Stanford

Siegel's Take: 2008 Center Analysis

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:37:56 -0700

This is the last of five Siegel's Take articles analyzing the 2008 NBA Draft prospects. Today's focus is surprisingly solid set of big men.

As I say every year, its important to note that I'm not as kind as most Draft analysts out there. The reality of the NBA Draft is that only a few guys will be stars, a handful more will be starters, a dozen guys will be career reserves, and the rest will all fizzle into nothingness within a couple of seasons.

On with the fun. Players are ranked by their NBA potential:

1) Brook Lopez - C - Stanford - Lopez was everything Cardinal fans hoped for in his second go-around, scoring with ease and improving on the defensive end. The issue is whether that inside scoring ability will translate to the NBA, where he loses the great size advantage and will be overmatched physically at times. To his credit, Lopez got bigger and stronger last year, and does a great job using his size to finish in the post. Despite the associated assumption of Stanford intelligence, Lopez isn't necessarily the smartest ballplayer or creative ballplayer. Defensively, though Robin gets the plaudits, Lopez shouldn't be a major detriment. While he'll never be an all-star, the sophomore has the best overall package of size, athleticism, rebounding, and scoring ability of any big.

2) Kevin Love - C - UCLA - I'm going to keep it somewhat short on Love, because he's a player that most college basketball fans saw repeatedly. Still, I think he's an underrated talent and that the worries about his lack of athleticism are overdone. It seems though that front-offices are beginning to agree, as he seems to be picking up some good momentum. Outside of Beasley, Mayo, Bayless, and Danilo Gallinari, Love might be the best offensive talent in the Draft.

3) Kosta Koufos - C - Ohio State - In the final weeks of the season, Koufos finally showed signs of stardom after a long string of middling performances. The best word to describe Koufos is finesse as he plays without force. The problem though is that this is not merely a lack of athletic explosion, but a lack of emotional spark or passion. If Aaron Gray can average 10 mpg as a rookie, then Koufos can definitely find his way as a long-time reserve in the league.

4) Alexis Ajinca - C - HTV - Going purely on hearsay, Ajinca intrigues me. He basically seems to be the International version of DeAndre Jordan, a crazy long (7'9" wingspan) and solid athlete that has yet to put it together. Ajinca isn't nearly as strong and thick as Jordan by comparison, but he's longer and more athletic. Honestly, who knows?

5) Marreese Speights - PF/C - Florida - Speights has been generating some good buzz in recent weeks due to some good workouts and measurements. The one measurement that worries you is his height, because his size is more suited to being a power forward. But I've lumped him into the Center ranking because it matches his offensive skill set. After blossoming in his sophomore season, Speights showed off decent post moves and an ever-improving jumper. The success of Al Horford, with the Gator pedigree and similar frame, will only add to his growing rep.

6) DeAndre Jordan - PF/C - Texas A&M - Its amazing Jordan is still considered to be a Top 20 pick considering just how useless his freshman season was. While he showed some promise against lesser competition, he was virtually nonexistent in Big 12 play. While the offensive woes aren't terribly surprising, its worrisome that he's not a good one on one defender yet. If you're overmatched by Oklahoma, I'm not sure how you'll cut it as a pro. Like Ajinca, he has the length of an airplane, as well as a mature frame, but it will take a couple years for him to develop.

7) Robin Lopez - C - Stanford - The less talented Lopez is either underrated or overrated depending on who you ask. Some feel that his defensive prowess is overrated, and that he's hopelessly inept on the offensive end. Others see him as a raw talent akin to the European prospects, who improved substantially in the past year and would be more highly rated if not for his older brother's shadows. I tend to fall in the latter camp, who can't help but be intrigued by a mobile 7-footer with length, that can block shots, and has improved every year.

