SB Nation User Blog: Blueobsessed

"Misreading" or "Miscoaching" Meek's talent

Blueobsessed — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:09:26 -0000

Could it be that having three coaches in four years caused Jodie to say enough is enough? Obviously the crowning blow came when Jodie told the opposition, "The coach told me not to shoot"! That level of frustration is not characterisitc of the stoic Jodie Meeks we have all come to love.

I want to suggest another possibility. Obviously, Meeks is NBA caliber, but I wonder if he really was groomed for the correct position. From day one at Kentucky, Jodie needed to have been told that his future at the next level was at the PG/LG position. Jasper had the size, speed, handle and leaping ability to play that position, but Jodie needed to develop the skill set for that position as well. It is unfair to our recruits who are really outstanding athletes, not to advise them about the next level. Let's consider some of our talented players:

Rondo had only one position he could play and that was PG. Although relatively small, his "hop", large hands and even longer wingspan are unreal for an athlete with his kind of speed.
Bradley may have been needed to play SG at UK, but he should have been groomed early on as a PG.
Crawford, at 6'5", should have been developed into a SG. Even on the collegiate level his size limited him.
Patterson should play SF and should develop a handle and an outside shot this year.
Morris should have been groomed as a PF, not a center. He may have had to play center, but he should have been groomed as a PF.

Anyone can find exceptions to my suggestions, but in the NBA SIZE DOES MATTER! They measure you before they ever watch you in a tryout. For all of Rondo's talent, he had to add muscle through the use of a personal trainer and sit for a year before taking the reins as a pro PG. Bradley is still trying to learn the game in Europe, but each year, the league will take bigger and faster PGs before selecting him. Crawford will play SG not SF in the NBA. Unfortunately, the SG position is a position that good defenders with larger wingspan and height (6'7") and can shoot find themselves.

It is a fact that for SG, Jodie is too small and will not get a great deal of looks unless he can shut people down defensively. At 6'4" he could be a fast PG, who can muscle a lot of smaller PGs. He has to develop that handle. Morris made the same mistake and chose not to return. if he had played one year next to Patterson, it would have made hime more marketable as a PF. Jodie needed to play this year with John Wall the number 1 draft pick of 2010 and Eric Bledsoe. It would have improved his skills much more quickly than sitting on the bench and playing the amount of time Morris currently plays in the NBA.

IMO Patterson has made the correct decision. He will play a year with Cousins and Orton and bang with 250 pounders everyday. He could even fill in some at SF so the two big men can play side by side. Patrick needs a year to gain more weight and strength. I hope he gets to 250 pounds. Then he will be nearing the size of one Cav SF. This year I hope Patterson gives up on playing PF and starts shooting the threes and drives to the basket. IMO SF is where his future lies.

In closing, I hope Coach Cal will help these star athletes get to the next level. Three coaches have seen Jodie as a SG. Any player who is 6'4" and only has only a 37" leap can play SG in the NBA, but it will be difficult. Any 6'8"-6'9" , 235 lb. player who wants to become an NBA PF also has a hard road ahead of him. Additionally, every year Jodie and Pat will be challenged by younger players both from across the nation and across the world. They need to be ready before they enter the NBA. The NBA does not pay for On the Job Training. They want instant success. What do you think?

NBA: Oklahoma City and Washington need shooting guards this year!

Blueobsessed — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:33:37 -0000

While I believe Detroit and Atlanta have very good shooting guards, I think that Oklahoma City and/or Washington could be looking at players like Jodie Meeks for some much needed offense next year.

This causes a dilemma. It is one thing to say something like, "if I am drafted in the second round, I will go back to college.", but it is another thing to realize that a team that drafts you in the second round may not be able to afford to lose you to next year's draft. In essence, then, a second round draft could have a "guaranteed" contract, abeit at a reduced amount from what first round or lottery picks would command. So the dilemma is: do I go now for less money, hone my skills in the NBA and get better and then command a salary increase. Or do I wait a year, hone my skills in the college game, become an All-American and become a lottery pick next year.

Since the NBA is a business, let's look at how perception influences how athletes are paid. Like politics, name recognition is everything. You get that recognition by dominating the opponents at your same position. On several championship teams there have been examples of excellent relatively unknown players who have been instrumental to assisting a team in reaching a chamionship title. These players are way underpaid relative to the stars and unfortunately stay that way. The stars of the NBA continue to get paid large sums, with major endorsements and every year new "lottery" picks are brought into the league in the hopes of becoming new "stars". Nevertheless, a great deal of the rebounding, assists, defense and yes scoring are contributed by a group of unsung heros who really don't get paid well in comparison to "the stars". It would be interesting to examine the pay of players who score over 20 pt. a game or maybe average a double/double, but are not regularly considered "a star".

