Bleacher Report - Articles by Ian Thomas

NBA Draft: Guys I Love, Guys I Hate, and a Guy I Don't Get

Ian Thomas — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:56:17 -0400

Since everyone and their little sister feels compelled to create their own NBA mock draft this year, I figure it's a pretty good idea to stay far, far away from doing the same.

It's boring. It's arrogant. And most of all, it's going to be completely wrong—even if you're Chad Ford and think you know everything (except feel obliged to make 400 mocks anyway...you know, to cover all the bases).

Regardless, I love the NBA draft. It's one of my favorite things of the year to watch, and I felt like saying something on the subject—and you can't stop me.

So I figure I'd apply my healthy supply of college basketball knowledge to an honest list of prospects I like and hate...and one who doesn't really fit into either category, but who I've got strong feelings about anyway.

Guys I Like

Michael Beasley

Yes, I'm aware that he went to enough high schools—six—to satisfy each child of the Brady Bunch, or each of Larry King's wives. And yeah, he seems like a bit of a cocky moron sometimes.

But I followed the Big XII pretty closely last year, and, um, he was kind of the best player in it. By a lot.

Look, I don't care if he's 6'10", 6'7", or 5'3", the guy can flat-out ball. 26.5 ppg and 12.5 rpg just do not lie, especially in the competitive Big XII.

He dropped 39 points in Lawrence against the to-be-NCAA champion Jayhawks, and they have, what, five future NBAers? And you mean to tell me he can't do that to Excremento...excuse me, Sacramento?

Another thing he's got going for him is that cocky attitude. Sure, it's probably gonna rub some NBA fans the wrong way, but if I'm not mistaken, there's a certain Chicago Bulls legend who was never exactly a candidate for sportsman of the year, either (relax, I'm not making any comparisons).

Beasley is likely to tell you that he's gonna drop 40 on you, and then do it just to make himself look good.

In my mind, what's the real difference between Mike Beasley and Kevin Durant, last year's draft darling? They're similar in size (Beasley actually has the better, stronger NBA body), dropped similar numbers against the same competition (again, Beasley gets the advantage with slightly better stats against a slightly stronger league), and seem to have the same basketball IQ.

Beasley's a better defender overall too, and he somehow gets about 1/10th of the love KD got. God, I could do an entire article on this comparison. But I digress.

Beasley is damn good, end of question. Pencil him in for 25 and 9 for twelve years.

O.J. Mayo

O.K., so he's not going to be the perennial MVP and all-world player that he was projected to be in the seventh grade, when the rest of us were scraping our knees in our backyards and trading Pokemon cards. He probably won't even be an All-Star. But besides Beasley, he's the best in this class.

He's got good size for either guard position. He's got naturally crisp offensive skills and a chance to be a truly game-changing defender.

Look, this draft really lacks franchise players. Beasley's the only one, and only if he's in a great situation. Mayo is not a building block. What you're really looking at is a really solid starter who's going to be a Caron Butler-esque second or third option on a playoff team.

That might not be what you want drafting in the top five, but hey, you can do a lot worse.

Brandon Rush

This is really awkward, him being an NCAA champion Kansas Jayhawk, and me being a depressed, disgruntled Missouri Tiger. But Rush is way good, and will be one of the best swingmen in the league in a few years.

(Note: I can't stand the term "sleeper," but if I could stand the term, I'd apply it to Rush.)

He really knows how to play the game. His stats are just alright (13.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg), but he's got a beautiful midrange jumper, and he's pretty tenacious defensively.

Plus, he's got a really sweet name, and you can't deny the impact of that on a player (unless you're Stromile Swift, who should really trade names with, like, Chris Bosh or someone good with an unfortunate name).

Guys I Hate

Kevin Love

It's nothing personal. He's probably a nice guy, and his uncle made some pretty good music with the Beach Boys. It's just that he's got no place in the league.

He's an undersized big man who's pretty good at everything, but not great at anything. He's not really athletic, and he's not going to scare any 4's defensively. So how is he projected to go top five?

I understand he made plenty of plays at UCLA, and that he was a top prospect coming out of high school. But I don't see him being good enough to crack the rotation of a powerhouse NBA team.

If he's lucky, he'll be Troy Murphy. If he's not, he'll be a lot worse. No thanks.

Anthony Randolph

Have you seen this guy play? It looks like someone took Nicole Ritchie, made her 6'10" and black, and asked her to run around and play PF. If I were his teammate, I wouldn't know whether to pass him the ball or pass him a burger.

Aside from his problematic body, the dude just screams bust. He produced average numbers for a terrible college team, and he's not nearly as physical or talented as fellow LSU alum Tyrus Thomas, who, aside from the fantastic surname, is nothing to write home about.

Is that what you want, lottery teams? A chance to have a crappier version of Tyrus Thomas?!

Some team is going to make a huge mistake taking this guy. He's destined to be a 76er.

Kosta Koufos

Admittedly, I didn't follow much OSU basketball this year. I knew about this Koufos fella, but I figured that, at seven feet, he was probably a solid low-post banger with some nice turnaround moves. I thought this for quite a while.

