Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by JohnWallace44:

Briggs, when I see Thabeet and how well he moves at 7'4", I just think that he should be able to throw down lob after lob after lob from Duhon or whoever we have in there, and then get back on defense on the other end, being a deterrent that would allow Chandler, Hughes and Nate to be better perimeter defenders.

The point of this thread though is that he is being completely ignored on offense by a hall of fame coach, so if that's because he can't handle the offense then maybe he's not a player we should try for.

I can't imagine why he can't be utilized more in the offense, but I'm sure Calhoun has tried.

As for him being ignored in our offense. He's getting 8 shots and going to the line 7 times a game and averaging 13.5 points per game in a historically guard oriented offense. Saying he's being ignored is harsh. Uconn big men are always ignored

He has a long way to go offensively. But again, you aren't drafting him for his offensive ability. If you draft him you are under the impression that he will improve enough so that his offense will keep him on the court. I definitely think it will. But if you are looking at it today, and it's what you need today, then you wouldn't draft him. He's a project. Again, if you look at how far he's come in 3 years there is no reason to think he won't get better. I guess you would have had to see him freshman year to understand.

yeah but can he do this:

Posted by JohnWallace44:

Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by JohnWallace44:

Briggs, when I see Thabeet and how well he moves at 7'4", I just think that he should be able to throw down lob after lob after lob from Duhon or whoever we have in there, and then get back on defense on the other end, being a deterrent that would allow Chandler, Hughes and Nate to be better perimeter defenders.

The point of this thread though is that he is being completely ignored on offense by a hall of fame coach, so if that's because he can't handle the offense then maybe he's not a player we should try for.

I can't imagine why he can't be utilized more in the offense, but I'm sure Calhoun has tried.

As for him being ignored in our offense. He's getting 8 shots and going to the line 7 times a game and averaging 13.5 points per game in a historically guard oriented offense. Saying he's being ignored is harsh. Uconn big men are always ignored

He has a long way to go offensively. But again, you aren't drafting him for his offensive ability. If you draft him you are under the impression that he will improve enough so that his offense will keep him on the court. I definitely think it will. But if you are looking at it today, and it's what you need today, then you wouldn't draft him. He's a project. Again, if you look at how far he's come in 3 years there is no reason to think he won't get better. I guess you would have had to see him freshman year to understand.

Right, but I'm a Syracuse fan and I look at it in the context of our last seven footer, Craig Forth. Craig was a much, much, much lesser player in a perimeter oriented offense for the most part, but Syracuse would throw it into Forth or give it to him at the elbow in order to set plays up with regularity.

I have all the respect in the world for Calhoun, so when I see that they don't really use Thabeet at all that way, it makes me think that he's just terrible with the ball in any context.

I'm looking forward to seeing how well he does in team workouts.

If there was a chance that he could have any success on the offensive end I think we'd be crazy not to try and get him, but if he's just a stiff then you have to look to draft one of the guards.

Let's be real, other than being able to follow up rebounds and dunk them, he's a horrible offensive player. He's not someone you are going to run the offense through on a regular basis so why force the issue. In the NBA that's what his role is going to be. Give him a couple post ups from time to time and let him get his points on the offensive boards. He's never going to be a go to guy in the paint so I wouldn't look for it. What you want out of Thabeet is what you got out of Dikembe. Let him rebound, block shots and finish around the basket. Over the last 3 years he has improved exponentially in all 3 areas here. If you draft him you are gambling that he will continue to improve in these areas. If he does, you will have Dikembe. Not too shabby. If he doesn't, you have Manute. That's the gamble. I think as a scout you are looking to see how his hands improve and how his fundamentals improve in finishing around the basket. You are more worried about that than you are about him developing post moves. If he can provide energy and do these things you never will need to run a play for him and he can still be your most valuable player. The question is of course "if". That's why he's not a sure bet. Just like most of the players in this draft. But what places him above most, is that his defense will always be there, and will get better naturally as he matures.