Hawks draft at #21, Reece Gains out of Louiville ?

[coachx]

Gaines is out of Louiville, 6'6'' combo guard who can the run the point or at least help JT out at times. The guy is a scorer who has been accused of not being selfish enough. He likes to get teamates involved and I'm sure Rick Pitino has taught him the importance of defense and pressuring the ball. Could he be the big guard we have been looking for to help JT out with the pg or ball handling duties.

NBAdraft.net has him going at #20 to the Celtics, however I think they are looking for more of a true pg to direct the offense.

One thing of interest, Boston and Utah pick right before the Hawks and both need a guard help like the Hawks.

However, Boston and Utah need big men more than Hawks do.

[KB21]

I think there is a better than average chance of that happening. Reece Gaines is a guy who will fall out of favor in some scouts minds because they will side with the European influx of talent, whether these players are being overrated or not.

Reece is projected as a mid to late 1st round pick right now. I think there is a good chance he will be there for the Hawks.

[GouldSite]

Hey everyone. Some people from the old ESPN Hawks board and the RealGM board might remember me posting a long while back. I've stopped posting but never stopped lurking. Despite the woeful times for the Hawks, I've never stopped rooting for them as well as keeping up with them. That's the beauty of DirecTV's NBA League Pass.

Anyway, to the subject at hand.

I don't actually know Reece one-on-one; I've only met and spoke with him for a few minutes once (I've spoken to his mother more than him). However, as a native of Louisville and as a die-hard Louisville Cardinals fan, I've been going to EVERY single home basketball game (as well as football, but basketball is my love) since I was a baby. The only team I cheer for with more veracity than the Hawks are my beloved Cards.

I've watched Reece mature these past four years from an unsure, turnover-prone freshman into an amazing shooting guard and then into a confident, spectacular point guard with great court vision and basketball knowledge. Reece has had the sensational opportunity to be coached two years a piece by two of the best college basketball coaches of all-time: first Denny Crum, and then Rick Pitino. Crum taught Reece the basics of playing basketball at the next level. Pitino refined Reece's skills and improved them to the next level, turning him into a bonafide star.

Yes, I am biased, for I truly love Reece - as an 18 year-old, Reece is truly my all-time favorite Cardinal that I can remember (DeJuan Wheat and LaBradford Smith round out my top three, for anyone who knows them or cares to know). But it really does shock me when I read all the draft reports and read that Reece isn't going to go in the lottery and that he will not be the first senior selected in the draft. To me, there's no better senior with more upside and potential in the NBA than Reece Gaines. I'm not sure whether he'll turn out to be a star in the pros, but he will be a solid role-player; in my mind, he'll definitely turn out to be the #2 or #3 go-to-guy on any team once he gets the hang of the league.

Let me list his positives:

+He can play point guard or shooting guard with equally amazing skill. If needed, he can be a pure point guard (Pitino's forced him to do that at times this year) or he can be a scoring, slashing point guard. If he plays at shooting guard, he can do so with point guard tendencies. He's an awesome player at either the 1 or 2 position; he'll do whatever the team needs.

+His size. He can be a 6'6" point guard in this league. He will create severe matchup problems, especially if paired with a tall shooting guard. Or the shooting guard can be short. Whatever position he is playing, he is an extremely strong kid with a great size for either the 1 or 2 spot. He will succeed where Jamal Crawford has, for the most part, failed.

+He is EXTREMELY coachable. Heck, he's had to deal with a major, major coaching change (when Crum left U of L, the kids could do pretty much whatever they wanted - when Pitino came in, the kids basically went into lockdown). He follows every order, listens to everything the coach says, and tries to improve however he can.

+He plays to win. Reece has taken over and controlled more games than I can remember. The one that comes to mind most was the U of L - Marquette game in Wisconsin this year where Reece sealed off his phenomenal effort by winning the game on a last-second three-pointer from 27, yes, 27, feet out. He is extremely emotional, which can be a bad thing at times, but he has a super heart and gives his all in EVERY single game, no matter if he's playing against archrival UK or bottom feeder East Carolina.

+He's a class act. You hear of seniors in college who, as soon as their seasons are over, quit school and focus on getting ready for the draft. Not Reece. After the heartwrenching loss to Butler in the 2nd round of the tourney (I should know the feeling, I was in Birmingham for the game), Reece went back with the team and finished up getting his diploma. And he will graduate this year. Not only that, however, I cannot remember one time where he has been disciplined by Crum or Pitino for behavioral, academic, or other reasons. He's a super nice guy (this I know from meeting and talking with him as well as with his mom) who is also quiet and pretty shy. He's not an egotistical giant nor is he a menace to a community. He's just a great kid.

+Anyone worried about his shooting range? Don't be. Reece regularly shot (and made, mind you) threes from 25 feet away. He can shoot and make them from half-court. Give him the ball wherever on the court; he'll make the shot.

+His on-the-ball defense, under the Pitino, has improved to the part where he is tenacious.

+Reece's ball-handling skills are among the best I've seen for someone his size. He slashes to the hoop on will and simply can't be stopped. This year, his assist-to-turnover ratio was 1.7. Just great.

+Finally, he's a team leader. He proved so this year as well as last year. He makes every player around him better.

