UK’s Ryan Harrow and Coach John Calipari talk during the loss to Texas A&M. (Clay Jackson photo)
By LARRY VAUGHT
NASHVILLE — Kentucky guards Ryan Harrow, Julius Mays and Archie Goodwin have frustrated UK fans with their inconsistency at times this season and befuddled even coach John Calipari at times.
However, Tennessee guard Skylar McBee says the trio may have had no chance to succeed this year considering who they had to follow.
McBee, a senior, played against John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, both first-round draft picks and current NBA stalwarts, three years ago. Two years ago he went against Brandon Knight and DeAndre Liggins, both draft picks and both on NBA roster. Last year UK had Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb, two more NBA draft picks, in the backcourt.
“I think their guards are very talented this year because they have talented guards every year,” said McBee after Tennessee beat Mississippi State Thursday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. “But I think these guards this year are a different style of guard. They are more slow down, run the offense than the guards I played against before.
“You had John Wall and Eric Bledsoe that liked to get it out and push in transition all the time. You have some guys this year that who really do a good job slowing down, running offense and fitting in that system. They are not the defensive players that Liggins or Teague were or the scorers that Knight and Lamb were. They are different, but that doesn’t mean they are not good.”
LSU junior Andre Stringer, who had 16 points and three assists in a win over Georgia Thursday, did not play against Wall and Bledsoe. But he competed against Knight, Liggins, Lamb and Teague.
“First off, they are still good players. I think all those guards have a lot of different games,” Stringer said. “The point guard (Harrow) this year, I think Teague was more of a run the team guy and Harrow is more of a scoring guard. I think Lamb was a shooter, and can’t leave him. He kind of reminds me of Mays some.
“I think they had five pros on the court at one time in the past few years. That is what is so different about the Kentucky team now. They don’t have that. They have guys that aren’t as talented as those other guys, so they have to work harder.”
McBee said he assumed Harrow and Goodwin knew the comparisons were coming this year.
“Those are big shoes to fill, and that’s part of it playing at a big school like Kentucky with the success it has had,” McBee said. “They have had a lot of talent come through the years and it is big shoes to fill. They are doing a good job and as long as they play well in the SEC Tournament, they should be fine going into the NCAA. We play in a strong league with a bunch of good teams. They are not bad players at all. I am not sure why people might think that. They are a very good set of guards. They just are not the guards they have had the last three years, but how many teams have had guards like they did those three years.”
Stringer thinks the past comparisons are unfair to UK’s guards, too.
“Those guys have hard shoes to fill because of guys that came before them and paved the way and made Kentucky what they are,” Stringer said. “Calipari is a great coach, but it is hard to come behind those guys. They were all pros.
“I don’t think it was pressure on them that they can’t handle. I think guys at the collegiate level know what to do. They have been playing ball since they were kids, so there is not any undue pressure to come in and star. They knew they had to come in and work and what was expected of them. But they are not bad players.”
By LARRY VAUGHT
Artist Jason Robichau of Phoenix says he’s a huge college basketball fan who cannot watch enough of March Madness each year. That led him to start three years ago to putting together a painting of the national championship team.
His newest print is, “The Pursuit of Gr8ness,” in honor of Kentucky’s 2012 national championship team.
“I just want to try and commemorat the national champion each year,” said Robichau. “I decided to do a painting of the team’s run to the national title and for Kentucky it just seemed right to pick the eight primary players who played significant time and put them around (John) Calipari to go with the eight national titles.”
Kentucky players Darius Miller, Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Terrence Jones, Kyle Wiltjer, Doron Lamb and Eloy Vargas are shown with Calipari as he holds up the national championship trophy.
“I compiled various images to use in the background, too,” Robichau. “I tried to get every player on the team in the background, too. They are all there.”
The background includes Davis blocking Cody Zeller’s shot, Kidd-Gilchrist scoring against Baylor and the team’s visit to the White House.
“It takes so long to do these because I want them to be something fans want to keep around. But I plan to keep doing this every year,” he said. “It is kind of hard to get the word out, especially when you don’t live in the area where the team is from. However, once word gets out a lot of fans buy it and that’s why I try to make sure every player on the team is included.
