Posted by TMS:
i've stated numerous times i was very happy w/Isiah's picks of Trevor Ariza, Nate Rob & David Lee...i don't remember mentioning any of those guys in this discussion, yet you & the others insist on bringing them up in the conversation to cast your labels once again...it's a comedy act around here lately.
i maintain that my gut feeling says that Gerald Green will be a better player than Channing Frye over the long haul, & i wish Isiah wouldn't have passed him up...that doesn't mean i'm questioning all of his other draft choices.
no one's saying there's any guarantees Gerald Green will be a star player...but most scouts were touting him as having bigger upside potential than Channing Frye...Isiah took the safe bet & took the player he felt could contribute right away...i would have preferred taking the risk of going after the player w/the bigger star potential.
Well you're not the only person I was refering too, but lets talk about Frye:
"Frye was a four-year starter at Arizona, where he scored 1,789 points and grabbed 975 rebounds. As a senior he averaged 15.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots, shooting 55.4 percent from the field and 83 percent from the foul line. Some of his best games were against his best opponents: 19 points and nine rebounds against Utah's Andrew Bogut, 18 and 16 against Mississippi State's Lawrence Roberts, 20 and 13 against Stanford's Matt Haryasz.
Frye's stock probably started its ascent in the NCAA Tournament, where in four games he averaged 15.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.3 blocks, and shot 65 percent from the floor. It continued last week in Chicago, where Frye hoisted 185 pounds on the bench press 19 times -- seven more than burly Sean May, and only two less than monstrous Ike Diogu."
cbs.sportsline.com/colleg...ry/8584673
Frye showed throughout his career that he steps up in the big games. You can't minimize that fact. More often that not he showed up and met the challenge.
Frye in the NCAA's:
Against Utah St. 17pts, 10 reb, 5blks
Against UAB 6pts, 7reb, 3blks & 3asts
Against Oklahoma St 15pts, 10reb, 3blks & 4asts
Against Illinois 24pts, 12reb, 6blks
So while some can only look at things from a negative perspective, almost out of habit, I like to think that i'm using logic to base my opinion on.
1. Zeke has proven to be a fine talent evaluator
2. Despite what people like to think Frye does still have upside
3. We needed a player with size, skill and a defensive presence
4. He's yet another confident, smart, coachable and talented young player on this roster.
5. Frye really wanted to be here and seems eager for the challenge of NY, not everyone is
Now as for Green, he's YEARS away from being a player we can rely on. We don't know how he'll respond in pressure situations against bigtime competition, tho we can hope he has what it takes. He would have probably rode the bench for a while with LB being the coach. Comparing him to Frye, its clear that Frye will be of far more use to this team over the next 3-4 years than Green would have been. IF Green turns out to be a great player, great for him and the team he plays for, but it still made sense to go for Frye at that point in the draft, cuz he's much more of a sure thing.
