[CoolHandLuke]

First off, Aaron Miles. I really like this guy. But I don't have any idea why. I like his quickness, ballhandling, and defense, and I really think he'll be pretty good in the NBA because of his pass-first nature. At Kansas, he has had to learn to distribute to guys like Collison, Gooden, Hinrich, Boschee, and co. Where do you all see him going in the draft? Because I really have no idea where a player like him goes these days...


Now, on to Sofocles Schortsianitis vs. Darko Milicic. They're both probably going to enter the draft in 2004, or at least I know that's when Sofocles is looking at entering, and it'd be the logical year for Darko to enter.

Who will be better? I think that, in today's game, they won't be comparable. Some team will try to move Darko to PF, because coaches today don't realize that it's an asset to have a big man that can dribble, and always have to try to move them outside. And Sofocles will always have comparisons to the Big Aristotle. He'll earn the "Shaq-stopper" nickname. But the fact is, he's gonna be the closest thing we've seen to guys like Patrick Ewing since Patrick, DRob, Hakeem, Dike, Zo, and co. aged.

I can see this time with horrible centers and nobody else that's really any good at all ending soon. I think the new elite group of centers will start with Sofocles and Darko, and also guys like Eddy Curry, Sagana Diop, Kendrick Perkins, Jackie Butler, and maybe even Yao Ming. Chris Marcus and Curtis Borchardt have a shot at being decent centers, too. So does Major Wingate.

*BTW, the reason I didn't include David Harrison is the simple fact that the guy is a stiff, and whenever he comes out and is a late first-rounder, will be a bust. I'd give Jamal Sampson much better odds to succeed than David Harrison.

Another guy to watch for is Shagari Alleyne, the 7-3 center out of New York. EVERYBODY is recruiting him. He just had a recruiting visit to Louisville, and it supposedly went great.

What are your thoughts on Miles, Sofocles and Milicic, and NBA 5's of the future?

 

[STING]

I agree, Arron Miles has already broken the rookie assist mark at KU, which bosts a long line of great point guards. He already has a pretty good medium range jumper, and he has shown signs of explosiveness off the dribble. He is also a very, very good passer and has the size needed to be a PG in the NBA. He reminds me alot of Jamal Tinsly, I think we can expect great things from him.

 

[pharcyde]

maybe it's just my MU bias

but I don't think Miles will be a star in the NBA. A lot of KU fans have compared him to Jacque Vaugn, who's solid at best in the NBA. I agree with that comparison. He'll be better than Vaugn, but not a star. I think he'll be sort of a cross between Bibby and Vaugn.

Now, about centers. I've been thinking that myself for quite awhile. The drought of centers in the league will be over soon. I haven't heard much about the foreign guys, or the highschoolers, but what I have heard sounds good. But you said that Sofocles will be the closest thing to Ewing since Ewing, well I'd have to say that Olowokandi will be. If he continues to play like he did at the end of last season, then he'll have a very successful career, and I've seen many people compare the two players.

 

[Vinsanity]

Milicic is the best of the three

 

[CoolHandLuke]

Olowakandi cannot be compared to Ewing. At 22, Ewing was dominating, and Kandi had just been drafted. Ewing was one of the biggest college recruits ever. Ewing had TONS of hype, and was a bona fide superstar by the time he was 27. Kandi is just starting to play well. If Kandi can average 20 and 10 'til he's 45, then he can be compared to Ewing, because he'll then have dominated for the same amount of time as Ewing. Sofocles has a chance to come into the league at 18 or 19, and be dominating by the time he's 22. Kandi is nowhere near Ewing. Kandi is an average starter at best in the early '90s, and certainly not a top five center in the league. It's absurd to compare him to Ewing.

Kandi PLAYS LIKE Ewing, maybe. Not near as good, though. You've got to realize, Ewing got more than twice as many PPG as Kandi. When Kandi has a 25 and 10 season, let me know; THEN we'll talk comparisons.

 

[pharcyde]

He plays like him

which was my point. But he wasn't introduced to the game as early as Ewing, so you can't say that because Ewing was already a star at Kandi's age that Kandi isn't as good. Kandi is the closest thing to Ewing's playing style since Ewing.

 

[CoolHandLuke]

They do play alike, yeah. But not only is Kandi not as good, Kandi isn't a third the player. Ewing averaged 15 more PPG! How can you even compare!? Ewing had been an NBA star for six years at the same age Kandi finally played decent. But Kandi's gonna have to get about 10 more PPG this year to even deserve a comparison to Ewing. Why would you even say something suggesting Kandi is that good!?

 

[pharcyde]

I read the comparison at espn.com

or somewhere similar to it. Then I realized that their styles of play were pretty similar. I think that at the end of last season Kandi was playing like a top 5-10 center in the league, and if he can play next season like he did at the end of last then the comparison would be pretty fair in my eyes. Ewing didn't have the supporting cast that Kandi has in LA I would assume. Plus, you have to remember that Kandi is still learning the game. Ewing went to Georgetown, at the time they were a factory for NBA centers it seems. He was taught well his whole life. Given time I think Kandi will end up a very good player.