Go to http://www.jasonrobichau.com/pursuit-of-gr8ness-lithograph for more information or contact Robichau at jasonrobichau@hotmail.com. The limited edition lithograph prints are normally $50 but can be purchased now for $25.
By LARRY VAUGHT
Former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl thought Kentucky’s home-court win streak would end this year and said so in October. Yet the current ESPN college basketball analyst thought it would likely be Florida or Missouri, not Baylor, that gave UK coach John Calipari his first Rupp Arena loss.
“I actually thought Kentucky might even lose twice. I just didn’t think it would happen before SEC play started. Baylor was talented enough to pull it off, but I was still shocked it did.”
Pearl also projected UK to finish third behind Florida and Missouri in this year’s Southeastern Conference race. Conference play starts this week and Pearl says UK is “about where I expected them” to be and still feels Florida will win the league.
“I don’t want to sound like … because we guess all the time and don’t know it all .. but I felt some factor would make Kentucky take a step back this year,” Pearl said. “There’s no Darius Miller. No Terrence Jones. No Doron Lamb. I played (coached) against those guys. I know how tough Miller was. He killed Tennessee. He gave it to us not just with offense, but with defense and toughness. Lamb was a clutch shooter. Every time Anthony Davis went to block a shot, Terrence got the backside rebound or Calipari took him out.
“I enjoyed that Kentucky team last year as much as any team I have watched play period. They were that much fun. I enjoyed them as much as any team I have ever seen in college basketball. I knew it was a rare team and I knew there would be a lot of change with this year’s team.”
Larry Conley
By LARRY VAUGHT
Even for a seasoned college basketball analyst like Larry Conley, it’s not easy to figure out the team Kentucky coach John Calipari has this year.
Conley will see glimpses of brilliance. He’ll see periods of lacklustre play where the Cats lack energy. He’ll see superb individual plays. He’ll see severe team breakdowns.
“This type team is very difficult to measure,” said Conley. “Every team John has had you have the tendency, and it’s natural, to measure them against all the one-and-dones he’s had. Just on skill, the other three (teams he had at UK) were better than this one. But that does not mean they could not get better. I am starting to see Nerlens Noel really come around and do the things I thought he was capable fo doing. They are getting better.”
Conley worked last week’s 88-50 win over Lipscomb when he saw small signs of improvement. However, that doesn’t mean he left totally sold on the Wildcats.
“The guys that are really perplexing to me are Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress,” Conley, a starter on UK’s NCAA runner-up team in 1966, said. “They have a tendency to do things you would expect high school players to do and they do not appear to have progressed. Can they score? Absolutely. Do they have the ability to play at a high level? Yes.
“But for one reason or another, they have not come through yet. I think they are both very talented players, but they are not playing the way they should on every play. I know it is frustrating for John. He is trying to make them all better. That’s obvious not only in games, but also in practices I have watched.”
Both Poythress and Goodwin have been brilliant at times. Poythress became the first UK freshman since 1979 to score 20 or more points in four straight games. Goodwin leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game with Poythress second at 15.0. Goodwin is shooting 49 percent from the field and has been to the foul line 72 times in 10 games. He has been forced to play point guard at times and has 44 assists. However, he also has 32 turnovers. Poythress is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game and shooting 65 percent from the field. However, he has 29 turnovers and only five assists.
What about point guard Ryan Harrow? He has just three turnovers in 114 minutes compared to 16 assists. But he’s played in only six games — he missed four for personal reasons — and is averaging just 4.3 points per game despite scoring 12 points against Lipscomb.
“John has always had really good guards to run things,” Conley said. “Harrow has not been able to do yet what he wants him to do. I don’t know what the problem is. He is an experienced player. He has some quickness. He can play defense. He can actually do a lot of things. But it’s one of those things where he does not come to play every possession and he’s got to be able to do that at this level.”
Conley understands the inclination to compare this team, which has the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, with last year’s national championship team or the Final Four team from two years ago.
“It wouldn’t make sense for Kentucky basketball fans to look and not compare teams,” Conley said. “The one thing last year is that they had a couple of guys in Darius Miller, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb that helped them quite a bit. They had three guys coming back ready to take over in tight spot, and that is a little different with one-and-done teams.
