Underrated players, teams
Posted: Sunday January 17, 1999 05:29 PM
Click here to send your college basketball questions to Seth
Davis.
In my last installment, I asked you all to find me some underrated players. I
got lots of good suggestions ( Troy Murphy , Notre Dame; Eduardo
Najero , Oklahoma; Jamel Thomas , Providence) and a couple of
not-so-good ones ( Albert Mouring , UConn; Collin Charles , St.
John's; Preston Shumpert , Syracuse). The winner was suggested by
Derrick Robinson from Indianola, Iowa , who nominated Creighton senior
forward Rodney Buford , a 6'5" scoring machine. Buford's 40 points
against Bradley was the most by an MVC player in nearly five years. Creighton
has beaten Iowa, Oklahoma State and Southwest Missouri State and the Bluejays'
11-3 start is their best since 1980-81. Buford is averaging 19.1 points and 7.1
rebounds per
game.
By the way, here's one hidden gem nobody suggested: Roberto Bergersen , a
6'6" senior at Boise State. Bergersen's 25.0 scoring average is third in
the nation, and he is making 65% from the field and 56% from three-point range.
He is climbing up NBA scouting charts and will probably be taken in the middle
of the first
round.
Scroll to the end of the column to check out the topic of choice for the next
Mailbag.
Now, on to your
questions:
I've noticed Oklahoma on the periphery of the Top 25. Do the Sooners have a
shot at dethroning Kansas or Kansas-wannabe Oklahoma
State?
--John Ratt, Tulsa,
Okla.
Any team that beats Arkansas by 30 points and wins at Oklahoma State is
certainly worthy of some Top 25 consideration. Of course, a win at Cincinnati on
Saturday would vault the Sooners into the rankings for sure, but I wouldn't
count on that happening. Oklahoma is not the prettiest or most talented team in
the country, but it does have a couple of pretty good weapons, namely junior
forward Eduardo Najero , who is seventh in the Big 12 in scoring (16.5
ppg) and 11th in rebounding (7.4). Najera has added the three-pointer to his
offensive arsenal, but he's still primarily a mid-range and inside player (he
went for 13 and 9 against Okie State). Ryan Humphrey , a 6'8"
sophomore, was an All-America football player in high school, and is a better
shot-blocker than he should be at his height. Oklahoma is very balanced -- it's
the only team in the Big 12 with five players averaging double figures in
scoring -- but not particularly deep, especially since juco transfer Kelly
Newton blew out his knee on Halloween during a pickup game. Still, the Big
12 is weak (again), so I would expect the Sooners to be in the hunt for an NCAA
bid.
If the best way to beat Duke is to get physical, a la Cincinnati this year,
Kentucky last year and Clemson every year, what teams besides the aforementioned
have the bodies to pound the Blue
Devils?
--Jeff Cross, Columbia,
S.C.
Cincinnati is by far the most athletic, physical team in the nation, so I
wouldn't think too many teams can defend the Blue Devils as well as the Bearcats
did in Alaska, at least for the first half of that game. The key to stopping
Duke, obviously, is containing Elton Brand , and that takes a strong
shot-blocking presence inside. (Brand still has trouble scoring on bigger guys.)
St. John's is one team that comes to mind, though they're still weak at the
center spot. (Duke and St. John's play at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 24.)
Auburn does a good job pressuring the ball and has Mamadou N'Diaye and
Chris Porter to throw their weight around inside. Stanford is another
big, strong team, though the Cardinal is still woefully short on
athleticism.
But I also think Duke is vulnerable to good, sustained full-court pressure.
Maryland coach Gary Williams made a mistake in limiting his defensive
pressure to half-court. Connecticut doesn't have the bodies inside that Duke
does, but the Huskies might give Duke's guards
trouble.
Who are the most overrated teams right now? North Carolina comes to
mind.
--Al Manatow, Washington,
D.C.
North Carolina is not a bad place to start. Any team that loses to Georgia Tech
should not be in the top 10. I think Stanford is a little high at No. 4. They've
been playing relatively well the last month, though, despite a rash of injuries.
Auburn is off to a terrific start, but beating Tennessee and Arkansas at home
doesn't justify, in my mind, a No. 8 ranking. And I think Purdue will eventually
drop. The fact that the Boilermakers are 13th with little to speak of inside is
great credit to Gene Keady . Few coaches do more with less than Keady
does.
