Basketball from a fans perspective
He’s not ready
Hopefully this is check on my progress rather than a declaration. With the expanding number of underclassmen I wanted to avoid mentioning individual names except in rare instances. This is one of those instances, 7-6 300 pound Elhadji Tacko Sereigne Diop Fall or shortened to Tacko has declared for the 2017 draft. The sophomore indicates he won’t hire an agent so that will allow him to return for his junior year. My mission in life this past season was to “scout” Fall and I accomplished the task if only by television.
The guy has a tremendous up side however he’s extremely raw and not NBA ready. I believe there is little concern about his offensive game its his defense NBA teams might find difficult to overlook. Fall has only been playing the game since the age of 16 having discovering the game in his native Senegal. In addition history says Big Men require a great deal more time to play the pivot effectively and that is certainly his case. I’d love to see him in the NBA blocking shots and intimidating after he completes his senior year. Okay lets just say he needs at least one more year at Central Florida.
Deee-fence, Deee-fence!!
Fans especially those attending collegiate games have yelled the phrase above often during the course of games. We are too guilty (me included) of checking out offensive stats which often fails to paint a true picture of a players skill and effort. We take note of steals and blocked shots but how do you correlate deflections/intimidation. I once read Celtic great Bill Russell said “I knew I couldn’t block every shot but my opponent didn’t know which one would get blocked.”
Driving toward the basket the opposition would adjust the shot hoping to avoid it being blocked. If a player takes a more difficult shot for fear of it being blocked serves just as much a purpose as actually blocking it. We’ve gone back and forth on the MVP in the NBA but how about the DPOY? That player who distinguishes themselves on the defensive side of the ball. We have several candidates and I certainly wouldn’t name names. Just say they don’t often receive the publicity of their offensive minded brethren.
Addition by subtraction
There comes the good and the bad of a coaching change. At the top of the list the additions would be the coaching change replacing Kim Anderson with Cuonzo Martin. Next would be the planned arrival of Michael Porter Jr. number one prospect in the Class of 2017. I’d reported earlier point guard C.J. Roberts had a decision to make, the Rivals 4-star prospect committed to Mizzou and Kim Anderson last November. With the Mizzou coaching change there was no assurance Roberts would remain in the fold.
Coach Martin flew to Dallas and met with Roberts and his parents. On Monday Roberts made his choice know he’ll be heading to Columbia (MO) in August. As for the subtractions, the school announced guards K.J. Walton and Frankie Hughes were leaving. Of the two I believed Hughes to be the more talented prospect. Mizzou now has three scholarships available unless another roster member decides to leave from a team loaded with underclassmen. There are several names on my list whether they are on the coaches list is another story.
