that's pretty much the same for most who want the rockets to draft him. he's the only "name" they're familiar with in this draft. known = star potential but reality = jj redick 2.0.
but their hype isn't. remember that massive thread on redick where people actually wanted him drafted with the rockets' 8th pick because he was a "name"?
There was this guy that went to UNC a while back that a lot of people thought was a pretty good scorer. Through his 3-year career at UNC he never averaged over 20 ppg.... and now 6 Championships, 10 Scoring Titles, and 5 MVP's later we see exactly how much college stats truly mean. I'm not comparing Rivers to Jordan by any means, but I am however going to point out how silly it is to dismiss someone just because they "only average 15-20 ppg".
Unfortunately, or, maybe fortunately in this case, I wasn't around when that happened. But I get your point regarding the hype preceding talent. However, there is a sizable jump, in terms of value as a prospect, from potentially picking up a player at the 14 or 16th spot who has the potential to break down defenses (I think he'd be very effective in pick and rolls with his sill set), compared to picking up a player with the 8th spot for a glorified spot up shooter.
You are right. only 5 fouls and 8 less minutes can severely hamper a scoring average in college. Especially on a team with good upper classman. Akeem came of the bench for us his freshman year because we had the Bunce twins in front of him and I think he only scored 9 a game for us. We could not keep him out of foul trouble because he believed he could block every shot (he really could). Only someone who knows nothing about college basketball would base anyone's future NBA worth on their freshman scoring/rebounding averages.
So you're basically using the exception as the rule here. Just because you saw someone win by buying the lottery ticket it doesn't mean buying a ticket is a sure way to get rich. The point is pretty valid, if you're some kind of awe-inspiring scoring talent why can't you score more than 15-20 pts against college competition? I'm not saying Rivers will be bad, but I don't exactly see him as Jordan 2.0. He's an extremely skilled scorer, but he isn't elite and I don't know if he'll post better %s in the NBA.
In the post I made the point to say that I"m not comparing him to Jordan, I made the point that you can't throw out someone's talent/potential because they didn't score a lot of points in college as a freshman. And even IF he isn't elite, he still will come here from day 1 and be one of the top 2 wing scorers we on the team
Derrick Rose averaged 15 pts & 5 AST in college. Rudy Gay averaged 15pts his sophomore year. Chris Paul averaged 15 & 6. This is just a small sample of why college stats don't tell the whole story.
These kind of comments really piss me off. Just because somebody disagrees with you, you accuse them of not knowing anything about him... How arrogant do you have to be to say something like that?? I've been watching this kid play since he was a Jr in high school, and I would be thrilled if we drafted him. That makes your statement false...
Doubt he will be there at 14. Would be a great pick though. Kobe Bryant was also considered an undersized SG. That's why he was playing PG for a while. Not saying Rivers will be the next Kobe but can't write him off b/c of 1 bad season.
At the 14, Morey has fallen for players from "name brand" schools. PPat, Kentucky. MMorris, Kansas. Now, will it be Rivers?
Went back to search for some Redick threads Chron: Rockets tuned in to Redick J.J. Redick or Adam Morrison Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick Let's get REDDICK! J.J. Redick and Brandon Roy Redick and Rondo in Top 10 So what if we take Redick? Case against Redick with our first pick Dispelling the Redick/open shots MYTH J.J. Redick the best shooter since Ray Allen and Reggie Miller Possible Redick injury? Redick arrested for DWI Redick to have surgery on his back? Redick gets possible top 10 guarantee Always fun[ny] to go back and read on previous drafts.
But if he had the season people expected him to have at Duke he'd be a top 5 pick and not even in contention for our pick!