Re: Fortson

[RSMALL@clarku.edu]

>
>> It's the projected roster for next year.  It includes a Ron Mercer trade.
>> I'm not sure if Fortson is tall enough (I think only 6'7" for a PF) but is
>> he really that good.  Can he do well under Pitino?
>
>I proposed a Fortson and Keon Clark for Mercer trade a while back and
>got a similar response about Fortson being a tweener. Does anyone actually
>have evidence that he gets abused on the defensive end because he is
>short, i.e. has anyone actually seen him play? I'm very suspicious of 
>the "measuring tape" method of player evaluation. You can have two players, 
>one which measures 6'7" but has long arms and a short neck, and one which 
>measures 6'9" but has short arms and a giraffe neck. How does having that 
>long neck help in basketball? You don't grab rebounds or block shots with 
>your head. Beyond all that, how about Charles Barkley, who has been
>destroying taller power forwards for a long time.
>

All measurements should be taken with a grain of salt.  The real and only 
question should be "Can he play?"  Basketball is hung up on height the same 
way football gets caught up on 40 yard dash times.

Rich,,,