Re: Haston

[David A Wickerham <aw623@freenet.buffalo.edu>]

Profile makes him sound like a poor man's TRoy Murphy.



On Wed, 2 May 2001, Hironaka wrote:

> 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.
> 
> ***
> 
> 

-----------------------------------------------------------------
	  Dave Wickerham
	  aw623@freenet.buffalo.edu
	  Saratoga Springs, NY