Early Impression Odds and Ends:( The Goods and the Bads and the Uglies ) Yao Ming Good: He's 7'6" that might be enough right there to have him go lottery. He was exposed to multi-type game strategies as he is experienced in international play, can shoot from trey line and inside, excellent footwork especially underneath (good positioning for shotblocking), able to defensively block-out, he's intuitive, smart, light on his feet for a 270-280 pounder, it appears he can run the floor (for 15-20 minutes a game anyway) Bad: Lacks aggressive play, passing is average (for NBA), will get pummeled inside his first year, intimidation may take him off his game early My Impression: Despite the oddity (tons of PR) aspect, he can make an impression in the NBA (much more akin to Sabonis than of a Muresan nature). He appears more worldly than originally thought (not a "duh!' head case), he is coachable and this along with his size makes him probably the #1, #2, #3 pick easily. He is a much better prospect than Chris Mihm and look where he went last year. Eddie Curry (SEE EDIT POST BELOW) Good: has great body strength and athleticism for a high-schooler, got hops, knows how to score, above average three pointer, will likely continue to grow past his 6'11' present height. Agile, athletic. Bad: inexperienced at any hard-ass level, maturity is in question, at 200-208lbs he needs some weight to be effective at the NBA's "brave new world" forward positions My Impression: Two years in a competitive Junior College (poor grades prevents premiere schools being considered) would help him enormously. Unfortunately he will declare and will get his ass beat up for two years while he learns the 3-4-(5?) positions. If he survives, and stays out of all that pending "just being a kid" off-the-court trouble, he will make a mark in the game a la Camby. Going to a team like Utah, Houston, Milwaukee or Indiana would make the transition easier. Shane Battier Good: One of the better all-around prospects, has above average shots from 12 feet (and the trey), will bang inside but uses his athleticism to move inside to great advantage, can position very well, above average passer, very coachable, shows excellent leadership skills, not afraid of the pro game Bad: average or above average in many aspects but does not excel in any one aspect of game, cannot take a man off the dribble, tends (far too often) to reach-in when he gets beat, legs are fast but body and arms are slow, will never break any ankles. Unfortunately sometimes he can be easily taken with minimal effort, and although this may be a conditioning reflex he takes "rest periods" especially late in a hard fought game and disappears(an 80+game schedule may flop him early). My Impression: Will excel if he gets with a young bunch of players and a couple of vets he's a leader. He will need a teaching coach that will be patient with him. If he strengthened his fundamental defense he could be getting 15 minutes a game by December and some respectable numbers. Loren Woods Good: He looks like a "Ralph Sampson in college clone". In a nutshell, he moves, chucks, dishes and shoots with fluidity, long body with long arms that he knows how to use, above average defender, gained more confidence and intensity this year than all previous years of college and high school combined, is getting his head around the game and maybe ready for the NBA Bad: That "thin lizzie" frame will get him murdered in the pros, needs meat with a 10 to 15% increase in body weight before he steps on a pro court. (Of course I said that about Ralph Sampson too!) He needs a playmaker(s) to make him better. My Impression: Can probably play in most NBA systems now but he will be injured early unless he can meat-up. Sticking him in as a swing small forward-power forward position would be advantageous for the first year. Especially on light opponents. Even better if he went to an eastern conference team. Comparing him to the early potential of Ju Howard may not be far off. Jason Williams Good: He has everything, absolutely everything. Fast, intense, great hands, quick feet, can shoot (and does) from anywhere. Nothing more to be said, if he declares he will be top five and I'll take a bet on the #2, #3 or #4 spots. Bad: inexperienced, needs to learn the art of maturely distributing the ball, making fast, alert decisions that effect the performance of your team and to learn to take advantage of teammates' talents. Going from top dog in a small pond to the crazy low man in a small BIG pond requires some smarts. My Impression: Two years of college would make him one of the best of all time. Katie bar the door!!!!! …. because I hate to say this but …… with two years of college (anywhere) he would be as close to a Jordanesque reincarnation as you could get. God, I hate saying that! Eddie Griffin Good: Good split forward with SF and PF abilities. Shoots well, gets involved in the action of the game (maybe inside more than his coach wants him there), athletic, strong, decent passer, can run in an uptempo game. Bad: Some questions of his sulleness continue to plague the scouting reports (didn't they say that about Kenny Thomas?), some see him as unforced and unmotivated at times, others say he is at the top of his game now and won't get past it in the pros. In short, either he is a lot better than he shows (which may be likely) and or he is the smoothest wannabe out there. My Impression: He's for real, and he's just a methodical action figure waiting to get in some jungle warfare experience. He will go high in the lottery. Mike Dunleavy Good: Fundamentally sound, probably a better passer than most of the elite names out there, has an outside shot and keeps the same composure from first game of the year to The Big Four. Deceiving rangy defense, good