[such sweet thunder]

Still reeling from the Illini victory. . . Deron Williams has NBA written all over him, but what do you folks think about Dee Brown? I always find smaller guards especially hard to project.

Strengths:
lighting fast with the ball in his hands,
NBA quick form on his shot,
good hands,
good intangibles/jib,

weaknesses:
extrememly undersized,
not really a point guard,
not a scorer though he can score,
not a natural shooter though he does have some range.



I'll start.

I believe Dee Brown has the goods to be a starting NBA guard. He is lighting quick for the more open court NBA game and seems to thrive on the break. He has good hands, to cover up any defensive deficiencies, and the form on his shot is NBA ready. More then anything, I've been impressed by the skill development over his college career. He came in with raw athleticism but nothing more and has turned himself in to the Big 10 Player of the Year. Bottom line, what Dee Brown brings on the floor is special enough to make him a legitimate NBA athlete.

 

[SecretAgentGuy]

I think Dee will have the shortest NBA career out of the 3 guards. Deron will be a star, Head might become the next David Wesley, but Dee is simply too small. His defense is solid at the college level but only ordinary at the pro level and his ability to take over games now will be completely eliminated in the pros. Hell, even tonite he disappeared in the 2nd half. I think he had 11 at half time and didn't score again until the miraculous Illini run in the last 5 minutes. Chalk him up as a great college baller and <i>hopefully</i> national champ. But his greatest advantage, his speed, will quickly be negated in the pros. Off the top my head, these players will easily keep up with him: Arenas, Wade, Hinrich, Baron, and Franchise. This is disregarding his inability to really run a team. Because of that I have to say that he won't be an NBA starting PG for very long, if ever.

 

[T.Shock]

Very few people are faster than Dee Brown with the ball in his hands. My problem is that in the past few years, players have been labeled as too small (Dwyane Wade, Ben Gordon) and looked like superstars in the making. I don't care what the **** your height is, if you can play, you can play. The questions about Brown are

1.Can he play the point?

Yes his passing is just as good as his backcourt mates and his speed and great hands will make up for whatever he lacks in size from the point. Plus his days as a QB means he can certainly lead a team.

2.Will his speed be negated?

To say that Wade, Arenas and the like are faster than Brown means you don't watch a lot of basketball. Come on. Wade doesn't fly like Brown does. Watch one specific play where Brown gets the ball and just flies up the court against Arizona and everybody on Arizona is stunned that Brown just goes to the basket uncontested.

3.Shooting

Ah he is streaky. But is he a worse shooter than Jason Kidd. He can hit the long, long bombs and I think that'll help his transition. He needs to improve on shooting off of the dribble, which would be my main concern as a G.M. After not playing with the ball is hands and often spotting up to hit shots, can he run the point and knock down the J off the dribble.

 

[BG7]

I don't think that Dee Brown can come back from retirement like MJ did.

 

[The Krakken]

What is in the Kool-Aid around here.....?????

 

[johnston797]

I see him as a great change-of-pace backup. Dee is so deadly in transition, but the NBA defense in transition is much, much, much better. So his greatest strength is going to be neutralized to some extent.

It's hard to project him on D b/c he is not guarding many guys that are going to be playing on the next level. Dee or Luther are taking the toughest matchups.

I also see Head as a great backup in the pros, too. Williams could be a star.

 

[BG7]

What is in the Kool-Aid around here.....?????

alcohol

 

[The Krakken]

alcohol

Yeah. I kinda figured that. Illinois Fever hits the board and all of a sudden Dee brown is a combination of Jason Kidd/Dwayne Wade......

I look at Illinois and I see 3 great college guards. How that translates to the NBA game remains to be seen, but in every college season in the last few years, I've seen guards that make me go....WOW. I saw it in Jay williams at Duke. I saw it in Ben Gordon at Uconn. I saw it in Andre Iguodala at AZ. I saw it in Rip Hamilton at Uconn. I saw it in a couple others. In fact, I have only missed one guard in recent history: Dwayne Wade. And I believe he's the exception, not the rule......a guard that plays far more athletic than he looks and moves.

Maybe one of the Illini guards will be stars. But right now, I don't see it.

 

[Snuffleupagus]

I think he'll be about as good as Speedy Claxton, so a fringe starting-caliber point guard.

I don't think you can dismiss his point guard skills since he hasn't had the opportunity to show them. It's not his fault he plays in the same backcourt with Deron Williams.

If he doesn't work as a starter, I think he could be a valuable spark off the bench like Bobby Jackson. His speed could really wreak havoc on a group of winded starters.

 

[dkg1]

Dee reminds me a lot of Tyron Lue with his quickness and stlye of play.

 

[such sweet thunder]

Yeah. I kinda figured that. Illinois Fever hits the board and all of a sudden Dee brown is a combination of Jason Kidd/Dwayne Wade......

I don't want to be mean, but reading is a skill . . . the question was, "is Dee Brown a starting caliber NBA guard?" Nobody used Wade or Kidd as a comparison before you brought them up. Snuffle was on the money with Claxton. "Can Dee Brown be a capable starter like like Speedy Claxton?"

Oh and yes, definitely alcohol in the kool-aid, or at least the orange juice. i love mimosas. happy easter to all.

 

[TomBoerwinkle#1]

If you had asked me last year, I would have said, "nice college guard, but hope he has a fallback plan for his life." But I've become a believer. He won't be a star, but if he gets in the right system, he can be a solid NBA contributer, and probably a starter.

 

[BG7]

So who should our starting point guard be for next year.

Jannero Pargo vs. Kirk Hinrich vs. Chris Duhon vs. Dee Brown vs. Jay Williams vs. Frank Williams

An exciting training camp it will be.

 

[TwinkieTowers]

The next Earl Boykins?

 

[Darius Miles Davis]

I'm still not sure, but I haven't given up on the little guy in principle.

I believe Nate Robinson is going to be a playa in the NBA. Who's with me on that one?

 

[superdave]

Nice backup, change of pace guard. He'll stick in the league somewhere IMO

Darell Armstrong type

 

[such sweet thunder]

Not that it means anything, but Bill Simmons chimes in. . .

Heading into this year's Tournament, I'm leaning toward six guys: May and Granger; Washington's Nate Robinson (a little guy who finishes); Duke's J.J. Redick (there's always a place in a rotation for someone with 25-foot range); Syracuse's Hakim Warrick (unbelievable athlete and rebounder, Shawn Marionesque); and Illinois' Dee Brown (who brings a lot to the table, much like West did a year ago). Only May is a lottery pick now, but that could change over the next couple of weeks. You know these guys will bring it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/050315

 

[GB]

This guy was a great college PG too.

 

[Greg Ostertag!]

This guy was a great college PG too.

...but he didn't have any qualities that made him stand out in the pros. Dee Brown would be one of the quickest players in the league right now, and that in itself is good enough to make him a Darrell Armstrong type.

 

[GB]

President of basketball operations Joe Dumars admitted he had spent the better part of the last two weeks trying to trade up to a higher pick, to draft Michigan's Jamal Crawford or Missouri's Keyon Dooling.
"We didn't have them listed one, two or three," Dumars said. "It was more like 1-A, 1-B and 1-C."

http://www.detnews.com/2000/pistons/0007/01/e01-83555.htm