Can you name me a center who started his career as a stiff with lots of "potential" (Cato) and eventually became a solid, good, dependable center?? I can't think of anyone. Don't get me wrong, I wish the best for Cato but I think if he isn't decent now he ain't gonna amount to a lot more later. I keep thinking about stiffs like Ostertag, Yinka Dare and Will Perdue. Help prove me wrong...I want to think positive about the future of Cato but I can't find any examples to think otherwise. Old School
Okay, I'll give this a shot, though it sounds tough. Ben Wallace http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3/3149/ Jermaine O'Neal http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3/3120/ Antonio Davis http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/2/2143/ Lorenzen Wright http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3/3116/ Brad Miller http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3/3305/ Nazr Mohammed http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3/3272/ I know some of these players aren't true centers, but yes, I think it is possible for improvement after 3 years for centers, just not as common as other positions. B
I'm still not sold on Nazr...I think he's overrated (if indeed he is rated) as is by some on this board. He certainly didn't impress me here last week. I guess Jermaine O'Neal is a good one but considering he was just a high school kid when he came into the NBA I don't know if he can be compared to Cato. Old School
Like I said, it's a tough task, and some of those guys I'm stretching quite a bit. If I had the desire I'll check stats in the historical NBA database, but I don't. I think part of Cato's problem is that he hasn't gotten the minutes to put up good numbers in his first three years. If you look at his stats per minute, they actually aren't that bad. B
Old School, Theo Ratliffe and Ervin Johnson come to mind. I know they were by no means 'stiffs' to begin with, but neither player produced on a large scale until their 4th year in the league.
These are human beings so people react different ways, so it's not easy to look at stats. Big men who have developed include Ratliff, Mohammad (who IS contributing), Jermaine O'Neal, Theo Ratliff, Dirk Nowitski, Brian Grant (he started kind of slow), Tyrone Hill, Ervin Johnson, Dale Davis, if you want to go to the SF spot, Scottie Pippen. Different people take different times to mature. It took Ratliff several years before he was a serious contributor. You have to give Cato time this year. People want him to have a year's worth of great stats in one week and that isn't going to work. He's still learning from Willis and Rice, he's still trying to contribute, and he's getting better because he is playing smarter. Those fouls he got called on him in the Clippers game was a joke. He is learning how to position his body, and is rebounding well. I'm taking a wait and see look with this because pounding Cato constantly isn't going to help anybody.
