Frontline

[Noah Evans <ishbak@pipeline.com>]

I think that, even though we'll probably end up with Geiger, we should
draft Traylor(if we get lucky), sign Ratliff, maybe keep Popeye
Jones(how much does he make? We have to give him a 20% raise to keep him
right?) and pick up some free agent big men off the scrap heap(Oliver
Miller and Benoit Benjamin at the minimum anyone?).
	Even though at the moment most of these players(except Ratliff) cannot
play Pitino's style now, given Pitino's record for motivating
indifferent players and getting them to shed weight(i.e. Billy Donovan,
Mashburn, Dee Brown) the pudgier members of this group will probably be
ready to play Pitino's style by season opener(if they survive training
camp).
	Defensively this group would make our frontline much better. Ratliff
would provide weak side shot blocking and Traylor would provide the bulk
and low center of gravity for good post defense. 'Toine would be at
small forward where defense is less of a prerequisite. With Traylor and
Ratliff, we would avoid the Shawn Bradley effect of having Ratliff
playing center and 'Toine at power forward(i.e. good shotblocking but
also giving up tons of uncontested dunks).
	As well as giving us the bulk we need this group would really help us
on offense as well as defense:

Traylor is a superlative post player who should flourish in the NBA. His
strength, coupled with his footwork, soft hands and passing ability
should really add to our post game, once limited to Antoine spinning
into traffic. I've seen Traylor fouled by three players at once(big ones
too, Chris Burgess, McCloud and someone else from Duke) and still go up
--with all three players hanging on-- and score. He runs the floor well
too(it would be scary to see him in Pitino shape). He also leaps very
well for his weight(he can get his elbow at rim level).

Ratliff, while a mediocre scorer, is not someone other teams can afford
to leave open. He could probably serve a role similar to what Macio
Baston served at Michigan(i.e. when Traylor or 'Toine get doubled
Ratliff sits beside the basket, waits for the ball, then makes the
highlight reel--as much as I like declercq he can't do that as well, his
hands aren't soft enough). Ratliff should give us good offensive
rebounding as well from the four spot.

Miller would really be an interesting prospect as well. Assuming Pitino
can help cure Miller's anorexia(I'm not joking either, Miller was at
Duke medical center last year and they diagnosed it. It's quite ironic
really, Miller's so obese because he doesn't eat enough and his
metabolism has slowed down accordingly, so anything he does eat is
immediately converted into fat[his body doesn't know when it's going to
eat again so it responds by storing what little food it does get]),
Miller would really help the Celtic's set plays. The Celtic's current
motion offense is run by Declercq(not our best passer) at the three
point line, so a passer like Miller would really help the second unit's
offense(allowing Dana to act more as a scorer, limiting our need for
another back up ball handler). Miller also has a nice midrange jumper.

I don't know much about Benjamin other than that he's considered a
squandered talent. Pitino might be able to help him rediscover his game,
if not Pitino can just send him back to the CBA.

	Finally, why do so many people think that Antoine wouldn't be a good
small forward? Yes his jump shot isn't consistant and his handle isn't
good enough to use against quicker players but why does that matter?
What's to stop him from abusing other small forwards in the post? He
absolutely destroyed Chris Morris when he played against Utah(the only
time I've seen him guarded by a small forward). The only small forward I
can see Antoine having trouble posting up is Rick Fox.

Noah