Jawad Williams of North Carolina, and Julius Hodge of NC State were in working out for the Rockets today. Just wanted to mention this and see what everybody thought.
I like Julius Hodge. Very athletic and energetic. It seems that he would be fit to play SF in the NBA. I'm not sure he's big enough to play PF.
Jawad Williams Birthdate: 2/19/83 NBA Position: Small Forward College: North Carolina Class: Senior Ht: 6-8 Wt: 218 Hometown: Lakewood, OH High School: St. Edwards Team Site Profile 2004 Stats NBA Comparison: Joe Smith Strengths: Extremely fluid athlete who excels in the open court … Excellent leaping ability … Has very with good shooting touch … Very good scorer … Very long with good wing span … Makes good decisions … Excellent free throw shooter … Has the experience of 4 years in college … Has good post skills after being forced to play inside for much of his career at UNC … Though he’s been in school for 4 years, he still appears to be improving, so his upside may not be as limited as most Seniors … Weaknesses: When you watch him, you can’t help but wonder why he isn’t better ... If he played harder, if he had a killer instinct. How good could he be? … Doesn’t seem to play at full speed all the time … He lacks body strength which could be a product of work ethic or diet, or maybe he’s just not naturally physically strong … He is not able to finish after contact due to limited body strength … Small hands make it tough for him to palm the basketball … He tends to shy away from contact … Has shown a tendency to fade as a season progresses, which could be a conditioning issue … -------------------------------- Julius Hodge Birthdate: 11/18/83 NBA Position: SG/SF College: North Carolina St. Class: Senior Ht: 6-6 Wt: 180 Hometown: Harlem, NY High School: St. Raymond's Team Site Profile 2004 Stats Strengths: Very effective offensive player who has been a force in the ACC since stepping on the court as a freshman … Very quick reflexes and fast running the court … Player with very good ball handling, vision and passing ability, especially for his size … Takes the ball to the basket often, despite lack of strength … Extremely competitive player who has become one of NC State’s best all time players … Comes from NYC and has all the AND 1 moves, but has toned his game down well … A good free throw shooter, but is struggling in his senior season … Weaknesses: Very weak physically, and there is real cause for concern about this considering his age … One of those players who has very bad body strength ... He has a hard time putting on and retaining body weight during a season … Lacks great range on his shot … His outside shot lacks consistency … Not a great athlete, doesn’t get off the floor well … May lack a position on the next level due to his strength and shooting concerns … Notes: Was ACC player of the year in his Junior season …. Promised his mother he would get his degree before going to the NBA and followed through with it … -Aran Smith 2/10/05
Both players will more that likely be second rounders. This is why working them out really do not interest me unless we pull a trade to land a second round pick this summer because we don't have one.
What's the source for this? The Rockets have been working out a lot of projected second-rounders, all guards or SFs. I wonder if we don't have plans to trade for a second-rounder or trade down for a couple second-rounders.
DCBaller IS the source Definately looks like 2nd rounders.. which to me doesn't make sense since we dont have a 2nd round pick in a few years (correct me if im wrong), I guess it wouldnt hurt to work them out just incase sometime along the season if we need someone and they are still on the market we will have some info on them
And we could land him for expiring contracts and a couple of future first rounders in a sign in trade.
So DC, How did they do? Hodge is intriguing as an athletic wing that has some basketball skills. Josh Howard says don't sleep on ACC POTYs. He's not a first rounder in most eyes, though- I'd certainly look at him with a 2nd. No thanks on Jawad Williams. His game just doesn't strike me. Not big enough to be a 4, not skilled enough to be a 3, and not gifted enough to be a tweener that causes mismatches.
It's really cool to hear they're working out.. Julius Hodge..weak and cannot shoot. That's not very good. We need someone who can shoot and also ahs some relative strength imo..he can work on those 2 things though..which means he has more potential? even though ti said he just can't put on more weight And the othre guy..attitude problems we don't need
And I heard that Miami would take Ward, Moochie, Spoon and Baker for him. I'm gonna run over to RealGM to see if it works!
I didn't get to watch the practice, but they seem like really nice guys. I just saw them before and after their practice.
