from Bloguin.com One week until the draft. Time for a disaster refresher on the guys that didn’t quite pan out. From a talent evaluating perspective, there are so many players who can fit in and perform at a high level if put in the right situations. That is the real key when trying to add personnel, and it’s a challenge that every coach and executive faces come draft time. I’m one of those people who try to see the good in
As the NBA draft approaches, you will undoubtably hear about teams looking to move up or move out as they try to make important moves for their immediate and long term futures. What I find most amazing about the draft is that historically, players who land anywhere from 20-45 can be mixed and matched based on team needs and executive opinions. Last year, guard Charles Jenkins of Hofstra was slotted anywhere from 20- 35 in most mocks and dropped to 44.
If the NBA draft were the NFL draft, then last June people would have dubbed Washington’s Isaiah Thomas as “Mr. Irrelevant” considering that moniker is bestowed on the last player drafted. But anyone who has watched the Sacramento Kings this year knows that the dynamic Thomas, the last pick of the second round in the 2011 draft, has been far from irrelevant. In fact, he’s undoubtably had a faster adjustment to the NBA game than the other guard they acquired that
Alabama’s JaMychal Green’s best game this season was arguably his effort against the Florida Gators in early March when he went for 22 points and 10 rebounds. Well, the 6-foot-8 senior who averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds this season picked a heck of a time to play an even more dominant game as he shot 14-for-18 from the field in front of a packed gym of NBA scouts last night at Day 2 of the Portsmouth Invitational. Green showed tremendous gallop
What I love most about the Portsmouth Invitation are seeing the diamonds in the rough. And there is the opportunity to have players jump out at you, players who you’d never regularly get the opportunity to see. I watch a ton of Knicks games. I don’t get the chance to see the University of Buffalo, the alma mater of one of my high school teammates who had a pretty solid career there. In the first game of a two-game showcase last night,
When I was a young player growing up, my teammates called me “Mookie.” Partly because my favorite baseball player was Mookie Wilson, but also because my point guard skills at the CYO level apparently reminded my coach of the University of Oklahoma’s Mookie Blaylock. Irony would have it my favorite band, Pearl Jam, once called themselves the same name and even called their first album Ten, which was Blaylock’s number. It just so happened to me mine, too. When I think of the
When we last looked at Terrence Jones of Kentucky, we noted the significance of returning to school to become a more efficient offensive player. Last year, Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger made national news by deciding to forgo the draft and millions of dollars in a rather weak big man draft. His goal was to improve and to lead his team to the Final Four. He’s done both. What I love most about Sullinger is his combination of a strong mid-range shooting game along
When looking at the Kentucky Wildcats, year in and year out, you’re looking at a breeding ground for NBA talent. Every year they have a handful of first round picks and “one and dones.” A player who decided to bypass the draft last year and return to Lexington to help his stock is forward Terrence Jones, who, to me, is one of the most polarizing players in the nation. I spoke to an NBA executive and asked a simple question. Which NBA players,