The college scene is, of course, not as financially as attractive. You do get a degree and a chance to develop your name recognition. Winning the national tournament is the goal of every team, because in college, teams can beat great individual effort. Injuries can occur. However, being successful head to head with the nation's finest increases your name recognition nationwide. The media cannot ignore you and the NBA scouts will want you. Now you are in the driver's seat , because you are a lottery pick. Based on your previous performance the pros are willing to invest in you.

I fully expect either Washington or Oklahoma City to try to convince Jodie to stay in the draft. They need him, but they don't want to give up a first round draft pick to get him. They want to "guarantee" him a second round pick and a "guaranteed" contract. I believe it will be a substantial amount of money, but I also believe that as businessmen, they see Jodie as one of the unnamed players that help you win a championship and will always pay him accordingly.

In the final analysis, all Jodie has to offer this year are the skills he currently has. Accepting a contract too soon could mean money, but also being lost in the crowd of NBA players who never get recognition, financially or otherwise. I hope Jodie comes back to Kentucky and enters next year's draft with star status.

As we wait for the PG situation to be resolved . . .

Blueobsessed — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:43:53 -0000

look at the possiblities for the depth of our team. Not only will the first team be awesome, but the second team will be made up exceptional talent, as well. In fact, the way I figure it, some of the third team players could be some of the most experienced players on the team. These experienced players will be able to lay claim to having been coached by Tubby Smith, Billie Gillispie, and Coach Cal. That is quite a coaching pedigree. Like everyone else, I am not sure of the status of Liggins, Stewart, Williams and Harrellson, but not counting their talent, look at the talent we can put on the floor and literally run the opposition down. As you will notice, I also assume Jodie and Pat will return.

PG: ? , Galloway

SG: Meeks, Hood

SF: Dotson, Miller, Harris

PF: Patterson, Pilgrim, Stephenson

C: Cousins, Orton

Notice each position has several large players or players who play large. For the first time I can remember, except for Galloway and Pilgrim, we have a four or five star player on all positions of the first and second strings. This scenario even has a four star (Stephenson) possibly on the third team. If the players truly become interchangeable (heard that before), then adding fresh legs throughout the season will keep everyone fresh for March and give the newbies a season of experience.

This lineup should be a good reason for me to get HDTV. I can be patriotic by helping the economy, and then sit back and watch Big Blue roll. What do you think?Will Mama by it?

2009-2010 CATS and beyond

Blueobsessed — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:11:34 -0000

For a number of reasons the fellows who will make up the 2009-20010 Kentucky Wildcats basketball team will have been recruited by three very well known coaches and the seniors, will by the end of the year, have played under three different big name coaches. In the process the team composition has evolved into a group of very tough, long athletic players.

Two players sould have been ready to command huge dollars in the NBA by this time. However, due to injuries, lack of depth and a continual transition of coaches, Meeks and Patterson still lack some basic skills that keep them, IMO, from being high lottery picks. As a guard, Jodie needs to improve his handle and midrange shot. As a potential small forward in the pros, Patrick needs to improve his mid and long range shooting. As a power forward, Patrick must get bigger and stronger. He is currently a tweener like Chuck Hayes.

For the last few years, KY has been looking for an outstanding PG; and the quest continues. Physically and emotionally, I don't believe I have seen a tougher point guard than Porter. The problem was that he was really a shooting guard. He took a great deal of physical abuse on the floor from other players and a great deal of emotional abuse (criticism) from the fanbase. However, he rose to the challenge every game and played his heart out. Always the loyal soldier, he did what was asked of him. I hope is walks on, or at least is recognized on senior night. It will not be complete without him.

So now we are left with four additional seniors to lead the team. Galloway is a gifted athelete who has a great handle, but must develop his outside/FT shot, Meeks who I hope for his sake will return, Ramon who is the best defender coming back from last year's team who has to become more offensively minded and Stevenson who cannot not get lost in a game and must dominate.

