McCarty, Jones

[Alex Wang <awang@MIT.EDU>]

Dug up a couple of articles from ESPN's draft 96 report about our newest
team members.

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Despite starting on the national championship team, McCarty made his best 
moves after Kentucky's season.

"He might even go in the lottery," one Western Conference scout said following 
the postseason all-star camps. "He can shoot the three, he handles the ball 
better that most people thought, he can get tip-ins, he rebounds and he plays
really hard. You can tell he loves to play and that's important."

McCarty averaged 11 points per game and shot 55 percent from the field at the 
postseason Desert Classic.

McCarty was hot in the Desert, but he needs to warm up to the idea of dessert.
Kentucky coach Rick Pitino repeatedly got on McCarty to bulk up, demanding him 
to get above 230 pounds. Thus far that hasn't happened and, for that reason, 
many scouts say McCarty has to be a swingman.

A southern-based scout labels McCarty a "runner," and says the Evansville, Ind., 
native is a natural three. He has good quickness and good hands and he has a 
stand-still shot that he should eventually be able to shoot on the move.

One concern, besides McCarty's slender frame, is his tendency to play out of 
control. "He has a little wildness in his game and he tries to make everything 
look spectacular," one scout says. "He needs to keep it simple. He usually 
doesn't have a problem putting up his shot; he needs to let it come to him."

McCarty played in a big-time program, but because of the system he played in, 
some scouts still say he could be the "sleeper" of the draft. "I think people
don't realize how good he can be," one scout says. "He's got a lot of Robert 
Horry in his game, and if McCarty can prove to be more consistent, some team 
is going to be very lucky to have him."

McCarty, who sat out his freshman season at Kentucky under NCAA academic
requirements, attended Harrison High School in Evansville. Calbert Cheaney, a 
third-year guard for the Washington Bullets, also played at Harrison.

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Jones made a big splash in postseason play as Mississippi State won the 
Southeastern Conference tournament and advanced to the Final Four.

One scout called Jones a poor man's Glenn Robinson, trumpeting Jones 
inside-outside offensive capabilities as well as his ability to finish. 
"I like his talent," says a Pacific Division scout. "He has all the tools to
be a very good small forward in our league and he's even got enough of a handle
to be a two-guard."

With very limited exposure to organized basketball, Jones is still learning
many of the intricacies of the game. As a high schooler in Nashville, Tenn., 
Jones was plagued by injuries during his junior season and he didn't even play 
as a senior.

After two years at the community college level, he only played one year of 
Division I basketball before entering the NBA draft.

"He's raw and he's got to learn how to play basketball," says a Central Division 
scout. "He has to be more fluid and natural."

Another scout calls Jones a "nice" player, but was bothered by his lack of 
consistency and his narrow frame.

Many scouts think Jones' best basketball is still ahead of him, but a few are 
very concerned about his frenetic nature. "He scares me and he's a guy I 
wouldn't want to take the chance on," a Pacific Division scout says. "If he 
stayed another year in school and proved himself, I think he could be a 
top-five pick because of his offensive skills."