the teens. 6'10, Power Forward, has a pretty decent back to the basket game and this season became solid out to the college 3 pt line. Adreian Payne from Michigan St Not a lottery pick, but I'm looking forward to seeing where he's drafted. I think their's a lot of untapped potential, and with each college year he's shown good improvement.
Yeah I think Payne's got a chance to stick in the NBA, he even shows some good athleticism at times. Seems like he'll be a sieve on defense though.
I want Gorgui Dieng, either trade down or get another pick. I agree, I want this guy, yes he is 23 but can play D and block shots and has developed a decent outsode shot, at 6-11, 245 a nice fit with meyers IMO and he seems like hard worker/smart/great guy and reportedly has a 7'4' to 7'6" wingspan http://www.nbadraftblog.com/2013-scouting-reports/scouting-report-gorgui-dieng.html
more on Dieng: "In a game that lived up to all the hype, Louisville won Rick Pitino's second national title with a thrilling 82-76 victory over Michigan. There were a number of NBA-caliber matchups on the floor, which was part of what made the game so intriguing. Even players in high-level conferences like the Big East and the Big Ten don't see other NBA prospects at their position all that often during the season. On Monday night, almost all of the Wolverines and Cardinals best players were tested on both sides of the floor. Some passed the test, but others came up a bit short. 1. The Big Men The importance of individual matchups can't be overemphasized when it comes to evaluating players. In the Wolverines' win over Syracuse, Mitch McGary looked like a superstar, dissecting the 2-3 zone from the high post and using his bulk to push around the Orange's long and lean big men. Against Louisville, he ran into a reality check in the form of Gorgui Dieng, one of the only NBA-caliber centers in the college game. McGary didn't play that poorly, with six points and six boards, but he had a hard time impacting the game on either end of the floor against a big man who was taller, faster and longer than him. In the NBA, they're all going to be like that. That's what makes evaluating college big men so difficult. They don't face NBA-caliber defensive players at the 4 and 5 very often. Last season, one of the biggest reasons why I was so down on Thomas Robinson was his struggles against Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones in two losses to Kentucky. As it turns out, that meant more than his ability to dominate teams like Missouri, who didn't have one scholarship player above 6'9. McGary, at 6'10 and 250 pounds, isn't big enough to deal with centers like Dieng and he isn't quick enough to deal with the new breed of small-ball power forwards. He'll turn 21 in a few months, so it's unclear how much higher his ceiling is. He should have a long NBA career as a productive third big man off the bench, but the days of "Magic Mitch" and his super cool unicycle have come and gone. The rise of Gorgui Dieng More on Louisville's excellent NBA prospect. And while McGary struggled, Dieng showed why he may be one of the most underrated prospects in the country. He controlled the paint, effectively eliminating McGary as an offensive threat, and protected the rim, blocking three shots. On offense, he smoothly knocked down mid-range jumpers and picked apart the Michigan defense to the tune of six assists. With his size, skill and athleticism, he'll be a serviceable two-way center on a rookie contract. In a league where guys like DeAndre Jordan make more than $10 million, that's great value.
The flip side of going off of head to head match ups in the tournament, take a look at the box score of the LSU-Texas matchup that pitted Big Baby and Tyrus Thomas against LaMarcus Aldridge. http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2006-03-25-louisiana-state.html Aldridge went 2-14, 4 points, 10 boards. Tyrus went for 21 and 13. Davis went for 26 and 9
Agreed. I was talking him up in the draft thread back in January - The only thing is, I don't know if he's coming out. As far as the Spartans go, Appling, Harris, and Payne have asked to have their draft stock evaluated. Appling's almost definitely returning, Harris has a shoulder issue that he might need surgery on this summer, so he's probably more likely to come back, but Payne is a complete coin flip at this point. Out of all the juniors looking at the draft though, I think Payne could benefit the most from another year in school. Every year he's improved and added something to his game.
