He’s a tower.

Though sometimes the coach can’t get him out of the game quick enough.

The game’s pace often times leaves George doubled over after just a minute or so. Lots of 5 on 4’s result. Gotta have the big man in there, but, to a point.

And yet, when his minutes are finely controlled, George can wreak havoc on any team on any end of the court.

Against the UNC Tar Heels last year, Kenny put up 14 points, 11 boards and 4 blocks in 24 minutes of action.

Will Kenny’s role ever expand?

07/08 stats- 19.4 min/gm, 69.6 % fg, 65.2 % ft, 3.3 blk, 12.4 ppg, 7 reb

If George can play a strong 25 min/gm and block at least 4 shots while improving on his ppg and rebounding averages, Asheville will win another 20 games and be invited to another postseason tourney.

The more Kenny is “in the game”, the chances Asheville can compete for the conference crown rise dramatically.

This will be the year the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs will win the Big South tourney and go dancing.

Post from: EveryJoe

Prediction 7: Less is actually more

After this last season ended in depressing fashion for the Huskies, Hasheem knew he wasn’t ready to contribute at the next level and knew he still eagerly wanted to conquer a NCAA championship, so instead of making a few million bucks while playing sparingly for an NBA team, he decided to hop on board the college scene once again.

UCONN is talented, well represented from a point source position, has a good mix of veterans and young-uns, and most importantly, is coached by Jim Calhoun.

Not only does the team boast good guard play, they also get offensive and defensive help from the bigs.

Thabeet can take care of the paint by himself, but he does have help.

Usually unheralded Jeff Adrien was the leading scorer for UCONN last year. And not only does Jeff know how to score, he rebounds and even blocks shots too.

An efficient complimentary talent to lessen the load off of Thabeet, don’t ya think?

The Stanley Robinson situation now needs to be resolved.

Will he return in December?

2nd semester?

Having a double digit scorer who can knock down a three, block shots (1.3blk) and rebound consistently (6.5reb) will dramatically help out Thabeet, not to mention the team’s efforts to advance deep into the tourney.

But, again, defense isn’t really a concern for UCONN.

The concern is more aimed at making Thabeet into a full-fledged star.

Thabeet’s game is highly flawed, but not so demented that he will be unable to vastly expand upon his sophomore year’s accomplishments.

He started to develop a jump hook toward the end of the season, but still lacks a comfortable and dependable go-to move in the paint. Finishing at the basket is at times awkward, yet so many times he seems totally unfazed as his long arms often receive no resistance from defenders.

An area I really could see him improving in would be the free throw line percentage. He made a giant leap from the first to second year, so why not a nice little jump to about a mid 70’s ft %?

Blocks will ultimately be his ticket to the big show, however in terms of raw stat meddling, the per game blocks will not increase much, if at all, this next season. The load will continue to be helped by Adrien and Robinson, along with any contribution coming from 6’10 Frosh Ater Majok.

We all know what Thabeet’s strengths are. He won’t lose his defensive presence or his classic rebounding habits just like that.

Thabeet will do a lot of this to opposing victims, yet he needs to do more on the other end of the court to separate himself from the others.

But hopefully he knows there’s more in it for him.

His maturity and ability, and maybe patience as well, to stay in school, could symbolize his desires to aspire to that next level and put the team on his back.

God knows he could do it.

So. 10.5ppg 69.8 ft% 7.9 reb 4.5 blk

Fr. 6.2ppg 51.3 ft% 6.4 reb 3.8 blk

Hasheem’s bare minimum averages in 08/09-

14.5ppg, 74 ft%, 9 reb and 4.2 blk ????

photo credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Could’ve been riding the pine in Toronto or Charlotte

At first glance 7′1 B.J. Mullens reminds me of the classic stiff, the guy who had all sorts of people saying great things about him prior to even lacing up sneakers in the NBA.

Robert Swift, Michael Olowokandi, Chris Mihm, Jim McIlvaine, uhh, maybe not Jimster there, but those first 3 were supposed to be the next really good, even spectacular, pivots, but are the epitome of Muresanian stiffness and Will Perdue blandness.

Beating up on Gheorghe like that isn’t like me, so I’ll say Ostertag stiffness instead.

Muresan had game.

Hoops analysts and geniuses –just about every one of that species—has proclaimed B.J. to be the next Oden type impact in college basketball. He can shoot it like Dirk, dunk it like Dominique, run the floor like a gazelle and can kiss it in off the glass like Mr. Fundamentals.

Just imagine how much more we would hear about B.J. if he was going to an ACC school?

Dickie V. would be saying he’s the number one Diaper Dandy!

Milicic

Is Mullens the next Darko flop?

