Pulley impressions Mon. 7/6

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Doogie

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Game No. 1 featured Royce White - had him with 5 steals in the 1st half...was a monster...then completely disappeared in the 3rd qtr...his team went from being up 17 at the half to up just 2 after 3...he took just 1 shot in the 3rd qtr, looked frustrated, and with 24 sec. to go in the qtr, a timeout was called...while the rest of his team gathered in a huddle, he took a seat on the bench...then in the 4th, he led the fastbreak a couple different times, and was amazing again...clearly, Tubby will have to reign him at times, but his skills are top-notch...having a hard time coming up with a college or NBA comparision - have any?

Game No. 2 had Cobbs, D. Johnson, and Ralph Sampson III no-show...Rodney Williams Jr. and Hoffarber played...Blake looks noticeably thicker in his shoulders...not breaking any news suggesting that kind of game - little d played - works very well for Williams Jr...stayed for the 1st half, he missed the only jumper he took...had 3 sick dunks and 2 super blocks...
Talked to a few different people there who have been to all the games...heard lots of good things about Trevor....mixed on Nolen....mixed on Cobbs.
 

I think July 4th week is one of the times the outstate kids get to go back home.
 

That's a good description of things. Rodney is amazing vertically- again no news but it's kind of shocking to see a guy dunking while on his way down from the just in front of the free throw line. He has some serious hang time. White has the skills. I was dissapointed not to see either he or Rodney get a chance to show any midrange or long range game. Both went exclusively to driving to the hole. Was dissapointed not to see Cobbs. Hoffarber looks like a fish out of water in a game like this and his jumper was off in the first half.

Rodney will be pretty exciting against the hyphenated teams and I'd guess Tubby will find a way to play him 10 or so minutes in Big Ten games as a defender and a spark.
 

Blake, shockingly, shot airballs on 2 3-point attempts...don't usually see that...correct when you suggest these games don't suit him real well.
On Rodney, he does it so effortlessly...and he does it quickly...he gets off the ground in no time....really needs to hit the weights.
 

Ditto on the Rodneys

Rodney Williams should start every game for the Gophers just to get the tip! Man can he jump. Some nice blocks and I counted 4 dunks the lst half! White really looked good tonight especially driving through everybody on fast breaks! Hoff shot 2 airballs and no pts in the first half when I left. although he gets a little wild its fun to watch Troy Hudson play! He took over the end of the game as his team won. Puchtal had some good moments as well in the 2nd game.
 


I agree with Doogs. It was a fun night but with the floor filled with shooters it was hard for Royce and Rodney to work on shooting.

Walking in the door about mid 1st quarter I see this guy chuck up a fade away from about 10 ft beyond the 3 line and I knew it was THUD. He almost made the damn thing too. Hard to recognize without the dreads.
 

Doogie said:
Blake looks noticeably thicker in his shoulders...he missed the only jumper he took...had 3 sick dunks and 2 super blocks...
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A new Blake Hoffarber? Just when we need outside shooting the most, we have yet another inside guy ... eeegads!
 

Royce White comparison

Its come up on other discussion boards. I have suggested Raymon Morgan of Michigan ST., with Royce having the potential to emulate Carmelo Anthony. That is if he can expand his perimeter game. They are similar sized at similar ages.
 

Carmelo is exactly who I've thought of too. Obviously still a ways to go but perhaps he could be that type of player.
 



Can Royce shoot like Melo? Even going back to his 1 year at Syr., his 15-18 ft jumpers were $$ on a regular basis...don't know if Royce has that kind of shot in him.
 

I don't know that Melo is the right comparison. Even as a freshmen he was more perimeter orientated than Royce will be.

The comparison that I like is that of a younger Glen Robinson, I am not saying he will dominate like Glen, and I am not comparing him to the Glen Robinson of the Milwukee Bucks who was a lazy defender and sat around the perimeter heaving jump shots. I think he will be similar to Glen when Glen first started at Purdue, with the potential to develop from there.
 

Big Dog is close

Big Dog is getting closer, but at Purdue, he could really shoot it, maybe not Meloesque, but close...However, he's a more legit comparison than Melo...anyone else though?
 

Doogie said:
Big Dog is getting closer, but at Purdue, he could really shoot it, maybe not Meloesque, but close...However, he's a more legit comparison than Melo...anyone else though?
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Kris Humphries?
 



Carlos Boozer

Al Hortford (i think that's his name, the guy from Florida a few years ago)
 

Humphries and Horford seem more like true post players to me. I tend to think Royce has more ability to slash and create off the dribble. It is tough to think of a good comparison, but a young Larry Johnson comes to mind for some reason.
 

anyone else though?
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How about David Lee? He is athletic and versatile. Not the best shooter but good enough. He can handle the ball when he needs to.

Some others that came to mind: Gerald Wallace, Corey Maggette, Ron Artest, or John Salmons.
 

How about LeBron James? or Jordan? I think maybe a Magic Johnson-Shaq-Kobe Bryant hybrid. Lets not let ourselves be tethered down by reality...

Okay, so maybe that's a bit harsh. But to me, we should go back to the Raymar Morgan comparison, at least until we see Royce play a college game. Comparing him to one-and-done lottery picks and NBA all-stars seems like it's getting a little bit ahead of ourselves.

Here might be a better way to frame it: Royce White is the #32 ranked prospect by Scout for 2009. Here is a list of the #32 ranked players for the previous 7 years:

2002 Denham Brown UConn
2003 Richard McBride Illinois
2004 Russell Robinson Kansas
2005 Jamont Gordon Mississippi St.
2006 Deshawn Sims Michigan
2007 Chandler Parsons Florida
2008 Kenny Kadji Florida

Some very solid college players in that group, but I haven't heard many arguments on who the better player is between Richard McBride and Carmelo Anthony lately. I'm not necessarily saying Royce won't be a star, I'm just saying the odds are stacked against him. Sorry to be a pessimist, but I still can't hear the name Rick Rickert without cringing a little bit.
 

A comparison was asked for. I could have compared Royce to a guy I play with on Sundays at the YMCA but that wouldn't have really helped people visualize how Royce plays. The point was to help people understand how he plays and what he can do on the court - not to predict his future. No one has claimed he is a sure-thing lottery pick, or even NBA player. We are simply trying to understand what type of skills he will bring to Tubby and the Gophers next season.
 

Maroon Shower said:
Here might be a better way to frame it: Royce White is the #32 ranked prospect by Scout for 2009. Here is a list of the #32 ranked players for the previous 7 years:

2002 Denham Brown UConn
2003 Richard McBride Illinois
2004 Russell Robinson Kansas
2005 Jamont Gordon Mississippi St.
2006 Deshawn Sims Michigan
2007 Chandler Parsons Florida
2008 Kenny Kadji Florida

Some very solid college players in that group, but I haven't heard many arguments on who the better player is between Richard McBride and Carmelo Anthony lately. I'm not necessarily saying Royce won't be a star, I'm just saying the odds are stacked against him. Sorry to be a pessimist, but I still can't hear the name Rick Rickert without cringing a little bit.
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Thats assuming that scout is dead on accurate... they also have Rodney Williams at 34 and most people seem to think that Royce is a great deal more complete a player than Rodney... Even if they have Royce just a few spots back from where he should really be there have been pleanty of great players who were in that area for scouts rankings. Ex. 2006: Mike Conley - 28
 

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