Now, in the midst of NBA draft season, I'm finding out that he's actually more of a perimeter guy, can't block shots and can't really rebound consistently. Why, why, WHY? YOU'RE SEVEN FEET TALL! YOU'RE ATHLETIC! BE A REAL CENTER!

He's probably gonna wind up in the top 15, which is really a shame. Best part? On espn.com, they compare him to Darko Milicic. Sign me up!!! Except don't.

Guy I'm Really Not Sure About

Eric Gordon

On one hand, he's a great jump shooter with above-average slashing skills and a good demeanor. On the other hand, he's...he's a jump shooter.

He's also only 6'3", making him a bit shrimpy for a shooting guard. He's also very streaky from beyond the three-point line, despite his reputation of being an ace bomber.

Best case scenario is that Gordon develops his jump shot to the point that it's top five in the league, and then uses it to help a good team.

He'll never be a true go-to guy, but judging by the fact that he had some ridiculous performances over the year (and that he's impossible to stop in NCAA March Madness '08 for XBox 360), there's a solid chance that he'll carry a team offensively for stretches.

But I don't know...is he really top 10 material? He doesn't really excel at anything other than shooting, and, at his size, he'll likely be very guardable for most 2s.

You can do a lot worse than Eric Gordon if you're, say, the Knicks or the Bucks. He could turn out to be a big helper. But he could also flame out early if he doesn't find a place in the league.

Who knows? That's the fun.

(Unless you're an NBA GM. Then it's definitely not fun.)

Philadelphia Phillies: Charlie Manuel Not Perfect, but a Perfect Fit in Philly

Ian Thomas — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:36:06 -0400

Charlie Manuel isn't a lot of things.

He isn't a man of impressive linguistic skills. They're barely even passable sometimes, especially when he's upset or excited.

He isn't a good public speaker, either.

He isn't really good at diagnosing hit and run situations, or pulling the trigger on a suicide squeeze—a maneuver I wish he'd consider more often.

But it's what Charlie is that's important. Turns out, he's a pretty damn good manager.

Who wasn't skeptical of the bumbling, rotund West Virginian upon his hiring as the Phillies' 51st manager? Yes, the man had two 90-plus win seasons at the helm of the Cleveland Indians—but that was the American League, and the NL was a completely different brand of ball. It didn't feel right.

Yes, he was a prolific hitting instructor, responsible for the growth of several prolific major league hitters—including two notable Phillies sluggers, ex-first baseman Jim Thome and his successor Ryan Howard. But would he still find a way to help the Phillies' young hitters mature at the dish?

And at sixty years old, had the game passed him by?

Well, it wasn't always pretty, but Charlie somehow guided a spunky, streaky Phillies squad to 88 wins and to within a game of the NL wild card in his first year at the helm in 2005.

The next year, he wriggled his way to 85 wins, and fell three games short of the playoffs. With a stellar lineup that boasted rising stars Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins, and a formidable pitching rotation, fans wondered why he continued to fall short. Hell, Andy Reid could have coached that team to the postseason.

And then Charlie pulled an Andy in '07.

89 wins—and a memorable, catastrophic collapse by a certain overrated team in the Big Apple...no, the other one—were enough to land the Fightin' Phils in the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

Yes, the Phillies fell flat against the Rockies days later, and yes, Charlie deserves some of the blame for that. But to harness the emotion of a ballclub through those last few weeks—Philadelphia won 13 of 17 games down the stretch—is impressive. Charlie didn't always make all the right substitutions or put on the right plays, but his worth came through in the clubhouse.

Today, Manuel's Phillies—and I'm finally completely proud to say they're his—are 39-26. They have a four—yes, four!—game lead on the Florida Marlins in the NL East.

Charlie's substitutions are sharper—finally, he's figured out that Greg Dobbs should pinch hit as much as possible, and Pat Burrell should run the bases as little as possible. His players seem much more relaxed, as evidenced by a slew of come-from-behind victories and late-inning rallies.

You can calculate wins and losses, but numbers won't tell you the effect of a focused manager on a baseball team. Seems that giving dopey Charlie the reigns of the Phillies was a little like handing the keys of your car to a 90-year-old: experience and guile will get him to where he needs to be eventually, even if he's gonna give you a few dents and scratches to deal with.

I'll take the dents and scratches and awkward, stuttering press conferences. Just give me a ring.

Mike Lieberthal Retires: An Ode to 'Lieby'

Ian Thomas — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:18:14 -0400

Call me crazy, but I'm going to keep a permanent spot in my heart open for Michael Scott Lieberthal.

No, he wasn't a Phillies great. Some would argue he wasn't even a Phillies good, or a Phillies adequate. But when you break his numbers down, you'll see Lieby—who was behind the Phils' plate for the better part of thirteen years—is certainly among the best Phillies catchers of all time.

He kept a career batting average of .274, which is more than acceptable for a backstop. He managed 150 home runs, as well (which puts him fifth all-time for Jewish-born ballplayers, making him the Willie Mays of Team Jerusalem).

He was a two-time NL All Star, achieving the honor in both 1999 and 2000. He won a Gold Glove in '99, as well, and captured the NL Comeback Player of the Year award in 2002.

