You're taking what I said a little too literally (to say the least). The guy is not known as a high-riser and he's undersized for a center. I couldn't care less that he missed a putback dunk opportunity in the summer league. I saw him play at least 6 times this past season and he hardly got off the ground. Any type of aerial display you see from Jack Cooley is going to be the exception and not the rule. That's just not his game. He isn't strong enough, long enough, or athletic enough to be an NBA player. There were at least 10 big men better than him in the D-League last season that never got a shot in the NBA, and those guys actually have NBA attributes.
Cooley will get eaten up on defense in the NBA, bottom line. The big men in the NBA are a far cry from the big men he's mostly facing in summer league action. He's too short, too weak, and not explosive enough to crack an NBA rotation, and I sincerely doubt he makes it out of training camp with an NBA team. He'll play pro ball somewhere, but it won't be in the NBA.
You may be right. He is certainly undersized, and that's a good reason why he didn't get drafted. But that didn't stop him from getting 9 bds in 16 minutes against there lottery pick Olynk and Fab Melo. These guys are certainly not top NBA talents but he looked good against them and that's three games in a row. His leaping ability doesn't appear to be stopping him from getting rebounds, he knows how to get position, thats how he gets his boards. I am not saying this guy will ever be more than a role player. But with our limited flexibility he might be worth a spot on our d league roster. And who knows down the road he might help us win a championship. Maybe not but the risk is low.
Two guys, both 7 feet, that never averaged over 7.3 RPG in college. Olynyk averaged 7.3 RPG this past season and Melo averaged 5.8 RPG his final college season. So, he out-rebounded guys that were never strong rebounders for their size to begin with. He's getting boards in NBA summer league. He's not going to be able to rebound with the elite rebounding 4s and 5s of the NBA or even reserve 4s and 5s. Getting out there and hustling against summer league guys, the vast majority of which will never make an impact in the NBA, doesn't take away from everything working against the guy. Like I said, he'll probably be in camp with someone, but I don't expect him to make to opening day. Or even play in the NBA.
Cooley is done with the Rockets Summer League. He is going to Vegas Summer League now <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Had a great time playing for the Houston Rockets n Im grateful for the opportunity. But Im just getting started, now its on to Vegas! <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Grizz&src=hash">#Grizz</a></p>— Jack Ryan Cooley (@JackCooligan45) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackCooligan45/statuses/355086497466159104">July 10, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Being one of my favorite Notre Dame players, I sure hope he does. But I feel like he is just not NBA material, and even though he plays hard and plays well every time he is given an opportunity the Rockets won't sign him on to the roster since he doesn't have the potential some other guys have.
Okay end of this thread. Rockets not interested. Good luck to him. He is the kind of player I root for. Someone who works as hard as they can with limited God given Talent. Someone will give him a shot and I think they won't regret it. Ifyour team needs rebounding off the bench then Cooley is worth a look.
I think its more of a matter of will they. I think the Rockets should sign Cooley just like I thought they should have signed Lin when he was first here, but they went with Flynn, the high picked high potential player rather than the guy who was actually producing. Cooley's elite rebounding rate and offensive efficiency will be a huge addition of the bench, I hope he agrees to come play for the Rio Grand team since the Rockets roster is kind of tight at the big man position, but I bet another team will offer him a spot on an active NBA roster.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Jack Cooley will start his pro career in Turkey where he has signed a deal with Trabzonspor, a source told Sportando</p>— Emiliano Carchia (@SportandoBasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportandoBasket/statuses/366097003001819138">August 10, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Indeed! <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/StanTheMan0000">@StanTheMan0000</a> thanks man!</p>— Jack Ryan Cooley (@JackCooligan45) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackCooligan45/statuses/365952303703916544">August 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
