The Mad Viking

Get your attention? Think I'm crazy? Read on...

I have posted previously, based on what I saw of his game at OSU, that Graham was never going to be much of a scorer in the NBA. I thought a lot about how he might develop.

It hit me just the other day. Joey Graham has a lot of similarities to Maggette. They are both uber-athletes. Extremely quick, fast, strong, aggressive, and fearless.

So I looked into their production and was shocked.

Differeneces, yes. They took very different paths, and have different personalities and backgrounds. This led Graham to play forward, play 4 years in college, etc., while Mags came out after his freshman year. So Graham ended up focused very much on defense and doing the role his team needed, and didn't get opportunities on the perimeter. Maybe Mags handles were a touch better. But to this day he relies on athleticism to get past people, not deceptive ball handling. And then he finishes with contact in traffic, often initiating it, getting to the line a ton.

So lets look at what Mags did at Duke in his freshman year, and what Graham did in his first year at OSU:

Mags played 700 minutes. Graham 830.
Mags shot 137 of 261 (52%). Graham shot 134 of 263 (51%)
Mags hit 29 treys at 34.5% Graham hit 20 at 38.5%
Mags hit 111 FTs. Graham, 98.
Mags had 151 rebs, Graham 163.
Mags had 29 steals and 15 blocks. Graham, 20 and 15.
Mags had 59 assists, Graham had 70.
Mags had 80 TOs, Graham had 66.
Mags had 99 PFs, Graham had 88.


Does Graham want the ball enough? Maybe not. But how would that look, if Mitchell turned Joey loose on wing isolation, and he became Corey Maggette on offence, but with above average D?

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With the first pick in the 2010 draft, the ... select, Ricard Rubio of Spain.

Minstrel: There's no such thing as a "proven loser." Teams win and lose, not individuals.

billfindlay10

I like the Joey Graham pick, and I think he will become a key player for Toronto, but there is no way he will become the offensive player that Maggette is.

I would say that in Joey's best scoring year as a pro he may put up 16.5 ppg.

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speedythief

Joey wasn't really a freshman during his first playing year at OSU, though.

HKF

Joey Graham will be a very good NBA player. Like I said before in other places, if nothing else, he'll be just as good a defender as Desmond Mason and/or Tony Allen. He is bigger, stronger and more athletic than either of those guys and has huge hands. He can catch passes, finish, make FT's and he's terrific running the floor. His jumper probably still needs work, but that's what being a pro is about. He has everything else you want, except for a great jumpshot. I haven't seen him shooting lately, so who knows how good it has become.

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2008-09 Favorite Rookies: Jerryd Bayless (POR), Roy Hibbert (IND), Greg Oden (POR), Chris Douglas-Roberts (NJN), Joe Alexander (MIL), Patrick Ewing, Jr. (NYK)

College Basketball: "Where 7-Foot Bigs Foul Out Happen"

TheChampion

you're right.. he transferred over from UCF after his freshman year.. those are his freshman stats at UCF, not OSU...

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The Mad Viking

Agreed, but again, different backgrounds.

I don't think Joey was as focused on hoops as early in life as Corey, and was not the same product coming out of high school.

__________________
With the first pick in the 2010 draft, the ... select, Ricard Rubio of Spain.

Minstrel: There's no such thing as a "proven loser." Teams win and lose, not individuals.

HKF

Let's also hope that Joey isn't as injury prone as Maggette. He's always hurt it seems for a guy with a perfect body.

__________________
My favorite NBA players: Deron Williams * Kobe Bryant * Carmelo Anthony * Ben Gordon * Joe Johnson * Kevin Martin * Tim Duncan * Kyle Lowry * Thad Young * Amare Stoudemire * Dwight Howard * Josh Smith * Brandon Roy * LaMarcus Aldridge * Rudy Gay * Al Horford * Brandan Wright * Craig Smith * Renaldo Balkman * Wilson Chandler

2008-09 Favorite Rookies: Jerryd Bayless (POR), Roy Hibbert (IND), Greg Oden (POR), Chris Douglas-Roberts (NJN), Joe Alexander (MIL), Patrick Ewing, Jr. (NYK)

College Basketball: "Where 7-Foot Bigs Foul Out Happen"

Starbury03

Thats because of how he plays he just thorws him-self into the lane.

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The Mad Viking

Well, I don't EXPECT that he will, but I would not say there is no way.

I just looked up Vince Carter's sophomore stats at NC. They look very similar to Joey Graham's soph season, his first at OSU. Even in his final college season, (junior) VC only averaged 15.6 ppg.

Sometimes, great athlete's who are given a certain role in college actually surpass their NCAA performance in the NBA. It certainly happened with Vince. Why couldn't it happen with Joey?

__________________
With the first pick in the 2010 draft, the ... select, Ricard Rubio of Spain.

Minstrel: There's no such thing as a "proven loser." Teams win and lose, not individuals.

SkywalkerAC

I like the comparison. Thanks for forwarding it. I like that Joey has as little more forward in his game and may well end posting people up with the spacing our team can provide; Maggette never struck me as having that kind of game. I really hope that Joey can attack the rim/basket area the way that Maggette can and draw fouls; he seems to be that kind of athlete rather than VC who needs to find an opening in which to elevate.

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AC