That's the first Canzano I've read in at least a year. God, what a dimwit. All he does is list a player's legal infractions, then spiel over and over about "good people" and "bad people." His mind operates at the level of a 12-year-old. He editorializes in every article about what his religion calls evil, but never analyzes the simple changes in the economic system which would change it all. His only remedies to the underlying causes he ignores are self-repression and if that fails, a lifetime of prison. What a cruel asshole.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab...cruit-to-undrafted-in-one-year-061802287.html So in 11 years on Rivals.com, Alexander is only the second player to make top-5 out of all high school seniors, and then after college, to go undrafted. Another high school rating service, RSCIHoops.com, also rated him better than Towns and Russell, just like Rivals.com did. http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/recruit_rankings_2014.html
Many articles say vaguely, "The NCAA announced mid-season that it was investigating whether Alexander's mother had accepted impermissible benefits from a third party." To find the meaning of "impermissible benefits from a third party," read this. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/public...mother-to-financial-firm-214254286-ncaab.html I didn't know that some loan companies specialize in loans to college players (or their parents or agents), who have just declared for the draft. (The NCAA says they're supposed to wait till then, anyway. This company didn't wait, which is why Alexander had to go pro after his freshman year.)
Some say that criticizing his college team before the draft didn't help his draft position...like the job interview maxim, Don't complain about your former job. http://www.freep.com/story/sports/c...2/cliff-alexander-kansas-basketball/28361915/ He seems angry at the college over some bigger issue than just playing time. Reading between the lines, he may be saying that the college arranged his loan. Or the college might have recommended his agent, who then incompetently contacted the loan company against NCAA rules.
If you click on his agent's name, you find that he is the agent's only "primary" client. The agent, Reggie Brown, has 10 "secondary" clients (meaning, the agent backs up other agents in his firm when they're busy?). http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Cliff-Alexander-7138/ I'm guessing that the agency assigned Alexander a rookie agent who arranged the bad loan, and it cost him millions of dollars in a 1st-round pick contract (had the NCAA allowed him to play 2-3 years at Kansas like fellow slow learner Thomas Robinson did). The agent still has the teenager fooled in this happy picture.
He was injury-prone. In his partial freshman year (ended early by the NCAA investigating his mother's loan), Alexander had a bruised sternum and a back injury. Then his predraft workouts were cut short when he injured his right knee, working out for the Lakers. So that's 3 injuries in less than a year. But he did successfully play 11 games in Summer League (Brooklyn played in both Orlando and Las Vegas.) He measured at 6 foot 7, not 6-8 as listed, which is important since he doesn't have Small Forward skills. http://empirewritesback.com/2015/06/27/brooklyn-nets-news-two-undrafted-free-agents-signed/
I'm done researching this guy. This is like the Connaughton thread, in which I spent all night researching him and making meaty posts. Here are his college stats. http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/cliff-alexander-1.html This is kind of shocking. Look at Givony's mock draft positions for a player who didn't go in the top 60. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Cliff-Alexander-7138/mock-draft-history/ In summary, I have opined before that Kansas coach Bill Self is a great recruiter, but a vastly overrated fundamentals teacher. Cliff Alexander is Thomas Robinson minus an inch or two, and minus 2 college years.
After reading the reports on this kid, he seems like a guy that needs the right environment to get to the next level. He has the talent to be a very capable role player. He's battling what's behind his ears.
Bartelstein thinks Alexander has a good chance of sticking with the Nets rather than spending the season in the NBA's Developmental League or overseas. "People misunderstand the NBA draft," Bartelstein said. "Of the 60 players, only 42 or 43 truly get drafted. The others are stashed in Europe. I could have gotten Cliff drafted if he agreed to go to Europe. The goal is to make an NBA team. I think that's what's going to happen." http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/ct-nba-cliff-alexander-spt-0701-20150630-story.html
I had to "like" this post even if the story was written by Canzano. But even a blind squirrel (Canzano) finds an acorn every now and again.....
That was my initial thought. After watching the interview and him mentioning Amare Stoudamire as a goal, that may actually be a better comparison. Not nearly as good of course, but I was at Amare's very first summer league games back in 2002 and I do see some similarities. (mentally and physically) Amare measured in at an inch taller, but Alexander has both a longer standing reach and wing span. If he keeps working on his 15 foot jumper like they showed in one of the videos, he could be a surprise. He most definitely needs a solid mentor if he stays with the Blazers, but the city of Portland may be a good idea for him, rather than New York or Chicago. It's going to be a tough adjustment for him without some support. Like you all have said, low risk-high reward. I like the gamble.