To this class, we find three juniors. The beast Matt Pilgrim is finally unleashed. At 6'8" 233 lbs, he is claimed to be a great rebounder and quick enough to play SF. Along side of him is Stewart, who has may really florish under Coach Cal's system. At 6'8" and 218 lbs., Stewart is a fine athlete. Finally we come to Josh Harrellson(6'10" 260 lbs), one of my three sons(Patterson and Stevenson). These three big men along with Orton (265), Cousins(250) and Patterson(235) make the deepest and highest quality front court I can ever remember. No one, and I mean no one should push us around like Georgia did last year.

This leads me to the sophomores. Miller (6'7" 225lbs) can playt the 2 or 3 and sometimes brought the ball up the court last year.He is alredy getting high praise from Coach Cal. Liggins (6'6" and 208 lbs.) has shown some talent at the PG but will need to make better decisions. He also must become a team player, because the talent level around him has risen exponentially.

The freshmen on this class are among the most talented athletes on the team. That is both good and bad. Good in the case that by March, barring injuries, we will have a dynomite team. Bad in terms of most freshmen have games early in their career riddled with mental mistakes that cost games. Poor defense, missed FTs, or fouling the three point shooter late in the game are just examples of what can happen. Nevertheless, Cousins (6'10 250 lbs.) gives us the enforcer that this team desparately needs. Orton (6'10" 260 lbs.) (hope he stays) is another 5 star beast. Hood (high 4 star 6'6" 185 lbs.) is ranked higher than Meeks was when he graduated from HS.

With Coach Cal's system, I forsee a team that plays 9 players many of whom have years of experience and all who were ranked a four or five star coming out of high school. These players are backed up by four experienced two star players who are good athletes. Coach Cal can certainly "call off the dogs" and still increase the lead with this team. We will just keep coming.

Finally, if someone gives up their scholarship, and walks on, transfers or something else happens, we have the opportunite to add a quality PG to this equation. It is a very exciting prospect.

Big Name Coaches are important, knowing KY culture is important, but why not look at some of the recruiting done by the mid majors?

Blueobsessed — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:59:13 -0000

The last few seasons have shown KY fans that we can be beat by teams like VMI. Then we look at the roster and they have an awesome offense with two members scoring over 20 point a game for the entire year. We then look at the hated Gardner-Webb and find a coach who had a plan and had his team ready and executed that plan with precision. Obviously that guy can coach and IMO would do well at KY.

Finally, for your viewing pleasure look at the 2009 NABC All-District Coaches of the year. It is an interesting group Some of the names are familiar, but some are not to me. I think all should be considered credentialed and should be considered. I got this from the Citadel's website, so Conway's name is highlighted. It does not show any preference from me. This is jsut for discusiion purposes.

2009 NABC Division I All-District Coaches
District 1: Joe Mihalich, Niagara
District 2: Leonard Hamilton, Florida State
District 3: Duggar Baucom, VMI
District 4: Jim Baron, Rhode Island
District 5: Jay Wright, Villanova
District 6: Stew Morrill, Utah State
District 7: Tom Izzo, Michigan State
District 8: Bill Self, Kansas
District 9: Eric Reveno, Portland
District 10: James Flint, Drexel
District 11: John Calipari, Memphis
District 12: Brad Stevens, Butler
District 13: Jeff Jones, American
District 14: Reggie Witherspoon, Buffalo
District 15: Jerry Eaves, North Carolina A&T
District 16: Ben Jacobsen, Northern Iowa
District 17: Jim Boylen, Utah
District 18: Mike Rice, Robert Morris
District 19: Bret Campbell, Tennessee-Martin
District 20: Lorenzo Romar, Washington
District 21: Trent Johnson, Louisiana State
District 22: Ed Conroy, The Citadel
District 23: Lewis Jackson, Alabama State
District 24: Don Maestri, Troy

Where was the bench this year?

Blueobsessed — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:10:16 -0000

With all of problems at point guard, why not give some time to Delph, Halsell, Perry or Scherbenske? These guys have been under pressure before and maybe could do just as well as the starters. Why not try them and see? Wouldn't it have been wonderful if we would have found a sleeper in the mix? If we get way ahead or way behind in the NIT, it would be nice to play them in post season. Certaily I would like to see Jarrod Carter for more than a cameo appearance. The same goes for Mark Krebs and Slone. Are Donald Williams and Jarvis Walker really on the squad? Play them and see what happens. That's eight players by my count, who for whatever reason, have not played that much this year. I know they are walk-ons, but I think their enthusiasm would help.

