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Draft day 2001 - The #1 Pick is ...... (Superman, Meet Godzilla)

Discussion in 'NBA Draft' started by Dream34, Jul 12, 2000.

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  1. Dream34

    Dream34 Member

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    If Eddie Curry is as good as people are saying I would not mind one more subpar year if it increases our chances of getting the top pick. This kid makes Darius Miles look like chump change. Man talk about the total package. 17 years old, 6 foot 11, 290 pounds and still growing; now that is scary! Eddie Curry seems to be all that and than some. This is from the NBAtalk.com article today.

    Superman, Meet Godzilla

    by sportsTALK editor, Chad Ford

    With the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft the [insert your struggling team's name here] select . . . Eddie Curry, from Thornwood High.

    Now all join hands and pray.

    Darius Miles became the highest high school player ever taken (#3) this year. But that is about to change.

    Close your eyes, for you will not believe what you see.

    He's 6-11, over 290 pounds. And growing. He just completed his junior year of high school averaging 24.6 points and 11.2 boards a game amidst constant double and triple teams.

    That river of fluid you see running through the gym? NBA scouts drooling -- all of them.

    "Eddie will be the number one pick in the draft next year," one NBA scout said matter of factly at the Nike All-America Camp this weekend in Indianapolis. Eddie wasn't even playing there. But his name was on everyone's lips.

    "If he plays as well as he did last season, not only will he be number one; all 29 teams will agree he's the best player in the draft," said another NBA scout.

    Hear that beating noise? Jerry Krause's heart (yes he has one . . . we think) doesn't get this worked up when he walks into an all-you-can eat buffet.

    He's 17 years old, plays with his back to the basket, has a soft touch, great hands and handles that just won't quit. He can hit the hook, run the floor and elevate. Oh can he elevate. His AAU under 17 team, Illinois Gold won the state AAU title. In the championship game Eddie amassed a mere 46 points, 24 boards and 11 blocks. Did we mention that flat-footed he touched 8-8?

    Sometimes he doesn't play hard, takes ill-advised shots and gets in foul trouble. No one will even talk about his foul shooting. Did we mention he weighed almost 300 pounds. We hate to name names but if Superman and the Lakers need a nemesis, the rest of the NBA seems to have found him.

    One scout got a little carried away. "If I were a NBA General Manager I would select him right now out of the 11th grade" Juniors in the NBA? Trust us, its coming.

    Says recruiting guru Bob Gibbons. "It isn't often that a player Curry's size comes along who is both light on his feet and aggressive at both ends of the floor. His soft hands allow him snare passes and rebounds that would get away from most big men."

    So how did a guy who wasn't even interested in basketball 5 years ago suddenly the next Shaq? Like Tim Duncan, he had another passion. For Eddie it was gymnastics."I got a little too tall for tumbling," Curry said. "I couldn't make the moves, and I was scared about getting hurt and stuff."

    From that to the consensus number one player in high school basketball. Almost everyone agrees Eddie is a lock to go pro next year. However, Curry is a jovial kid who likes to have fun and isn't in a hurry to rush into the NBA. "I'm just gonna let it come," he said. "After this summer, after this season, there will be options that I'll have to look at seriously. But it's not that important to me right now."

    Eddie may be joined next year by two other hot high school prospects, Tyson Chandler and Dajuan Wagner. Chandler is 218 pound 7 footer from California. Still he out runs everyone on the floor, has nice range on his jumper and is perhaps the best shot blocker in high school basketball. Scout Brick Oettinger, a 25-year veteran of the coaching scene, has called Dajuan Wagner "the most devastating point guard - at least at the offensive end of the court -- we've ever seen at the high school level." He's a legit 6-3 has fantastic handles but has also made an early commitment to Memphis and Coach John Calipari. To make sure that Wagner will be delivered Calipari hired his father, Milt Wagner, as an administrative assistant.

    They could all be lottery picks next year, but the focus and the jostling will be for Curry. Says Scout Brick Oettinger, of the Prep Stars Recruiting Handbook, "Curry's talent is already truly exceptional, and his potential goes even beyond that, into the category of mind-boggling."

    A high school player as the first pick in the NBA draft. Mind-boggling.



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    Vice President of the Austin Croshere fan club.
     
    #1 Dream34, Jul 12, 2000
  2. Gideon

    Gideon Member

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    Still growing??? I like the sound of that. Move over Shaq....and tank it Rocks. TANK! TANK!

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    He who stands for nothing will fall for anything.
     
    #2 Gideon, Jul 12, 2000
  3. New Jack

    New Jack Member

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    Eddy Curry would be a perfect fit for this team.

    I'd pick him over Woods.


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    #3 New Jack, Jul 12, 2000
  4. knits stekcor

    knits stekcor Member

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    Touching 8'8 flat-footed for his height is not that impressive. I'm 6'2 and I can touch 8' flat footed.

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    I will demonstrate my clutchness this November.
     
    #4 knits stekcor, Jul 12, 2000
  5. ricealum

    ricealum Member

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    More on Curry. In an article in SI, he appears too good to be true and coming to the NBA next season:

    Curry is still a little soft around the middle, to be expected of someone who doesn't turn 18 until December. But make no mistake, his offensive repertoire is already more polished than [Shaquille] O'Neal's. [...]

    [Darius] Miles' selection third overall further opened Curry's eyes. In the month before the draft, Miles kept insisting that he wanted to attend college; Curry makes no such comments [...] "My only reason for going to school would be to get stronger for the next level," he says. "I also want to get an education, but I plan on getting my education anyway. I think I would go to get stronger and more mentally prepared for the next level."

