It makes Sura and James even more expendable now, and it gives Span more time to develop if we do not feel that he is ready.
Guys, This was aGREAT PICK! Remember we got whipped by Dallas because we didn't have any guards quick enough to guard their forwards/guards. Plus this means we are going to do something in free agency on the PF front.
Out the three guys mentionoed I think i am most confident in Spanoullis making the team James has the talent but might also be good trade bait, sura is a good hard nosed player but health is a concern. Luther Head plays a lot like Mike James not too turnover prone, good score but not necessarily a point guard that will get Tracy and Yao better shots. Rather they will be getting him better shots. This offseason might be the most important and it is certain that we will not have the same point guard group next year.
Right now I give the Rockets an INC= incomplete. I only saw Illinois play a few times this season and Luther Head never jumped out at me, so I dont know anything about his game. I will say I was a little dissappointed but I hope he does well. All of the players I wanted were taken before the rockets were up so what can you do? I hope they make a splash in free agency.
All the Luther Head doubters here... wait til the season starts, and you'll see how many 3's this guy is going to be draining.
While watching the draft I was excited as Taft was still on the board. He ate May up and spit him out according to a workout report I read, and did well againist Wayne. But he reminds me of Ricky Williams... not really interested in the sport he is playing. That scares me. Head was great atheletically and although that does not mean he is a great player it means he is quick can jump and can bolt around screens. He is a good defensive player playing Garcia and Stoudamire of Arizona when Deron Williams went out. Played McCants pretty well in the championship game. There are three things I notice about him that I have not seen in scouting reports, ie his ability to come off screens, his three point shooting, his "heart" 1.) Very low fouls per game. At 33 minutes he averaged 1.4 fouls per game. So he more then likely makes good decisions going to the basket and on defense no gambling. The decision making is also backed up with his under 2 turnovers per game. 2.) He played four years of college and got better in each year. This is big to me as it says he came in and worked on his game. He seems coachable and played under two pretty good coachs Bill Self and Bruce Weber. 3.) He has pretty quick hands. Tied for the lead at the Chicago camp with 7. During the year1.7 steals second on his team to Dee Brown, and 5th in conference. Deron Willaims does not appear. There is no way I am saying he is better then Deron, unless Utah wants to trade.... but these items stuck out. I like the pick. He can jump and has a jumper... pretty quick and played well... all and all I think we did pretty well... B.
Thanks. I'm excited to hear that Head can nail the open 3. He sounds like a very good fit for the Rox at PG.
I guess I feel much better after reading your post Nike. Thanks. Maybe I should have a little faith in what D. Lindsey said. At least we are not the Magic and Toronto that drafted Vasquez and Villanueva. It could have been worse. Maybe I expected too much from this pick. I am not sure I am going to eventually fall inlove with this pick soon but there is hope. Summer leage starts next week so lets see how everything falls into place.
I don't mean to suggest he's this good, and there's no way he's gonna win Rookie of the Year, but I see some similarities to Ben Gordon in Chicago. Undersized. Strong frame. Willing to take big shots. I could see him do well in a 6th Man role this year for the Rockets. We needed a a young, athletic, defensive-minded gaurd who can knock down a shot almost as much as a 4 to complement T-mac and Yao, and head could be that guy. Solid B. (I woulda also been game for Simien).
Good point. You and Nike are now making me feel much better. Head and Gordon are both 6-3 and about 200 pounds. Non is your prototype point or off guard but they can play, and are from winning programs. Both have great wing spans and levetation [sic]. Both love to move without the ball. Both have dead eye shooting with great form and range. Both were surprisingly picked higher than projected. Both have chip on their shoulders. Hmmmmm
I voted C, though I think it would be more accurate to say "C+." Head will help. He addesses our "athleticism gap." We get a bit younger, which is good. The problem really is: he screams "utility player." He doesn't shoot well enough to fill our need for a deadly 3 point gunner, doesn't pass well enough to be our PG, and isn't big enough to be our future swingman. And most blindingly obviously - he's not a PF. But then - we did get him at #24, not #4. So getting a player who might average 15 mpg on a good team and contribute a little isn't a bad thing. So the draft was neither a success - nor a failure.
Head has a very good assist/turnover ratio, averaging 1 to every 18 mins, and he averaged 4 assists at the 2 playing alongside two very good gaurds in Brown and Williams, so im not so sure his passing is a problem. However, he does have some inabilities at the PG position, mainly court leadership and high level experience (he played PG in HS). But in the Chicago workouts, he played the PG position and thats when he started to impress (at least the Rockets).
I didn't say it was a "problem." I merely think that he didn't demonstrate sufficient proficiency to be a starting NBA PG. Did you?
Well, I couldnt tell you. I havent seen him play PG. The only thing that is pretty much a given at this point is that he will be gaurding opposing PG's, and I can only hope he works on his PG skills on offensive and becomes a controlled, reliable one.
I would've much rather had Jarret Jack, but he was off the board so Head will do. If he can truly run point then he might be a starter someday. But I give him a 50/50 chance of being anything worthwhile. It really depends on whether JVG is going to give him playing time to develop. Some teams are very good at nurturing young talent. Look at the spur's beno udrih. Played 80 games at 15 mpg on a championship contending team. His job was clearly defined on an offense that ran like clockwork: give duncan the ball and hit the open three. When he tried to do too much and failed or missed a defensive assignment, pop benched him. And as the season went on, the rookie seemed to get smarter with each game. That's what we need to do with our rookies.
there seem to be fairly well agreed upon things about head. he's athletic: he was ranked #6 at that chicago combine thing. his agility drill time wasn't very impressive (nor his 3/4 court time) from what i could tell scanning the results, but to be ranked 6th, he still has to be quite athletic and strong. he can shoot: is he the next reggie miller? no. but you still have to have a fairly strong jump shot to hit 41% on 3's, even in college. he plays defense: i don't know how great he is at it, but his defense is usually brought up as a strength. so a) at least we won't have to pry it out of him and b) maybe it renders those agility and speed drills somewhat moot, as he must need those things to have been an effective defender. now if he has all of that, why did he go 24th? hopefully, it's just a matter of him being 6'2 instead of 6'6. while you'd prefer taller, and certain matchups could give him problems, every #24 pick is going to have some sort of weakness. my idea has always been to surround yao and tmac with guys who can shoot and play at least some defense (i.e. don't be a sieve). it appears he can shoot, and it appears he is competent on D, and it would be great if he could stay in front of all but the best pg's, who know one stays in front of. if he's a really good pg who can run an offense, i don't know and tend to think it's not that necessary with tmac around. if he's got great shot selection, i don't know. but the things he does seem to have are about as good as i think we could've done at #24. i'm sure someone drafted later will end up being better, but at this point, i don't see anything we've done wrong. i voted B though i'd put B- if that were a choice.
i gave them a B, because i think they made adecent pick at 24. i would have gave them an A if they were able to move up in the draft.
I remember the first practice game I watched Head play with the Illini and he reminded me then of Steve Francis...serious hops and everything. After he bought into coach Webber's system (and matured a bit), I wouldn't make that comparison as much. As someone else pointed out, he can really hit the 3, moves the ball, and is just a great scorer. High energy offense/defense player with some IQ for the game. I could see him used as a 6th man type player. Could be converted over to point, but he just seems like too good of a scorer for that.
