Kansas totally shut Parakhouski out in the first half by constantly running a double team at him everytime he touched the ball. Plus he was in foul trouble - Radford's coach chose to sit him down for a long stretch after he picked up his 2nd foul with about 9 mins. to go. 1st half was a wash.....He played better in the second half offensively where he got more opportunities to operate on Aldrich one-on-one and then against the rookie Robinson after that (KU kinda called off the dogs and abandoned the double-team on him after the lead really ballooned) but the overall game just wasn't really there from what I saw. Positives - well-sculped and well put-together body that was noticible, ran the floor really well (once this guy got his wheels going he looked like a track star for a big guy), nice little shooting touch though he barely showed it, and he appeared to have a good understanding of his reponsibilities (continuely came out to set solid picks and double picks out high, etc..). Negatives were glaring though - subpar athletic ability and reaction, no shot-blocking ability to really speak of (poor defender overall), turned into a turnover machine when faced with a double-team and inconsistent overall effort (he had one play late in the 1st half where he shadowed Xavier Henry the entire length of the floor after Henry took off the other way after grabbing a rebound that was extremely impressive (you don't see that type of foot speed out of a big man in the open floor too often) -- but then didn't give nearly enough effort going for rebounds or trying to challenge shots in the lane. Way too often he either gave little or no resistance at all trying to check his own man and then zero effort weakside..Stamina also looked like it could've been a problem...He's got some good qualities and showed flashes of some decent fundemental play in spurts but bottom line is this guy's no go-to guy in the NBA. In order to even get drafted and to stick he'll have to show more of a committment and a willingness to do the little things for a team (hustle, effort, rebounding & shot-blocking intensity, etc..). I just didn't see nearly enough of that...
Kansas looks really impressive. Aldrich isn't great but is pretty solid esp. at the college level and Sherron Collins is the goods. I see a stronger version of Jonny Flynn with this guy - he does everything Flynn does. I bet he goes high. Some mocks have this kid going low 1st round, even second round. That's way too low for him in my opinion. I know this -- if he's around when the Knicks are picking in the 2nd round, I'd scoop him up in a nano second. I actually think Collins might be a better prospect than Cole Aldrich to be honest. But as good as Aldrich and Collins are, it's this freshman class that they brought in that really sets that team apart. Thomas Robinson and Xavier Henry look really seasoned, like they've been playing for a long time. These guys don't play like freshman...Even Xavier's brother, former Yankees farmhand CJ Henry, looks like he can really shoot the ball...