lateral movement and an excellent ball handler. Intelligent and coachable. Bad: needs a little muscle mass to compete at the two-three. His average (only average) quickness will not be an asset to him in the pros, as they will run by him night after night. My Impression: I love his "keep your head up" and "watch where everyone is" approach (a la Stockton, Zeke, and others) to his ball carrying. But he suffers from the "coach's son syndrome", a kinda hometown boy who will be picked only if all other spots are filled (can anyone say Rashard Lewis?). Will likely go late first or early second round unless dad steps up. Unfortunate, because he deserves to go earlier than that. If he had a year or two of "true point guard" college experience under his belt, he would be top 10 material. The UGLY (Sleepers) The Good UGLY Coyote: Darius Rice, 200(probably less by about 5-10 pounds), 6'9" (and growing) freshman forward who has the looks and feel of a Darius Miles but with a year of NCAA ball under his belt. He is a long tall drink of water and like I said ... he's growing. Think of him as KG but not as tall. Okay I'm kidding but he has great ups. Well coached and disciplined. He would do a world of good staying in school one more year, but if he comes out .... someone with decent scouting should jump all over him! The Bad UGLY Dog: Bret Nelson, 173 pounder at 6'2-6'3" who has the Eastern Seaboard media talking him up as the second coming of everything from Allan Iverson to Jason Williams. Unfortunately, he has none of their good attributes, but all the bad habits of both .... and only an inkling of what it takes to play team ball. The scouts write him up nicely but they (wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more) advise their front office to leave him alone. If he goes at all, it will be to a team that wants playground (PR) theatrics instead of half-decent ball management. Unfortunately, there always seems to be a couple of teams out there looking for that too! More later. Cheers. ------------------ [This message has been edited by oeilpere (edited April 18, 2001).]
OP, thanks for your input. I have a question, though. Is Curry's weight a mistake. Everything I have read says he is around 300. ------------------
Yes, Eddy Curry is HUGE. Plus, I have seen the guy play, and never saw him shoot a three, ever. ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Are you considering the new rule changes also. Those should be very beneficial for players like Battier. ------------------ Haha.. you fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is: Never get involved in a land war in Asia. Only slightly less well know is this: Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!
pops-It sounded like you were describing Tyson Chandler, not Eddy Curry. Eddy Curry is definitely at least 280, the dude is a monster. He also doesn't have the game to play SF, like Chandler (a beanpole) does. Assuming the Rockets were at 13, do you have an educated guess on whether they'll move up, down, out, or stay put? ------------------ "That's been a lifelong dream of mine." -Vince Carter, after laying it in on a breakaway, much to the Vancouver crowd's displeasure.
Sorry guys. Got back at the office today and read your responses. got Curry and Brown mixed up when copying over to BBS. See edit below: . . . Kwame Brown Good: Has great body strength and athleticism for a high-schooler, got hops, knows how to score, above average(HS)three pointer, will likely continue to grow past his 6'11' present height. Agile, athletic. Bad: Terribly under experienced. Wants to jump and will miss some growing. My Impression: Unfortunately he will declare and will get his ass beat up for two years while he learns the 3-4-(5?) positions. If he survives, and stays out of all that pending "just being a kid" off-the-court trouble, he will make a mark in the game a la Camby. Eddie Curry Good:He's still getting taller and has some major moves now. Can play off the ball, moves well for a kid, I like his shoulder squaring. Bad: Inexperienced at any hard-ass level, maturity is in question, at 280-230lbs he needs some weight conrtrol to be effective at the NBA's "brave new world" forward positions My Impression: Two years in a competitive Junior College (poor grades prevents premiere schools being considered) would help him enormously. But, he will come in and depending on where he ends up will bust wide and lose the weight battle or start in two years. Going to a team like Utah, Houston, Milwaukee or Indiana would make the transition easier. Lately he has been trying to impress. Some onlookers saying he is a young Mark Bryant. [This message has been edited by oeilpere (edited April 18, 2001).]
eh on Curry. A younger Mark Bryant doesn't do much for me. ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
Ive actually heard that Kwame Brown may be the most pro-ready of all the highschoolers. That said, I think they should all go to college for at least 1 year. KG is one of the few highschool players that made an impact immediately. ------------------ Haha.. you fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is: Never get involved in a land war in Asia. Only slightly less well know is this: Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!
oeilpere--you have some inside info in that Kwame Brown will declare? ...I heard some quotes from him that he was 100% for sure sticking with Florida...I know that means little nowadays but I was just under the impression he'd be a Gator next year...same thing with Nelson... As for Curry, I still maintain he'll be the #1 pick next year--what I've seen of him is too good for anybody to pass up. ------------------ P.S. This is what part of the alphabet would look like if Q and R were eliminated.
