Well I've had Gay at the top of my draft board for a while now with Roy sliding in later due to his terrific tournament and year overall (of course before the tournament I was all over the possibility of Joakim Noah, then he had a great tournament and everyone got on that bandwagon, only to have him bypass the draft). Pretty much ever since Boris Diaw started playing C, I've been thinking in the back of my mind of aquiring someone in that mold; tall, long, athletic, and skilled, able to defend multiple positions and with good offensive skills to take advantage of matchups on that end of the court. Once the Suns and especially the Mavs continued their success into the post season, I was totally sold. When the Mavericks matched out Rasho and Nazr out of that series, I knew that I was watching the future of the Rockets. If we could get a guy for our 4 position that Duncan had no prayer of guarding (a guy who could run him through screens or play on the perimeter), but was still long enough and athletic enough to guard Duncan with some help from double-teams, we would have a huge advantage over the spurs. And the fact that we needed a guy like that to matchup against the Mavs and Suns just solidified everything. Rudy Gay finalized himself on the top of my draft board. Course once it appeared that we had no shot at him, I started looking elsewhere. Roy, then Carney, then Brewer, and then a bit for Thomas. The past week when we've been getting rumor after rumor has inflamed my imagination once again. It's looking more and more like we can get of the "top 6" guys, and we might even have a choice at that.
Cat, I agree with you on the Tyrus vs. Stromile comparisons. They are two different players and Thomas clearly has instinctive abilities and a "feel for the game" that Stro does not. I just have a problem picking a player whose "motor" is supposedly so important to their success. All players in the draft are working hard now and some of them will slack off the minute they sign a contract. Hopefully Thomas will not be one of them (especially if the Rockets select him). A huge red flag for me is he refused to work out competitively against other players. Combine that with only one year of college and that equals high risk, to me. Without his 5 game tournament run, nobody would be even talking about Tyrus Thomas. I disagree that Gay and Stro compare in any remote way. They have zero in common other than leaping ability. Whatever you want to say about motor, Gay has worked hard enough on his game to develop some serious skills as a sophomore. Stro never had any skills and Thomas supposedly will develop more. This is why I feel Gay is a no-brainer choice between the two. At best, Thomas should go in the mid-teens IMO. m_cable, glad to know you were with me on Gay but I must disagree on Joakim Noah. If he comes back with a strong junior season and shows at least SOME offensive game at all, fine. But at this point, I think he's one of the most overrated college players ever (when it comes to NBA potential). His complete lack of offensive skills other than dunking shows me a lack of dedication to his craft.
As for Noah, I know he can't shoot, but I think he's got more face-up game than you give him credit for. Of course the thing I liked most about him was how he attacked the boards on both ends, his defensive quickness and timing, and his incredible size and length (looks like a legit 6'11" with long arms and quickness). But that subject is far off-topic.
Bwahahahaha. Best nickname yet. I'd love to land Gay, get Mike James back and keep Luther. That we we can flood the entire board is way sophmoric tags like Gay Pride! Mike James B****! and Boom Head Shot! Sometimes you just need to feed your inner kid.
Rudy Gay is the pick if he is there. I've seen him through the last couple years and he has the tools to do it all and the team mentality that helps teams win. He plays solid defense, shoots the ball well and finishes at the rack. Tyrus Thomas will be a bust. I've seen more than a few of his games and I didn't see him shoot a jumper with any regularity or consistency. I have a friend who is a die-hard LSU fan and he has seen almost every game and agrees that Thomas has no jumper. As for his defensive presence.....as a 6'7" power forward it doesn't matter what kind of hustle/ energy/ motor he has he will get eaten alive by guys that will over power him or shoot over him.
I am very biased here as a Florida grad, but you really need to take into account Noah's development. He was a 6'3" streetballing guard in New York as a junior, then grew like crazy and showed some major skills getting in the lane and finishing around the rim the summer before his senior year. Billy Donovan recruited him as a combo forward because of his athleticism and competitiveness, but decided to move him into the paint because of his length. Initially, Donovan would not play him at the four because his shot was not where it needed to be, but Noah's ability to pass or drive from the high post, then finish around the rim, enabled the offense to run effectively through him even without a mid-range game. While I can agree that a mid-range game is important because Noah does not have the strength or back to the basket game necessary to play the five, his ballhandling, passing, and finishing abilities, defensive instincts, and athleticism in the open floor are impressive for a near 7-footer. His FT% is very good and that shows he has plenty of hand-eye coordination; it's just that he needs to develop some consistency and confidence in his jumper. And it's not like he only scored on dunks--that's what happens when you only watch the NCAA Tournament. The kid scored because he could create for himself off the dribble and had a very soft touch around the rim in addition to taking the easy dunks. Watch Noah develop over the course of the season and you see someone who is impossible to defend off the pick and roll, who can penetrate off the high post, and can run and finish on the brake, not to mention handles the ball so well in the paint that he draws a ton of fouls. And, yes, this is completely off subject.
Good post rserina. Like I said, if Noah takes another big step in his junior year, fine. Biased opinions are very welcome when you admit it.