Does he wow people in solo workouts like Darko apparently wowed Joe Dumars?

I’m not going to sit back and say Mullens will be a total disaster his freshman year.

First off, he’ll play at least 19 games against a disaster of a conference, the Big Ten. That alone should guarantee him at least a double digit scoring average.

Northwestern, Michigan and Iowa probably have enough combined talent to make a run in the NIT if they joined together, but split up that core and you have three downright weak teams.

Penn St. and Illinois won’t turn any heads either.

Indiana, it will be awhile.

Second, Mullens will (already has) easily impress others with his hops on wide open dunks and such, inflating the esteem of the many futile videos that already exist exhibiting his growing heap of skills. With every little highlight play he makes, the koolaid will be traveling more and more.

I’ll be really blunt… there haven’t been any white (American) centers who have taken the NBA by storm in recent years. There have been quite a few who were projected to be real good, like a couple mentioned above. Add on Bryant Reeves and Travis Knight to that list save Kandi Man.

Chris Kaman is the closest definition of a solid white “center” out there now. And by all means, Chris is a valuable player and really had a breakout year in 07/08. He’s a border line All-Star caliber player.

Brad Miller is on the honorable mention list, but he’s never been a back to the basket player anyways.

So this B.J. guy has a lot to live up to and many people he must prove wrong, and also, prove right.

I think too many basketball fans and “analysts” are often overly gaga over an athletic white guy, a smooth white guy, someone who they think can break out and be considered the next Larry Bird or Bill Walton, Rex Chapman, Brent Barry, Kevin McHale, John Stockton, Chris Mullin.

Good American white players are hard to come by lately.

B.J. is a phony as of now.

You can’t teach height.

True.

But you can teach others to be aware of Darko.

Post from: EveryJoe

B.J. Mullens hype machine warm and ready

My NBA draft predictions weren’t exactly Matt Millen-esque, actually far from it, however a couple of glaring mistakes certainly overshadowed the brilliant gems.

Like anyone is keeping score at home, besides me that is.

I keep score.

In previous posts I predicted

Shawn James, a shot blocker out of Duquesne, would be drafted.

I also was high on St. Joes forward Pat Calathes. He too was not drafted. However, I happened to notice that Jay Bilas had Pat Calathes on his list of 6 best remaining players not yet drafted, though that was after pick # 59.

My big monstrosity of an error was the George Hill prediction. Plain and simple I didn’t expect teams to have much respect for George, the little Summit League star from IUPUI.

I will say it again for whoever may have missed it: Seeing George Hill play in person, as I did late in the season last year, didn’t really allow me to gage his full repertoire and potential.

Obviously that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Now my opinion about the kid could have been swayed because of the complete beating Oakland U put on IUPUI that night, though I would have hoped it would not have because that’s not a sensible way to go about forming opinions on players. Thinking back I probably let the outcome of the game affect what I thought about George Hill.

Still doesn’t mean he will be any good but…

The guy was picked in the first round and by the San Antonio Spurs no less!

Victories

At least Sasha Kaun and Malik Hairston were drafted. And at least D.J. White was drafted in round one, even though the team who drafted him didn’t keep him.

Another little victory for me was Bill Walker. Yeah, he slipped a bit, but he’s on the best NBA team out there right now.

And finally I’d like to take credit and say I knew Jason Thompson would be a top #15 pick, but that would be a lie. Though I did say he was intriguing…

A morsel of my last post discussed Chris Douglas-Roberts’s draft night gag, and as expected, nothing much was accomplished. I guess the post was a good excuse to get Shawn Marion’s name out there, Kevin Martin’s as well, but of course I whiffed at the chance to link out to some frequently visited pro basketball blogs.

Lesson learned.

Mental note forwarded.

Will whore myself out more for the chance of getting more pv’s in the future.

So anyway, the whole story of why CDR’s stock dropped so excessively can be explained quite simply. It’s not as wondrous as a Harry Potter adventure… or an ominous kidney—but it will do for now, at least until Joe Dumars can escape the area so the steadfast anti-Tayshaun Prince portion of Metro Detroit doesn’t tear down his residence with him in it, or worse, leak out malicious, yet well meaning, trade proposals of a re-acquisition of Darko!

CDR apparently took the easy route during the draft workout period. It seems that CDR was extremely confident he would not be around at #20. Thus not only did he decline a workout with the Detroit Pistons, an organization’s fan base who is desperately wondering why Walter Sharpe was picked instead of CDR, he also most likely declined workout invitations from various other teams selecting after pick #20. If that assertion is valid, then shame on CDR for having a bigger head than Placido Polanco and for not putting himself out there to the best of his ability. After all, jobs are hard to come by in the NBA, very hard. There aren’t many openings, but when there are, there’s dozens and dozens of talented guys who would do anything to fill them.

