Was browsing prospects off of NBADraft and spotted Borchadt of Stanford in the top ten. Guy's 7-0, seems like a legitimate rebounder, shotblocker with 3-pt range. Sounds like a Rudy-type bigman. Soft hands in the post. Key issues apparently seem to be staying healthy, and it doesn't sound like he's super speedy, but not super-slow either. Anyone know much about this guy? If he's unlikely to stay healthy, he's probably not worth it, but in terms of skills, what do people think?
I think NBADraft.net's latest mock draft is a joke. Qyntel Woods at #4 over Drew Gooden? Who the heck is Woods, anyway? Borchardt, a player who could very easily get injured, at #8? Haislip at #9? All over Chris Marcus or even Ron Grizzard? He may be a decent evaluator of college talent, but when it comes to the NBA level, I'd trust Peter Vescey on a trade rumor over anything NBAdraft.net put out. Having said my piece, I don't think Borchardt is the way to go. Marcus would be a much better option, as he is not injury prone, has a high upside, and is a legitimate big man. In my opinion, with the players the Rockets have, the only other thing the Rockets would need is for Rice to get healthy and provide much needed three point shooting from the swing position.
Neither Marcus or Borchardt are going to be legit big men..I personally like Mike Sweetney and Lonny Baxter although borth my be a little undersized.
Borchardt is the real deal--certainly better than the Collins guys drafted last year off that team. He would be a great fit for the Rockets IMO and is the kind of player we should focus on. Baxter will be a marginal NBA player. Short for a PF, not quick enough to play the 3. I'd rather stick to Kenny Thomas.
Marcus not injury prone? He has missed much of the season (game I saw last week he was still not playing), and I could be mistaken, but I thought he has had kind of a history at WK of getting hurt. Also, I like Baxter and Sweetney as college players, but I question what kind of effectiveness they'll have in the pros. Baxter is actually pretty quick in the post, but it's not the kind of quickness that translates into defending on the perimeter. Plus he just doesn't have the ball skills to play the 3. And Sweetney has got skills, but he'd do himself a favor if he shed some weight...sometimes it looks like it affects him. Outside of Gooden, I think the best power forward out there is Sam Clancy.
The question is- If Memphis actually lands Yao Ming, and he turns out to be the real deal, will they get any better or still suck
There's serious question marks on all the 5s this year. What I've seen of Borchardt, I've liked. I think he could be a serviceable NBA starting center, something like a Mihm or a Lafrentz. 16-11-3 for a major program is outstanding. If his injuries are truly behind him, he'll have a solid career. Marcus has been very injury prone, and I don't think it's fluke stuff. He has a lot of weight on his frame, and he's having foot/leg troubles because of it. I'm not sure it'll go away. I'd stay away from Marcus anyway--the injury troubles, small school stigma, and lack of great interest in basketball. I like Gadzuric, but he's got tons of problems-he's already 24, which is old for a college senior, and is having pretty bad knee troubles that I think will be chronic, shooting BELOW 50% as a FT shooter, and not having a good year (10.5-7 with less than 1 BPG) Yao Ming is simply covered with mystery, and I've heard there are injury concerns with him as well. On Q. Woods-He's allegedly the next Tracy McGrady, and probably this year's Kedrick Brown. A highly athletic JuCo kid- all I can gather other than the McGrady comparisons, is that he's 6'9'' 225 and goes to Northeast Mississippi. I found his game by game box scores-averages over 27 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2 apg, 54.3% FG%, 33.33% 3P% (14-42 over 9 games), 78.5% FT%, and 2 SPG. Also worth noting he averages almost 11 FTA per game. He's dropped 30+ in 5 of 9 games, including a 49 point performance on 16-21 shooting. He hasn't played since December 3, I'm not sure why, or maybe the game data hasn't been updated. Expect to hear a lot about him, good and bad when it comes to workout time. As for other PFs...after Gooden, it doesn't really matter. Probably the 2nd PF taken will be Stoudamire, but that's simply because there's a lack of sure thing PFs in this draft, it's simply a balance out from the past 2 years, with Martin, Swift, Fizer, Etan Thomas, Jerome Moiso, Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, and Eddie Griffin all going lotto, and Troy Murphy going #14. (It also means it'll be a seller's market for teams looking for PFs will have to give up more to acquire one like, say Kenny Thomas). Gooden is the premiere PF in this draft, and will be a real player If the Rockets were picking 8th, they could do a lot worse than Borchardt. Borchardt would solidify the 4/5 positions (Borchardt-Cato, Griffin-Taylor). It'll be a question of whether the 3 needs more solidifying. One last note-Melvin Ely is a very intriguing prospect-putting up monster numbers (23-10-3.5), and has excellent size/athleticism. He could jump if he has a good display in the NCAA tourney, and at the camps.
Borchadt....seen him three times this year. Never anything super amazing, but he's got some skills. If he can guard a center, he can play in the NBA.
