Re: Pepper, anyone?

["Peter G. Toner" <Peter.Toner@anu.edu.au>]

No, he's not playing for Oz at the Worlds, and I, too, would like to know
why not. For instance, Chris Anstey made the team (and did pretty well),
but Pepper did not. And if Pepper isn't even as good as Anstey, we'd all
better not hold our collective breath that he'll be much help up front for
us.

These are Anstey's numbers from last season in the NBA:

5.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.66 bpg, .398 fg%, 16.6 mpg

Here are Andrew DeClerq's numbers:

5.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.60 bpg, .497 fg%, 18.8 mpg

And here are "Banana-boy's" (I love that):

6.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.11 bpg, .441 fg%, 20.3 mpg

Seems to me that if Pepper can't even get on a roster that has Anstey as a
standout big man (and don't get me wrong - the Aussies have a great team),
and if Anstey is no better than what we have in the middle now, then I
don't think Pepper's going to be much help to us - unless he improves
quickly. You know the old joke (well, it should be an old joke): What's the
only thing worse than two seven-foot stiffs on your roster? Three
seven-foot stiffs.

Later,

Pete