Sekou: breaking down three pg's

[DrReality]

Link to his article:

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/h...hawksdraft.html

[BHayley]

Very good article.

AS LONG AS WE TAKE YI @ #3, I'd take ANY of these PG's @ #11

[dakast]

I could be wrong....but I think Javaris Crittenton fits more into what BK is trying to do. I wouldn't mind taking him at #11 and using the #3 pick in some type of trade.

[Spiral]

Thanks for posting.

...I wish Sekou would've gave us some insight as to who he thinks is best, but maybe next time.

[pound4pound]

Did you see where Sekou calls him a tenacious defender? I have to admit, I never thought of him that way and really the opposite.

[Swatguy]

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Did you see where Sekou calls him a tenacious defender? I have to admit, I never thought of him that way and really the opposite.

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The opposite??

Javaris is the real deal. He is without a doubt the best PG in this draft.

[jerrywest]

Nothing new for hardcore fans. Its for AJC casual fans. He basically summarized what we have already discussed sometime ago and moved along to more important topics.

He's just setting up public for #11 point guard (if no trade). Its almost like a public relations handout by BK to keep people calm when he doesn't draft Conley at #3.

[Swatguy]

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Nothing new for hardcore fans. Its for AJC casual fans. He basically summarized what we have already discussed sometime ago and moved along to more important topics.

He's just setting up public for #11 point guard (if no trade). Its almost like a public relations handout by BK to keep people calm when he doesn't draft Conley at #3.

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No need to calm anyone at #3, #11 will be picked in an hour later.

[sturt]

Did he really say that?

I'm sure Speedy (and perhaps thousands of other hoops players) would like to enroll in that program if Sekou would just direct him to it.

Suggests an agenda on Sekou's part, if you ask me.

[Sothron]

lol no kidding. Can Stacey Augmon take classes? Its been fifteen years later and I'm STILL waiting for his promises to get his outside shooting "working" to be fulfilled.

[sturt]

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Did he really say that?

I'm sure Speedy (and perhaps thousands of other hoops players) would like to enroll in that program if Sekou would just direct him to it.

Suggests an agenda on Sekou's part, if you ask me.

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I think it is more along the lines that Conley is so young that it is correctable. Just look at Tony Parker as one example off the top of my head. Speedy isn't correctable because he is already around 28.

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Fanatic, I'm not sure you could have picked a worse example.

http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/tonyparker.htm

52.8%??? Sheesh... that's freak-like even if you're a low-post player.

[thesheedera]

Improving outside range isn't all that uncommon for guards after finishing their freshman seasons, especially when they're handling the point guard duties for a college team for the first time.

Conley's shot has good mechanics for the most part and I think it's reasonable to expect some improvement.

What if what he's done in his only college season projects to a 32% future in the NBA. That alone won't keep him from being a top notch PG. Deron Williams shot 32% this season. TJ Ford and Baron Davis both shot 30%, Kidd and Billups shot 34%, Arenas and Paul shot 35%.

Speedy shot 16% as a freshman PG against the teams on Hofstra's schedule. Let's not get carried away with the Speedy comparisons.

We simply don't know enough about Conley's shooting to know what kind of outside shooter he'll be when he's no longer a teenager. But to assume he'll be awful is just as much of a stretch as it is to assume he'll be great.

[sturt]

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But to assume he'll be awful is just as much of a stretch as it is to assume he'll be great.

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That's a stretch.

For the former, we have evidence that suggests that is more likely.

For the latter, all you can offer is "he has good mechanics," and you allege that improvement "isn't all that uncommon" for college sophomore guards... though, that's a very nebulous statement that would be dificult to prove, even if you could settle on what is meant by "uncommon."

No. Let's not play word games here. Conley could become a better shooter. But I'm not putting even $20 on it, are you?

If we draft him, it's with the understanding that we want the strengths that the evidence suggests he can provide.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Once again we can't come out of this draft without a PG.

When we just had the 11th pick, it was all about coming up with the best PG available there.

And now that we have the 3rd, it should still be that way

[thesheedera]

I disagree. I don't think 30-32% is awful - I think it's right around average for a freshman PG.

I think what Law did as a freshman is awful. I think what Speedy did as a freshman is awful.

I think Conley's an average long range shooter for a starting freshman PG in a big college conference.

So I think him becoming an awful pro shooter is just as likely as him becoming a great shooter.

Much more likely that he continues to be an average long range shooter, somewhere in the low to mid 30s would be my guess. I expect that much more than I expect to see him shooting in the low to mid twenties, or the low to mid 40s.

I can live with a low to mid 30% shooter if he's an excellent floor leader, distributor, penetrator, trantion and mid range player and defender.

[Johnnybravo4]

I just think that its funny that Critt's supposed weakness is experience, but they never say that about Conley who is just as young.

And Sekou is wrong about Critt not playing with better players. Critt played with Dwight Howard in highschool and with Dwight and Smoove and Randolph Morris for the Atlanta Celtics if I am not mistaken.

[jezmund]

I'm glad someone else noticed that about Crit. He isn't the only freshman PG we are talking about here.

[thesheedera]

I think it's more of a concern for Crit because he looked like a freshman PG while Conley looked like a seasoned vet.

[Johnnybravo4]

Give Critt Oden, even an injured one and a Daquan Cook and I am sure he'd look like a seasoned vet as well.

[atlien110]

you hit it right on the head bravo.

people like to point out all of critt's faults, too many turnovers and of course not being athletic enough - says exodus (what a dope).. but nobody wants to put critt's freshmen season in perspective.

has anyone ever seen a georgia tech game? do they even have a half court offense? the only time georgia tech is somewhat competent on offense is when they are in transition. hewitt might be a great recruiter but he's an awful in game strategist. his mass, random substitutions make it hard for any player to get any kind of feel for the game.

also, crittenton was surrounded by arguably the most cluess team in america. they had no backbone, they couldn't win on the road until javaris single handedly beat miami. when the lights were shining and they were on national tv crittenton turned in a gem of a game against north carolina.

yes javaris had a horrible ncca performance but once again i attribute that to his sorry teammates and his coach (woody clone)...

conley had arguably one of the best supporting casts in america. it's easy to be a great floor leader when you're surrounded by great talent.

about conley's fg % lets' not forget the oden factor. when teams collapse on the inside it leaves open lanes and wide open shots... he won't have that kind of low post presence in atlanta. and without any range on his shot, he'll be highly ineffective.

having said all that i like mike conley, he just isn't worth the 3rd pick and he isn't a good fit for atlanta.