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I've got my men. Sofoklis and Leandrinho.
Sorry to Kim and John who have expressed displeasure over the draft
mania that has swept through town. Since I am one of the main culprits,
posting all of these stupid mock drafts, I must apologize, but like any
addict; the motto: "friends is friends, but dope is dope," still holds
true.
Anyway, back to the action; Banks is holding, having been named on 8
draft ballots, out of 22, while Pavlovic has fallen to 4. The new
riser, Schortsanitis, is now named three times. Four out of eleven
mocks think we will take a point guard at 16, seven at 20. So, while
Andy doesn't expect us to take a point guard at all, "Inside Hoops" has
us taking two.
Source updated # 16 # 20
nbadraft 18-Jun Collisson Banks
hoopshype 20-Jun Pavlovic Banks
NBAwire 20-Jun Banks Pavlovic
Own the draft 20-Jun Collisson Ridnour
Inside Hoops 20-Jun Barbosa Banks
ESPN 20-Jun Schortsanitis Williams
Sporting News 20-Jun Banks Schortsanitis
Andy 20-Jun Pavlovic Schortsanitis
CBS Sportsline 19-Jun Cabakarpa Banks
Fox Sports 19-Jun Banks Cook
Probasketball 20-Jun Pavlovic Banks
************
Thanks to Andy (he's in good company, with "ESPN" and "The Sporting
News.") for putting me on to Sofoklis.
Andy:
"20. Boston:
Schortsianitis
Big guy. A Power power forward. A man's man. A large Greek
Senegalese. An Olympian in the pure sense. A god. A tower of
strength. A young starting front court rebounding dude in the
making."
***********
Let Ray sup on quiche and brie, with all of the dainty Euro slashers
and three point shooters, I'm gnawing raw meat, off the bone, with
this kid.
Sofo
[demime 1.01b removed an attachment of type image/tiff which had a name of pastedGraphic1.tiff]
klis will be 18 tomorrow. If you haven't seen his picture this is a
must.
If I'm drafting on "looks," he and Barbosa are "it." Just look into
his eyes (makes more sense than measuring the bumps on his head,
doesn't it?) and you see danger, just what I want under the basket.
Even Charles Oakley would cringe.
[demime 1.01b removed an attachment of type image/tiff which had a name of pastedGraphic2.tiff]
I guess there's not much left to do, but post below, the scouting
reports for "Mr. Schortsanitis" and Maurice Williams. ;>)
***********
http://nbadraft.net/profiles/sophoclesschortsianitis.htm
(There is a video clip, on the site) #6
Sofoklis Schortsanitis
Birthdate: 6/22/85
NBA Position: Power Forward
Ht: 6-9
Wt: 275
European Team: Iraklis Salonica
Hometown: Kavala, Greece
Telebasket Profile
NBA Comparison: Eddy Curry
Strengths: A Greek Baby Shaq? A super prospect with developing
offensive skills. He plays with aggressiveness, intelligence. a solid
inside game with post moves, baby hooks, and his shot from the 16-18
feet is excellent. Unselfish player with great agility. He sets up
screens extremely well. Has the smooth moves of a forward combined with
muscles that allow him to be dominant on the boards. He jumps
impetuously for rebounds, both on offense and defense. He can handle
the ball well from the one paint to the other. His approach to
devloping his game is very mature.
Weaknesses: Inexperience. Must stay focused. Gets into foul trouble
easily (mainly due to his passion to play good defense). Needs to work
more on his free throws in order not to face problems in the future.
Still has a ways to go in terms of development, but with such a strong
work ethic, there's no telling how good he can be. Still isn't asked
much of because he is playing against much older and more experienced
players. He is being nurtured along slowly to best facilitate his
skills and potential. (Could be closer to 6-8, but at just 16, he
figures to continue to grow.)
Notes: The first thing that comes to mind when watching this kid is
that its rare to find a body with such amazing strength and size at the
age 16 ( born in June of 1985). Son of a Greek father and a Nigerian
mother, Shortsianitis impressed last year Iraklis American player, Tony
Farmer ( former Golden State Warriors Forward), who gave him the name
Baby Shaq, because of his beast-strength and his inside game. Another
impressive element of his game is his fighting spirit on defense. He is
a quick learner and a pearly character. He will probably be a 7 footer
of 280 pounds full of muscles and strength. Sophocles will benefit
greatly from the fact that he has competed against professionals in a
very tough league from age 15. He has similar game to Eddy Curry of the
Chicago Bulls. Right now , he is a "Baby-Shaq" that spends hours upon
hours in the gym lifting weights or training both with the youngs and
the pro players.