8) Roy Hibbert - C - Georgetown - I've never been a huge fan of Hibbert, and nothing changed after a solid but unspectacular senior season. There will no doubt be a place on the end of someone's bench for a sure-handed good guy with a 7'2" frame, but I never see him being anything more than a career reserve. For the 8th best center that's not a bad thing, but he lacks the starting potential of other guys higher on this list.

9) Joey Dorsey - PF/C - Memphis - You never hear much about Dorsey in Draft circles, because he's ancient (24), undersized (6'9"), and has virtually no offensive game. Still, he's a presence blocking shots, especially from the weak side, and could find a place in the league now that zone has taken over.

10) DeVon Hardin - PF/C - California - Last year, I had Hardin 8th in my Center rankings before he withdrew. A year later, and there's been virtually no improvement on his part. He's basically the same intriguing body and athlete that he was then, just a year older. If Hardin was 18 or 19, he'd be a legit top 20 pick, but now there's little reason to think he'd be a productive pro.

Summary: I don't see any future all-stars in this group, and its conceivable that not one of these guys ever even makes it as a long-time starter. Still, there's also a lot of solid reserves and role players in this mix and Hardin is a better prospect than the #10's at other positions.

Last Year's Siegel's Take - SF Ranking
1) Greg Oden
2) Spencer Hawes
3) Tiago Splitter
4) Ante Tomic
5) Sean Williams
6) Aaron Gray
7) Marc Gasol
8) DeVon Hardin
9) Stanko Barac
10) Kyle Visser

Poll: Who is the Draft's Top Center Prospect?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:24:58 -0700

Robin Lopez: NBA Draft Profile

Jeff Fox — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:43:18 -0700

Robin Lopez

College: Stanford

Class: Sophomore

Position: C

Height: 7’0”

Weight: 255lbs

Accolades: Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 (08), All-Pac-10 Defensive Team (08), McDonald’s All-American – high school (06), Third Team All-American – Parade – high school (06).

Scouting Report: An athletic defender with great NBA size.

Strengths: Great defender – long, athletic shotblocker. Shot better than 50% from the field his sophomore year. Good NBA size – has the body type that could fill out even more. Showed an improved scoring touch as the season progressed. Physical on defense. Intense/aggressive player. Good spin moves on offense. Very good offensive rebounder – had 10 in a game versus California this year. Big hands.

Weaknesses: Not NBA ready on the offensive end – barely averaged over 10 points a game his sophomore year. Still inexperienced – big men tend to take longer to develop. Didn’t play real huge minutes his two years in college. Can get into foul trouble.

Projected 2008 Draft Range: Mid to late first round pick.

Consensus: It would be interesting to see Robin Lopez return to Stanford for his junior year and be allowed to blossom away from his brother Brook. However, that isn’t going to happen and Robin’s game will have to develop in the NBA. His defensive prowess, good NBA body and plenty of room for improvement makes him intriguing to NBA teams, and he looks sure to be a first round pick.

CHN's Six-Star Ranking System

= Superstar/All-NBA Potential

= Potential NBA All-Star

= Consistent NBA Starter

= 6th Man/Fringe Starter

= Career Reserve

= Fringe NBA Player/12th Man

0 stars = Life in the Minor Leagues

More 2008 NBA Draft Profiles

Current NBA Mock Draft Position

Complete NBA Draft coverage

CollegeHoops.net All-Second Round Team & MOP

Jeff Fox — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:16:18 -0700

College basketball can be so boring and predictable some times. Everyone knew at the starting of the tournament that Villanova, Davidson, Western Kentucky and West Virginia would be playing in the Sweet Sixteen. It was so obvious.

Now, with tongue firmly out of cheek, here are CHN’s All-Second Round Team and MOP

CollegeHoops.net Second Round MOP:

Kevin Love, UCLA

19 points, 11 boards, seven blocks

Now this was actually predictable – despite just being a teenager, Kevin Love continues to play like a man among boys. He bullied a pesky Aggies squad that wouldn’t go away, swatting seven of their shots. Now if he would just stop shooting so many threes (he was 1-4), he could really do some damage.

