ClutchFans Rockets Draft Thread (Rockets select Luther Head at 24)

I dont what you have seen of Miles that makes you think he is NBA ready. For a highschooler to drop to the 2nd round, well it should tell you something. Hes rail thin and is lacking in his all around game and who knows if and when he can gain the skills necessary to play in the nba. Head is a guy who is smart, plays with heart, and added some much needed athleticism to our guard group, cus face it sura, wesley, barry cannot hang with anyone who is remotely quick/athletic (wesley is the only one to show anything remotely close to decent D).

 

Being a Big Ten fan, I've seen a lot of Luther Head since his freshman year. He is apparently a quick learner. I remember seeing him play garbage minutes in his freshman year (he rarely got off the bench under Bill Self back then) and he had absolutely zero handles. He has worked himself into a fairly decent ballhandler. Illinois played a three guard offense during the last couple of years and Head handled the ball almost as much as Brown and Williams and did a good job at that. Back in Head's freshman year, His only way of scoring was on an alley-oop dunk. Now he's a good (albeit streaky) outside shooter. I think that he will continue to develop his game on the NBA level. The most important thing about this guy is probably his toughness. He never backs down from any challenge and plays hard-nosed defense. Last year Head usually guarded the other team's top perimeter scorer for Illinois. Head's from inner city Chicago and had some decipline problems during his first couple of years in Illinois. I remember him getting into a conflict with Bill Self and suspended during his sophomore year. However, he has matured a lot under Bruce Weber the last couple of years and was Illinois' captain in his Senior year. I think that this guy will be a good JVG player. Skill-wise he might not be the best available at 24, but he's a good fit for the system.

 

Attitude and work ethic are related to on-the-court and what you do to prepare to get on-the-court.

 

Head was the leading scorer for Illinois in the final game against UNC with 21 points. Guess he shows up in big games although he shot 8-21.

 

lets answer your points one more time and see if you catch on.

1. UTKaluman597
2. Tsk Tsk name calling will get us nowhere
3. He drove with a suspended license. WHOA watch out there buddy, hes dangerous.

ps- thanks for defending your arguments so eloquently; you only made me look better.

 

This looks like a good candidate for a future "Classic Moments" quote.

 

I see your point. I don't doubt that Luther Head is a good kid and will work hard, play defense, and if we're lucky, be a late-first round pick who works out. As I said, I have nothing against Luther Head. But because Stoudamire shot over 50% from three-point range, I would have preferred having him shooting all the open shots he'd get on the Rockets.

 

OK, you "win." I'm pretty sure nobody else on this board wants to waste time reading an unimportant side conversation.

 

Not trying to be a 'jerk' and come at you but if all you want is a standstill 3pt shooter than i think bullard can be had for cheap. But seriously dont you think we need someone that can do more than just hit the deep ball??

 

So Jawad Williams didnt get drafted. Any chance we pick him up as a free agent?

 

you weren't trying, we all know, but you were succeeding

don't worry about it tmac

 

Stoudamire has a great handle and was able to squeeze off a game-winner off the dribble to beat Oklahoma State in the tournament.

 

Theres no question that Stoudamire was a top shooter in the draft, but much like the complaints of Head, he lacks size at the 2. The difference between Head and Stoudamire is that Head has PG handling skills, and Stoudamire doesn't. So while Salim does have the ability to create off the dribble every so often, hes just too small to play SG (esp. in JVG's system) and doesnt have the abilities to play PG. I havent heard anything about Stoudamire's D either but im guesing its nothing to commend him for..

 

I think it's a solid pick for the following reasons:
1. I like the fact that he's a defensive-minded player first. All too often our perimeter guys have been getting burned allowing other teams' gaurds to either get easy baskets or cheap fouls on Yao. It sounds like Head has the ability to really D-up, which is probably huge for Van Gundy.
2. Also, he's a good, solid shooter. He seems to be able to shoot well from beyond the arc as well as getting a mid-range jumper (even in traffic).
3. He seems to move well without the ball a la Reggie Miller or Rip Hamilton, which is very difficult to defend. This should be a even greater asset with the double-teams demanded by our 2 unselfish stars T-Mac and Yao.
4. He played well for a winning program against top-notch competetion. The Big 10 was down a little this year, but it's still a top-notch college conference and he played well against other teams like UNC. I'm tired of trying to project how international and high school players are gonna do against top-tier talent, and I think that's why we're seeing a trend back towards the college basketball players with strong pedigrees in the draft early in the draft. Lower risk, I guess. I admit I was all for the Eddie Griffin trade, but hindsight shows that he was a talented project with skills who kinda floated around in his 1 college year at Seton hall without really showing that he could excel consistently against superior talent.
5. As much as the 4 spot is a glaring weakness on this team, the 1/2 spot is almost nearly as bleak. We really needed to infuse some youth and athleticism into our backcourt, and hopefully Luther and Vassilis can do that soon.
6. I'm gonna trust Van Gundy. As much as we poke fun at the Houston Knicks, Van Gundy is able to identify players that will excel in his system even if they're not necessarily all that on the surface. Sura, Wesley, Barry, Bowen, etc. are examples of old Van Gundy guys who really helped this team in its radical makeover, and I think he knows what's he's doing in trying to modify this roster. CD, I'm not always so sure about.
7. This is obviously not the last move before the season starts. Management has made it clear that they plan on making some moves in the coming months either in FA or by trade. We can expect Juwan to be back, and my guess is that we'll have another option at 4 in addition to him that will help balance the roster. We need tougness and rebounding at the 4, and that's a lot more likely to come through veterans than rookies.
For all the guys dissing the pick, please counter the above arguments instead of just blindly saying you hate the pick.

 

Good post moonnumack

 

Should have read the article a little more closely (just skimmed over most of it and missed the burglary part )

Also (didn't want to start another thread for this, but), in 2000 we traded Joel Pryzbilla to Milwaukee for Collier and a future first rounder - has Milwaukee given us this first rounder they owe us yet? Or are we going to get a first rounder (on top of our own) in the next few years?

 

Ever heard of Eddie Griffin?

 

i wonder if hes got any style dunks in his game, i would love to see another Rocket back in the Dunk contest not names Franchise

 

Next up: Sign Donyell Marshall or Chris Anderson!

 

I know it's early but does anyone have any type of Luther Head highlights?