Re: Rickert?

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't want to come across as a big Rickert backer, but I have seen him
play quite a bit here in Big Ten country. If there are any Minnesota fans on
the list who could add to what I'm about to write, please do.

As far as Rickert vs. Collison, West or Cook... Rickert has more POTENTIAL,
than any of those guys. He's just a sophomore, but has been productive (even
in a "down" year). He's taller than Collison, with much more range and a
little more athleticism. He's much taller than West, who is one of those
dreaded undersized power forwards. And he doesn't have the "unmotivated"
label of Cook. Also, you're comparing him to three seniors, who were more
polished thanks to those two extra years. Go back and look at Collison, West
or Cook as sophomores and see how they compare.

I like Rickert as a player. He's long, reasonably athletic and has great
range on his shot. But I was completely burned by Joel Przyzbilla out of
Minnesota a few years ago. I watched that guy in college and he was a long,
lean, natural shot-blocker who dominated games and seemed pretty athletic
for his size. He was a good passer. Then he got drafted, decided (or was
told) he needed to bulk up, got heavy and slow and turned into just a big
white stiff. So I'm not sticking my neck out on Rickert. No way.

Mark

P.S. On several other topics of the weekend... The Carlisle thing is just
bizarre. Granted, the guy seems about as much fun to be around as poison
ivy, but he did a GREAT job the last three years. And he was just about to
get what should be the final pieces to an Eastern Conference champion
(Milicic and whatever free agent they spend their money on). Strange.
Personality-wise, he seems a lot like Obie-completely bereft of people
skills. But he's a heck of a coach.

... I was pleased to see Simmons' trade rankings Friday. It's funny, because
I had just gone back and dug up that column from a year ago. His comments on
Antoine are pretty revealing. He was a big Antoine fan, but he sees what's
happening. For those who say you don't trade Antoine now when his value is
low... do you want to wait until it falls lower? 

... I'm having a hard time getting excited about any of these draft point
guards (other than T.J. Ford, of course). I don't even see any Tinsleys in
the bunch. Who knows about the Brazilian, but if we're talking a four-year
learning curve, as someone speculated, then count me out. A year-maybe
two-I'll be patient. Four years? No thanks, unless he's going to do his
seasoning in Brazil and not take up any cap space. Anyway, the rest of
them-Hinrich, Ridnour, Gaines-don't do much for me. I've seen enough of each
of those guys to feel pretty confident saying they're not the answer. I
never watched one of their games and came away thinking "that guy controlled
the game" like you should for a great point guard. I wish North Carolina's
Raymond Felton had entered the draft. I've seen him control some games.
Maybe one of the lesser-knowns like Marcus Moore, Marcus Banks or Mo
Williams will be the guy. I haven't seen enough of any of them to say for
sure, although I like a lot of the things I read about Banks and Williams.
But they wrote a lot of that same stuff about Frank Williams, from Illinois,
a couple of years ago and I never understood it. Anyway, I think the point
guard answer is a trade, not a draft pick.



--- --- ---

You wrote:

I haven't seen this guy play, so somebody tell me why
a skinny white kid from the Big 10 who had a down year
and isn't ready for prime time yet would be a better
pick than Nick Collison, David West or Brian Cook ...
or than one of the Euro bigs. This is a serious
question. Thanks.