As much as I'd love to sit and talk about KP's imminent firing/extension for the next two weeks, what about this year's draft? With guys like Rudy, Bayless and Martell maybe not a lock to be here long term, what do you guys think about Quincy Pondexter of UW? Smart, decent shooter, pretty good ball-handler, experienced college player, probably can slide between small forward and shooting guard in a backup role. Currently he's slotted to probably go in that late teens to early twenties range. Would you guys be disappointed if KP (er ... Larry Miller, Mark Warkentien?) took him? or would you guys want to see a big man project like Larry Sanders from VCU taken or maybe a shot blocker like Solomon Alabi or even Hassan Whiteside? http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Quincy-Pondexter-1122/playerblog/ Discuss ...
My only worry about Pon is his size. I don't think he's the 6'6" that he is listed at on some sites, and the 6'7" listing I see cannot possibly be true. I'm a UW alum, so I'd love to see him do well in the NBA. As a defensive hustle guy off of the bench, maybe he makes sense here. Expecting more from him? I just don't see it happening at the NBA level.
I guess we'll see what happens when he's officially measured, but regardless of his height, he seems pretty lengthy in the arms, and he plays his ass off on defense which is something this team could use more of.
Thank you for posting a thread about something besides the KP/Penn/Vulcan soap opera. Repped. I'd be happy if we picked Pondexter. I'd like to see us take our 1st round pick and package it with some combo of Bayless and Webster and move up and take Wesley Johnson. My dream would be for us to somehow move up and get Evan Turner or DeMarcus Cousins but dont see that as a real possibility. Our first round pick + Bayless and Rudy for the #2?
Andy Rautins - Guard from Syracuse would be a great 2nd round pick.. love the way the guy plays - quick shot and NBA range - good decision maker - great defender. Will have to progress to a PG in the NBA but I would love to see him on our team.
There is a lot to like about him but I really want a SF that can put in the long ball with regularity. I just think it's needed.
Quincy would be a great pick in the late first round. A kid who probably won't be a star but who can contribute a bit right away. Sounds good to me.
If Camby doesn't stay, the Blazers almost HAVE to go for a big guy. I wouldn't mind them rolling the dice on Alabi. Whiteside...tough call. He is supposed to have good potential, but there are too many rumblings about his coachability/work ethic. Another possibility, would just be to go BPA in round one, and then target a warm body like Jerome Jordan or Pittman in round two. This assumes the team has high hope that Pendergraph will make significant improvement.
I'd like to see KP (or whomever) trade up for Patrick Patterson. Eric Bledsoe from Kentucky is a nice PG prospect. He'll blow up next season if he stays and out of the shadow of Wall.
IMO, if Whiteside drops to where we'll be picking (19-21), you take him, because I think he's a lottery level talent. I'm definitely higher on him than Alabi. I'd also be moderately interested in Willie Warren, as I think he probably has at least as much point guard in him as Jerryd Bayless (which isn't necessarily saying much). I'd also be interested in St. Marys' center Omar Samhan (as a 2nd rounder), mainly because of his well-developed offensive game, but also the fact that he and Mills played together and might have some good chemistry already.
Often times the first couple of picks are hard to move up and get. But the guys behind the first few, not so hard. I don't think it would be super hard to move up and pick up Cousins.
Package and trade some players for a big man that can play more then 40 games! Oh yeah, he can't be 35 years old either...it would be nice if he could shoot the ball too....oh yeah....maybe play some defense and not foul out in 5 minutes of playing time.
Bledsoe is intriguing ... I've watched a few Kentucky games and it's hard to quantify his play just because of who he plays with.
Samhan is way too slow to play in the NBA. So slow. You don't draft a guy because he has chemistry with your 15th man.
Agreed. That guy is definitely skilled, but he's so slow and ground bound that he's going to get eaten alive in the NBA, I expect he'll have a nice career in Europe however.
I wouldn't mind Pondexter at all. He's a good all-around player now (so-so from outside), but more importantly he's shown progress every year. When he came to UW, he was widely considered a disappointment. Every year he's progressed, though, and in all aspects of the game, and now he's even getting national attention. He'd be great D off the bench at the wings, which we need, and would likely improve outside shooting over time to be a very good threat.
Quincy Pondexter? Sounds like a good name for a Vulcan dweeb. Our needs have not changed since 3 years ago, just gotten more dire. We need a starting PG, we need a starting C, we need a backup PF.
I don't know nothin about none of these guys. Is there anybody that one might describe as "tough as nails" in this year's draft? Cause it'd be kind of cool to get that guy.