What in the history of Daryl Morey's drafting could possibly suggest that we would take this guy, even in the second round? He hasn't produced since he left high school. The Rockets have not drafted anyone who hasn't produced regardless of their level of play before entering the draft. In fact, we consistently have shown a willingness to take basketball skill over measureables, time and time again. We took Joey Dorsey over DeAndre Jordan for Christ's sakes. Landry over Big Baby and McRoberts. Patrick Patterson was a three-year workhorse for the Wildcats whose stock dropped unfairly his last year due to the infusion of freshmen talent. I guess the only argument you could make for the Rockets selecting based on potential are for guys that we could pick-n-stash in the Euroleague, like Llull, Leunen, Newley, Eliyahu, etc. So far none of them have worked out, although Llull still has a chance.
Remember, it is draft time. So, most of the "talk" you hear is simply gamesmanship by these GMs. They're putting all sorts of "c-r-a-p" out there trying to deceive their trading partners.
Morey changed his style after Yao broke his ankle and went after guys with potential instead of guys that were producing. He brought in T-Will and Thabeet, guys who failed to make their mark. Out went Battier.
You could argue that his first "rebuild on the fly" pick was Patterson. The rest were trade acquisitions. If you look at Patterson, yeah, he did have room to grow from his college body of work, but he had also proven quite a lot in getting through three years of the NCAAs as well. He was one of those prospects who did EVERYTHING people asked him to do, and it still wasn't good enough for teams who wanted freshmen with infinite ceilings but also infinite floors. As far as I can see, the Rockets' organizational philosophy remains one of getting "players" over "athletes". It seems to me that they believe that basketball IQ is just as hard to teach as height. If you were successful in one level of play, then your chances of succeeding in the NBA are slim; if you WEREN'T successful at that lower level, however, your chances of succeeding in the NBA are next to none. At least, that's what I take away from the Rockets' acquisitions history over the past four years. Thabeet and T-Will were both multi-talented dominant forces in college, and although they lost their way on their initial teams, they remain guys with a shot (albeit slim) at producing in the NBA. When I look at Jeremy Tyler I see someone with little-to-no chance at producing in the NBA. His only precedent that gives him any chance whatsoever is Brandon Jennings. But Jennings performed better, in a better league, and demonstrated more maturity in making it through his year of professional play. Tyler got kicked off his team, drew multiple fines for missing practices, and all this in a piss poor Israeli conference. I get the impression that the European leagues don't favor rookies. No matter how talented you are, they make you pay your dues, and I'll bet the refs over there are worse than they are here at allowing rookies to get held, beaten, and tackled in the paint. But that doesn't make it ok to give up and suck in practice and the limited playing time that you offered. Renardo Sidney was another big man, highly highly ranked in his HS class a couple of years ago, got banned for a year by the NCAA for some stupid reason, and only played a few games for Alabama before getting in a fistfight with his senior captain teammate. Does that mean we should all of a sudden deride the Alabama program for failing to properly 'coach' this big kid prospect, and that we should look at Sidney with the hopes that he might all of a sudden "turn it around" in an environment more suited to his strengths? Of course not. Sidney's a bust, he's not even trying to get in the draft at this point. Tyler hasn't been as bad a headcase as Sidney, but the same argument holds. What has he done, on the basketball floor, to show us he could do anything in the NBA? Nothing. And from everything I've seen out of this organization, that's enough to make me believe that he won't even be on our draft board come June.
I actually think that in a couple of years he can be better than Deandre. I say this because Deandre is not a shooter. Tyler is showing the makings of a decent mid-range shot. This is what scouts noticed at the combine.
Quality post up there Spacemoth. I certainly can't argue with any of that. Regardless, If Morey misses on a decent C in this draft, he will NEVER hear the end of it. Nogueira, Tyler, Vucevic, Smith... My vote goes to Greg Smith. *Intelligent *Hard Worker *20 Years Young *Biggest hands ever measured at the combine. (Literally 1 foot wide!!!) *6-10 with shoes, 7-3 inch wingspan, 251 lbs, 35.5 inch max vert... *Soft hands *Strong as hell
Only if he is still around at #38. I personally like Vucevic because of his height and shooting touch from the outside.
I sure know how to peg em' I knew it was a matter of time before he blew up in the combine. The size, the ball handling and the age just make him worthy of a late 1st round risk.
Leunen produced well in NCAA. Llull produced well in ACB prior to when he was drafted. Eliyahu produced well in Israel and in international youth tournaments before he was drafted. Newley was super productive in the Australasian competition and was a force in international youth tournaments before he was drafted. So every single one of them was productive at the level they were playing at before they were drafted.
In European basketball you can do that to ever player, not just rookies. The game is much more physical in Europe than it is in the NBA.
No way I'd select him at 14. He probably won't make it but is worth a shot in the 2nd round. The NBA grind will hit this kid like a baseball bat in the mouth and he doesn't seem to do well under duress. I betcha he's not even in the NBA after one year unless drafted in the 1st round with guaranteed money.
Just type in Jeremy tyler and japan in the youtube search engine. he will no longer be a mystery. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VIevNm3g5A&feature=channel_video_title http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXbszlyhFeo&feature=channel_video_title http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW6PZOdOMbk&feature=channel_video_title http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld8YmrMONUM&feature=channel_video_title http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXnE4Kme8wI&feature=channel_video_title so you guys think a 7 footer with a spinmove and a turnaround fallaway jumper, who can also block shots has no chance of making it in the nba?