MOP Runner Up: Courtney Lee, Western Kentucky

29 points, seven boards, three steals

Hate to keep tooting CHN’s horn, but with the way the writer’s NCAA brackets are going, any time we get something correct we have to bring it to your attention. As we predicted at the starting of the tourney, Courtney Lee was a potential breakout star. After his killer game vs. San Diego (9-15 FG, 4-5 3Pts, 7-8 FT) he has us looking smart. Thanks Courtney.

CollegeHoops.net All-Second Round Team:

Guard: Mitch Johnson, Stanford - Nine points, 16 assists, one turnover

Mitch Johnson nailed all three of his long-bombs he shot and had a 16 to 1 assist to turnover ratio for the game. Deadly efficient.

Guard: Joe Mazzulla, West Virginia - 13 points, 11 boards, eight assists

Channeling his inner-Havlicek, bench player Joe Mazzulla slayed the mighty Blue Devils and almost notched a triple double in the process.

Guard/Forward: Courtney Lee, Western Kentucky

Forward: Brook Lopez, Stanford - 30 points, four boards

Time and time again the Cardinals went to Brook Lopez in crunch time versus Marquette, and time and time again he came through, including a very difficult game winner in overtime.

Center: Kevin Love, UCLA

- All First-Round Team & MOP

Three Stars of the Day: Lopez, Love, McNeal

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 09:20:26 -0700

We handpick the best performances of the day, whether it be stat lines that make you drool, or clutch performances. Either way, its our way of showing the love:

Brook Lopez - Stanford

After halftime, Lopez was unstoppable in the post. He finished with 30 points, including the game-winning shot in OT

Kevin Love - UCLA

The Bruins struggled to put away Texas A&M, but Love hit some big shots down the stretch and scored 19 points

Jerel McNeal - Marquette

Kept Marquette in the game due to a barrage of outside shots. Finished with a career-best 30 points and added 8 boards

Other Top Performers

Trevon Hughes - Wisconsin - The Badgers great D and Hughes' 25 points led to an easy win over Kansas State

Joe Mazzulla - West Virginia - Did a bit of everything in the upset over Duke, scoring 13, dishing out 8 assists, and hauling in 11 boards

Drew Neitzel - Michigan State - Showed flashes of the old clutch Neitzel. Finished with 21 points on 5-8 shooting from three

Previous Stars of the Day

March 21st - Gerald Henderson, Duke

March 18th - Cavel Witter, Creighton

March 15th - Joe Alexander, WVU

March 11th - Jeremy Evans, WKU

March 10th - Kevin Kanaskie, MTSU

March 9th - Brandon Johnson, San Diego

March 5th - Marquis Weddle, UTM

March 4th - Joe Alexander, WVU

March 3rd - Kevin Love, UCLA

March 2nd - Tyrese Rice, BC

Poll: Who Will Win the South Region?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:59:09 -0700

Game Predictions: SJU/Temple, UCLA/Stanford

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:55:30 -0700

Saint Joseph's (21-11) vs Temple (20-12)

6:00 PM

Many think that St. Joe's locked up a tourney bid by beating Xavier yesterday.. but I'm not so sure. If Temple wins, the committee may be reluctant to give the A10 a third bid, especially in light of the WCC already getting 3 teams in. Either way, this should be an extremely close and competitive game. Both of their previous meetings were decided by a single point.. and there's no reason not to expect a hard-fought, neck and neck game throughout. This is a must watch game.. but unfortunately most won't see it.

Prediction: Saint Joseph's

#11 Stanford (26-6) at #2 UCLA (30-3)

6:00 PM CBS

Some have the perception that conference tournaments don't matter for Top 25 teams, but extreme effort and a high level of play can be expected in the Pac-10 title game. Stanford is still bitter about their controversial OT loss to the Bruins just 10 days back.. and is hungry to exact revenge. Considering UCLA is the #2 team in the country and the game is in LA, its a testament to the respect Stanford has that they're only 3 point underdogs. The Brook Lopez/Kevin Love matchup is as good as you'll find in college basketball.

