rainman

was ucla going with a smurf lineup out there or what?they are in for a long year.thankfully they have lavin to blame for their problems.
the dukies on the other hand looked pretty good,some impressions of them;
chris duhon,ran the show with authority ,seems to be over any injury problems he has had in the last couple of weeks.
nick horvath,here's a guy who couldnt even catch the ball the last couple of years.was it him or the marshmellow defense the bruins were throwing out there.
jj reddick.the only times he has had problems is when he has had to guard athletic 2g's and that includes aau ball.i personally think he could eventually be a lead guard at the next level,he sees the floor exceptionally well and is a great,not good,great shooter.
shavlik randolph.started the game running all over the court trying to guard some 6-5 guy.shav has been a low post player all his life.the worry i have if i'm him is everytime he doesnt do well coach k is going to make an example of him.he did it with joey beard years ago and he did it with chris burgess.randolph is the most skilled big man in this years outstanding freshman class,let him play.

OZZY

I was more impressed with Shelden Williams than Randolph. Shelden looked pretty tough down low and is quite athletic. But bad number to pick buddy!

I really like Redick looked like a young version of Allan Houston, very good prospect a SG, great jump shot.

But I was really, really impressed with Bozeman's handle, that kid has the best handle in all of college basketball. Great quicks, has nice moves with the ball, good speed with the ball, and is always in control of the ball at all times. If he works on his passing a little more your looking at a lottery pick, oh yeah and he is 6-6! He was the most impressive player in the game to me.

And don't count out Ray Young yet, he looks like a ok prospect. Really improved his handle, has a ok little jump shot. And has the body of a SG, very strong and good jumping ability.

Hollis

Watch out, we'll have a "Why the ACC is better than the Pac-10" thread when THELAKESHOW gets back......

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Hollis' Personal Forum

rainman

i dont think that redick has the size or athleticism of an allan houston type 2g,i do however think he is a pro down the road,either as a more mobile steve kerr type or if he is allowed to develope, even as a pg,he sees the floor a lot better than people give him credit for.shelden williams was 1 for 5,he and randolph were discarded early in this one,i was just surprised they didnt get to play much in the second half either.

THELAKESHOW

"Why the PAC 10 is better than the Big 12." Or it could read, "How many National Championships does Oklahoma have in Basketball?" LOL

Hollis

You're one funny guy. It's obvious you're obsessed with the Big 12 since you're always talking about how bad it is....Could we drop it please? You post the same thing every post, and I'm pretty sure most people are tired of this argument.

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Hollis' Personal Forum

hunterb14

I am tired of it, its kind of like a pet peeve. Please stop THELAKESHOW

The Truth

What are you talking about??? Cedric Bozeman was the most impressive player on the court??? Did you watch the game at all. He was an ABSOLUTE NON-FACTOR. Sure, he had 6 assists, but he only shot 4-14 from the field and did nothing when UCLA needed him most.

I don't see how you can say he was the most impressive when he was playing opposite Duhon. Duhon absolutely controlled the tempo of the game, while contributing 14 points (6-10 shooting) and 8 assists, not to mention stellar--as always--defense. So far on the year Duhon is averaging over 8 assists a game, and he has a assist to turnover ratio of more than 3-1.

Sure, Bozeman may be a 6-6 point guard, and he may be able to dribble pretty good, but he can't shoot worth a lick, and he just doesn't seem like a natural point guard to me.

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"Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else."

OZZY

That is the thing, he could penetrate on a great defender like Duhon ever time down court. You would think with the on the ball defending skills Duhon has he would shut down Bozeman, but he didn't! "dribble pretty good", I call Bozeman's handle a lot better than pretty good. He has nice change of direction, great crossover move, great under the legs dribble, good shake moves, can run up court and be in control. Bozeman could penetrate any time he wanted to, and in my book that is thanks to his dribbling ability. Great prospect, yeah he has to learn to shoot, and pass better but he already has the hardest part down.

I don't see why you don't think Bozeman is a great dribbler, come' on he did that against probably the best PG defender in the country!

I never said Duhon was bad, I like him better than Jay as a PG. But what impressed me more was Bozeman's handle....

The Truth

But what did he do?? He did NOTHING in that game. Of course you would be more impressed with the handles, since you are a duke hater.

I'm much more impressed with ball control, shooting, and team involvement in a point guard than cool handles. Rafer Alston has unbelievable handles, but he's not even in the league right now. Look at the guys in the AND1 mixtapes...a lot of them have unbelievable handles, but they're making AND1 mixtapes because they can't make it in the league.

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"Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else."

OZZY

What don't you think ball handling is a skill? How can you say he did nothing in that game, he took the best PG defender in college and penetrated on him any time he wanted, he made the Duke defense look like a piece of swiss cheese. And I do believe he had 6 assits in that game and drove the lane, not great numbers but not bad either. In my book getting to the hoop is a skill, some have it some don't. And I would not compare the handle of Bozeman to the "Street ballers" out there because Bozeman is not that flashy. But getting to the hoop and penetrating is a very valuable skill. Why do you think Kobe, Tracy and AI are so great in the NBA. It is because they can got inside and penetrate the defense anytime they want. And for a defender it is a lot harder defending a player that can drive to the hoop and a player that just shoots jumpers. Bozeman can get to the hoop and finish. Yeah he needs to work on his shooting, and passing, but he is not that old and is only a SOPH. But you obviously don't care because you don't think penetrating the defense is that big a accet in basketball, but I do!

Almost anyone can shoot, but not all can get into the lane and create shots for others, and if Bozeman works on that skill of penetrating and kicking out he could be a great player. And tall PG's are what NBA GM's want, why else would Crawford, Sasser etc get drafted so high... Cedric in my view is the preimire tall PG coming into the NBA, and no matter how much you deni it his handling ability is very rare, and will surve him well in the NBA.

The Truth