Considering the GM and coach prefer senior students, here are my recommendations if we finally get 2nd round picks. Marqus Blakely (Univ of Vermont) H: 6' 5" W: 220 lbs Bday: 10/22/1988 (21 Years Old) http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Marqus-Blakely-5312/ Marqus Blakely got the chance the work out for rockets. ---------------------------------------------------------- Kelvin Lewis (Houston) H: 6' 4" W: 195 lbs http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=31624 He also got the chance to work out for rockets.
Quincy Pondexter another SF position, although he didn't work out for rockets. He should be a solid player at NBA level given the opportunity. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Quincy-Pondexter-1122/
Pondexter probably will go in the late first round i would be shocked if he lasts to the second round
1. Mikhail Torrance 2. Craig Brackins 3. Jarvis Varnado 4. Lance Stephenson 5. Jerome Jordan 6. Dominique Jones 7. Derrick Caracter The best of the 2nd round I could come up with.
Lance Stepehnson will be a top 20 pick after workouts (and thereafter be a bust). I really like Varnado and Dominique Jones off that list.
Jerome Randle. I think he'll be the Aaron Brooks of this draft. He's a GREAT shooter and as quick. If we were looking for PG's late in the 2nd I'd grab him.
The last thing you want to do is pigeonhole Morey. He looks at EVERYONE. And this year, we're probably more likely to go for international players because Morey personally visited and likely scouted some nice Euro talent. Everyone picks more seniors in the 2nd round, because usually only seniors last to the 2nd round(you can check past drafts and see the percentages). The reason being, underclassmen who declared early usually only declared because they know they'll go high. But if there is an underclassman that has potential that fall a bit, Morey will pick him up quick.
Yeah, Blakely is becoming pretty popular. He has like 5-6 more workouts including a 2nd for Houston and 2 for Boston.
A video I posted in another thread. <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/itQRvRsK7Eo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/itQRvRsK7Eo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
Dominique Jones is this year's Jermaine Taylor. Small conference superstar scorer with a pretty good NBA body. While he's definitely an intriguing prospect, I don't know if the recent selection of Taylor will make Jones redundant to this team. No thanks on Lance Stephenson. He's a knucklehead who strikes me as a major ball-hog. Not the best thing to be when you're a second round rookie. If (and that's a big "if") Morey thinks that his game translates to the NBA, I wouldn't mind seeing the Rockets take Artsiom Parakouski out of Radford. I believe he had the highest Usage Rate in college basketball last year, although that probably had more to do with him being 6-11 in a pathetic conference. But he is a true center (6-11, 260) who can "walk and chew gum at the same time," which gives him a leg up in my book on some first round prospects. He's also a decent enough candidate to possibly agree to play overseas after being drafted (like Maarty Leunen did) rather than forcing the Rockets to invite him to training camp, possibly cut him, and then lose his rights forever. Other second round prospects who I like include Miroslav Raduljica or Paulao Prestes (foreign big men to stash overseas), Mikhael Torrence or Terrico White (both combo guards with size to provide backcourt depth), and Lazar Hayward (senior SF with high basketball IQ). In the end, though, if the Rockets do select a player in the first round, I would like to see any possibly purchased second rounder used on a player to stash overseas. Hence, my preference for a guy like Parakouski, Raduljica or Prestes. Draft day can't come soon enough!