“They don’t have that this year, and it shows. (Kyle) Wiltjer played as good as he has played Saturday (23 points, 12 rebounds), but he’s not one of those guys like Miller, Jones or Lamb. He’s expanded his game. He’s a better rebounder now than last year and he’s starting to put the ball on the floor instead of accepting 3-point shots. But he’s still a long way from a complete package,” Conley said.
Problem is that Kentucky is running out of time to put that package together. The Cats play Marshall Saturday and Eastern Michigan Jan. 2. Then there is that rivalry game with Louisville Dec. 29.
“Once the season begins, you can’t stop the clock. Things just keep coming at you,” Conley said. “These guys have got to start progressing. It’s not like John has not taught them the things they need to know. It’s just a matter of them grasping it, and they need to start doing that very, very soon.”
Alex Poythress photo by Clay Jackson. All rights reserved; image may not be reprinted without permission of vaughtsviews.com.
By LARRY VAUGHT
There’s is no doubt and never has been about Alex Poythress’ talent for John Calipari. Instead, the question for the Kentucky coach becomes just how hard he can get the UK freshman to play.
“Alex, it’s just a motor. We’ve got to get him to understand how hard on every possession you must play,” Calipari said. “When we get him there, he will be scary. But right now, we are going to be behind. That’s just the way it is,.
“Last year we had Doron (Lamb), Terrence (Jones) and Darius (Miller). They had all been to a Final Four the year before. You are talking about one truly veteran player (Kyle Wiltjer) and two that seem to be as veteran as we keep here in two-year guys. We need Alex to play with that motor.”
Poythress, a power forward from Clarksville, Tenn., knows that and has already had many one-on-one conversations with Calipari about his intensity.
“He talks with me a lot about that. I am just trying to be like Mike (Kidd-Gilchrist was last year), trying to walk in his footsteps and play that role he played last year,” Poythress said.
Those are big footsteps, because not only was Kidd-Gilchrist the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft behind teammate Anthony Davis, but he was also one of the most intense players ever to play at Kentucky.
“I play that way all the time, I think. I can do that for this team. You just have to play hard all the time and not take plays off,” Poythress said.
“I was used to doing that in high school when I was double- and triple-teamed so much. It was good preparation for here now that everybody is really good and I won’t have two or three people on me. There’s no reason for me not to play harder than anyone else.
“I like that expectation of being like Mike. You have to have big expectations and set expectations high so you have something to live up to and work for.”
DraftExpress.com analyst Matt Kamalsky said he believes Poythress has even better talent than many realize.
“Poythress has all the physical tools to be a great NBA small forward and has shown remarkable development in his skill set over the past year and change,” Kamalsky said. “He is so versatile on the offensive end for a player his age, and it seems like he keeps finding more ways to impact the game as he’s matured.
“If he can become a reliable 3-point shooter, get stronger and learn to make the most of that strength when attacking the rim, he can be a special talent.”
“Even with how highly touted he is coming in, I think Poythress has the potential to be to surprise of this UK recruiting class.”
Richard Cheeks – The Professor
By RICHARD CHEEKS
In what has become the standard operating procedure for Coach Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats, his 2012-13 version will be a substantially new team for the 4th season in a row. Coach Calipari will build the 2012-13 edition around nine (9) scholarship players and perhaps as many as three (3) walk on players if all three members of last year’s team return for another round of practice and game mop up duties.
For those who like to look back at the way Calipari’s previous teams shaped up, in 2011-12, there were 10 scholarships and 3 walk on players. In addition, UK had two players sitting out as red shirts due to transfer rules or injury recovery. The 2010-11 team, that ended the long UK drought of final four appearances started the season with nine (9) scholarships and one (1) walk on, but before they tipped off the first game, one scholarship player decided to leave the program, reducing that team’s total numbers to nine able bodies. Calipari’s first UK team had thirteen scholarship players, due primarily to the seven (7) returners from Billy Gillispie’s last team.
The 2012-13 Cats will be starting the fall semester with similar numbers in their ranks as the 2010-11 team, but as we have also learned from Coach Calipari’s tenure, it is not the number of players that determine the quality of the team, but the quality of the players who log the game minutes. This year’s team, by that steady measure, looks to be a factor in March, when the games matter most.