-Dimitris Armadoros
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Sofoklis has African blood, his mother is from Cameroon and his father
from Greece. His real height is 204 cm, his weight is 120, maybe 130
kilos! He has incredible power, strength and body control, so at the
junior level he's an illegal weapon! He can slam the ball after an
offensive board or a teammates dish, and has confidence underneath to
find a solution. He could improve his range, but has decent touch and
is able to control the ball in the open court at high speed. He is
playing with the majors already with Iraklis Thessaloniki in the Greek
League averaging 6.4 minutes and 2.6 points per game.
-Romano Pettiti
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Strengths: Solid athlete who can run the floor very well and possesses
above average leaping ability ... Because of his strength he is able to
get excellent position on the blocks ... For his size he shows great
agility around the basket ... Does a very good job at drawing contact
in the lane and more importantly once contact occurs he has the
strength and body control to finish ... Has shown the ability to hit
the 18-19 foot jumper when needed ... Has soft hands which allow him to
catch most passes thrown into the post ... Plays every game with
passion and intensity ... A player who is not easily intimidated ...
Due to his aggressiveness and size he is a great offensive rebounder
... Is a solid passer for a player his size and age although his
decision making is still a work in progress ... On tip-ins and lay-in's
he displays soft touch around the basket ... Defensively he has very
quick hands capable of intercepting most passes ... Smart defender who
will often allow his man to front him once the pass is made and has
enough quickness to quickly jump in front for the steal ... Owns a
solid work ethicand has the desire to be great not just good ...
Weaknesses: Has a bad habit of picking up quick fouls due to over
aggressiveness when guarding his man ... Needs to work on recognizing
double teams better as he is often slow to react to them ...
Fundamentally he is a little behind in his development as he has had to
play out of position for his team ... Offensively he still has a
tendency to rely too much on his back to the basket power game instead
of concentrating on face up skills ... Height is inflated, although
Shortsianitis is listed by "some" at 6-11, he looks to be between 6-8 =
to 6-9 = ... Despite his ability to draw contact in the lane, his below
average free throw shooting inhibits him from taking full advantage of
his opportunities ... While he has range on his jumper, he lacks
consistency ... Tends to put the ball on the floor rather than
immediately going up with the ball after receiving it in the post ...
Although a solid rebounder he is still learning how to get rebounds out
of position although with added game experience this should be less of
an issue ... Defensively he is not a great shot blocker as he is still
learning defensive footwork and timing ...
-Matthew Maurer
Notes: Schortsianitis made enormous strides over the last year. One
year ago he was a great prospect capable of dominating his age group
but lacked the skills and experience to play against professionals. He
has really come a long way in a short time. His numbers are completely
mind blowing to Europeans. Playing in the Greek League which is the
3-4th best league in all of Europe, Sophocles averaged 11 points 6
rebounds in 21.5 minutes in 23 games. He shot 58% from the field and
had more offensive rebounds than defensive 3.3 to 3. He totaled five
doudle doubles, with his best game 20p 11r against Panionios.
Copyright ) 2003 Sports Phenoms, Inc. All rights reserved.
*********************
#25
Mo Williams
Birthdate:12/19/82
NBA Position: Point Guard
College: Alabama
Class: Sophomore
Ht: 6-1
Wt: 185
Hometown: Jackson, MS
High School: Murrah
Team Site Profile
2002 Stats
NBA Comparison: Mike Bibby
Strengths: A natural floor leader and playmaker. Shoots the ball well,
can create off the dribble, and has good leadership qualities. Strong
competitor, with good work ethic. Makes good decisions and can shoot
and distribute the basketball. Good size and strength.
Weaknesses: Inexperience. Must improve defensively. Passing and ball
handling are good, but can improve. Not overly explosive leaper.
Notes: Was an All American pitcher in high school with Major League
potential.
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Strengths: Superb handleDribbles effortlessly with both right and left
hands, can cross over with ease, and drive into lane either way almost
at will6'1, with decent strengthSolid shooter with excellent mid
range J and floaterExcellent fade-away off drive, very good at
shooting off dribble from 20 feet in Easily gets into the lane, and
excellent vision/passing once thereGood passer on the perimeteris
improving defensivelyGood feet, willing to take charges, and quick
handsExcellent FT shooterWilling to go after defensive boardsGood
leader, will take control of gameCan really work the pick and roll.
Weaknesses: Still has a ways to go on DNeeds better range/consistency
from 3, but can hit deep ballVery poor at catch and shoot.
-Benjamin Eggar
Copyright ) 2002 Sports Phenoms, Inc. All rights reserved.