    Hardly a ringing endorsement of the college experience. Curry feels his skills and his mindset are already of NBA caliber, though he also acknowledges, "Nothing in my game is close to being perfect," and, "You can never have too much maturity."

    [T]here seems to be a consensus among coaches that spending too many resources recruiting Curry is a waste of time.



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    If you don't remember the ABA, you don't know basketball.
     
    #5 ricealum, Jul 12, 2000
  6. Nomar

    Nomar Member

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    Do you think that any team would accept any trade for the one pick next year? We could potentially offer our pick, detroits, orlandos, and milwaukees, plus future picks. And maybe KT or others.

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    Starting at shortstop, for the Houston Astros, Nomar Garciaparra.
     
    #6 Nomar, Jul 12, 2000
  7. Dream34

    Dream34 Member

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    Nomar,
    If no one could trade and get into the top 3 picks this year. I doubt very seriously that anyone will trade out of the top 3 in next years draft. Obviously things can change and who knows what package some team may offer. But this guys seems to be a lock for the top 3 picks. With an even greater likelihood of being the first pick.

    That is why I think the only way we get the top pick is by earning it unforuntately. Damn, I hate the sound of that. [​IMG]

    But this kid seems to be unreal...

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    Vice President of the Austin Croshere fan club.
     
    #7 Dream34, Jul 12, 2000
  8. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    #8 JuanValdez, Jul 12, 2000
  9. carlit0

    carlit0 Member

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    How is this going to be forgotten?
    6-11, over 290 pounds. And GROWING. He just completed his junior year of high school averaging 24.6 points and 11.2 boards a game amidst constant double and triple teams.

    80%+ will sleep with this name in our heads!!!

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    "Instinctly u recognize things,now take advantage of what u just recognized!".. Hakeem..
     
    #9 carlit0, Jul 12, 2000
  10. BobFinn*

    BobFinn* Member

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    Look how long it took Shaq to win a championship, and he went to college. Curry may be good 7 or 8 years down the line. The Rockets will draft Troy Murphy and win NOW!!!! (next year I mean) [​IMG]

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    "When your dead, anything's funny."-John Lennon
     
    #10 BobFinn*, Jul 12, 2000
  11. New Jack

    New Jack Member

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    That's Ridiculous.

    Your saying you would rather have Troy Murphy instead of Eddy Curry???

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    You ain't gotta like me, you just mad cause I tell it how it is, and you tell it how it might be.
     
    #11 New Jack, Jul 12, 2000
  12. gr8-1

    gr8-1 Member

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    Anybody hear actually seen curry play ? im not doubting you guys, but he could be the next hambone also, lol.

    I think chandler may be the better prospect, and don't forget about wallace and griffin.

    It is way too early guys.

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    "Don't they get cable in Canada ?" Keith olbermann, after watching hakeem block terry catledge's shot 5 times.
     
    #12 gr8-1, Jul 12, 2000
  13. BobFinn*

    BobFinn* Member

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    New Jack, I can't get nuthin by you, can I?
    Murphy is way better than Curry right now. Curry is a junior in high school for cripes sake. Murphy does it all against top college competition. Curry dunks (big woop) and reb (as tall as he is he better) against high school kids worried about pimples.

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    "When your dead, anything's funny."-John Lennon
     
    #13 BobFinn*, Jul 12, 2000
  14. JayZ750

    JayZ750 Member

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    Either the number is wrong (8 foot 8 inches), or the article is talking about just touching 8-8 standing on his feet wthout jumping. That would be pretty impressive.

    Are you saying at 6-2 you can just stand still, reach up and touch 8-8? Cuase you got some realy long arms then.

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    When I die I want to go peacefully like my grandfather. Not screaming like the passengers in the back seat!
     
    #14 JayZ750, Jul 12, 2000
  15. New Jack

    New Jack Member

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    Bob - I think Murphy will be a decent NBA player but I don't think he has near the potential Curry has.

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    You ain't gotta like me, you just mad cause I tell it how it is, and you tell it how it might be.
     
    #15 New Jack, Jul 12, 2000
  16. knits stekcor

    knits stekcor Member

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    I can touch 8 feet standing flat footed. So at 6'11, being 9 inches taller than me, Eddy Curry can touch 8'8. But I'd expect someone so tall to have proportionately longer arms than me too.

    It's just that the article makes it seem like touching 8'8 is spectacular.


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    I will demonstrate my clutchness this November.
     
    #16 knits stekcor, Jul 12, 2000
  17. Mango

    Mango Member

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    Knits,

    I was going to post the same thing because I am also 6'2" and my fingertips clear the top of a volleyball net.

    They probably meant 9'8" because he should have a longer arm length and starts about 8" to 9" ahead of us in height already.

    Mango

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    #17 Mango, Jul 12, 2000
  18. Gen

    Gen Member

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    Yeah, 8'8 is no big deal. Heck, 9'8 isn't even that big of a deal when you think about some of the long-limbed guys like Darius Miles that are entering the league. But Eddy Curry's sweet. A kid being able to accumulate that much muscle mass is scary.


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    "Homosexuals are just trying to make their sodomy as morally acceptable as the sodomy I enjoy in my church-sanctioned marriage."
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    #18 Gen, Jul 13, 2000
  19. TraJ

    TraJ Member

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    They must have meant 9'8". I can remember Olajuwon a couple of years ago standing at one end of the court taking a breather with his arms up and his fingers grasping the bottom of the net. He wasn't standing flat footed; he was slouching.

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    #19 TraJ, Jul 14, 2000
  20. PhiSlammaJamma

    PhiSlammaJamma Member

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    Kevin Mchale was the best, his knuckles used to drag on the parquet floor!


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    humble, but hungry.
     
    #20 PhiSlammaJamma, Jul 16, 2000
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