yeah, the analysis for both guards are dead on. so i will do crawford:
strengths: a quick guard with above average ball handling skills. capable of setting up teammates. great range and relishes pressure. deadly in the last seconds of a game. underrated athleticism. can finish well around the basket.

weakness: poor shot selection and streaky shooting. prone to hold the ball too long in offensive sets. streaky as they come. subpar defense though last year he has slightly improved. does not drive as much as he should considering that he can finish around the basket and has the frame to do so. makes sloppy passes and forces the issue on many occasion.


i posted this on the francis thread. sorry.

JC:
Strengths: Extremely quick and an extremely good dribbler.
Weaknesses: Poor decision making, poor passing, poor shot-selection, and poor defense. Fears contact on offense. Minimal improvement in first six years. Slow learner. Needs to put on about 50 pounds. No natural position.

natural leader?

Leaders play defense, don't take bad shots on a nightly basis and improve there game each season.....he does none

Strengths: quickness, scorer, can play both guard positions

Weaknesses: will take a bad shot in a minute, bad defender, too light in the britches, low Bball IQ,

Bippity, no mans' growth can be stunted unless he himself, stunts it.

I said that.

Some guys would be much better off learning the game in college but have no choice but go pro because their families need financial help asap

This isn't an indictment of Jamal and the decision he made. He's not a bad guy for coming out early. I don't even want to get into a debate about whether guys should stay or not. Personally I would leave early in a heartbeat. I almost left school early for a job paying $8.00 an hour so a few mill would not have been a hesitation. It was the choice Jamal made and his alone. I don't care about the decision. But regardless of the reasons for the decision there are still consequences for it. One of the consequences is not getting coached on the fundamentals like he would have in college. This has hurt his development. Am I wrong?

Posted by TMS:

no doubt bip, it's hurt his development for sure... it's the price these guys pay for collecting on the riches & fame earlier rather than risking a few more years of college to gain a better understanding of fundamentals... u have to wonder though, why a guy like Jamal Crawford hasn't had the fundamentals taught to him by any NBA coaches before last season when LB completely deconstructed his game & built it back up again... were Bill Cartwright & Scott Skiles incapable of teaching him the necessary fundamentals for the NBA game? he didn't seem to be uncoachable last season & he seemed to have a great attitude in dealing w/a coach who is probably 1 of the hardest to play for.

I've been to some coaching clinics. One's held by Rick Pitino and one by Jeff Van Gundy. I was also at several post college basketball camps where pro scouts told us what types of things NBA coaches are looking for if you want to make it to the league. The common theme is that NBA coaches hate having to teach the fundamentals. They don't have time for it. They are too busy designing game plans, dealign with issues, scouting etc to be worried about whether a player can dribble with his left hand, make a proper pass to an open teammate or make a free throw. These fundamentals should be habit by the time guys get to the NBA. Good free throw shooters become good free throw shooters in highschool. Guys that develop these types of skills(like say Karl Malone improving his free throws) do it on their own time. NBA coaches just don't want to babysit these guys to teach them these things. They do as much as they can but hope the player goes to outside sources(trainers, college coaches etc) to develop these skills. By the time you get to the NBA the fundamentals should be habit so that the coach can focus on teaching you the finer points of the game and the tricks of the trade so you can adapt to multiple roles, play in any system and produce no matter what the circumstances. You should know the fundamentals so that when a coach adds 15 new wrinkles to the offense in one day he doesn't have to worry about whether you will make the proper pass or not. He can just worry about you learning the play.

Some coaches just suck it up and play the guy and hope he picks it up. Other coach's, like LB or Pat Riley or Pitino are teaching coaches. They break everything down. They aren't working individually on fundamentals, it's just a result of the way they teach. Guys like Skiles just could care less and want players like that off the team so they don't have to worry about it. None of these coaches are wrong. There are successful coaches in each of these examples. But that's the reason why college is so important. You have one set of coach's whose job it is to teach you. And that's what you get for 4 years. In the NBA you may spend 1 season with LB and get some teaching. Some with a Bill Cartwright and get a little less but be able to learn on the job. And then one year with a Scott Skiles who doesn't have any time to teach. In the end the result is you get mixed messages and learn little.

[Edited by - bippity10 on 09-14-2006 4:31 PM]

[Edited by - bippity10 on 09-14-2006 4:33 PM]

thanks for that breakdown Bip... would it be fair to say that trying to learn the fundamentals as a PG gives Jamal a much longer learning curve than if he was a guy learning to play out of the SF or C position? i think if there is ever going to be a breakout season for Jamal, it has to be this year... LB set a good foundation for him to break him out of some of his bad habits... i just hope he doesn't regress back to his old launch em up at every opportunity mode under Isiah... i really want Jamal to grow into the leader this team needs, cuz he's got the right idea as far as team first concept goes as far as i can tell.