Re: Haston

[Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

W wrote:

> Hey all,
>
> Does anyone know much about this Haston kid who announced today?
>
> Thanks,

    I guess it is a major surprise that Kirk Haston declared. It's also
a shame in a way, because Indiana might have been a fun team to watch
next year had everyone stayed. Haston's season averages were 19.0 points
on 15.7 FG attempts per game, along with 8.7 boards (2.4 offensive) and
1.2 blocks. He had twice as many turnovers as assists (1.2) and shot
.469 from the field, .687 from the line. In his NCAA season finale
against Kent State (a loss obviously) he went for 29 points and 9
boards. In general he was remarkably consistent in FG% and scoring
average throughout the season, with very few ugly shooting games (4-15
against Illinois in February was one, but he made up for it by hitting 8
freethrows). He has absolutely no discernible muscle development that I
can see (I noticed that about the entire Indiana team, as if they have
Richard Simmons as their strength coach). I guess he could eventually
add strength as happened with Ringo DeClerq or Jim Peterson (the third
"tower" on Houston's teams in the 80s).

    Below is ESPN's scouting report, which makes it sound like he'd have
been an NBA All Star, circa the George Mikan era.

Kirk Haston
Forward | #35 | Junior | Indiana
Height: 6-10
Weight: 230 lbs.
Hometown: Lobelville, TN
Blossoming into a special pivot ... Great size, when he drifts from the
basket he can get off a lot of open looks on the perimeter ... Good face
up shooter and a tough player to defend in the low post ... Very
effective on the blocks ... Smooth follow through and a soft touch ...
Not very strong nor athletic, he scores most of his points off refined
offensive skills ... Developing a marvelous sweeping hook that has
proven to be difficult to defend ... His scoring skills are at a very
advanced stage ... Lacks the quickness to slide into position for
layups, so his best bet is to shoot jumpers and one-handed flips off the
turnaround ... Gets into trouble when he tries to go around his defender
rather than over his man, especially because he is not quick ... Needs
to become more authoritative in taking the ball at the rim ... Excellent
as a rebounder, he snags boards off the glass keeping the ball high over
his head and out of the reach from scrappy opponents ... Does a lot of
the little things ... Very good shotblocker, though he is not an
intimidator ... Defensively he has a lot of room for improvement ...
Experienced tragedy last offseason when his mother died in a tornado,
received substantial emotional support from former Hoosier coach Bob
Knight ... Redshirted his freshman season.

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