Prediction: UCLA

Boise State (24-8) vs New Mexico State (21-13)

9:00 PM ESPN2

Its certainly been a disappointing year for the WAC.. no serious at-large contenders and an eventual champion that might be seeded below the likes of Austin Peay, Cornell, Belmont, etc. New Mexico State has been playing good ball of late though, winners in 10 of 11, and they get to host the Championship game. Due to the home-court advantage, the Lobos are heavy 7 point favorites. Based on how other non-neutral final games have gone (American over Colgate, USD over Gonzaga, etc), its a no-brainer to go with the home team here.

Prediction: New Mexico State

Other Big Games:

UNLV vs BYU - The MWC Title game (BYU)

Akron vs Kent State - The MAC Title Game.. can Akron steal a bid? (Kent State)

Pittsburgh vs Georgetown - Can G'Town be stopped? No (Georgetown)

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions, 97-56)

March 13th - Ohio State vs Michigan State (2-1)

March 12th - Arizona State at USC (2-1)

March 12th - Syracuse vs Villanova (2-1)

March 11th - IUPUI at Oral Roberts (3-0)

March 10th - Gonzaga at San Diego (1-2)

March 9th - Florida at Kentucky (1-2)

March 8th - UNC at Duke (2-1)

March 5th - Tennessee at Florida (2-1)

March 4th - UNLV at New Mexico (3-0)

March 3rd - Texas Tech at Kansas (3-0)

March 2nd - Clemson at Maryland (1-2)

2008 NCAA Tournament Capsule: Stanford

Joel Welser — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:30:09 -0700

Stanford Cardinal

Pacific 10 (26-7, 13-5)

Seed: #3

South Region

RPI: 16

Big Wins: 2/2 Washington State (67-65), 2/16 at Arizona (67-66), 3/1 Washington State (60-53)

Bad Losses: 11/17 Siena (67-79), 1/13 at Oregon (66-71), 2/14 at Arizona State (68-72)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2007, First Round loss to Louisville

Coach: Trent Johnson (2-3 in 3 NCAA appearances)

Probable Starters:

Mitch Johnson, Junior, Guard, 6.8 ppg, 4.8 apg, 4.4 spg

Anthony Goods, Junior, Guard, 10.4 ppg, 1.7 apg

Fred Washington, Senior, Forward, 4.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.2 apg

Brook Lopez, Sophomore, Forward, 19.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.2 bpg

Robin Lopez, Sophomore, Center, 10.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.3 bpg

Key Roleplayers:

Landry Fields, Sophomore, Guard, 3.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg

Drew Shiller, Sophomore, Guard, 3.5 ppg

Kenny Brown, Junior, Guard, 3.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg

Lawrence Hill, Junior, Forward, 8.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg

Taj Finger, Senior, Forward, 5.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:

The Lopez twins have taken the nation by storm. Brook has become the go-to scorer for Stanford, but Robin is no slouch in that category either. Add in their superb rebounding abilities and imposing defensive presence, and you have got yourself a couple superstars.

Along with the Lopez twins, 6-8 forward Lawrence Hill and 6-5 forward Fred Washington make the Cardinal one of the nation’s best rebounding teams. Not only does Hill grab nearly five boards per game, he also is a very capable scorer who can step back beyond the arc. Washington will not put up huge numbers in the scoring column very often, although he is quite capable, but he can pass, rebound, shoot and do the dirty work.

Why They Can Disappoint:

With all the quality forwards and centers on the hardwood, one would think that Stanford would shoot well from the floor. Yet, they only shoot about 45 percent. The numbers do not get any better from behind the arc or at the charity stripe either. While all the big guys will help out in the rebounding department, it does the opposite trying to create turnovers. The Cardinal average just 4.3 steals per game, ranking a bleak 323^rd in the nation. Stanford will have a difficult time trying to get some easy points against most teams, but as long as they do not fall too far behind like they did in last year’s tournament, Coach Trent Johnson’s team will work the ball inside and work just about every play through a Lopez or two.

