Has TJ hurt his draft stock by coming back this year?
Has TJ hurt his draft stock by coming back this year?
Championships for MY teams in my lifetime:
Cincinnati Reds - 75, 76, 90
Chicago Blackhawks - 10, 13, 15
University of Kentucky - 78, 96, 98, 12
Chicago Bulls - 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98
“Everything that happens before Death is what counts.”
― Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes
He may have technically hurt it but I didnt think he was NBA ready last year and still dont think so this year up till now. By "ready", I mean being able to come in and make an immediate impact.
So yeah, Anthony Davis is pretty good.
Davis put himself into POY talk after last night. He's just getting better and better. He's also just showing a tip of what he can do. UK will never see his full potential but some lucky NBA team will.
Reds Fan Since 1971
Davis is the most disruptive player in college basketball right now. I don't know if that makes him the POY, but it does put him in the discussion. His defense-- both on-ball and off-- is remarkable. You literally have to get into his body and even then, he may block or alter your shot. When he's in the game and another team scores in the lane, I'm surprised.
His offense is coming around as well. That spin move away from the defender with his left hand was a thing of beauty, as was the drive to the hoop from 20 (with one dribble) where he got fouled.
Selfishly, I'd love to see what he could do for three years of college ball, but, yeah, he's ready now to play Marcus Camby as a pro. As he progresses, I see a little Hakeem and a little Duncan in him. IMO, the best pro prospect to come out of Kentucky that I've ever seen.
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
Does it help if I say I'm a Calipari fan?
He was among the best people I met while covering recruiting a decade ago. I would have become a Memphis fan, but I was a Western grad and couldn't see rooting for a team in Tennessee. Besides, WKU is the alma mater-- that's who you should root for. Anyway, as a neophyte reporter, I didn't understand how things worked. He sat down with me, explaining how this stuff was to go, gave suggestions about questions, places to talk to recruits, to other coaches, what subjects to avoid, how to get them to open up.
He literally took an hour out of his day-- while recruiting-- to help out some guy whom he would likely never see again.
When he did see me again (the next year), he remembered my name and introduced me around the coaching carousel. He made Tom Izzo and others move down the seats so that I could sit next to him while he evaluated high school talent. He showed me his notes (and let me Xerox them), talked about his recruiting philosophies, and got the other coaches to open up about their philosophies.
It was a fascinating look into the world and mind of CBB coaching. I wouldn't have gotten it if not for Cal.
And the thing is, he didn't have to do it. There was absolutely no reason to talk to me. I was from a middle-of-the-road paper in the middle-of-the-road Kentucky town with no interest in Calipari (at the time). We weren't even on the internet at the time, so it's not like he got anything out of it. It was a totally altruistic move on his part-- and altruistic moves are rarer than hen's teeth in just about any part of today's society, let alone the insular world of CBB coaches.
All this talk about how "slimy" he is bothers me, as I actually know a little about the man. He's the opposite of slimy. Or at least he was to me.
Last edited by Scrap Irony; 01-18-2012 at 11:19 AM.
Wow. Thanks for sharing that story Scrap.
"....the two players I liked watching the most were Barry Larkin and Eric Davis. I was suitably entertained by their effortless skill that I didn't need them crashing into walls like a squirrel on a coke binge." - dsmith421
AD has got a little Garnett in his game too.
I'll be very interested to see what his game looks like once it's fully developed a few years from now. He has all the tools.
That is a pretty powerful recollection, Scrap.
You had mentioned before that you had had experiences with Cal, but that's the first time you've gone that in-depth that I can remember. Kudos to you. I'm envious you got to experience that with Cal.
That is pretty cool. And I've never had anything bad to say about Cal anyway.
I completely understand liking a program because of a personal interaction with a coach. That's why I have such affection for Duke. I had a personal experience with K where he did some amazing things for some friends of mine that he had no reason to do other than kindness and he had no expectation of ever receiving public praise for his deeds.
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
The latest NBA Draft Express 2012 mock draft came out yesterday, and it had Terrence Jones listed at #10, so apparently his returning for a second year hasn't effected his draft stock at all. His finger still isn't 100% healed, but it's getting there and I think it showed in his last couple games. He's getting back to the TJ he was prior to the IU game, and that is bad news for UK opponents.
Grats to Derek Willis on choosing Kentucky today.
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