Drafting Big Men

DaneB · May 22, 2001

This is from The Sporting News...

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"> Once again, the great talent hunt has begun for the Rockets, who worked out North Carolina center Brendan Haywood last week. Haywood, a 7-footer who has an exclamation point of a body but a question mark attitude, is the first player the late-starting Rockets have brought in for a workout.

In case you haven't noticed, the Rockets are in the market for "bigs" -- that's centers to you and me -- and small forwards. Along with Haywood, the Rockets are going to take a look at 7-1 center Loren Woods (Arizona) and 6-11 Lazaros Papadopoulous (Greece) in the next few days.

Going big isn't really a surprise, because the team is almost certainly going to lose Hakeem Olajuwon to free agency. And last year's first-round pick, Jason Collier, who spent much of the year on the bench because of injuries, is really more of a power forward.

But you have to question just how much the Rockets, with the 13th pick, would be getting by selecting a big man. Suppose Haywood is there for the taking. You then have to wonder -- if a talented, athletic 7-footer is available that late in the order, shouldn't that be a red flag? A solid 7-footer still available that late? In this league? When guys like Michael Olowokandi wind up as top picks?

But Haywood is expected to be there when the Rockets pick at 13. Why? Well, suffice it to say that he was known as "Brenda" around the ACC.

It's easy to see the positives, though. Haywood has the kind of athletic ability every NBA team covets, and he could become a potent shotblocker in the league. And when he's fired up, the guy attacks the basket with Shaq-like ferocity.

But that's the problem -- he does it only when he's fired up. Too often, he's not. Some scouts swear Haywood is Elden Campbell to the 10th power.

Sound like someone else wearing a Houston uniform?

If you're at all familiar with the Rockets, it should sound like Kelvin Cato, about whom many of the same things have been said over the past couple of years. But the Rockets -- and just about everyone else -- are still waiting for a return on their $42 million investment in the enigmatic 7-footer, so why gamble on another guy with a questionable work ethic?

But the other 7-footers who might be available here are even more flawed than Haywood. Woods is too thin and too easily defended. Anyone who understands defensive leverage can push him away from the hoop. And his level of motivation fluctuates almost as much as Haywood's.

Ken Johnson, the one-dimensional Ohio Stater, makes Cato look like Jabbar on the offensive end of the floor. Jarron Collins is smart, but the guy is so mechanical he should have a huge key in his back. Alvin Jones is another all-glove, no-hit guy, but it would be interesting to see him reunited with college teammate Collier.

One guy who might sneak in under the radar is Villanova's Michael Bradley, a 6-11 center/power forward who doesn't mind working. He has a few other traits that would make him attractive to Rudy Tomjanovich -- he's a four-year man (with a year of eligibility left), and he's effective around the basket (he led the nation in field-goal percentage at 69.2). Defense will be a question mark, but the Rockets need someone who can put the ball in the hole. </font>
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"I would like to live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were ever supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever."
-Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss Universe contest

HOOP-T · May 22, 2001

http://bbs.clutchcity.net/ubb/Forum3/HTML/012927.html

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My doctor says I am bipolar. I am going to get a second opinion. I have never had intimate desires for polar bears.

The Real Shady · May 22, 2001

quote:
"Ken Johnson, the one-dimensional Ohio Stater, makes Cato look like Jabbar on the offensive end of the floor."

Thats frightening!

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DaneB · May 24, 2001

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"> Ken Johnson, the one-dimensional Ohio Stater, makes Cato look like Jabbar on the offensive end of the floor. </font>
Click to expand...

When Dikembe was coming out of Georgetown was he touted for his offensive ability? All I can remember is his defense. Look at him now. We would love to have even a poor mans Mutombo.

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"I would like to live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were ever supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever."
-Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss Universe contest

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