Poll: Mo Pete, DerMarr, or Darius? Which one would you choose?

What about Mike Miller? I heard he's going to announce he's coming out after the Final 4. He'd make a nice Small Forward. He's a sophomore, so he still has more potential, but more polished than a high schooler.

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I think the first thing we need to look at is a player that can bring post up moves for us. I prefer a pf but if we dont have any good ones left I would have to go with Dermarr Johnson. He is athletic and can play ball. Reminds me of tracy mcgrady but better.

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President of the Moochie Norris FAN CLUB

 

francis3, im not sure if dermarr is better then mcgrady. mcgrady is a good defender, though he may not have johnson's shot.

rf34, i hope the pistons and magic dont trade down just to screw us, it doesnt make sense becuz they would end up benefitting the team with the 30th pick (lakers). why would they help the lakers to screw us ? or, would the lakers give them a player also ? im sure that a franchise would trade down just to screw us.

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"Don't they get cable in Canada ?" Keith olbermann, after watching hakeem block terry catledge's shot 5 times.

 

Mo Pete has been impressing me all tournement long, but man, after tonights game he has me sold. He not only posesses the the type of athleticism and energy that would fits this Rocket team to a tee, but he is outstanding in moving without the ball and hits the clutch shots. Granted, a college game is a college game, but we cannot overlook this guy. My only worry is that his recent play is going to get too much attention and he might be drated before we have the chance.

Azim da Dream

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True champions do not take their failures to heart and never let success go to their heads.

 

Ok...ok...there's a big argument out there about whether or not you should take the best player overall, or the best player available. I believe that in basketball, more than any other sport, you take the best player available at the spot your picking, not necessarily the player you need the most. The Rockets have done this before...both with Horry and Cassell. It ususally turns out to work to the team's advantage because in the NBA you can adjust your lineups to let the talent play. Just look at Portland...they have a ton of talent at every position...seems to work for them so far.

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That last post came out funny...what I meant to say its best to take the best player available...not the best player at a particular position you need. Even if you have a bunch of guards...if a guard is the best player at your pick...take him.

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Id go with Mo Peterson. Mo Peterson is a better OVERALL player. dermarr plays good D at the 2 but is so skinny he could likely get lit up at the 3 where we need him to defend. mo peterson at least can defend some 3s. Mo Peterson needs to work on his slashing/driving game. but he is good at posting up and is an excellent shooter.

another vital stat- mo peterson rebounds extremely well. he averages about 6.5-7 RBs per game. that is excellent for a 3. mo peterson i think could play the 2 when we needed him but we would need him to play the 3.

i wouldnt risk a pick on a high schooler. theres about a 25% chance they will develop into a player, about a 5% chance they will be a superstar. maybe he might turn out to be one, but i still wouldnt risk a pick .

mo peterson isnt just a safe pick he is an excellent one

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--TEX

 

I think that Peterson fits our team the best so we should pack in the talent in our PG-SF positions. Then we look towards Free agency to fulfill our PF needs. Anybody know of any good PFs coming out that might be lured in with our 4.5 million exemption?

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The clock is winding down, and Scottie has the ball, Cato is sprinting towards him, Pippen shoots and here comes Cato. Man did you see that block?!!! Ouch it hit Scottie right between the legs. ITS FINAL!! THE ROCKETS ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF Y2K!!!

 

Mo Pete is a great college player but ask yourself what he would do that Shandon doesn't. I think Mo is a better offesnively, but Shandon isn't bad in this department and is the better individual defender. Think about switching them, I'll bet Shandon would get at least the 16 PPG & 6 rpg if he was on that MSU team and Peterson wasn't. As I said before I think Shandon has a lot of trouble guarding 3's, I don't see why Peterson wouldn't either, and think he is more suited for the 2.