In 1999, Lieberthal carried an underwhelming Philadelphia team, hitting .300 and slugging .551 while clubbing 31 home runs and 96 RBI. It's not quite a Barry Bonds-esque type of year, but for a scrawny, scrappy catcher, I'll take it.

Sure, Lieby heard his fair share of Philly boos, and, at times, he deserved them. High expectations followed Mike throughout his entire Philadelphia tenure—a result of being selected third overall in the 1990 Draft out of high school. But the man did his job, and did it well.

And for reasons I can't quite explain, I always really liked the guy.

I got a Lieberthal No. 24 home Phillies jersey for my 11th birthday. I cheered for him the loudest—louder than Burrell, Thome, or even my beloved Bobby Abreu. Lieby had a sort of everyman persona that I really appreciated, and I liked how he always took the field without a millionaire's swagger. He knew he was just another player, and I liked that attitude.

He was booed when he left men stranded on base (which he seemed to do frequently) and when he performed one of his 571 strikeouts. But Lieberthal ended up with a solid .991 fielding percentage, meaning he saved just as many games as he blew.

And, really, unless you're Mike Piazza or Yogi Berra, are you really being counted on to consistently provide offense from the catcher position? A solid catcher is one who can manage his pitching staff effectively and provide as much offense as possible from the bottom of the lineup. Lieberthal did both.

When Lieberthal officially retired on June 1, after signing a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Phillies, I felt a twinge of sadness for the team's all-time leader in games caught.

He had become an afterthought to most Phillies fans—he was coming off a one-year backup stint with the LA Dodgers—but not to me. He was a good player to look up to: a defensively consistent, intelligent guy behind the dish. He'll never make the Hall of Fame, but he should go down as an important part of Phillies history.

And yes, I still have that jersey. I'll never get rid of it.

Philadelphia Philles Must Avoid Daft Draft

Ian Thomas — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:00:46 -0400

It's tough to focus on the future when the present is so fruitful, but that's exactly what the Phillies brass—that means you, Mr. Arbuckle—have to do on Thursday.

They must forget for a day that they have an all-world second baseman leading the bigs in homers in Chase Utley, an MVP shortstop in Jimmy Rollins, and a future 20-game winner in Cole Hamels.

They must disregard Shane Victorino, Pat Burrell, and Brad Lidge, the current keys to the club's success. They must forget about the hundreds of home runs—and strikeouts—in Ryan Howard's future.

On Thursday, the Phillies must draft. And draft well.

They have six selections in the first 106 picks of the 2008 MLB Draft. Traditionally, the Phils have favored promising high-school talent in the first few rounds of the draft.

This approach is hit or miss: for every Rollins or Hamels, there's a Greg Golson or Gavin Floyd (although Floyd has showed signs of life recently with the White Sox).

High school players are, understandably, unpredictable—it's impossible to judge how an 18 year-old will adapt to big league pitching years down the road.

So, the question for the front office is obvious: Do they take chances on kids, or do they go with more established college players who may not have as much upside?

With those six high picks, the Phils can do both.

Last year, the Phils plucked Joe Savery, a left-hander out of Rice University, in the first round. While Savery is struggling so far at Class-A Clearwater, posting a 2-6 record with a 4.63 ERA, he appears to have the potential to be a valuable second or third pitcher in the Phillies' rotation.

A year before, the team drafted prep RHP Kyle Drabek, who, at only 19, has posted a 5-1 record at Class-A Lakewood this year. Like Savery, Drabek appears to have the stuff to crack the rotation in a few years.

But while it's clear that the Phillies can draft both high schoolers and college players effectively, the team's farm system doesn't exactly echo the promise of their two most recent first-rounders.

Philadelphia has three Baseball America Top-100 prospects in their system—RHP Carlos Carrasco (#54), INF Adrian Cardenas (#76), and Savery (#90)—but the rest of the farm lacks the kind of prospects that the savage Phillies fans will accept in pinstripes.

Plus, the Phillies' core, while extremely potent, won't be in its prime forever. Burrell is 30, Utley and Rollins are both 29, Howard is 28, and the team's second-best starting pitcher, Jamie Moyer, is 45.

24 year-old Cole Hamels and 23 year-old Kyle Kendrick keep the pitching staff young and promising, and key offensive contributer Shane Victorino is still in his mid-20s. But this team is on the older side.

So Thursday's draft will be incredibly important to the future of the Phillies. They could strengthen the farm system by drafting talents such as high school infielders Anthony Hewitt (Salisbury HS, Conn.) or Ethan Martin (Stephens County HS, Ga.) or college hitters like Stanford's Jason Castro, a catcher, or ASU's Brett Wallace, a third basemen.

They could also go for more pitching. While there isn't a huge need at any specific position (although Philly is beginning to run low on reliable catchers and third basemen), with all those draft picks, they simply can't blow this opportunity to get better.

It's a little unclear how exactly they'll draft, but one thing is certain: on Thursday, Mike Arbuckle and his scouts must overlook their promising present situation and look towards the next generation of Phillies.