Re: Brandon Hunter

[Eggcentric@xxxxxxx]

Pete - I am not sure which of us is the most ''stupid''  - you for singing 
such an optimistic tune, or me for feeling the necessity to turn off 
the radio. 

< Your selling the guy short.. He is 6.6.5" without shoes according the 
Chicago predraft. That means he is 6'8" in shoes..(the always round up in 
the NBA). The guy also has a great wingspan and good standing reach. 
Those stats are way more important then height.> - Pete

One half-inch doesn't mean a hell of a lot. Nor does an extra pica of
wingspan or standing reach.  

Have you actually seen Hunter play?  Are you familiar with his 
warts, or are you automatically taking the role of Celt loyalist?  
Hunter has gone before a jury of his peers (29 GMbs, dozens of draft 
gurus, and now Obie) and been found guilty of lacking enough talent to 
offset his physical liabilities at PF, the only position most feel he 
would be able to compete for at the NBA level.

< Elton Brand is a very effective 6'8" PF who does all the PF things 
quite well. He posts up, scores down low and provides an inside presence 
defensively.  Brands arms are very long too of course. Same deal with 
Shawn Marion.. > -Pete

Apples to oranges. Brand was drafted #1, Marion at #9.  Hunter was 
drafted at #56.  How do you account for that? 

< The guy is certainly big enough to play the PF if Walker is. I wouldn't be 
surpised he actually had a longer standing reach then Walker who plays 
shorter then he is, IMHO > - Pete

Now I am really on a roll.  Do you actually feel that Hunter, due to his 
superior standing reach, has as good a shot as Walker to make the NBA?

< Also with his hops..(I heard 38 wow) he could slot behind K. Brown to give 
us plus rebounding at that position and compensate for Walker's minus 
rebounding.> - Pete

OK - 38 is impressive - but according to your above statement, you see
Hunter as neither a PF nor impressive enough to even surge ahead of poor 
Kedrick on our SF depth chart. 

< Now it could turn out that he can't play...and this whole debate will be 
moot. > -Pete

It already was ''moot'' ... as far back as draft night.  

< But frankly its just plain dumb to write guys off as too short. BTW 
I don't think Barkley is near 6'6" without shoes.. I heard he was more 
like 6'4".> - Pete

Barkley was one terrific player no matter what you wish his height 
to be with or without shoes, reinforced peds, lifts, padded socks, or 
stilts. Talent-wise, do you feel Hunter has Barkley potential?  Dumb 
as you may feel this thinking to be - Hunter will never make our team
due to the combination of roster limitations/Hunter limitations.  
 
<Its a mistake to write this guy off because he is "too short". If he can 
do the things on the court..that is what matters. AI is like 5'10"..and he 
can play shooting guard. > - Pete

Even in 2nd-rate orchards there are always a certain amount of good 
pluckins to eat despite the many more that are left to rot upon the ground.  
So fine - make your case for Hunter by citing the two best examples of 
extraordinary players who have broken through the ''too short'' barrier.  
And let Tyler cite untasted juicy fruit like Ginobili as being the exception 
to the ''left to rot upon the ground'' rule at #57. Name one other #57
who has made the cut.

sure, once every few years, miracles can and do happen.  I would love 
that to be the case with Hunter.  However, history along with his first 
five piss-poor days at summer camp tell me it will not be so.  And 
that isn't to say he won't excel when his team's actual summer league 
games begin. But unless he is able to average something like 30-20, it 
just won't matter. His assets and fate have already been written.

Concerning our draft picks, I would also like to add that our BT seems 
more pleased so far with Perkin's raw skills and quiet quest to learn 
than with Bank's cocky, in-your-face, quick-as-a cat, out-of-control, 
Forte-esque attitude. 

Forget about Cook and Lampe, WayRay.  A few seasons from now 
young Perkins may well prove to be our very best draft pick since 
the guy some now affectionately refer to as St. Paul.  

Finally, we may have found a winner... St. Kendrick.  

Egg