Who To Watch:

There is a backcourt in Palo Alto. Mitch Johnson runs the show and has had a great junior season. The turnover numbers are a little high, but Johnson has more than two assists per turnover. Anthony Goods has improved this year as well. As an underclassman, Goods forced too many bad shots, especially from long range. However, that has become far less of a problem this year. The backcourt paid their dues during the tournament last year, but a year older and wiser, they have gone from a liability to a major strength.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 7.7 (139^th in nation, 6^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 60.2 (13, 3)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.8 (136, 9)

Field-Goal Defense: 39.4 (18, 2)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.5 (268, 9)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.0 (26, 2)

Free-Throw Percentage: 69.4 (157, 6)

Rebound Margin: 8.5 (4, 2)

Assists Per Game: 14.2 (111, 6)

Turnovers Per Game: 12.4 (33, 3)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Final Four loss to UCLA

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Seven Day Stretch: The Week in College Hoops

Rob Carpentier — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:32:53 -0800

The “Curse” has returned…Kent State, Indiana and Stephen F. Austin all lost last week in games that they should have won…okay, maybe not the Hoosiers. But still, all the good vibes that last week’s “Stretch” gave these teams is now gone. So, who will be given the “kiss of death” this week?

Seven Day Savior (Team): New Mexico Lobos

Steve Alford apparently DOES know what he’s doing. The Lobos have stayed in serious contention for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament by defeating UNLV on Tuesday night. Alford, who landed in Albuquerque after his stint with Iowa, (by his own choosing, by the way), has been able to mold the Lobos into an image of what he was as a player; hard-working and fundamentally sound. This is a team with an RPI under 50, 23 wins and a 10-5 record in the Mountain West Conference. With the dearth of deserving teams on this year’s at-large bubble, it’s highly conceivable that New Mexico will make the NCAA field with a win at lowly Colorado State this weekend. The Lobos beat CSU by 40 earlier this season and Colorado State is winless in conference. With Iowa looking downright awful for many games this year, Alford is definitely having the last laugh on those who wanted him to leave Iowa City. The fans of New Mexico are glad they have him.

Seven Day Savior (Player): Michael Rogers, Valparaiso Crusaders

Rogers is an unheralded freshman from Jamaica by way of New York City. He was the least recruited of Coach Homer Drew’s 2007 recruiting class. Up until 10 days ago, Rogers barely saw the floor, averaging less than 2 points per game. The Crusaders, who just completed their first year in the Horizon League, were in the midst of a serious slump when starting wing Sam Haanpaa, Valpo’s best shooter, was lost for the year with mononucleosis. Enter Rogers into the starting line-up. Since his insertion, Rogers is averaging over 10 PPG and 7 rebounds per game. He went off for 21 points and 12 boards this past Saturday against Wright State, a game that clinched a home game for the Crusaders in the Horizon League Tournament, (which they won against Wisconsin-Green Bay on Tuesday). Rogers is an incredibly athletic player who simply needed time to adjust to the system that Coach Drew is running. Rogers, who is 6’6”, is another in a long line of foreign players that drew has brought to Valpo in his years on the bench. He may be the best before he’s done. Rogers and the Crusaders face Wright State again on Friday night in the Horizon quarterfinals.

News of the Week: Bobby Knight…ESPN Analyst

That’s right, folks; the man who has made no secret of his disdain for the media is now one of the hated “fourth estate”. Knight, who recently resigned as coach of Texas Tech, will join the ESPN college basketball collection of on-air talent to do commentary on the NCAA Tournament. The question is whether Knight is doing this because he is turning over a new leaf, (unlikely), whether he’s doing it because he hates being out of the national conversation at all, (a bit more likely, but not much), or whether there is some other reason. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if Knight is doing this on purpose almost as a way to thumb his nose at reporters in general, but especially those in the print media who seem to have been, he thinks, the bane of his existence. Knight’s a brilliant basketball guy and he does well when he’s interviewed on television, so this may be a very good fit for him. It also keeps him in the public eye in case he really does want a chance at landing another coaching job.

