http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...s-jimmer-fredette-more-nba-make-break-players Another rock solid article by Lowe that I'm sure many of you have already read, sorry if it's already posted. Just had a question. "One of the two toughest transitions for anyone to make is going from power forward in college to small forward in the NBA," says Flip Saunders, Minnesota's president of basketball operations. "Derrick's only 21. But he has to carve out an identity for himself. That's the most important thing for him." Anyone have any idea what the other "toughest transition" is? I've checked some other forums that were discussing this same topic, but wanted to toss it to some of the geniuses on this board. If I were to guess, I would say something involving moving from/to the point just because it requires a different mentality. Thoughts?
Shoot first, play-maker to a primary distributor role I think would be one of the toughest. That is mostly from having to have a bigger sense of making the right play at the right time and managing your personnel.
I'm not sure I can recall an instance of this happening. Shoot first guards in college are usually shoot first guards in the pros.
Going from a star player at the college level to a role player at the NBA level with sporadic playing time and touches. Many players simply cannot adjust.
It seems to me that some people use the term "shoot first point guard" as a negative/derogatory term. I don't think it should be the case. It is perfectly fine for a player, including a point guard, to shoot a lot as long as he's taking the right shots, i.e., he takes shots when taking the shot is the right play. Russell Westbrook shoots a lot and has a very positive impact on an elite level OKC offense. Steph Curry and Derek Rose also shoot a lot. Chris Paul might be a "pass first guy" most of the time, but he definitely shoots a lot in "crunch time" and he's no less effective when he does so. The real problem isn't that a PG takes and makes shots, it's that he's deficient in other PG skills-- if he doesn't have the court vision to see what's going on, if he can't make the quick (and correct) decisions needed to run an offense. This is the problem when you have a guy like OJ Mayo try to run the point (he tried it for Memphis a while ago). It's the same problem faced by some short college SGs trying to make themselves into NBA PGs (because you can get away with being a 6'1'' or 6'2'' SG in college better than you can in the NBA). Having a "shoot first" PG isn't a problem. Having a PG who can't pass or make the right decisions is the real problem.
Billups was ~6 assists per 36minutes in college. and ~6 assists per 36 minutes in his pro career. How did he change at all? No one truly goes from a shooter in college to a distributor in the pros. Especially not post-hand check where shooting is encouraged from the PG position.
Way before OKC traded Harden, it was completely obvious that they couldn't afford to keep Durant AND Westbrook AND Ibaka AND Harden, that they would have to trade one of the four in order to dodge the tax. I always advocated for a Estbrook trade because a) he could fetch more in a trade than either Ibaka or Harden and, more importantly, b) advanced stats told us that he was by far the least valuable of the four. OKC blew it not because they traded Harden but because they traded Harden instead of Westbrook. It is frustrating to watch Westbrook play because he makes tons of bad decisions. My feeling is that the most common bad decision that a PG makes is to take a bad shot. The alternative is to pass, obviously. So I can live with the term "shoot first PG." Players with high turnover rates are almost always going to have a poor shooting percentage.
Considering none of us had to make such a transition, it is nearly impossible to tell other than a general consensus of actual players.
Well you switch from playing mostly in the paint to playing mostly from outside. I think this is the most difficult change to make.
Ralph Sampson was literally a "mega-star" in college (3 time player of the year, cover of SI at least 6 times), yet switched to power forward when the Rocks got Dream. It worked extremely well. Of course, he was someone playing at the highest level, certainly nothing remotely like a role player while he was healthy.
Thanks for all the good posts so far. Given all of these "tough transitions" it's no surprise that so many college stars end up as busts in the NBA. But this got me thinking about international players. Are the same factors in play for them? Are the reasons why some college players end up as busts, the same reasons that lead to international players being busts as well? I know weak international leagues is a big difference, but other than that, are the situations at all similar?
As an NBA rookie pass-first PG, transitioning to Center in Game 6 of the finals to score 42 pts against a beast
I think that ranks behind a 6 foot PG who was the teams primary scorer in college. Can't assist and to short to play SG. Here's looking at you Canaan.
Sorry, no. If they had amnestied Perkins they would have been fine. And probably last seasons champions and this coming seasons favorites.