 

[jeffburris]

aaron miles=not a capable pro

While Aaron Miles should be a solid college pg, he will not be a factor whatsoever in the pros. He isn't particularly quick, he isn't a particularly good shooter, and he isn't that great at passing either. His potential is simply that of a decent college pg (no chance at ever being a first team All American.) And to the person who claimed that Kansas has a history of good pg's, I find your statement laughable. Kansas has had some pretty good college points like Jacque Vaughn and Adonis Jordan, but they haven't produced legit NBA points, certainly not to the extent that would warrant them being classified as a program that historically puts out point guards. Miles isn't very good. Get off his jock.

 

[pharcyde]

I hate to do this

but you're wrong. Miles was one of the top highschool points and started at point for KU. Keep in mind they also had Hinrich and Boschee on that team, and both of them could've played point. I don't care who you are, if you're starting for a final four team at the point as a freshman then you're pretty good. He had 6.6 assists a game, and 100 more assists than turnovers. He had more assists last year than Duhon. And don't try to say that Duhon had to share pointguard duties with Williams, because Hinrich had more assists than Williams. Aaron Miles may not be spectacular, but he's solid in all aspects of the pointguard position. He's a better shooter than Duhon, gets more assits, and is the same size too. Many KU fans have compared him to Vaughn, and he was a late first rounder. If Miles can improve upon his very good freshman season then he is a definite pro.

 

[ainge]

Now I'm gonna say something that will cause some minds to stir but don't take it out of context. Aaron Miles is a John Stockton type of point. He sees the floor extremely well. He isn't about being a SportsCenter player. He wants to win badly and he is a great talent. Every team he has been on, he's been a winner. At Jefferson HS in Portland, OR, Miles took his team to a state championship. He knows what it takes to win, flashy or not. If he stays all four years, Miles will be a top 3 PG of that draft.

 

[jeffburris]

good points but...

Hm, well I didn't mention Duhon, so I'm not really sure where "And don't try to say that Duhon had to share pointguard duties with Williams, because Hinrich had more assists than Williams." came from. Possibly a temporary brain aneurysm? I don't disagree that Miles could be a future pro pg, he just won't be a good one. If you want to project him as a Jacque Vaughn level pg in the pro's, I'd give you that. Not as athletic and a worse defender but could definitely find a niche as a scrub in the NBA. Talking about Williams and Vaughn in the vein of Kansas's history of pg's is exactly my point; these guys are good college points who at best will be future NBA scrubs. To the guy who is hyping up his HS state championship and "John Stockton"-like qualities: thats great, very nice. Unfortunately those high school titles and intangibles won't make him a good pg in the pros. To sum it up, Aaron Miles isn't a special player. He is/will be good in the NCAA and will suck in the NBA(if he sticks). Don't feel bad though...he has tons of company since the majority of college players are in the same boat.

 

[pharcyde]

The Duhon thing was because I've heard people say that before. It's a similar situation, and a good comparison. Plus Duhon is a guy he could potentially be competing with in the draft.

I don't see why you think that about Miles though. He does everything a pointguard needs to do. He had a huge assist total for a freshman, and will only get better.

 

[bender]

Sorry that I reply such old threads.

Originally posted by <b>CoolHandLuke</b>!
...
And Sofocles will always have comparisons to the Big Aristotle. He'll earn the "Shaq-stopper" nickname. But the fact is, he's gonna be the closest thing we've seen to guys like Patrick Ewing since Patrick, DRob, Hakeem, Dike, Zo, and co. aged.
...

So you compare him to Ewing? I mean, I never saw Sofocles play (did you?), but I always thought he is a power-player like Eddy Curry and Shaq. Does he have moves like Ewing (fadeway, ...)?

 

["Matt!"]

Originally posted by <b>CoolHandLuke</b>!
Another guy to watch for is Shagari Alleyne, the 7-3 center out of New York. EVERYBODY is recruiting him. He just had a recruiting visit to Louisville, and it supposedly went great.

Shagari Alleyne will not be a dominant pro center. He can run the floor decently, and has improved minimally all of his first three years at Rice, but can't even dominate high school. He lacks post moves, jump shot, footwork, techniques, passing, and dribblings skills. His learning curve is too small for him to be anything more than a shorter Georghe Muresan.

 

[The Truth]

This is primarily to Z6 on Miles vs. Duhon...

First of all, you were wrong about Hinrich and Williams, Williams averaged more assists, but I'm not going to complain over a technicality....

Second, I don't know where you got that Miles is a better shooter than Duhon. Miles is a virtually ineffective 3 point shooter, and Duhon is slightly better fromt the field.

What really sets these two apart, though, is athleticism. Duhon rarely shows it, but he has some major hops. Duhon is actually a MUCH better leaper than Jay, and is much stronger than Miles (15 pounds heavier at the same height)

Miles will be a great point guard, but I have not seen anything so far that shows me he will be a great pro. He could definitely prove me wrong in the future, but I haven't seen anything yet.

 

[bender]

Quote of X'em Up

... Kansas may be even better than they look on paper. The surprise of this year's team is going to be sophomore point guard Aaron Miles. With Kirk Hinrich already established as one of the top guards in college basketball, Aaron Miles will pick up the rest of the slack from there. He is quick, tough, and is one of the best playmakers I've seen in awhile. With this strong of a backcourt, Kansas will match up well with Arizona's deadly backcourt. ...

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