Re: draft prospects

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

OzerskyJA wrote:

> Inappropriate for me to wax knowing on Joe Johnson, but FWIW I don't
> buy those "lazy/unmotivated" jeers.  First of all, the guy is a freshman.
> Very few freshman are like Rodney White or Joe Forte, full-blown stars
> right away.  But more importantly, I like the way this guy plays in gear;
> he reminds me of Alex English, the way he never seems to explode or exert
> himself, but then you look up and he's scored thirty points on you.  He
> is a very cerebral player with a great feel for the game, a great handle,
> terrific court vision, and when the workouts start you'll see him back in
> the top ten.  (Cisse will be top sixteen)....

    I hope you are right Josh, because we need an athletic version of Mike
Miller on our roster. I dug up some criticisms of him and other top prospects
from CBS Sportsline's George Rodecker. The thing you see over and over is people
praising Joe Johnson's all around game and ability to make teammtes better, yet
incongruously ranking him as a late first rounder. What gives? I have no idea.

p.s. BTW he is actually a sophomore, not a freshman. He's still young though,
that's true.


Feb 26
Players once thought to be of the highest regard have slumped badly as their
stock took a tumble in the February book. Other players have responded well to
the mid-winter blahs and have taken their games and reputations to new heights.
Arkansas' Joe Johnson, who began the season as the No. 1 rated prospect, has
seen his stock continue to drop. His play has been described as ordinary, and
despite having the skill and ability to take over games, Johnson has seemed to
lack the intensity and fire that highlighted his play last season as a freshman.

Jan 22
Joe Johnson, Arkansas -- Several critics are complaining that Johnson is dogging
it. If so, the pro guys will quickly back off him. So far, they remain
believers, but for how long?

Seton Hall's Eddie Griffin has been the subject of several articles written all
over the country. Of late, several of them chronicle the locker room fight
between Griffin and point guard Ty Shine. The fight unto itself is nothing of
note, except that it comes less than a year after a high school fight that
resulted in Griffin being expelled from Philadelphia's Roman Catholic High
School.

Griffin plays with passion, but is, for the most part, expressionless. If there
is an anger-personality issue, it has escaped the dozen or so NBA scouts at each
Seton Hall game. While not as dramatic as some other freshmen, Griffin's game
has come back down to earth after his blazing start.

Those observing St. John's fine freshman point guard Omar Cook wish he would
consider working on his persona. Cook has had several occasions in which he has
been serving up icy glares toward the referees and opponents. Cook is quite
gifted and should find himself in the NBA eventually, but needs to show a little
bit of maturity in how he carries himself. More than one scout has questioned
whether NBA can afford all the baggage that oftentimes accompanies the talented
but troubled young stars.

Meanwhile, down in Alabama, Gerald Wallace, the fine freshman wing player who
began the season like a tornado, has seen his game more resemble a soft ocean
breeze of late. Wallace, through his first six games, topped 20 points four
times. In his last eight games, he never got out of single digits six times.
Wallace hasn't had an assist in his last five games, which shows the immature
play of a gifted but young collegian. While Wallace is a talent and he will one
day hang his shingle in some NBA city, he has displayed the obvious need to
develop his game a lot more than he may have thought.

***