(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Paul Forrester of Sports Illustrated on the challenges of evaluating college talent for NBA scouts, the the main three being: shooting range, defense, and the ability to change and adapt their game. It's a timely article considering the flurry of draft busts in the past few years, particularly the Kwame Brown debacle. He thought he could simply overmatch people athletically, never bothered to pay attention on defense, and his shooting? Well…maybe better to have a visual. And now it’s harder than ever to judge talent, considering so many players have just one year of college (and before that, came out of high school).
On the other hand, take Michale Jordan: It's pretty hard to believe that scouts questioned his shooting ability coming out of high school (the equivalent of Hank Aaron’s minor league scouts saying, “We think he can hit.”). As great of a dunker as he was, he constantly adapted his game to take on younger, more athletic players (you don’t score 50 points at age 38 by athleticism alone). And as for defense? This play illustrates hustle that many young players today can only dream of making.
Even LeBron James has developed an outside shot, and has improved his passing ability tremendously. Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett are more examples: they're big men that have developed a soft touch from 10-15 feet that must be respected.
Also: for all you Warriors fans out there, an insightful article on the management/coaching feuds that caused Golden State to go from ‘We Believe’ to, well…
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