Cincy pretty much handled Vandy yesterday in the Maui Tournament. This Yancy Gates has been very impressive so far. Wouldn't surprise me at all if he turns out to be the best big man in the Big East by the end of the season...better than Greg Monroe, better than Onuaku/Jackson and maybe even better than Luke Harangody. Harangody puts up big numbers with his wide body & hustle inside but I'm not sure if his game translates well to the pros. Gody's kind of a throwback player, the kind of player you'd expect to see in the movie Hoosiers. While he's fundemetally sound & productive at the college level, he does have a certain awkwardness about his offensive game and appears to be saddled with some physical limitation that may hurt him at the next level. He could go either way in the pros -- either he finds his niche quickly & turns out to be a steady producer a-la David Lee or he doesn't make it at all (Harangody's not nearly the athlete David Lee is). This guy Gates is a different story however...While he may not be as dominant right now as Harangody, unlike Luke, I see all the makings of a really nice pro power forward. He's got a pro PF's body (at least 6'9", 250 lb. - he's definitely lost weight from last year - he looks a lot leaner, toned and quicker to me this year), he's a bulldog inside & pretty skilled down low, he's fairly agile and light on his feet for a man his size, and he has a real nice looking jumper out to the college 3 pt. line. Just real nice touch all over including at the FT line. He's also a very good rebounder and is willing to challenge shots around the rim. Paul Millsap, Leon Powe, Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey, Brandon Bass, Jason Maxiell, DeJuan Blair, Glen Davis...all these guys come to mind when I see Gates play. He might even wind up being better than most of these guys. Definitely bigger than most of them...Very bright future for this young man if he keeps working hard. It shouldn't be too long before we start hearing his name mentioned as a possible 1st round pick. He's right there in the same breath as Patrick Patterson and Trevor Booker imho..
I also like this Rashad Bishop a lot. I'm not sure if he's a pro, but he's a very skilled 6'6" swingman that contributes on both ends. Lefty can shoot it, handle it a little, play above the rim (he had a monster one-handed follow up slam yesterday that was awesome), and can play some defense. This guy along with Gates will play a major role in determining how successful this team will wind up being this year. Mick Cronin's got a lot of weapons on that Bearcat team. It's crazy how deep they are. Bishop only took 6 shots the whole game against the Commodores. He needs more touches..This guy has to be taking at least 10 shots/game if not more..
AJ Ogilvy was in some early foul trouble for Vandy but still managed to put some points on the board, esp. early on. You can tell he has some skill - inside moves, jumpshoot... Doesn't get up and down the floor well though. Probably not the type of big man MDA would like for the Knicks. He can play though..
Freshman John Jenkins looks like one hell of an outside shooter. Takes his time, mechanics look very sound. Great technique with the stroke. I saw a little bit of H2O in this guy.. Like Stephenson, looks to be one of the better freshman around..
11/19/2009 8:49 PM