Still, I think Mo Pete will be a good pro, maybe better than Shandon, he will probably be a similar player to Paul Pierce or Rip Hamilton. Nice players, would be especially nice if we needed another swingman, but I am looking for either more of an impact player at one of our strong positions, or a player comparable talented--even if less refined-- whose is bigger. Let's get out the tape measure (for height and swingspan) and the scale before assuming Mo Pete can play the NBA 3 regularly.


[This message has been edited by sir scarvajal (edited April 03, 2000).]

 

I don't think we need any of the three mentioned. I definitely don't think we spend a top 6 pick on any of those three either. Frontcourt help is our main need, and I would say you go big.....Fizer, Martin, or another talented PF or C. Not sure where we will be picking, but it is a mute point until we know.

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HOOP-T

Hey Shaq, Acme called, and they want their bricks back!

 

sir scarv,
just imagining two Shandons running around and doing just about anything brings a smile to my face. IMHO, Anderson has easily been our most consistent player this year, and the fact that he gives it his 110% every night is a rarity in todays NBA. I also think (i could easily be wrong) that Peterson is an inch or two taller, yet still has time to bulk up. If he can play the NBA three, then I see no problem whatsoever in having another Shandon Anderson on this team. I honestly don't think we need a superstar of Grant Hillesque proportions for this team to succeed in years to come, just a few major (but not a superstar) pieces to the puzzle and most of all, suffering through challenging obstacles, dealing with adversity and celebrating after hurdling those obstacles. That is what a team is all about.

Azim da Dream

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True champions do not take their failures to heart and never let success go to their heads.

 

On two draft sites I have looked at (one is Mr. Roc Fan's BTW), both list Mo Pete's height at 6' 6", with his weight on one at 210 and the other at 215. If this is correct, he is very similar physically as SA, unless he has extra long arms for his size (e.g., like Brand???). I will say Finley at 6' 7" and 215 doesn't seem too undersized for the three, and he does pull 6.5 rebounds down. Maybe that inch of height or long arms (does Finley have them??) mean a big difference, because I don't see SA or Mo Pete matching up against threes as well as Finley can. I would be curious if others think Finley can guard bigger player than SA can, or is it just my perception?????

I wouldn't mind having two SA's running around either. But in my opinion we are talking about the best draft position we will earn for a while, and I want to add a new dimension to the team with this pick. Now instead of Mo Pete, I would prefer to #1) add a bigger low post player comparable to Mo in talent; #2) if there isn't anybody that fits option #1, trade down to get two players--one bigger guy like Etan, Collier, Mottola or Ken Johnson plus find another poor mans Mo Pete in Arceneaux, Carrawell or Desmond Mason if you want.

I have just think a lot of posters are caught up in the fact MSU is the best team rather than judging their individual players on their talents. If MSU loses tonight (which they could, Florida is the deepest team they have played), though it won't reflect much about Mo Pete's talent, you will see so much less excitment here about Mo and even less for Mateen (which someone else suggested we draft with our pick, which I think is a little crazy). Remember people thought Scottie Thurman and Thomas Hill were pro quality players after their great college play and championship runs. Likewise, Rip Hamilton (who I thought really was going to be quite a pro player and was very high on, now I think I was wrong about him) has been much less effective than many players drafted after he was.

[This message has been edited by sir scarvajal (edited April 03, 2000).]

 

You forgot to mention Miles Simon. Who would've thought Michael Dickerson would be the better pro 2 guard back in 1996?

OK, I'm gonna change my mind and say draft a 4 first, then a 3, and then a 5.

If we pick #7-#10, I would pick Alton Ford if he comes out. He has a muscular NBA body at 260lbs and 6'9. Plus he wants to play here. He threw a very nice lob pass in the McDonalds game. Chris Monter says he runs well at 4.5/40 so our running game would still be intact.

Chris Carrawell might not be as good a shooter as Morris Peterson, but they are comparable in most other areas. I think he would be available in the mid-teens, where (hopefully) Detroit will give us their pick. I like him more than Mason or Arceneaux as an NBA 3.

Finally with our(or Vancouver's) second rounder I'd take a legit 7-footer like Joel Pryzbilla, Mamadou N'Diyae or Jason Collier.

