Re: The Boston Celtics Mailing List Digest V4 #149

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

> Date: 14 May 97 14:27:47 -0700
> From: "SKMISHRA.US.ORACLE.COM" <SKMISHRA@us.oracle.com>
> Subject: Maurice Taylor
> 
> The Globe reports that the first player called for workout is Michigan's 
> Maurice Taylor. Does anybody have a scouting report on this guy..all I
know =
> is 
> that he is 6'8-1/2", 245 lbs and is ranked #19th by Leventhal. - Mishra

I hope they aren't thinking of taking him with their first round picks,
because he's not worth it.  In my opinion, Taylor can do the same type of
things that Keith Van Horn can, but Van Horn is a much better overall
prospect.  I don't think that Taylor will be much more of a player than
Eric Williams is, and I don't think he will be as good as Walker is either,
so to take Taylor with both of those guys on the same team doesn't make
sense.

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> Date: Wed, 14 May 1997 21:17:54 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Steskiles@aol.com
> Subject: New Member
> 
> Hey Everybody,
> 
> I''m a new subscriber, and I'm an out of towner.  In fact, I'm a
long-time
> green-bleeding Celtic Fan who's never been to Boston. 
> 
> I'm from St. Louis....now working in Green Bay. I'm counting on you guys
to
> keep me informed as to Pitino's re-birth of Celtic Pride.
> 
> So....I noticed some Chauncey chatter. Here's the deal (in my opinion): 
>   Chauncey IS the reason Colorado made it to the Tournament. He's a
quality
> point guard, who, is not NECESSARILY ready for the NBA. He's a great
> jump-shooter who can drive when necessary. But...when you compare him to
> recent point guards who have left college after their freshman or
sophomore
> years (Iverson, Marbury), Billups is not yet in that league.

I agree, i don't think any point guard available this year is the same type
of prospect that Iverson and Marbury were.  Billups is more of a combo
guard than a pure point, so he could be a good pick to start at shooting
guard and then play some point when Wesley is on the Bench (assuming they
keep Wesley)
 
>   I think he would have been wise to spend one more year at Colorado and
> develop a more all-around game. I'm not saying that he won't develop into
a
> great NBA point guard, but the key word there is DEVELOP.  

Well, you can always make a case that a player should come out if he's
going to be a lottery pick.  Nowadays with the NBA taking raw players, the
NBA teams are going to develop them themselves instead of letting them
develop in college.  If you're Billups, are you going to stay at college
and develop against lesser competition for nothing, or would you go to the
NBA and develop against better players for 2-3 million a year?
 
>   Without a question, the best offensive point guard in the draft is
Brevin
> Knight. 

Probably true, but he's not nearly as good as Iverson or Marbury.  If he's
the best out there then that says to me that it's a weak year for point
guards.  I think that a good plan for the celtics is to go big with both
first round picks, and get a guy like Andre Woolridge or Kiwane Garris with
the second round pick.  The higher ranked point guards aren't THAT much
better than someone they could get with the high second round pick, and
certainly not worth wasting a #1 or #6 pick on unless they take a guy like
Billups who can play both guard positions.

>   And...if the unthinkable should happen, and the Celtics can't get
Duncan. I
> think Kelvin Cato deserves strong consideration.

I agree.  I think if you can't get Duncan, then Battie and Cato are the
next best things, with Foyle closely behing those two.