<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Their backgrounds couldn't be more different, but for now Olu Famutimi and Ivan Chiriaev are hoping to get the same place. Both players have declared themselves as early-entry candidates for the National Basketball Association draft. They are the only two with Canadian connections among the 108 college underclassman, high-school and international players who are 21 and under and have formally applied to the league to take part in the June 28 draft. Both Chiriaev and Famutimi are long shots, however. Famutimi is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard whose family settled in Toronto by way of Nigeria but who played high-school basketball in Michigan before attending the University of Arkansas. He is considered a NBA-calibre athlete who needs to polish his skills before receiving serious consideration, according to league sources.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Babcock said Montreal's Juan Mendez, who starred at the University of Niagara, will be one of the players brought to Toronto for a predraft workout.</div> Source For those who aren't familiar with Mendez, he is 6-8/245 and a beast inside the paint. He averaged 23.6 PPG and 10 RPG. He's usually draws comparisons to Danny Fortson (without the baggage and more athletic), Elton Brand, and Malik Rose.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Purple Fever:</div><div class="quote_post">Shape, you forgot the famous saying: "The NBA needs Ivan Chiriaev"</div> LOL -- I think you mean INfamous saying!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Purple Fever:</div><div class="quote_post">Shape, you forgot the famous saying: "The NBA needs Ivan Chiriaev"</div> He's had a few good quotes. My personal favorites are - "If I'm not in the Top 3, I'm going to college." and "I can be better than Nowitzki." Personally, I'd take Famutimi, but not Chiriaev in the second round. I'm not as familiar with Chiriaev's case as I am Famutimi's, but I know that he's really raw, and a lot of people believe that all of the talks of potential are farfetched. I read in reports from 2002 mock drafts that he was a lottery-bound prospect who at 7-1 could play the Point Guard position. Apprently his lack of skill and exreme rawness has been exposed over the years, and scouts said he's not going to even be able to play Shooting Guard in the pros. As for Famutimi, I believe that he's lacking self-confidence right now. He probably only declared because he thought he was slipping off everybody's radar and just wanted to get his name out there again. However, I don't think it's fair to call him a bust just yet. Before he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in High School, he was one of the best players in the nation and a McDonald's All-American selection. As coach Heath said, Famutimi's first season was almost a wash because of all of the mental obstacles of his rehabilitation, so this year was almost like his true Freshman year. While I expect him to go back to Arkansas, I wouldn't pass him up with a second round pick, because he still has the athleticism and potential to be a great NBA player. As for Mendez and Brand, I can see where the comparisons may start, because the two players have similar bodies, but the comparison also ends there as well. Even when comparing their bodies, Brand has thirty pounds on Mendez. It's true that Mendez had an amazing year statistically, but keep in perspective that he did so on Niagra, not on Duke. Brand put up almost the same numbers as a Sophomore on a much more competitive Duke team. Mendez can break the thirty point barrier against teams like American and Canisius, but how would he do against teams like North Carolina and Wake Forest? If I had to compare him to anyone in the NBA, it'd be a poor man's Marc Jackson.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">As for Mendez and Brand, I can see where the comparisons may start, because the two players have similar bodies, but the comparison also ends there as well. Even when comparing their bodies, Brand has thirty pounds on Mendez. It's true that Mendez had an amazing year statistically, but keep in perspective that he did so on Niagra, not on Duke. Brand put up almost the same numbers as a Sophomore on a much more competitive Duke team. Mendez can break the thirty point barrier against teams like American and Canisius, but how would he do against teams like North Carolina and Wake Forest? If I had to compare him to anyone in the NBA, it'd be a poor man's Marc Jackson.</div> Its sad , but theres definitely truth in that.
