Things have certainly changed in the basketball world since 1979. Back then a raw but physically talented African player would have never been seen by NBA or European scouts. In fact a young Hakeem Olajuwon had to buy his own plane ticket to the US and find his own college scholarship. If Olajuwon were 19 today with the same skills he had then where do you think he would be drafted and what do you think the scouts would be saying about him? I want to put this out there because in my dreamcasting I can see see a resembalance between Dream and our new draft pick, Badiane. I haven't seen this guy play at all but I did see Olajuwon in his earliest U of H days and no one could have predicted he would evolve into an offensivly skilled player . For sure, Olajuwon developed through years of unmatched desire, skilled teachers (Moses, Guy V etc.) and top competition but with the advanced training available now that Olajuwon did not have in his early years can't we hold out hope that this kid become the next Dream?
Do yall really think Badiane is the 2nd coming of the dream?!?!?! no way he MAY be come a decent nba player but hes no dream
I wouldnt say he is the 2nd coming of Hakeem. But I think it's too early to predict he's no more than a decent nba player. At this time, the comparison between Hakeem and this kid ends at the fact that they were from Africa.
Boki is our first round pick this year. Badiane will spend 2 more years to develope his skill in Europe. Europe is a good place to develope fundamental basketball skill anyway. I am not sure about German but whatever... Give me a Boki, Boki, Boki......... Do you think he could be a lottery pick this year?
The thing that made Dream great was his work ethic and dedication to being the best he could be. It was his inner drive. It sounds like Badiane is the same kind of raw athlete...a cat like quick 6'10" guy is someone who has ENORMOUS potential. What he does with that potential is up to him....but he sounds like he has a CHANCE to be a great player...and that is a great find in the 2nd round. DD
I just read a Yinka Dare reference on another thread. Boom! I just crashed back to Earth. I remember I thought he was going to be great too. Again, the main question I wanted to ask was: Where do you think Olajuwon would have been drafted at 19 if for some reason he had made himself eligible after his first year at U of H as compared to Badiane's one year of Euro ball? Hell I'm probably the oldest person on this board and I can't even remember if he started. Probably not, as a freshman; I don't think freshmen were allowed to play back in the day.
you can't compare the early 80's and the early 2000's in the way that you are comparing them...... when Olajuwon bought his own plane ticket and found his own college scholarship there was almost no such thing as scouting outside the US.......... and when we talk about Olajuwon being a raw talent, he played handball and took up basketball........ he never played a year of basketball for a professional team like Badiane has done........ I like the pick, I think it is a good pick for the rockets and anytime you can get a young TALL hardworking player on your team you should jump on the chance. The fact that he was rumored to go 18 or 22 and not slip passed the Mavs at 29 gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that we might have stolen another second round gem.............
all of the Eddie Griffin haters are the probably the same people that said Jermaine O'Neal was a bust in Portland...... so many of you people want a player to immediately impact the team and be an all-star player the minute they step on the court.............. what would've happened if Olajuwon came into the league right out of Africa, would you have even given him a couple of seasons to learn something or would you have traded him away because he didn't lead the league in blocks his first season............ in a league that gets younger and younger everyday, teams have to try and "project" what a player is going to be rather than what a player "currently is"............ sometimes ya win, sometimes ya lose, but atleast give Griffin and now Badiane a chance before you trade them away........... remember that none of you were against the rockets trading 3 players for Griffin when it happened, unfortunately it hasn't gone our way "YET" but give it a chance..............
Hell I'm probably the oldest person on this board and I can't even remember if he started. As I recall from being there at U of H at that time. Hakeem did not start at the beginning. He did get some playing time from the first game on. He only started or got a lot of time the last few games of his first season. He was extremnely raw and exciting. He rebounded, blocked shots and scored largely by dunking offensive boards. In the last few games and the tournament he got better every game. It was phenomenal. I remember after one tournament game the Cougs were behind or it was close at half time. Afterwards Hakeem said: "Coach Lewis. He tell me at half time: You get all the rebounds; we win game." He had something like 19 in the second half.
I was too young to watch the college games of Hakeem back then. It is interesting to know that he scored largely by dunking. I watched a college game on ESPN classic this morning between BYU and Notra Dame in 1981. I did not see one single dunk from either team in the own game. They were all layups and jumpers.
this is ridiculous Hilario at 19 sounds like Hakeem at 19. Hilario went #7 last year. at age 19 (one yr with the Cougars) Hakeem would not have fallen to #44, not close. He likely would not have fallen more than Hilario did last year. besides: who says Badiane is 19yrs old? That age is in question. Badiane sounds like this: <b>Recap of a Rocky Mountain Revue by Clutch</b> Nowitzki played in this game. It was Tyrone Washington's second yr from being drafted. He also sounds like this: From Clutch's "Tale of Three Big Men" Article From Clutch's description on draft day of Venson Hamilton. Kwama Brown went #1 Sagana Diop went #8 Keon Clark went #13. Wilcox went #8. Hilaro #7 Cato went #15. Adonal Foyle went #8 Tony Battie #5 now, compare that to the 3 raw athletic big men that Clutch wrote about. come on guys...maintain a little Clutch cool when it comes to drooling over these 2nd Rounders. "Langhi will be a Star" "Badiane reminds me of Hakeem."
What if Batiane is Hakeem to go with our Yao Ming (Sampson) Could we be so lucky? If he is close to Stoudamire or Nene he is a steal... Our own version of Rick Mahorn in a couple years? Let Griffin play the Salley role...
"raw athletic big men" get taken top 15 all the time. When they drop to #44, they drop for a reason--like Tyrone Washington, Terrel Bell, and Venson Hamilton. They likely are super uncoordinated with their footwork, despite their ability to run and jump high. from my experience, they show up raw with controlling their bodies, not just with their game.
