Posted by LivingLegend:

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by JesseDark:

Thabeet didn't seem to be much of a factor. Any other prospects on UCONN. Seems like A.J. Price has been there forever. It's ironic that his laptop buddy could be out of the league if he even makes it.

It's kind of hard to get him the ball. They have Adrien and Thabeet both on the block--notice how many times they seem to run into each other and we couldnt hit three's so there was limited space to get him the ball as they sagged back on him. They have to do a much better job in spacing. Thabeet only had 4 FGAs and 1 TO--he did have 7 blocks and 7 bounds but you're right he didnt factor in that much and he should be able to every game. They have to make sure they get him 10-12 FGA's and he's got to get better position and give a better target--he was clearly 5-6 inches taller than Monroe
and they could not take advantage of that. Overall when we get beat like that I'm in a sour mood until tomorrow

Briggs - I'm a huge Thabeet fan.

I think UConn does an absolutely awful job of getting the kid the ball down low.

I'm surprised he even keeps competing with the # of times the gunner guards on UConn fail to drop the ball to him in the post.

The kid is huge mismatch as soon as he gets the ball with in 8-10 feet from the hoop -- get him the ball and stop jacking up 30% 3-point field goal attempts.

I would be ecstatic if the Knicks walked away with Thabeet from this draft.

I think he will be better in the pro's offensively than college. In the pros he will have benefit of more 1-1 with better PG play. That being said he's got to also take blame. He's 7-3 275--he's got to work harder for position and make sure he keeps the ball higher so he's not stripped. At that size he cannot accept anything less than imposing his will using strength and size. How tall is a 7-3 guy with the ball down at his waist? He's doing a lot of good things--he's going to have a few games that will wow people and others like last time that show under performance. He still has a lot of raw tendencies towards the game that he needs to improve on. He doesn't know how to handle a second man coming over to help and many little nuances that he must continue to pick up. He has rigid-type movements--he needs more fluidity[this comes from playing more and more] He's getting there though and I believe the team that gets Hasheem will one day be rewarded with a very unique player who can potentially impact both sides of the court. Also from seeing him play pick up ball--even dating back to his freshmen year--I know he will show teams exciting stuff in private workouts that might not/won't come out in BE games. He's a very good shooter out to 12-14 feet--has real nice touch and form and handles the ball better than what people think. And one more thing--they may have listed Emeka Okafor at 6-10--he might be 6-9 in shoes. Thabeet is all of 7-3 and more muscular than people see. He's an impressive physical specimen up close--he's enormous.

[Edited by - BRIGGS on 12-30-2008 10:53 AM]

Posted by LivingLegend:

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by LivingLegend:

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by JesseDark:

Thabeet didn't seem to be much of a factor. Any other prospects on UCONN. Seems like A.J. Price has been there forever. It's ironic that his laptop buddy could be out of the league if he even makes it.

It's kind of hard to get him the ball. They have Adrien and Thabeet both on the block--notice how many times they seem to run into each other and we couldnt hit three's so there was limited space to get him the ball as they sagged back on him. They have to do a much better job in spacing. Thabeet only had 4 FGAs and 1 TO--he did have 7 blocks and 7 bounds but you're right he didnt factor in that much and he should be able to every game. They have to make sure they get him 10-12 FGA's and he's got to get better position and give a better target--he was clearly 5-6 inches taller than Monroe
and they could not take advantage of that. Overall when we get beat like that I'm in a sour mood until tomorrow

Briggs - I'm a huge Thabeet fan.

I think UConn does an absolutely awful job of getting the kid the ball down low.

I'm surprised he even keeps competing with the # of times the gunner guards on UConn fail to drop the ball to him in the post.

The kid is huge mismatch as soon as he gets the ball with in 8-10 feet from the hoop -- get him the ball and stop jacking up 30% 3-point field goal attempts.

I would be ecstatic if the Knicks walked away with Thabeet from this draft.

I think he will be better in the pro's offensively than college. In the pros he will have benefit of more 1-1 with better PG play. That being said he's got to also take blame. He's 7-3 275--he's got to work harder for position and make sure he keeps the ball higher so he's not stripped. At that size he cannot accept anything less than imposing his will using strength and size. How tall is a 7-3 guy with the ball down at his waist? He's doing a lot of good things--he's going to have a few games that will wow people and others like last time that show under performance. He still has a lot of raw tendencies towards the game that he needs to improve on. He doesn't know how to handle a second man coming over to help and many little nuances that he must continue to pick up. He has rigid-type movements--he needs more fluidity[this comes from playing more and more] He's getting there though and I believe the team that gets Hasheem will one day be rewarded with a very unique player who can potentially impact both sides of the court. Also from seeing him play pick up ball--even dating back to his freshmen year--I know he will show teams exciting stuff in private workouts that might not/won't come out in BE games. He's a very good shooter out to 12-14 feet--has real nice touch and form and handles the ball better than what people think. And one more thing--they may have listed Emeka Okafor at 6-10--he might be 6-9 in shoes. Thabeet is all of 7-3 and more muscular than people see. He's an impressive physical specimen up close--he's enormous.

[Edited by - BRIGGS on 12-30-2008 10:53 AM]

Totally agree with you on his need to do more to initiate his own offense and some of the flaws he still needs to work out.

That said the UConn guards are a real pack of run and gunners with zero ability to feed the post.

I'm watching the game and there are only very small windows of time where Thabeet is not draped by 2-3 players from the other team.
I agree that Thabeet will be a better offensive player in the pros as the sagging zone defenses will not be as prevalent.

It's funny because people question Thabeet's athleticsm because of his unusual gate BUT damn I don't recall 1-2 centers who react helpside as fast and who are as explosive to the ball at the rim. Also - he showed some outstanding man on man foot speed last night. Not always but on occasion - that is his biggest issue right now. Focus 100% of the time.

I love the kid - love his enormous size and his willingness to shut down the basket. By the way - the UConn guards looked like Craw and Steph shutting down penetration last night...OLE.

Agreed. Our guards are horrendous at getting the ball inside.