Re: sorry about that.

["Jim Meninno" <jim_meninno@hotmail.com>]

>From: RSMALL@clarku.edu

>>>But, we may have to accept that Walker will never be a superstar but that 
>>>doesn't mean he can't be a good and contributing player.

>>Why might we have to accept that?  Based on his statistical >>performance 
>>over a 14 game stretch?

>No, basically 3 1/2 years (almost)  He still shoots 42%, things have not 
>changed for Walker.  He is what he is.  A good player who should stay on 
>the blocks.

Kobe Bryant is a career .440 shooter.  Alan Iverson is a career .430 shooter 
(including 1 year around .460 and the rest at .415).  Paul Pierce only 
shoots .446 for his career, Keith Van Horn, .419.  Where exactly is the 
cutoff point, in your opinion.  At what shooting percentage do we have to 
accept that a player will "never be a superstar"?

If you ask me, this business Tommy Heinsohn has been spouting about Antoine 
needing to stay on the blocks is a bunch of crap. For now, while he's 
struggling, that's fine to get him going again.  But when he's playing well 
it's a huge waste of his talents.  Antoine's always been a respectable three 
point shooter, and was doing fine this year until the last few games, where 
he has missed his last ten shots.  He's also a unique penetration threat 
who, at his height, can get by almost any player in the league and has the 
ability to finish and pass.  I can hear you now saying, "but he doesn't pass 
enough, he takes crazy shots, yadda, yadda, yadda".  But ask yourself if 
that will be any different if he stays in the low post?  He's not a true 
post player at all.  He never shoots over anyone other than an occaisional 
half hook, he either spins past his man or he gets shut off.  Oh, he also 
gets easy baskets if his man leaves him to trap.  Wherever he plays, Antoine 
is going to have to play smarter than he has been lately, that's for sure, 
and keeping him down low for a while might help him to focus on one thing 
and doing it well. However, the long term key for Antoine's success and the 
reason that he still has the potential to become a "superstar" is that he 
has the ability to drive past a defender with the ball.  For all the crap 
he's taken for not improving his game, it's amazing how much he's improved 
his ball control.  I can't remember the last time I saw him just lose his 
dribble like he used to.  I suppose that just happened.  It couldn't 
possibly be because he worked on it.

Jim

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