Needed speed + 1135 + depth + fundamentals

Blueobsessed — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:58:19 -0000

I have a theory that mass and strength combined with speed are needed to be dominate in the SEC and college basketball. In order to have speed, you must have a bench that has a skill level and experience that is close to the starting five. This is particularly true when it comes to the first man off the bench. This sixth man must be good enough to start for most teams and needs to be an enforcer who makes an immediate impact on the game. I don't care if he eventually fouls out, he has to be feared/respected by the opposition. This is a psycological imperative.

Back to mass and strength height really doesn't not matter, but:

LG/PG: under 200 lbs is too small

Wing/SG: under 215 lbs. limits what he can do when guarded by long SFs

Wing/SF: under 220 limits your rebounding ability which we need

Post/PF: under 250 lbs doesn't permit you to bang the boards when the opposition plays two centers (Vandy)

Post/Center: under 250 lbs doesn't permit you to bang the boards when the opposition plays two centers (FLA nest year)

Total weight=1135 lbs.

All of these players need to be mobile and athletic and ready to run. Everyone needs to be a shooter and everybody needs to be willing and able to set a screen. The bench needs to be deep in order to rest the starters and develop the second string. No one should play more than 25-30 minutes. The backup forward and backup center need to be big strong players.

Kentucky is close to putting this type of team together. Obviously, they need an outstanding point guard who can step right in, but they will also need a quality backup if they crank up the speed. Jodie simply has to get stronger and look for the screens. Miller and Harris have to develop skills that are the other player's strengths. Miller needs too become a defensive presence and Ramon needs to hit his free throws and three point shots. Patterson needs to add 10-15 pounds of muscle in his upper body. In the show business of the NBA you are more marketable when you look powerful. Orton should start at Center permitting Patterson to move to the PF. Stevenson will be a backup for the SF or PF positions. If he is good enough, Pilgrim will back up PF and I think we need one more four star Center who weighs in at around 250.

Finally with al of this new strength, depth and increased fundamentals, there needs to come an iron will that will not bend no matter how many losses occur. Here is where we fans need to make Rupp rock for 40 minutes no matter what the outcome. If all this occurs, other teams should, and I feel will, fear UK again.

Where do we go from here? I found this and it seemed pertinent.

Blueobsessed — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:41:49 -0000

"Catastrophe strikes and a person’s world falls apart. People respond variously, but two of the more common responses are denial and despair. Denial refuses to acknowledge the catastrophe. It shuts its eyes tight or looks the other way; it manages to act as if everything is going to be just fine; it takes refuge in distractions and lies and fantasies. Despair is paralyzed by the catastrophe and accepts it as the end of the world. It is unwilling to do anything, concluding that life for all intents and purposes is over. Despair listlessly closes its eyes to a world in which all the color has drained out, a world gone dead."

Obviously the All-American response is to "pick ourselves up by our bootstraps" and move forward. However, in a team sport everyone must be on board with "the plan". I just don't see that right now. We are currently in one of the two places described above.

What do you think?

21-10 possible going into the SEC tournament

Blueobsessed — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:17:13 -0000

We have now lost three games by three points or less and we have been in the game against the best teams in the SEC. Change those games (combinded 10 more points) and we could have been ending the year 24/7. Winning the tournament is not out of the question. It would be a great way to go into the NCAA tournament. We lost three away games (UNC, Vandy, USC) really badly (ave. 17pt.), but have been competitive in the other 7 losses.

I believe Miller and Galloway are a great defensive addition to the team. Their stats show they commit less turnovers per minutes and play better defense. Miller, particularly, is becoming more of an offensive threat. At this point we must play Patterson in the post with Stevenson at the the PF. With subs that should get us through the SEC tournament. If the planets are alighned right, we could even get a win or two in the NCAA. That would be quite a wonderful ending to this year.

Head to Head Comparisons . . . Are Ellington and Henderson really better than Meeks?

Blueobsessed — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:00:36 -0000

Coming out of high school, Meeks was seen as a combo guard and was a 4* (7th SG 2006 Rivals 39th overall) behind several players. While all three of the above players are outstanding balll players and most certainly play at the next level, Meeks is now getting asserting himself on the national scene. Meeks' numbers this year put him IMO ahead of each of the other two players. He has done this playing though trick defenses with which the other players have not had to deal.. When Jodie has an "off night", he scores 15 points which is what Ellington and Henderson (5* players) are averaging. Jodie is now third in the nation in scoring and could very well move up. This is what a shooting guard is expected to do . . shoot and score.

Another point against the star system and for good recruiting.