Prior to the 2010-11 season, many observers, including this one, conceded that the short roster had as much to do with Coach wanting to keep critical scholarships available for a bumper crop of recruits for the 2011-12 season. Some are making similar remarks about the 2012-13 roster when looking ahead to next August when another bumper crop of high school recruits will be stepping onto college campuses. However, that 2010-11 team redeemed itself quite capably with a trip to the final four, despite doing without the services of Enes Kanter for the entire season, and the 2011-12 roster was not fully subscribed despite that bumper crop that produced UK’s 8th championship.
Therefore, there is only one conclusion about the roster that seems supportable today. Coach Calipari has nine (9) scholarship players on this upcoming UK team because that is the number of players he believes he needs to produce another contender. Yes, that will leave Calipari with plenty of room to maneuver for the best that the 2013 recruiting class has to offer, but it is doubtful that Coach Calipari extends that recruiting season beyond the nine to eleven scholarship players that have dominated his strategy these last three seasons.
Of course, in college basketball, each year provides a new and unique mix of players. Gone from the 2012 National Championship team are Seniors Darius Miller and Eloy Vargas. Also gone are Jones, Kidd-Gilchrist, Lamb, Teague, and the 2013 player of the year Anthony Davis. NBA teams selected six of these seven departing players in June’s NBA draft, and four of those secured first round selections. The returning players from the 2011-12 team are Senior Twany Beckham, Redshirt Junior Jon Hood, and Sophomore Kyle Wiltjer. Sophomore Ryan Harrow was a member of the 2011-12 Championship team as a transfer redshirt player, and will compete this year in what will be his sophomore year of eligibility. Coach Calipari has added to those four “veterans” a senior transfer, Mays, and four freshmen: Nerlens Noel (#1 Ranked Freshman), Alex Poythress (#8 Ranked Freshman), Archie Goodwin (#12 Ranked Freshman), and Willie Cauley (#37 Ranked Freshman). All five of the newcomers should play heavily into Coach Calipari’s plans for the 2012-13 team and season.
So, let the comparisons begin:
1. How will this team compare to last year’s team?
2. How will this team compare to the field next season?
I am sure that folks will frame the 2012 vs. 2013 comparisons in many ways. Here is mine.
The Starters:
PG: Teague v Harrow
The John Calipari history with point guards has become mythical, if not fully legendary, going back to his last two years at Memphis and his first 3 UK teams. The common thinking is that Harrow will not measure up to this line of first round draft picks occupying the point guard position. However, Harrow brings one element to the team this season that none of the past 3 point guards could boast. Harrow has spend one full season doing nothing but playing head to head on a daily basis against Marcus Teague while learning the Calipari point guard system. Harrow figures to hit the ground running with respect to his point guard responsibilities.
Three years ago, John Wall set the standard by earning a #1 NBA draft selection, and the fans said Brandon Knight could not follow that act. However, Brandon Knight followed the act by leading his Cats to their first Final Four in more years than UK fans cared to count, and his own first round draft pick. Then, the fans said Marquis Teague could not follow that act. However, Teague followed the act by leading his Cats to a National Championship and his own first round draft selection. Today, the fans say Harrow cannot follow that act.
I do not doubt that Wall is one of the best PGs ever to wear the UK uniform, but as Knight and Teague have proven, the point guard contributes to the team’s success in many different ways, and the ultimate team success is not dependent upon having the best point guard in school history. Now the mantle of floor generalship falls on the capable shoulders of Sophomore Transfer Ryan Harrow. He will bring a set of seasoned skills to the floor. At the least, a PUSH with 2012, and potentially ADVANTAGE 2013.
C: Davis v Noel
How can any team possibly replace a departing National Player of the Year, and the 2012 NBA #1 draft selection? Most say that no team can possibly replace such an integral component from a National Championship team. However, Coach Calipari has come about as close to doing the impossible as can be done with the addition of the #1 high school player to fill that position, Nerlens Noel. Advantage 2012, but not by as great a margin as many will presume prior to playing against Nerlens Noel.
SG: Lamb v Goodwin
Lamb as a sophomore was a force for the 2012 team. His perimeter shooting was superb, but that was expected by all. He also added moves toward the basket that were effective for himself and his teammates lurking around the basket and the perimeter. Finally, his ability to provide a stabilizing factor at the point, when Marquis Teague needed help, gave Coach Calipari the ability to let Marquis Teague develop his game at the pace Marquis needed to succeed down the stretch. Goodwin comes to the party with tremendous press clippings, but until any freshman demonstrates an ability to step onto a collegiate court and compete, he remains an unknown. For that reason alone, Advantage 2012.