Game of the Week (The one you DON’T know about): UAB at Memphis

The ACC, Pac-10 and Big East all have games this week that will all determine their respective conference championships. However, all the teams involved know that they will be among the highest seeded teams in the upcoming NCAA Tourney. Because of the relative weakness of Conference-USA, however, both Memphis and UAB need this game badly. Memphis needs a victory because a single loss to a C-USA team stands a good chance of knocking the Tigers from being a 31 seed in the Big Dance. UAB needs the game even more. They aren’t sure if they are even going to get an invite to the Dance. UAB appears destined for the #2 seed in the C-USA Tournament, where they will more than likely face Houston in the conference semi-finals. They have to at least past that game to have any chance of getting into the NCAAs, unless they knock off the Tigers in Memphis. This may not seem as far-fetched as it sounds. Tennessee exposed some serious weaknesses in the Memphis system. They don’t shoot well from either the outside or the free throw line. Teams have now seen that and UAB has the personnel to perhaps take advantage of those weaknesses. Remember, it was less than three weeks ago that UAB had Memphis all but defeated when they met in Birmingham. Oh, and because of the first meeting, there’s a bit of bad blood now between the two teams.

Seven Days Under the Radar: Stanford Cardinal

You may ask how a team that is 24-4, is playing for their conference championship this week, is #17 in the RPI and is looking at a top 2 or 3 seed in the NCAAs can be considered, “under the radar”. Okay, well, can anyone out there name for me more than two starters for the Cardinal? Can you name their coach? What is Maples Pavilion? You get the point. There is no team in line for a protected seed in this year’s Big Dance that has been less talked about than the Cardinal. Part of the reason they are so unknown, or at least so unnoticed is that they aren’t pretty. They play a very defensive style of basketball, focusing on the shot blocking and rebounding of a pair of seven-foot twins; Robin and Brook Lopez. They give Stanford among the best frontlines in the country. Brook is the more skilled of the two, especially on the offensive end, but Robin provides better rebounding and defense and is often match-up on the opposing team’s best post player. The guards know their roles and the bench does a good job of resting the starters. Last year, Stanford got run off the floor by Louisville in the first round of the NCAAs. Don’t count on that happening in this year’s tournament. And for the record, the answers are; Lawrence Hill, Anthony Goods and Mitch Johnson; Trent Johnson; the homes court of the Cardinal in Palo Alto.

Seven Days on the Hot Seat: Kevin O’Neill, Arizona Wildcats

O’Neill was hired to be Lute Olson’s stand-in when Olson left the sidelines because of personal matters early in the season. As Olson began to become more of a visible presence at the McKale Center, whether it was to hold meetings with the players, work in his office, or use the training facilities, Arizona Athletic Director, Jim Livengood decided to offer O’Neill a pseudo-offer, stating that O’Neill would be the head coach of the Wildcats if Olson decided to retire at the end of this season. The idea was that O’Neill, who has coached at Marquette, Northwestern and in the NBA, would move back to an assistant’s position, much like he was before Olson took the leave of absence. This was, in fact, O’Neill’s second stint as an assistant with Olson. Then the problems started. Rumor had it that Olson began talking to the players and criticizing the schemes that O’Neill was running, specifically the set plays on offense and the man-to-man defense that O’Neill espouses. O’Neill, not surprisingly, wasn’t happy. So he and Olson haven’t spoken much since this started and now come sword the Livengood is trying to gracefully show Lute the door by getting him to retire. Bottom line is that O’Neill is in real danger of losing the job at the end of the season whether Lute returns or not. O’Neill didn’t leave Olson alone nor did he make it publicly clear that what Olson was doing was not right. Instead he tried to walk a middle ground that may have alienated some players. If Olson comes back, O’Neill is as good as gone. If Lute retires, O’Neill may not want the job now anyway.