 

Outlaw
Carrawell would be a good pick at detroit's pick if we dont get Mo Peterson.

Alton Ford is commited to UH. he wont enter the draft

Pryzbilla? yah right id take a foreigner before i took that goofy oaf

N'Diaye would be a great pick in the 2nd round but if we could ( though i have a feeling LA will get him) Jabari Smith-- Shaq is gonna say hes from LSU and we need a backup Center

id like to see us get mo peterson at the lottery pick and then IF detroit gives us there pick etan thomas from syracuse.



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--TEX

 

Actually, Alton Ford has been sending feelers about entering the draft. I would not be very high on drafting him though. He's a long ways from providing any sort of help at the next level. Needs to refine his game and provide definition to his moves.

Joel Pryzbilla is gone by the mid 1st round. The pros love 7 foot shot blockers which he is.

Um...I don't understand why people aren't giving Rip Hamilton a chance. He gets inconsistent playing time on a chaotic Wizards team. People were quick to rake on Jamison last year and I told them to be patient. Be patient with Rip. Good Lord, not even a year has gone by and people are calling him a bust.

I thought it was pretty obvious that Miles Simon wasn't going to be much in the NBA. The guy was an average athlete with a streaky shot and funny as hell looking release (not to mention barely any elevation on the shot). He was a good ball handler and a suspect defender. Was undersized with a sleight build and had a finesse game(relying on a lot of floaters in the lane). He was designed for the college game, not the pro game.


Oh yeah, I think someone mentioned Dermarr Johnson was a good defender at the 2 and not the 3. Dermarr is not a good defender at either position at this point.

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[This message has been edited by Da Man (edited April 03, 2000).]

 

In my mind there's 2 scenarios I'd like to see pan out on draft day:

1) (I'm with TexasSalsa here) We take Peterson with our pick, then with Detroits OR Phillies pick we take Etan Thomas and then with a late first round (via Orlando form Phoenix?) we take Jabari Smith. I think that'd solve a few problems for us in our weakest areas, Smith'd be a nice insurance policy for Olajuwon's health and a year of bench warming certainly wouldn't hurt him to get adjusted to the NBA.

2) We take Peterson with our pick, and then make a trade for Kenyon Martin. Not a straight up trade, we send Kenny Thomas along for the ride - I think the clippers might go for that, Kenny's certainly played damn well of late, and Peterson's riding a high from the tourney - it'd help them fill 2 positions... maybe we could even send a future first rounder with that deal. Then with our middle first rounders we take Mike Miller and then Jabari Smith with our late pick. I like this scenario better, but can't see as much chance of this one panning out as the first one (for obvious reasons) - but one can only dream!!

Alton Ford is NOT keen to go to UH since drexler retired, hence he's considering entering the draft, BUT even should he enter the draft I think he'll be a late second rounder... we could snap him up then. Also Darius Miles will probably go late first round, worth drafting him on potential - maybe put him on the Thomas Hamilton diet for a couple of weeks to get him to some sort of playing weight!!!

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I think Mo Pete will make a solid pro but ...

I'm with sir scarvajal and think Mo Pete is most likely a pro 2, with a roughly similar game as Shandon. In particular, I don't see Mo Pete becoming an all star. Given that the Rocks hopefully won't have another lottery anytime soon, they should maybe take a chance on a flyer, like high schooler Darius Miles. Of course, drafting a high schooler may guarantee another lottery selection next year.

I was impressed with Mo Pete's character. His team needed him to step up in the second half and he did so in a big way. If the Rocks don't think they can keep Catino, Mo Pete would be a solid choice.


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rf34; From the information I've gathered on him and from what I've seen, he has the capability to be a defensive stud...that is a perimeter oriented defensive stud. Where he is best is guarding the 1, 2, and 3 positions. He is not going to be a good shot blocker. Maybe a block a game. Block and a half at most. But don't expect Tracy McGrady like numbers in the block category.

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