I'm feeling kinda "chippy" today, so let's discuss...

[the_ouskull]

Our least favorite midget, Drew Lavender.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=15145

You'll note the change from one side of the "break" to the other. He didn't improve at all at Xavier. His percentages went up (with FT% being his only notable improvement from OU to Xavier) yes, but that is a function of his shooting more open shots because he's surrounded by better teammates and a bench that's deeper than 1.

I thought he left OU to prepare himself for the NBA? Or was that Ryan Humphrey? He actually DID improve... Well, once the guy that was NBA-bound (Troy Murphy) that played his position, forcing Humphrey to play the Center position that he left OU because of having to play... But yeah, his senior year, he had a good season...

Then again, didn't Notre Dame have a freshman All-American guard (Chris Thomas) come in at the same time as Humphrey's senior season? I think that a couple of places even named Thomas as the National Freshman of the Year. I'm sure that playing with a guard of that caliber helped it appear as if Humphrey had stepped up his game considerably. Maybe it was the fact that Matt Carrol, the other NBA-bound player to play with Humphrey - Murphy being the first. (Well, Najera being the first...)

So, either Humphrey improved by playing the position that he didn't want to play, but that Kelvin Sampson wanted him to play... or his improvement was due more to the fact that he played his senior season with two top-notch college players, including a forward who could allow Humphrey to roam the glass one-on-one against his man, and a guard that could get him the ball in positions in which he could score. Either way, Kelvin was right. I love basketball.

Discuss. :D

the_ouskull

[badger]

Ok, since everyone else is leaving you hanging...

Players have inflated expectations of whether or not they can make the NBA these days. That's what happens when you let any high school stud into the pros unproven for a great many years.

Exhibit A:
http://www.kwamebrown.org/images/kwame-pic-lakers.jpg
Exhibit B:
http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/6019/sebastiantelfairsportsillustra.jpg

Both the above exhibits show extremely average players with average NBA careers that will have relatively no impact on the game whatsoever, yet they were given endorsement deals and contracts that their rookie peers received, many of whom actually had a little more experience than a 17 or 18-year-old schooler.

But, the league has changed. Now, you must boom in college...
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39030000/jpg/_39030205_carmelo203body.jpg
or bust...
http://cdn.faniq.com/images/blog/Picture%2029(4).png
you way to the pros, but that is not all that has changed...
http://www.chinaexpat.com/files/u1/yao_ming.jpg
http://www.nba.com/media/allstar2007/nowitzki_300_060125.jpg
Now, basketball is a world sport, with a world full of talented athletes, almost like soccer (but not quite).

The NBA is expanding, but not as quickly as the pool of talent. Being tall and star on a college team...
http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Graphics/Players/sam_bowie5.jpg
Is no longer good enough. Drew Lavender may have at one time had a place in the League, but that time is not now. That time has passed.

Note: the pics, in order, are Kwame Brown (former Jordan bust-of-a-pick), Sebastian Telfair (omg, Stephon Marbury's cousin!), Carmello Anthony (don't neg, it was either him or the whorn Durant), Josh McRoberts (was looking for the crying pic, couldn't find it), Yao Ming (of China), Dirk Nowitzki (of Germany), Sam Bowie (the greatest draft bust known to all... I'm sure there have been worse, but this is the more notorious one)

[stoops the eternal pimp]

So Drew went to Xavier to grow another foot of heighth?

[badger]

So Drew went to Xavier to grow another foot of heighth?
No, I'm not saying that at all (btw, it's good to see another basketball board poster. I thought for a second it was just me and a rolling tumble weed)

Anyway, I think that a player like Drew would have been a sure shot at a NBA roleplayer (or at the very least, NBA journeyman) in the 70s or 80s or even the early 90s. Unfortunately, the talent pool in the NBA is insurmountable for even the talented, but not phenomenal, players of American colleges today.

Drew probably wanted to make a sole name for himself at Xavier (and run in a basketball system that didn't involve hypnotizing your opponent to sleep). That didn't happen, but he probably thought he had a better chance at it there than at OU.

