[Yahoo Sports Twitter] Pistons trade rights to Chase Budinger to Rockets.

He just has one of those faces.

 

This is in no way meant to be racist AT ALL, but I've never been high on American born white guys. The good ones are few are far between.

 

I'm a big UofA basketball fan and obviously, a C-Bud fan too. He came in with worlds of potential (at first glance) and that brought with it serious expectations. We all thought he was going to be a top 10 lock with his skills and athleticism and in the first couple of games as a freshman, he flashed some amazing brilliance under the bright lights (like scoring 32 points in his second game and 15 first half points against Lousiville at Madison Square Garden, during which Dick Vitale was apparently surprised and amazed at his talent).But then he would drop off the face of the earth and disappear. Granted that first season he himself admitted he just hit the "freshman wall."

Then he improved somewhat his sophomore season, especially with his defense (particularly his defensive awareness), and his offensive aggressiveness. Ironically, even though he proved he could play against the big dogs (20 against Memphis, 27 against Kansas, 29 against USC, 24 against UCLA), scouts still felt he was still inconsistent and "soft."

But it was by his junior season that Chase had improved noticeably the most so far in his collegiate career. He put on legitimate muscle and weight while being able to keep his athleticism intact. He did display more toughness on drives and on defense. He posted career highs in ppg (18.0), rbg (6.2), and apg (3.4), not to mention on defensive stats too.

His strengths will be his vertical athleticism (e.g running the floor and finishing at the basket). I still think people will be surprised by his athleticism, contrary to his pale countenance. He also has great body control and is able to hang and adjust in mid air. (I remember one game his freshman year against Stanford where he was able to knife through two defenders, and then finishing up and around the Lopez twins. Needless to say, even the commentators were surprised by that display of athleticism).

As for his weaknesses, the scouting reports have all pointed out his defense and lateral quickness as concerns, but I for one think that it won't keep him from making the roster. I should point out that for his entire freshman year, Draftexpress continually pointed that he did possess good lateral quickness, but then ironically did a complete 180 and criticized that aspect later after that. I personally think his main problem is that he stays WAY too high and off balance, which only hurts his defense even more. He has shown that he has a good burst laterally to recover against decently athletic players in the past.

Bottom line, I think the Rockets will grow to like him and he has a very good chance of making the roster simply because he is a better shooter than Taylor, and has more experience against top notch competition (ie the Pac 10)

 

great post jasonemilio..... I think Chase is going to be better than Taylor... Chase played in the Pac-10 (one of the best basketball conferences in the NCAA). Taylor played in C-USA, where the only real competition is Memphis....

 

Kevin Bradbury, Budinger's agent, said Houston's decision not to work out his client before the draft was more a result of the team's lack of draft picks than a lack of interest in Budinger. Bradbury said Budinger did take part in a group workout that was monitored by the Rockets.

"Houston has been telling us from the beginning of the pre-draft process they were interested in Chase," Bradbury said.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/06/27/sports/nba/z13620a68ddde4c78882575e2000f505a.txt

 

Budinger is not a better player than Taylor. Defense will hold Bundinger back. You can't compare a poor man's Brent Barry in his prime to a poor man's Dwyane Wade in his prime.

 

Good post. I was a student at UA and agree with everything you said. He's an amazing athlete and his lateral quickness is fine. His problem defensively was that he stood too tall. That will be corrected in a hurry. He's got the ability and the work ethic to greatly improve his defense, he's smart, and he has a pretty nasty offensive arsenal. Definitely a great pickup especially considering all we gave up for him was a future 2nd rounder and some cash.

 

who the hell is comparing Taylor to a poor mans d wade?

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/14871938/15719698

The Kirk Snyder comparison makes more sense....

 

Bird, Sikma, Chambers, Chapman, Havlicek, Cowens, Walton, Stockton, Price, and Reggie Miller.

 

Interesting. A day later after being prepped by the Rockets it's:

Straight after the draft Taylor did talk about playing alongside Yao and Mac but I wonder if he's going to drop out McGrady in future interviews?

 

Well this white guy does have a 40 inch vertical at 6'7 to go with a pretty jumpshot. Not worried about this guy on the offensive end at all. He's pretty strong minded too but on defense i don't want to see him falling and somebody stepping on his face.

 

Miller is white?

 

?????

 

OK, it was a bad joke.

 

In the recent era, the best American white player has been Jason Williams. Although Joel Pryzbilla can make a case with his defense.

 

Jason Kidd, Mike Biiby

 

I don't know much about this guy, but Kirk Snyder could not dribble, shoot, pass, or anything else other than dunk if given the ball under the basket

 

Might be wrong but I think they're considered Black.

 

Pryz is ok. I like David Lee and Hinrich more though. I agree with that the best american white players haven't been good. None have become franchise players like Shaq/Kobe/Wade/D-Howard/Dirk.

 

Does Steve Nash count? Because he is North American.



DD