SF: Kidd-Gilchrist v Wiltjer
A year ago, when I prepared the 2011-2012 comparison, I treated Darius Miller as the likely #3 position starter, but it did not take long for everyone to realize that Kidd-Gilchrist had the tools and the maturity to step onto the court as a Freshman and play the game as well as anyone. Darius yielded the starting role for the benefit of the team. Kidd-Gilchrist’s position on the upcoming team will probably be filled by Kyle Wiltner. Kyle Wiltjer was one of the best perimeter shooters the Kentucky program has ever seen as a freshman, but his foot speed limited his defensive ability, which limited his playing time as a freshman. The biggest unknown for the 2012-13 team in my opinion will be how much Kyle Wiltjer can improve his strength, his rebounding, and his defensive abilities to compliment his already proven offensive skill set. ClearAdvantage 2012.
PF: Jones v Poythress
Jones as a sophomore became a man among children, especially after his disappearing act in early December that was instrumental to the team’s only regular season loss at Indiana. However, after he returned from his hiatus over a subsequent finger injury, he was one of the key ingredients to the national title run. Jones was so much more a factor as a sophomore than a freshman. He will be replaced by another true freshman, Alex Poythress. All of the advance information about Poythress indicates that he too will have the tools necessary to play immediately as a Freshman, just as did Kidd-Gilchrist. However, until Poythress proves it, there will remain a slight Advantage 2012..
The Bench:
Miller, Sr. v Hood, RS Jr: Advantage 2012
Wiltjer, Fr v Mays, RS Sr: Advantage 2013
Vargas, Sr v Cauley, Fr: Advantage 2013
Beckham, Jr. v Beckham, Sr: Advantage 2013
Polson, So. v Polson, Jr: Advantage 2013
Malone, Fr. v Malone, So: Advantage 2013
Long, Fr. v Long, So: Advantage 2013
2013 will not be as strong in its starting five across the board as 2012 proved to be. In my opinion, 2012 was stronger at every position except perhaps point guard, where I see a PUSH between Freshman Teague and Redshirt Sophomore Harrow. However, the Kentucky bench in 2013 will be deeper and stronger across the board, with the exception of replacing transformed starter Darius Miller as the best 6th man in the game in 2012.
I believe that the 2012-13 Kentucky team will begin the season as a top 5 team, with Indiana, Louisville, Kansas, and UCLA providing the balance of the season’s pre-season Final Four contenders. This team will be young, as has become the trademark for the Calipari era at UK, more closely aligned, experience wise, to the 2010-11 squad than either the 2010 or 2012 editions. However, the 2013 Cats will begin with more experience at the point guard position than any UK team since Calipari’s arrival, and for that reason, I expect the 2012-13 version of the Wildcats will mature and grow up faster even last year’s team.
In last year’s edition of this analysis, I fearlessly forecast that last year’s team had a legitimate opportunity to traverse its regular season without a defeat, which it did but for its only stumble at Assembly Hall by 1 point, to a very solid Indiana team. I do not foresee the same opportunity for an undefeated regular season campaign in 2012-13, but when this team does stumble, it will be a rare occurrence and the entire basketball world will rise up and take notice.
There are two games in the non-conference schedule that are not clearly in the probable win category, road games at Notre Dame and Louisville. However, these Cats should be favored to beat the Fighting Irish, and could well be favored over the Cards by late December. In the expanded SEC, with 18 regular season games, I believe there are three road games for which the outcomes cannot be predicted as probable Kentucky wins prior to the season, at Alabama, Vanderbilt, and Florida. Of these, I believe UK will be the underdog only in Gainesville. Based on this pre-season analysis, these Cats could lose as many as three games [1 non-conference and 2 SEC] going into the post season (28-3 or better), and this team will be one of the legitimate contenders to compete in the Final Four for their third consecutive season. Therefore, by early March, most observers will regard Calipari’s fourth UK team as a legitimate contender to win the National Championship on the first Monday of April 2012.
Thank you Coach Calipari for bringing us #8, and keeping this program in the hunt for #9.