As for underrated teams, watch out for California, Miami, College of Charleston
and Gonzaga. Remember where you heard it
first.
Could Chamique Holdsclaw walk on for a mediocre Division I men's
team?
--Jen Stamps, Knoxville,
Tenn.
Well, I'm sure she could play for a low-level Division I, but that would be more
of a publicity stunt than anything else. Call me Bobby Riggs , but she
doesn't play above the rim, would get pushed around by stronger defenders and
have trouble pressuring the ball. Holdsclaw may be the best women's college
basketball player ever, but I don't believe she could play men's Division I
based on her talent
alone.
How do Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd of Ohio State rank against some of the
other backcourts in the
country?
--Robert Sheffey,
Chicago
There aren't too many coaches in the country who wouldn't trade their backcourts
for Penn and Redd. It is an incredible asset to have two guards who can create
their own shot and break down defenses off the dribble. I don't know how many
people have heard of Michael Redd, but they will soon. I'm not big on
"ranking" backcourts and frontcourts, but here are some of the few who
are of the same caliber: Duke ( William Avery, Trajan Langdon ),
Connecticut ( Khalid El-Amin, Ricky Moore and Rip Hamilton ), Wisconsin
( Sean Mason, Ty Calderwood ), California ( Thomas Kilgore, Geno
Carlisle ) and Maryland ( Steve Francis, anyone playing with Steve
Francis ).
Whatever happened to UMass? Coming into the season they were a sure bet to
enter the NCAAs, now they are even losing to teams of lower quality. Who's at
fault? The players? The coach? The program? I have been a big fan of coach
Bruiser Flint and the UMass team for a long time, but this season seems to be
headed out with the
trash.
--Adrian Heng,
Singapore
Good question. When you look at the Minutemen's starting five, it seems like
they should be killing people. This team has simply lost its edge. They have no
pure point guard. Monty Mack has been playing well, but Charlton
Clark is clueless when it comes to running a team. As a result, Lari
Ketner is not getting enough touches, and he is really putting pressure on
himself. The team had a three-hour meeting before the Fordham game to air out
its differences, and apparently Ketner got an earful. Keep in mind that Ketner
has never had to carry a team. In high school in Philadelphia, he played with
Donnie Carr (now at LaSalle) and Arthur "Yah" Davis
(formerly at St. Joseph's). I know the folks in Amherst -- and, apparently, in
Singapore -- are losing patience with Bruiser Flint , but he signed a
contract extension in the preseason so I don't think he's getting too much
internal
heat.
I'm not a Cincinnati fan, but I get mad when I see them ranked third, given
that they beat Duke (No. 2) head-to-head! Why haven't I noticed
anyone else noticing this
robbery!
--Scott Downing, Tucson,
Ariz.
The problem is Cincinnati was 14th when they beat Duke and the Blue Devils were
No. 1. Just because one team beats another doesn't mean they automatically get
ranked higher. Would you also rank Pitt ahead of Kentucky? Georgia Tech ahead of
North Carolina? Duke hasn't lost since that game. When and if Duke loses, I'm
sure Cincy will jump ahead of
them.
I just wanted to know your thoughts on whether or not you feel Trajan Langdon
has what it takes to become a NBA player? If the NBA draft were happening now,
when would he be
picked?
--Steve Hulley, Kotzebue,
Alaska
My my, we're getting a lot of Duke questions. Anyone else ballin' out
there?
I think Langdon has a chance to play in the NBA, but he has to get in the right
situation. He'll have a hard time getting his shot off in the pros and
defensively he'll be a major liability. I'm guessing he'll be a late-first-round
to mid-second-round draft
pick.
Incidentally, for all you draftniks out there in Web land, I asked an NBA exec
recently to predict the top of the next NBA draft, including underclassmen.
Here's what he gave me: 1. Steve Francis , Maryland 2. Lamar Odom ,
Rhode Island 3. Elton Brand , Duke 4. Kenny Thomas , New Mexico
5. Wally Sczcerbiak , Miami (Ohio) 6. Jumaine Jones , Georgia
7. Jerome Moiso , UCLA 8. Baron Davis , UCLA 9. Richard
Hamilton ,
UConn
OK, hoopheads, ponder, point and click: Who is the most overrated coach in
the country, and
why?
Click here to send your college basketball questions to Seth
Davis.
|
