Re: I think the C's take Foyle at #3

[Chris Littlefield <chrisl@mjr.com>]

Geoff,

	Everything you've stated epitomizes the rap on Foyle; inferior
competition, weak league, etc.

	You also have perhaps more insight into Foyle than any because of
your relationship with Rojik.  What does he say?  Does he think Foyle is
big and that's the only reason he dominates?  Is he a clutz?  Is he slow?
What, besides his playing venue, gives you such a bad opinion of a 6'10"
shotblocking monster?

	Duncan, for all he's played against superior competition, did get
mauled by Marcus Camby last year, perhaps more of a tribute to the UMass
defense than Camby's individual effort, but he can be played.

	Don't get me wrong.  I agree that Duncan is better than Foyle, and
that if I had the #1 pick, I would take Duncan and laugh all the way to the
bank.

	I also know that Colgate played a tough non-conference schedule
against teams including Indiana, Tennessee Tech, and Syracuse, _just_ to
give Foyle better competition.  On a side note, they also played Bowling
Green, Antonio Daniels team.  Both players did well.  In Foyle's two
tournament performances, he almost singlehandedly carried off the upsets of
high seeds.

	He is raw potential.  No one questions his athleticism, work ethic,
intelligence, or that he has a legit NBA center's body with monstrously
long arms. Everyone questions his long-term potential.  In the hands of a
teacher like Pitino, I think that in three years you could have a real NBA
center, emphasizing defense, blocking, rebounding rather than offense.
What do the C's need?  Athletic size in the middle.

What's out there at the #3 pick, considering both Battie and Duncan to be gone?

Van Horn?  He will be a player.  Where does he fit on a team whose only
strength is its forwards?  I don't know.  If we got Foyle and Van Horn,
though, I would be mucho pleased.

Mercer?  We need a two-guard.  But we also need to get rid of the overpaid
runts.  I don't think he is one.  He's a small forward.  I was not
impressed in the tourney.  By the way, Jordan's college teams were all
packed with talent.  Dean Smith's system kept Mike under 20ppg.  Pitino's
team this year was decimated by injuries and redshirting.  Yet I do not
feel that Mercer _really_ stepped up.  At one point, Pitino took him aside
and told him that he did not think Mercer was ready for the NBA.

Thomas?  He did not impress me at all, and is a small forward.  No thanks.

Billups?  He could be used as a second guard.  He is not ready by any means
to start at the point in the NBA.

Daniels?  I don't know, but for all that everyone's busting on Foyle
because he's from a small school, why not the same questions about Daniels?


We also need to improve our ballhandling.  I think Brevin Knight and Derek
Anderson would be ready for the NBA immediately, and would love to have
them as a backcourt.  They are tailor-made for what Pitino will want to do.
You probably need to have two picks from 8 to 14 to get them, but I believe
it would be worth it.  I would be happy to go to war with:

Starters

Foyle
Walker
Williams
Anderson
Knight

Key Bench:

Radja
Minor
Barros

This would be a talented young team with the best teacher in the game.
Flexibility might give us a shot at a good free agent in '98.

But we without doubt need to have a big man.  Van Horn and Mercer will not
get that job done, but I take Van Horn over Mercer.

Geoff, any more input on Foyle would be appreciated.

Chris



>Why on Earth are all of you so high on Foyle? Sure, he blocked more shots
>in three years than Duncan did in four, so what? The main difference in
>that statement is this: the Patriot League and the ACC. One of my former
>high school teammates, Chris Rojik, was a senior and the captain this past
>year at Holy Cross, one of Colgate's most formidable opponents in the
>Patriot League. Rojik is 6'7", and was the starting center and matched up
>against Foyle. With all due respect to Rojik (he's still the best player
>I've ever played with), it's a helluva lot easier to block the likes of
>Chris Rojik compared to Rasheed Wallace, Joe Smith, or several other ACC
>players Duncan has swatted. Not to mention that Wake Forest played out of
>conference games against teams with players like Marcus Camby and Big
>Country Reeves, in which Duncan held his own. Obviously, Duncan is better
>than Foyle, but that isn't even the point, the point is Foyle is unproven
>and was unchallenged in the Patriot League. He wouldn't even be an
>issue as a lottery pick if he played in any respectable conference, let
>alone the ACC. Plus, with the Patriot League being so weak, why couldn't
>Foyle lead his team to the title and into the NCAA tournament this year?
>Sounds like a bust to me. Let's just hope the Celtics shy away from him
>and let somebody else make the mistake of the draft.
>