Re: Article out of Denver on Battie, Billups, Draft.

["Jeff Tepper" <jaytee@itasoft.com>]

- ----------
> From: JLyell <jlyell@concentric.net>
> To: Celtics@igtc.COM
> Subject: Re: Article out of Denver on Battie, Billups, Draft.
> Date: Saturday, June 28, 1997 6:17 PM
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am definitely not disagreeing that Billups was a better choice than
> Jackson at #3 , my comparison is Billups to McDyess.  If we were to move
> Billups for Mcdyess we could go with a Eisley,  or resign Wesley and we
> wouldn't be as strong at the point as we would with Billups, but they
both
> could perform adequately at the point as Wesley did last year.  If we
keep
> Billups , what is out there at the center position ?  Schayes ?  Kleine, 
> Knight ? Declerq ? Szabo ?  Parish ?  These guys are all going to get
> schooled big time, making us have to play Antoine at the 5 some time
taking
> a beating against the big guys.  This , along with the Olympic & European
> tournament play, is one of the things that really took its toll on Dino. 
> We need at lest 2 physical players at the 5 spot. 

I think you're overestimating the short term need for a center.  In
Pitino's system it's much more important to have good guards than it is a
good center, and i think that building the team around a franchise
backcourt is the way to go, even if it means suffering without a great
center for the time being.  Wesley and Eisley are both very serviceable
point guards, but certainly not people you would build the franchise around
for long term success.  

Even without a great center Pitino's system has succeded.  Look who played
center for them this past season - Jared Prickett and Nazr Mohammed with a
little help from Jamal Maglore.  Prickett wasn't anything special.  He was
a decent rebounder and got some put-backs, but he was by no means a
dominant center.  Mohammed was quick and athletic; he did everything
decently but nothing great.  Maglore was only a freshman and he was the
least effective of the three.  None were great centers. 

The year before this season (team that won the title), the center was Mark
Pope, who was better than Prickett and Mohammed but still not a top notch
center. Both teams were good enough to ger to the NCAA finals because they
were very guard oriented with quick forwards, and the center was never more
than a role player.

So even if McDeyss is as good a center as Billups is a point guard (which
may or may not be true), why go with the center over the point guard when
deciding who to build the team around?

Jeff