Drew reminds me a little of that guard that played during the Jordan era of the Bulls that was the backup to the starting point guard Ron Harper... can't think of his name. Anyway, that would have been Drew if it weren't the NBA of today (plus, Jordan would have gotten him six titles. yay!). Now, it would be some guy from Croatia or Slovania.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Drew reminds me a little of that guard that played during the Jordan era of the Bulls that was the backup to the starting point guard Ron Harper... can't think of his name. Anyway, that would have been Drew if it weren't the NBA of today (plus, Jordan would have gotten him six titles. yay!). Now, it would be some guy from Croatia or Slovania.

Randy Brown?

[stoops the eternal pimp]

no BJ Armstrong

[badger]

either or. Both guys had fairly good college careers, but had a stronger player carry them to NBA titles. They had their brief moment in the spotlight as a role player (even a few kids bought their jerseys after seeing that they already owned Jordan's, Pippen's, Rodman's... as well as a Kukoc, Longley, Kerr and Wellington).

Why is a player as good as Hollis Price playing overseas right now? Because that's where the pro spots are... but I really wish he would come home to play for the Oklahoma Supersonics or even the Tulsa 66ers. I'd buy a jersey :D

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I bet the overseas paycheck is a little fatter than the 66ers would give.

[badger]

I bet the overseas paycheck is a little fatter than the 66ers would give.
True, but I'm sure you've seen the sh!t he's put up with overseas. They would adore him here in Oklahoma (with the exception of a few loathers from Stilly that still remember how OU went to the Elite Eight and Final Four with him).

Kevin Bookout's on the D-league circuit now (and for the Stilly people, a few of your guys are too), so it's not a terrible place to be.

[SoonerStormchaser]

Sam who?

[the_ouskull]

The major difference is entitlement vs. hard work. Today's "star" players, like Bassy, have had camera crews following them around since Junior High. They literally have an entourage by the time they reach high school. They are constantly being told that they can do no wrong.

It's not really an environment conducive to "working on your game." Especially when nobody will tell you (admit to you) that there are flaws in it. In Telfair's case, it's that he couldn't hit the side of a barn... from inside it. Also, he's not smart enough to know how to use his other offensive players and to run an NBA offense. He's not smart, OR experienced, enough to run ANY offense that doesn't consist of "give me the ball and clear out."

That's what hurts today's high school stars. The NBA's (relatively) new one-year rule is brilliant. It would have required people like Kwame and Bassy to go to a year of college. There, they would have realized that, "Holy crap, even just these college players are way better than I am. I'm not ready for the NBA." This would have made both sports better had it happened sooner. It didn't. However, it's making them both better now, so I'm good with that. :D

the_ouskull

Post Script -- As far as draft busts go... there are many, many that are worse than Sam Bowie. He averaged 10.9 points on 45% shooting, 7.5 boards, and 1.8 blocks per game in a 10-year career, despite missing a lot of time to injuries that never plagued him before his pro career. Bowie just gets a lot of notoriety because of WHERE he was drafted; between "The Dream," and "The Man."

the_ouskull, again

[the_ouskull]

[QUOTE=badger]Why is a player as good as Hollis Price playing overseas right now?/QUOTE]

Because he's not tall enough to defend NBA 2's, and he's not a good enough ball-handler to play the 1 - not to mention the fact that, as good a shooter as he is, he would have a lot of trouble getting his shot off against a lot of NBA 1's and 2's. Also, due to his size, teams would have questions about his durability, even though he's been fairly solid in that regard throughout his career.

Or was that a rhetorical question? :D

the_ouskull

[Big Red Ron]

How much better would this year's squad be if we had Lavender running the point? A lot.

[King Crimson]

i don't see Taylor G playing in the NBA, ever.

he does some nice things for us, but i don't see it.

[the_ouskull]

Currently, neither do I, but he has an NBA-body, which means as much as many other factors, none of which our current roster has in spades. (ie- Longar, et al...) Taylor has developed quite nicely, and, playing with a passer the caliber of Blake, we're starting to see a lot more of the game of which he is capable, no?

the_ouskull

[the_ouskull]

How much better would this year's squad be if we had Lavender running the point? A lot.

Well, we'd still be getting KILLED in our m2m defense, and in our high zone, depending on whether or not we ran a free-throw extended trap off of ballscreens, due to Drew's lack of height. Also, he did NOT excel at feeding the post, as borne out by his assist to OU's posts ratio while he was here. (Taj, Book, etc...)

the_ouskull

[Salt City Sooner]

Not to nitpick, but it's a moot point as well. If he hadn't left, he would've been a senior last year.