By the way, the Pac-10 could realistically be looking at as many as four job opening this off-season; Oregon State, Oregon, California and Arizona.

Seven Days of Head Scratching: “Bargaining” for a Bid

As the calendar has turned to March, the talk has inevitably turned to the so-called “bubble” teams…at least in the world of college basketball. With the coming of the various columns in both print and on the Net about the “bubble” and the various “resumes” that particular teams have, coaches and even college administrators of those teams have begun to lobby the NCAA Tournament selection Committee regarding the reasons why their schools should have their teams announced as being chosen for the NCAA Tournament. This practice has been going on for years but has really picked up steam in the last decade as the Internet has become more and more of a powerful tool with which to dispense information, (or misinformation). I, for one, have never understood why coaches, etc. feel the need to do this. Let’s face it; it’s not as if the Committee actually listens to the lobbying that happens. The Committee has already secluded itself from the rest of the real world as they get ready to watch and debate the variances of Championship Week. The committee members watch games, often with the sound off, so that they can make up their own mind about the merits of a particular team. So, when Jim Boeheim basically begs the committee through television interviews as to why his mediocre Syracuse team should be included in the field, (and then bemoans the fact that they aren’t selected), the comments are falling on deaf ears. Why essentially do people waste their breath trying to talk a group of men into a particular decision when they don’t listen anyway? You might as well go and bang your head against a wall. In the past few years, CBS analyst Billy Packer has really been rabid in his attacks on what he believed were mistakes the committee made. The reaction of the person being interviewed, (this year it will be Committee Chair Thomas O’Conner of George Mason), has universally been one of surprise and shock, as if they had never expected the questioning at that level. Know why? Because it is one of the first times they’ve heard that kind of criticism because they don’t listen to the lobbying through February and March. This is just the practical argument, never mind that coaches who do this come off as whiners, babies and self-serving, (which in this case I guess I understand). I hate to pick on Boeheim, but he has been guilty of this multiple times in the past 10 years and he has a reputation as being a cry-baby and even a sore loser. Is that perception unfair? Absolutely! Did he bring it on himself? Absolutely! And he is far from the only one. A coach’s job is hard enough as it is at the collegiate level without having to worry about lobbying what is really a group of deaf men in Indianapolis. Besides, isn’t a coach’s job really to get his team to a point where all of this is a moot discussion anyway?

Brook Lopez: NBA Draft Profile

Jeff Fox — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:28:11 -0800

Brook Lopez

College: Stanford

Class: Sophomore　

Position: PF

Height: 7’0”

Weight: 260lbs

Accolades: Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 (07), All-Pac-10 Freshman Team (07), McDonald’s All-American – high school (06), Third Team Parade All-American (06).

Scouting Report:

An athletic big man with tons of potential.

Strengths: Long, lean and athletic – has a NBA frame that looks like it is capable of filling out even more. Can run the floor well for a big man. Plays tough – not afraid to go to the floor and mix it up. Nice jump hook shot that he uses often. Soft touch down low. Catches the ball and attacks immediately in the post – not hesitant. Good shot blocker. Good free throw shooter, especially for a big man. Very good at drawing fouls and getting to the line. Capable of explosive scoring outbursts.

Weaknesses: Still inexperienced – missed first five games last season and first nine games this year. Needs to develop more moves in the post – uses the jump hook too often. Shoots for a much lower field goal percentage (under 50%) than other top big man prospects. Is foul prone. Would like to see more boards from a player with his size and skills.

Projected 2008 Draft Range:

Top five pick.

Consensus: The best big man prospect in the draft not named Beasley, Lopez should make whatever NBA drafts him very happy. He should be a solid pro with the potential to be even better than that.

Stats: Brook Lopez Stats