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By LARRY VAUGHT
If Blake Griffin had not been injured, Anthony Davis would be playing in Las Vegas with the New Orleans Hornets summer-league team instead of being in Europe on the USA Olympic team. He would have been playing more and learning coach Monty Williams’ style, but he knows he’ll learn even more on the USA team.
“I am talking to coach Williams and watching summer league games. I am checking what they are doing and what I need to do and how I will have to adjust when I get with the Hornets,” Davis said Monday in a telephone interview from Barcelona. “I am telling him what I think about this opportunity and what we need to get better at.
“I am going to come in with an advantage that most rookies are not going to have just by being around these guys. They’re teaching me what to do and what not to do. It gives me a great advantage going into the season. These guys are teaching me to play the game on a different level. They laugh and joke and have fun. But when they step between the lines, they’re different players. They’re animals out there. I learned that pretty quick.”
USA basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo is a Davis backer.
“He’s a terrific young player,” Colangelo told USA Basketball. “He might not play now, but who knows? In 2016, 2020, he might be on the team down the road. Having a chance to compete with these players, he will probably want to come back. He could be an important piece for the future.”
That would certainly suit Davis, especially since he feels former UK teammates Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, Marquis Teague and Darius Miller could blossom into potential 2016 Olympic players along with former UK stars like John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Brandon Knight.
“We have the world championships in 2014 and Olympics again in 2016. I could play on both those teams. So could other Kentucky guys,” Davis said. “All of us are very talented players. I don’t see why there couldn’t be a lot of Kentucky guys on future teams unless they change the rules (with no player over 23 allowed) in the future.”
Davis says he is working now to make sure his family can attend the Olympics.
“It will be a great experience for them. They have never been to London, either,” he said. “I am anxious just to get to the Olympic Village and get a chance to be around all the other athletes. I want to see what the Olympics are all about, have fun and win the gold medal.”
Davis played against UK coach John Calipari in the exhibition win over the Dominican Republic — the team Calipari almost led to the Olympics — and the coach told him he would also be in London.
“He told me just to have fun and it would be great to see me in London,” Davis said. “A lot of the guys on the team are supporting me. It’s great to know they are still there for me.”
His new teammates have been just as encouraging as Kidd-Gilchrist, Teague, Jones, Lamb or Miller were last season at UK.
“Everyone on the team talks to me and gives me great advice about what I should have done if I mess up or pats me on the back when I do a good job,” Davis said. “They’ve been a huge help every day, just like the guys were last season.”
By LARRY VAUGHT
Ed Issacson of NBAdraftblog.com spent all season evaluating players that were picked in the NBA draft, including Marquis Teague, Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones of Kentucky. He shared his thoughts on the UK picks.
Question: How good a fit will Marquis Teague be in Chicago?
Isaacson: “It’s tough to tell at this point how Teague will fit in Chicago, but he is nowhere near ready to play as a NBA level point guard for one of the league’s best teams. I am sure with Rose’s status still uncertain at the start of next season, Teague will be the third point guard on the roster and will have an opportunity to learn how to make NBA-level decisions.”
Quesiton: What are your feelings on Terrence Jones to Houston and do you think he stays there?
Isaacson: “I think Houston got good value getting Jones at #18, but it certainly wasn’t the best place for Jones to go. A quick look at Houston’s roster and you notice immediately the large amount of 3′s and 4′s on the roster, including ex-Wildcat Patrick Patterson. Houston is looking to be active, but because of his rookie deal, there is a good chance he gets to stay in Houston if they need to move some of the glut to other teams.”
Question: What do you think made Dorn Lamb’s stock drop a bit more than expected?
Isaacson: “I don’t know if Lamb’s stock really dropped all that much. I know I have told you before that I saw him as a second round pick, and once the second round starts, it is tough to target where players will go within the round. Add to that, certain teams seemed to reach in the first round, so potential first round picks started to slide into the second. Lamb’s demise was the fact that he is a one-dimensional player and he really was only going to go to a team that needed to add a spot-up shooter.”
You can read his NBA draft grades at http://nbadraftblog.com/ where he wonders about Teague’s immediate value to the Bulls but gives the Rockets and Bucks thumbs-up for taking Jones and Lamb when they did. He also has an in-depth Orlando Summer League Preview that includes info on several former Cats.
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