Re: OT- Chris Wallace sighting

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

>Tammo, you obviously like Hinrich. I've seen him play several times and was
>never really impressed, but I've learned my lesson. I felt the same way
>about Tinsley, but someone on the list-Cecil or Gene?-was completely sold
>and kept saying you have to watch Tinsley play to appreciate him.


  Well, I was also pretty high on Tinsley too.  My only concern with him was
whether he could tone down his game a little bit and still be effective.  He
got the star treatment in college and got away with a lot of offensive push
offs and the like.  But it doesn't seem to be a problem.


>I know there are questions about T.J.
>Ford's size and shooting, but I also know he has been a dominant college
>player and a "true" point guard. How did he and Hinrich do head-to-head?
>What are your impressions of Ford? I haven't seen him much.

First of all let me say I really like Ford a lot.  When people talk about
players making their teammates better, Ford is the perfect example.  Texas
has some nice players.  Some very good athletes.  But take away Ford and they
are a very mediocre team.  Ford makes them great.
He does have the reputation of being a poor shooter.  Sometimes I think the
really good passing point guards have to fight this reputation whether it's
earned or not.
Some people tend to think that there must be some reason these guys like to
pass and that reason must be because they can't shoot.
However, TJ earned the reputation last year honestly.  He was particularly
horrid from the college 3pt line only hitting 5 of 33 attempts.
He seems to have really worked on his shot, especially his 3pt shot, this
season.
It's still below par however.
If he could bring it up to just average I think he would be the most sought
after point guard in America.

As far as the head to head match up, they really didn't match up in this game
except for maybe about five minutes.
Kirk played his normal off guard most of the game. Hinrick is talked about so
much as a point by the NBA scouts, I don't think most people realize that 90%
of the time Kirk is in the game he's playing shooting guard. Not because
shooting guard is his best position, but because he is such a good shooter,
and this team is so thin, they really need his scoring more than his
playmaking.  Our sophomore point guard usually does fine running the
offense.  He is fifth in the country in assists.  But there are some nights,
like last night, where he just seems to fall apart.  That's when Kirk takes
over.
That may be why you get the feeling that Ridnour is more of a passer. 
Believe me, Kirk is an excellent passing point guard when he gets the
opportunity.
KU's starting point guard (Miles) played TJ and did a decent job on him.  TJ
got 25 points but he needed 23 shots to do it.  He also had 10 assists and 2
turnovers.
Kirk had 25pts on 14 shots.
Kirk guarded TJ a few times down the stretch.  Once TJ got around Kirk and
Kirk made a great play blocking his shot from behind.  They called a foul but
the replays clearly showed he didn't get anything but ball, not even body
down low.
One thing I will say about TJ in this particular game was that although he
did a great job distributing the ball for most of the game, down the stretch
it seemed he wanted to put it away himself and it might have cost his team
the win.

>The college point guard I've been most impressed with so far, and again it's
>based on a small sample size, is Oregon's Luke Ridnour.

Ridnour is nice but he seems a bit turnover prone to me. 

I like Cook a lot too.  I know there was a question as to whether he was
willing to get his nose dirty and mix it up underneath.  That was the one
part of his game that was missing.  He really started to turn that around the
end of last season and this season he seems to be the whole package.

>Reece Gaines, Louisville: I don't see it. I know some scouts love him
>because he's 6-5 and can play point guard, but I see a guy who at best
>>becomes Alvin Williams. He's not a point guard, but he plays one on TV.

Isn't this par for the course for point guards in Pitino's system?

TAM