Just a small article on why alot of teams are weary of drafting Rudy Gay... http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=83860 Gay won't lift any NBA team April 17, 2006 News: UConn's Gay bolts for NBA Rudy Gay played 33 college basketball games this season, mostly encountering players who have no better chance of winding up on an NBA roster than Kellie Pickler. He finished just seven of those games with more than 20 points. Oh, sure. He's ready. Ready to look good in an NBA uniform? No doubt. Ready to collect an NBA paycheck? No question. Ready to drive an NBA-style ride? You bet. Ready to play in the league? And do what? To flash the occasional athletic play and make the geniuses who almost certainly will spend a preciously high pick and a decent amount of money feel as though they did the right thing -- that's about it. Gay is a mirage. His talent says one thing. His performance says another. His talent says he is long, electrically quick, preternaturally balanced and extremely skilled. His performance says he is soft, reticent, uncertain of what type of player he is now or eventually should become. His performance has articulated these concerns in every venue he visited during the past 12 months as a player. At the USA Basketball trials last summer for the U-21 World Championships, he frequently showed the hesitance that has held him back as a player. One coach on the selection committee nonetheless suggested he'd be MVP of the tournament. He was not. He ranked fifth among U.S. players in scoring, averaging only 10.5 points on a team that desperately needed an offensive identity. That turned out to be a precursor of his 2005-06 NCAA season. UConn also needed someone to step forward as a go-to player. Coach Jim Calhoun frequently suggested Gay was the right man for the job. He was not. Gay averaged only 15.2 points per game. His 3-point shooting percentage declined, though his attempts increased only a smidgen from his freshman year. He did not make especially dramatic increases in any statistical category. When Connecticut lost in the NCAA Tournament to George Mason, Gay led the Huskies in scoring with 20 points. He did not contribute a single point, though, during the final five minutes of regulation and the overtime period. He will have moments of statistical success, as well, during his NBA career. He will score points late in games that are hopelessly lost, or early in games against poor teams. He will be one of those April killers, collecting big numbers in games that neither side cares to play. But the non-playoff team that selects him early in this June's draft should know that Gay will not contribute significantly to changing his franchise's reality. If a team's goal is to gain another lottery pick in the rich 2007 draft, he'll be a heck of a choice
One guys opinion, this is off nbadraft.net. This guy loves Gay. http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/rudygay.asp NBA Comparison: Scottie Pippen Strengths: Run and jump athlete who finishes well above the rim ... High flyer ... Very versatile... Does everything well ... Complete offensive arsenal... Can hit the mid range jumper... Excellent at slashing to the hoop... Accurate passer who is very unselfish... Does the majority of his damage in the post ... Very strong and stays active throughout the game ... Very tough to defend... Doesn’t get pushed around down low ... Runs the floor well ... Tough on the boards... Has a passion for the game ... Works harder than everyone else on the court ... A coach’s dream player ... Will most likely play on the wing at the next level ... Has great potential. Weaknesses: Ball handling could stand to improve ... Must gain maturity ... Develop physically ... His glaring weaknesses are his inexperience and his handle. His handle has improved dramatically but learning that phase late has slowed him moderately ... He will be star with some college seasoning ... He has only really been coached for a year and a half now so if UConn can get 2 years out of him he will be one of the baddest things to come out of college since Tim Duncan ... -Aran Smith
There have been plenty of players in the NBA that have made a name for themselves with athleticism alone. I don't see Gay fitting w/ this team because he is a SF. But Gay has the makings of being a star, it's just gonna take the right coach/team to put it together.
Most every player in the draft is questionable, Gay no more than the rest... Tyrus Thomas - 4, 20 point games ( 3 of which coming against nichols st, hou, and tulane ) Lamarcus - more 5 point or less games than 20 point games Actually Gay was a pretty consistent scorer compared to other projected lotto picks.
I love bandwagon writers. I doubt this guy watched Rudy Gay play more than 3 games outside the NCAA tourney. As inconsistent as Connecticut was, Rudy Gay is 19 years old and was sharing the ball with 4 guys who had national championship rings and 1 other who's going to be a lottery pick. That Uconn team was fundamentally flawed, and obviously Gay didn't take the lead, but to write off a guy who, according to all reports, is as nice a kid as you'll find and works his butt off in practice, is incredibly premature. But who am I to argue this? One writer said Rudy Gay is lazy and a future bust and then all the lazy columnists picked up the scent. I guess when a guy gets too much hype there has to be an inevitable backlash to compensate for it. It's the very reason why Joakim Noah should leave for the draft. He won't be the darling of the media for long. I'm not saying Rudy Gay will be a superstar, but I am saying that it's not prudent to predict bust for a 19 year old who led an elite 8 team in scoring and has ability few in the league can even match.
UConn was a very balanced team as well. Gay really didnt need to take over games. I will admit sometimes he looked like he was going through the motions.
I agree Rudy Gay may be a soft basketball player, but why would a writer rip into a 19 year old so hard? If he was a senior I could see it. But a couple of years can make a huge difference. He may not win rookie of the year or lead rookies in scoring but when we look at the draft class of 2006 two years from now, I predict Rudy Gay will be in the top 5 or 10 and could turn out to be the best player.
Just a prediction, but personally I think: Josh Smith > Rudy Gay I see them contributing similarly on the NBA level, Gay being much less impactful on the defensive end.
I agree that Smith is a better defender but I feel they're very different players. While Smith is more of the AK47, combo forward variety, Gay is more a smooth wing forward like T-Mac, but less developed. His athleticism is less power and defensive prowess and more a tremendous first step and offensive finishing ability. Plus he has the most unblockable jumpshot I've seen in college in a while. Smith is still fairly raw on that end of the ball. Ironically, they're about the same age, with Gay maybe a year younger at most.
yeah they also loved kwame brown calling him kevin garnett pao gasol calling him toni kucok eddie griffin......tim duncan the list goes on...
yeah they also loved kwame brown calling him kevin garnett pao gasol calling him toni kucok eddie griffin......tim duncan Maciej Lampe ......dirk nowitzki the list goes on.......
How is Josh Smith a better defender than Rufy Gay? I am assuming this is based on Josh's shot blocking ability/skill right? Or is he some sort of lock-down defender that only a few know about? I hope we can safely agree that being a good weakside shot blocker is mutually exclusive from being a good defender. I do not consider Josh to be a "good defender" and I am not sure what Rudy's D will turn out to be but interms of shot blcoking skills/ability I'll say they are about equal. Rudy Gay is a sneaky-good shot blocker. Both of them have not shown that they can move their feet very well on defense (maybe in part because they have not had a great defensive coach).
