BleedGopher
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RS3 one of the last four cut from U.S. team
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BleedGopher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
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- 60,744
- Reaction score
- 16,088
- Points
- 113
Some analysis of RS3's game from the tryouts, per Marcus' blog:
Gophers sophomore big man Ralph Sampson III finished competing today at the USA Under-19 national team trials in Colorado Springs. Colo.
DraftExpress.com analyst Jonathan Givony, who attended the tryouts, was the first to tell me this afternoon that the 6-foot-11 Sampson was "officially cut."
Givony, who was evaluating future NBA prospects, said Sampson played much harder and was much less tentative offensively Wednesday night than he had been earlier in the camp, but that didn't seem to be enough to earn him a spot.
"Looks like he has a lot of potential, great physical tools, but right now he's very raw and limited offensively," Givony said of Sampson, who added weight. "He thinks too much. He needs a lot of work, like most big men his age. He's someone to
keep an eye on, though."
It seems now Sampson will be back in time to work at Tubby Smith's basketball camp, and possibly play in the Howard Pulley Pro-City League next week with incoming freshman point guard Justin Cobbs and senior forward Damian Johnson on a team called TRP Group.
Missing out on the experience to play with the U-19 team was a setback for Sampson. But weaknesses exposed at the tryout should give him some things to work on.
-- The final U-19 roster consisted of Washington State's DeAngelo Casto and Klay Thompson, Duke's Seth Curry, Pittburgh's Ashton Gibbs, Butler's Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack, Kentucky's Darius Miller, UTEP's Arnett Moultrie, Northwestern's John Shurna, Kansas' Tyshawn Taylor, Georgia's Howard Thompkins and Mississippi's Terrico White.
There were two centers at the trials: Sampson and Moultrie, a 6-foot-11, 225-pound sophomore from Tennessee.
Moultrie obviously gives the U.S. team more of an inside force than Sampson, as he was the fifth leading rebounder in the nation for freshmen last season. He averaged 8.8 points and 8.2 rebounds a game at UTEP. He also had six double doubles in points and rebounds, including a 19-point, 18-rebound game. I realize the competition is different in Conference USA and the Big Ten. But a monster game like that can't be ignored.
Sampson averaged 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds a game at Minnesota last season. He along with fellow freshman big man Colton Iverson (3.6 rebounds a game) failed to reach double figures in rebounds in a game last season, which was surprising. Playing time had something to do with it (more so with Iverson...he often got into foul trouble). Sampson, however, seemed to rely too much on his length and not enough on positioning and intensity to crash the boards. The Gophers will benefit greatly if he works on those areas this summer.
http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2009/06/update-on-sampson-at-u-19-tria.html
Go Gophers!!
Gophers sophomore big man Ralph Sampson III finished competing today at the USA Under-19 national team trials in Colorado Springs. Colo.
DraftExpress.com analyst Jonathan Givony, who attended the tryouts, was the first to tell me this afternoon that the 6-foot-11 Sampson was "officially cut."
Givony, who was evaluating future NBA prospects, said Sampson played much harder and was much less tentative offensively Wednesday night than he had been earlier in the camp, but that didn't seem to be enough to earn him a spot.
"Looks like he has a lot of potential, great physical tools, but right now he's very raw and limited offensively," Givony said of Sampson, who added weight. "He thinks too much. He needs a lot of work, like most big men his age. He's someone to
keep an eye on, though."
It seems now Sampson will be back in time to work at Tubby Smith's basketball camp, and possibly play in the Howard Pulley Pro-City League next week with incoming freshman point guard Justin Cobbs and senior forward Damian Johnson on a team called TRP Group.
Missing out on the experience to play with the U-19 team was a setback for Sampson. But weaknesses exposed at the tryout should give him some things to work on.
-- The final U-19 roster consisted of Washington State's DeAngelo Casto and Klay Thompson, Duke's Seth Curry, Pittburgh's Ashton Gibbs, Butler's Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack, Kentucky's Darius Miller, UTEP's Arnett Moultrie, Northwestern's John Shurna, Kansas' Tyshawn Taylor, Georgia's Howard Thompkins and Mississippi's Terrico White.
There were two centers at the trials: Sampson and Moultrie, a 6-foot-11, 225-pound sophomore from Tennessee.
Moultrie obviously gives the U.S. team more of an inside force than Sampson, as he was the fifth leading rebounder in the nation for freshmen last season. He averaged 8.8 points and 8.2 rebounds a game at UTEP. He also had six double doubles in points and rebounds, including a 19-point, 18-rebound game. I realize the competition is different in Conference USA and the Big Ten. But a monster game like that can't be ignored.
Sampson averaged 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds a game at Minnesota last season. He along with fellow freshman big man Colton Iverson (3.6 rebounds a game) failed to reach double figures in rebounds in a game last season, which was surprising. Playing time had something to do with it (more so with Iverson...he often got into foul trouble). Sampson, however, seemed to rely too much on his length and not enough on positioning and intensity to crash the boards. The Gophers will benefit greatly if he works on those areas this summer.
http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2009/06/update-on-sampson-at-u-19-tria.html
Go Gophers!!