Jerome Dyson There was a time when averaging 20/5/5 at UConn meant a guarantee to be drafted. Not so for Dyson. For all the scoring numbers, Dyson is far from a complete scorer; for all the assist numbers, Dyson is far from a point guard. And at 6’3, he’ll struggle to be a shooting guard as well. Much of his production comes from the fast break, where he is unbelievably good. He can snake his way to the basket with blistering speed, and finish with athleticism despite his small size. In the half court, however, he can’t get to the basket as readily. This is due in no small part to his jump shot, which doesn’t really exist. And while Dyson has the athletic tools for perimeter defence, he lapses. If he goes to the D-League – and he should, because he’s going to be on the cusp of a call-up – then he could put up similar numbers to that. But without a jump shot, his ridiculously tremendous upside potential is limited. Christian Eyenga When he was drafted at #30 in 2009, Eyenga was playing in the Spanish third division for DKV Joventut’s feeder team, CB Prat Juventud. This season, aged 20, Eyenga made it up to the big club. In 29 AC games for the team, Eyenga averaged 3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 12.6 minutes per game, shooting 50% from the floor and 35% from three. Now that LeBron James has left, it’s probably quite comforting to know that a first rounder was used on such an impact player. (Sarcasm aside, Eyenga is starting to get somewhere. For a 20 year old in the ACB, where 20 year olds don’t usually play, that’s not bad.) Marquis Gilstrap Gilstrap was covered in the Bobcats summer league […]
Chris Ellis, featured in the last update, has moved from the Ukraine to Romania. Here’s a couple of updates on people already covered; 1) Keon Clark has continued his weekly reviews in front of a drug court….or rather, he hasn’t. At his January 27th hearing, Clark turned up but received a “bad report”, and while I don’t know what that entails, I do know that it meant serving two weeks in PSB (which I believe to mean “prison,” as in “public safety building.”) Clark then didn’t turn up to his February 3rd hearing, and nor did he turn up to prison. I don’t know how a man doesn’t turn up to prison, but Keon didn’t. He is now MIA and an arrest warrant has been issued. (He also managed to get done for both speeding and driving with a suspended license, AGAIN, since the last update was issued. STOP DRIVING, KEON.) 2) The reason Vin Baker is not playing is that he is now an assistant coach at Texas Southern University. So is Nick Van Exel. Texas Southern are playing live on British TV next week. We’ve come a long way. (There are about 4 times more NCAA games than NBA games shown over here now, presumably because they’re cheaper. It’s good, though. And it would be better if the Lakers weren’t in 80% of the NBA games shown. That figure is only slightly exaggerated.) – Chinemelu Elonu Lakers draft pick Elonu is in Spain, playing for Zaragoza. He is averaging 6.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in only 19 minutes per game, shooting 60% from the field. That’s the good news. But why’s he only playing 19 minutes per game? It’s not because there’s a more talented player in front of him, for Zaragoza are in the […]
– Christian Eyenga: Everything I know about Christian Eyenga can be found here. Nothing has happened since then to really advance my knowledge. But I’ll add this unoriginal thought: This is a Cavaliers team that is trying to win now. If you trade for Shaquille O’Neal, you’re trying to win now. They’re the rules. So why then would you take the biggest prospect in the draft with your sole first-round pick? I’m not saying that any of them are brilliant players or substantial difference-makers, but players like Sam Young, Dejuan Blair, Jermaine Taylor….these are potentially useful pieces immediately, and as things stand, the Cavaliers bench is pretty bare. Would it not have been worth taking one of their ilk instead? What is the percentage possibility of Eyenga becoming a better NBA player than these others? I don’t know. But it’d have to be quite a way above 50% to make this make sense. – Jamont Gordon: Jamont Gordon fills up the stat sheet in all categories, but he has his flaws. He’s an inefficient scorer at times, he turns it over too much at others, his own hairline hates him, and he’s short for his scoring skillset. But one of the biggest flaws has always been his jump shot. And, based on last year’s play, it still is. Gordon averaged 11.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals in 24 minutes per game for Upim Bologna last season, but shot only a below-par 32% from three-point range. He drew a lot of foul shots as per usual, but also missed a lot as per usual, shooting 68% from the stripe. Gordon’s an unconventional kind of smallish guard, and he’s quite a good one, bullish and athletic with some moves in his bag. He’s just going to have to improve his […]
Part One Part Three All times are BST, by the way. 01.27: To the surprise of literally nobody, Toronto takes DeMar DeRozan with the ninth pick. As unimpressed as I am by a shooting guard with little offensive skill, no range outside of 16 feet, inconsistent defence and unimpressive production, it’s still the right pick here, because he has a chance to be something, and the Raptors definitely need something. Their shooting guard depth chart was also to being Quincy Douby and Quincy Douby only, which is even worse than Minnesota’s was. DeRozan has completely butchered the knot on his tie, though, which is never a good first impression to make. 01.28: Jay Bilas tells us that DeRozan penetrates easily enough, but can’t shoot. There’s pills you can take for that. 01.29: An advert comes on that says “Kia – Official Automotive Partner Of The NBA”. Yes, NBA players are often to be seen in Kias, rolling on dubs, checking out them tight whips, and hooking up their Sorentos with fat chrome. They’re the new Maybachs. They really are. 01.30: (They’re not.) 01.31: Mark Jackson – whose first initial and surname are quite chilling considering the night’s events – says that Milwaukee’s biggest need in this draft is a point guard. They need a backup, sure, because near-All-Star Luke Ridnour is not up to par and everyone else is a free agent. But there aren’t a great many young point guards in the NBA better than Ramon Sessions, who just put up 12.4/3.4/5.7 in only 28 minutes per game, while also making strides with his defence. There’s not a point guard left in this draft better than him, and so no, Mark Jackson, I do not agree that Milwaukee need a point guard. 01.32: Apparently it doesn’t matter what I […]