Being picky about who you workout for not only sends a bad message to the teams he blew off, but the league as a whole. You can be sure other teams took note of his behavior.

So it seems that the “unorthodox” label was only part of the pie.

But being that CDR is from Detroit, there could be even more to the story.

Maybe a demon or two lurk in CDR’s Detroit past? Maybe he’s acutely aware of a leech like entourage waiting for him, waiting to engulf him, to suck from him the very strength and focus he had in order to make it out in the first place.

But that would only explain Detroit.

Everything aside,

CDR and I will still get paid.

Post from: EveryJoe

CDR and I: Licking our wounds, but still getting paid, probably

Joseph Treutlein from draftexpress.com again categorizes how well certain guys are playing after the action on Thursday concluded.

source

Some of the good

Malik Hairston Oregon

An injury to Tywon Lawson forced Hairston to play point guard, something he was clearly uncomfortable doing as evidenced by his four turnovers. The Detroit native did, however, make a number of heady cuts to the basket and knocked down a few jumpers, including a clutch shot late in the game to hold off the opposing team.

Teams will like Malik’s intangibles and versatility the most. His hoop’s IQ is very high and quite frankly I’m not sure if there’s a safer way to go in the 2nd round.

Wayne Ellington UNC

Wayne’s draft stock actually rose after Thursday’s action…

Ellington bounced back from an awful first day by moving off the ball beautifully and doing a great job knocking down shots from 17 to 20 feet by either spotting up, coming off a screen or pulling up off the dribble. Considering how one-dimensional he’s been at the camp, Ellington obviously needs to be stroking the ball well from outside if he is to make any type of impression. His defense, ball handling and finishing at the rim didn’t do him many favors.

Hopefully Wayne will heed the advice of the people that truly care about his future and return to school. Analysts are saying the same types of things about Wayne that I saw much of during the season. Again I’m not in Orlando watching these guys but what’s being said about Wayne seems right on.

Tywon Lawson UNC

After proving to be the top player in Orlando on Wednesday, Lawson suffered a minor injury and was kept out of action on Thursday. The sophomore playmaker is expected to return to action for Friday’s final day of camp.

Here’s DraftExpress President Jonathan Givony’s thoughts on Lawson as well,

Joining the injured list is Ty Lawson, fresh off a breakout performance last night—with a supposed “hip pointer.” Some NBA people we spoke with wondered whether hip pointer is actually code for “first round promise,” considering how well he played in the first day and how few point guards there are in this draft once you get past D.J. Augustin. Let’s see if he comes out and plays in the final day.

source

Those first round promises can be misleading. But I believe Tywon is a first round talent, just not top 20 material. Orlando at #22 would be wise to take him, as well would San Antonio at #25.

Gary Forbes Massachusetts

Forbes had the camp’s most dominant performance so far, finishing with 30 points on only 16 shot attempts. He showed the full repertoire offensively, slashing to the rim, posting up smaller defenders and even hitting an NBA three-pointer. Even more impressive was his ability to get to the line 16 times within the flow of the offense. The UMass senior was easily the player of the day on Thursday and continued to make a case why he should be selected in the second round.

I’ve seen Forbes’s name in the 2nd round of a few mock drafts. After Friday concludes he will likely pop up in many more of them.

DeMarcus Nelson Duke

Played with his typical outstanding intensity on both ends of the court. He brought the ball up and even ran the point at times, initiating the offense but not doing much shot creating for teammates. Where Nelson really excelled was getting out in transition and slashing to the basket. He did a much better job finishing at the rim than he did Wednesday. Nelson’s defense wasn’t as good as it usually is in his matchup with the incredibly quick Mike Taylor, who gave him some problems on dribble drives. Nelson’s limitations with size and ball handling, along with his average athleticism, still make the NBA an uphill climb, but continuing to play with this kind of fire is definitely helping his cause.

Nelson, despite playing well, will not get drafted. Good college player will make a solid overseas player.

Mike Taylor Iowa State (played in the D-League last year)

D-League champion Mike Taylor put all of the professional experience he garnered this season to great use, looking more explosive than anyone else on the floor. He blew by defenders as if they weren’t there, shot the ball well from the perimeter and even showed some decent court vision in finding the open man in the half court. Taylor has been one of the camp’s most impressive players and has helped his NBA stock considerably. The Louis Williams clone will have a lot of buzz going into the final day.

When I saw Mike Taylor’s name on draftexpress.com a few days ago, I thought, who is this guy? Well the craze for Mr. Taylor has continued and I for one do not know what to make of it. He played one year at Iowa St. before getting booted from the team because of multiple arrests. But he had a great year in the D-League and has since then recieved tons of interest. He’ll likely get drafted in the early 2nd round.

