I don't know why people constantly discredit Amar'e with this argument. I guess Nash makes all his dunks and shots also. Hey Karl Malone played with Stockton, guess he was also a unknown quantity.
He's the Black Amare Stoudemire. Amare calls himself the "Black Jesus," So, Jordan Hill is technically the Black Black Jesus.
IMO Jordan Hill is looking more like Otis Thorpe offensively and defensively. Hill has the same height, weight and athleticism but not Thorpe's huge hands. If he can achieve or surpass Thorpe's level, I will be downright giddy.
He has a nice-looking mid-range jumper and a decent baby hook. He's also flashed a few spin moves in the post but they need some refinement even though the instincts seem to be there.
Honestly if he became like Kurt Thomas in his prime (good defender, good rebounder, can consistently hit a 15-18 footer, occasionally post up), that would be Jordan Hill's best case scenario. Trying to make him into Amare will only lead to frustration and that expectation level is just not realistic.
Karl Malone was indeed most fortunate to play with the greatest Point Guard John Stockton Both Amare and Karl never played in the NBA without a great point guard to set them up, on almost every play. They are both considered great but may have been considered not so great if they had to make their own plays. Sooner have Hill be his own person! That's all!
So what? The OP said model his game after Stoudemire, not BE at Stoudemire's level. The point is that this thread does not deserve to be shut down.
which i'm sure both amar'e and hill have done for years, but plyometrics isn't going to close the large gap amar'e has on hill when it comes to explosion and vertical ups. Not to mention Amar'e is more fluid. Hill isn't a stiff, but he can't face up and make moves with regularity and i don't see him ever developing into that.
he will not be better than STAT. he will probably never develop a strong offensive game, he is big and fast, i see him more as a defensive player in the future.
Amare pre-Nash. 13.5/8.8 in rookie year 20.6/9.0 in 2nd year. If Amare is an "unknown quantity", then what does that make Jordan Hill? "Non-existent quantity"?
I've only caught significant action of Jordan Hill twice, but he kind of reminds me of Clifford Ray from the 1970s.... can't find any video on him. Ray was more of a center with serviceable offense and strong defense.
Now that you mention it, Hill's game does kind of remind me of Amare's. Full of explosiveness and power, and they can both shoot that mid-range jumper.
We should just get Jordan some PF Flyers. A credible source from The Sandlot told me they're guaranteed to make you run faster and jump higher.
His hands aren't much smaller, did you see the way he gripped the ball "like a melon" (Bullard quote) and threw it down against the Grizz?
Comparing him to Amare might not be the best comparison because you have to look at who he will be surrounding himself with. First of all, Amare is a benefactor of one of the best pick and roll situations in history. Hill will not be so lucky to work with a point guard like Nash, but brooks is no slouch. Brooks will be able to penetrate and get Hill lots of easy dunks and 15 footers. Also look at his coach. Jack Sikma is a master at crafty post moves. Look at him as a player(if you can remember), and the players he has coached (IE Scola, Landry). Most likely we will see him working the post, rather than the pick and roll. Also Hill runs the court very well for a big, so I would like him to work mostly on ball control and footwork this summer. Since Yao, in my opinion, is a wild card for next year, I believe the success for the 10-11 Rockets lies heavily on the potential of Hill and/or a true center that we either draft or aquire through free agency.
Even better for Hill, the Rockets and us fans. I remember Calvin Murphy describing Thorpe something like this: "When Thorpe holds a basketball in his hand, it's like most people holding a softball."