Some of the bad

Davon Jefferson USC

Jefferson has yet to show the type of effort or fire you would expect to see from a player who is currently fighting for his professional future after having prematurely hired an agent despite an average freshman season at USC. His conditioning looks poor, he’s dribbling the ball excessively and he has yet to make use of the terrific athletic ability that made him a prospect in the first place.

D-League 2nd team wannabe.

Trent Plaisted BYU

Another underclassman who may have hastily decided to forfeit his college eligibility, Plaisted has struggled to make an impact consistently. He’s just floating up and down aimlessly at times and not using his athleticism to finish strong around the basket. You can’t ignore his physical tools, but at the same time, you’d like to see him make more use of them on the glass or defensively.

In the few times I’ve seen him play, he has always impressed me. I assure you he will not be a repeat of the last recently drafted BYU big man Rafael Araujo. Plaisted will get drafted, but will it be with the right team?

I also want to add a little bit about Kansas big men Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson. I’ve already mentioned that Sasha will get drafted, but didn’t really mention Darnell.

Here’s what Givony said about these two on Thursday

The Kansas duo Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun did a good job in the morning drills as well. Kaun with his feel for the game, agility and scrappiness around the basket, and Jackson with his improved mid-range jumper and the intensity he brings to the floor. It’s not hard to see why Kansas was so good this year with those two manning the post alongside Darrell Arthur. Jackson’s strong play definitely continued in the actual game, as he made some very quick and effective moves in the post, was constantly around the ball, knocked down his only shot and showed a lot of heart.

source

I’m stiil saying that Kaun will get drafted but Darnell seems too mediocre and pedestrian to play at the NBA level. But I’m sure people said the same thing about Malik Rose too.

I will have more player reviews and reaction from Friday’s happenings soon.

Post from: EveryJoe

Day 3 in Orlando

Rivals.com also has a list out of the players who decided to transfer after last year and will have to sit out this upcoming 08/09 season. There are some quality players on the list.

Scott Martin (Purdue)- Played a nice role for the deep Boilermaker team last year, averaging 8.5 ppg, good for fourth best on the team. It’s strange that he’s leaving such a good situation. It will be a loss, but Purdue can overcome it because of the depth they already have. Martin might look to transfer to a Horizon League or MAC school (rumors have it maybe Indiana too), but those conferences are a far cry from the Big Ten. Did he not like playing behind Robbie Hummell?

Vernon Macklin (Georgetown)- Vernon will be hopping on board at Florida in 09/10. He played two years at Georgetown, but never substantially improved from freshman to sophomore year. Part of that reason could have been because of the limited minutes he saw playing behind Roy Hibbert. Plus now with highly rated 6’10 recruit Greg Monroe joining the Hoyas in 08, Vernon felt best leaving and starting out new.

Ekpe Udoh (Michigan)- The Big Ten’s leading shot swatter did not want to have anything more to do with John Beilein’s perimeter oriented offense. Ekpe did not get many chances to post up this last year and while he’s not what many would call offensively competent, there’s definitely a lot of ability and potential for Ekpe in that department. Many times during his freshman year, when Tommy Amaker led the Michigan program, Ekpe showed glimpses of confidence on the offensive end, making good post moves and showing that he could finish, but those glimpses were few and far between this year. Every time I read Beilein say that Ekpe improved so much on the offensive end last year, I cringe, knowing the only thing Ekpe improved was his jump shot, and just slightly. For a 6’10 long armed player such as Ekpe, an offensive improvement should only qualify if its post or footwork oriented, not some jump shot Beilein feels he should throw up there from time to time. I’m sure the next coach Epke has, whether it‘s at Oklahoma or Oklahoma St., will use him wisely on the offensive end where his length could really give a lot of teams some trouble.

Ben Hansbrough (Mississippi St.)- Ben will transfer to an already stacked Notre Dame team, but one who will not likely have Luke Harangody by the time Ben becomes eligible in 09/10. Miss. St. will miss Ben’s three point shooting prowess and veteran presence a lot next year especially considering the other multiple departures State faces.

Purdue and Georgetown will adapt quickly to the losses stated above, but that will not be the case for Michigan and Mississippi State.

Michigan goes into next year as an extremely weak team with no real defensive presence inside. Not having Udoh’s length to block and alter shots will surely become obvious against the better opponents of the Big Ten.

As for Miss. St., well, if Jamont Gordon comes back for his senior year, they will be fine, but if not, that means three of their top four scorers will have either graduated, gone pro or transferred.

Post from: EveryJoe

Transfers looking to flourish in 09/10