I guess I could keep listing off positive after positive, but let me list the few negatives that come to mind about Reece:

-His off-the-ball defense is the worst part about his defense. He has made great strides under Pitino (who has constantly singled this out as one of Reece's greatest problems), but right now, his off-the-ball defense is probably mediocre to possibly a little above par. He needs to get better in this area.

-Reece can sometimes let his emotions carry him away and it has a negative effect on the way he plays. Like I said earlier, sometimes emotions can be a good thing, other times, it can be a bad thing. For Reece, there are definitely times when he needs to keep his emotions in check.

-Yes, sometimes he is too unselfish, but other times, he is just the opposite. This year, there were times when Reece would try and do too much himself rather than to let the play develop and execute it as the point guard; suffice it to say that there are times that he is impatient. This is when he commits his turnovers - when he becomes impatient and tries to pull too many streetball moves.

-He is somewhat like Shareef in his leadership qualities. He definitely is the leader of the team, but he doesn't speak up as much as he should. Reece has been guilty of this a few times (not frequently, but at times). To be a true leader in the NBA, Reece will have to learn to become even more vocal than he is right now.

-Reece may be able to hit a shot from any place on the court, but his shot selection can become questionable at times. This mostly occurs when he becomes impatient or emotional (in a negative way). Again, rather than letting a play develop, he'll launch a shot from 25 feet out. He may make this shot, but it's not smart to take. By keeping his emotions in check, this can be easily remedied.

Those are really the only negatives that come to mind when talking about Reece. The thing to keep in mind, however, is that these negatives can easily be overcome by somebody like Reece. With good coaching, Reece can easily surpass these problems and become an even better player.

I don't know what team, in their right mind, wouldn't want to have Reece. He just has so many positives, so many great intangibles, and so much upside. He will add so much to any team he plays with.

As for the Hawks, he'd be perfect. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if, assuming he was drafted by the Hawks, he started at the 2 spot alongside J-Ter after a few games. And, yes, he could easily share the point responsibilities with J-Ter. J-Ter could stick to being a scoring point guard and Reece could be a shooting guard with point guard tendencies. It'd be a spectacular backcourt that would only get better with time. Being a Hawks fan, I'd love to see Reece wear the #22 jersey for Atlanta.

But will Reece be around for the #21 pick? I honestly don't think so. He may be projected right now to go around mid-to-late first round, but I think once individual workouts begin and teams and their GMs see him play his game, his stock will steadily rise to the point where he ends up being picked in the mid-to-late lottery (most likely late). Teams will just see how extremely skilled he is and how he does employs these skills with relative ease. Teams will see how, thanks to Pitino, he is in phenomenal shape.

I want Reece to go to the Hawks, but I think he deserves to go much higher than #21. Again, I'm biased, but I truly believe this.

Phew, that was a long scouting report on Reece Gaines. But, again, as my favorite Cardinal, I know almost everything about him and am probably in one of the best positions to give a scouting report on him. I hope everyone finds this helpful.

Here's to the Hawks striking gold in the lottery and landing either the #3, #2, or, miracously, the #1 pick. And here's to Reece being selected in the lottery, as he so deserves. GO HAWKS and GO CARDS!

-Andrew Gould

[DJ_Money]

Wow, thanks for that.

I've been sold on Reece for a long time now, and my desire to see him in a Hawks uni grows every day.

[Guest]

Though that post was a little over the top, the more I hear about Reece, the more I like it...and think he'd be great as a possible backcourt mate for JT, if that's the direction that the new mgt. decides to go...it really depends on what they decide.

While I only loosely follow the college game (bigger schools and players...don't have time to diligently follow that many sports)...Reece sounds quite a bit like Crawford, someone that I have thought would be a nice match here. With our pick, that's about as much as you can ask too...

in the future, should things work out and my dreams of GRob leaving happen...

JT/DD

Gaines/DJ

DJ/Ira/Crawford

SAR/Hendu

Theo/Nazr

That's a pretty solid 11 man lineup...if chemistry and style of play were establish. Silas did a really nice job bringing Baron Davis along quickly in his adjustment to the L, perhaps, should he become our coach, he could do the same here...

the future's just so [censored] uncertain.

[Crackalacka]

He would be a good replacement to JT, but if he's not there remember the name Chris Thomas. But he's small, and we just took Dickau last year but Thomas is fast and has athleticism.

[KB21]

That's probably the main reason he will drop some.

Scouts now seem to downgrade the players that stay all four years of school. It gives them more time to nit pick over their game, and they tend to find something they don't like.

The way I figure it, Gaines may be the 2nd senior player to go off the board, but it may not be till the mid-late 1st round. I think Kirk Hinrich may go before him, but I don't see him going the middle part of the 1st round.

My ideal draft for the Hawks would be to take Gaines in the 1st and Josh Howard in the 2nd. I think both picks are a decent possibility as well.

[GouldSite]

Point taken, KB21. However, I feel that once workouts begin, Reece's stock in the draft will not drop or stay steady - it will rise. Again, this is coming from a biased poster, but I think once Reece is given the chance to prove to teams what he is made of, he will do nothing but impress.

There's also another big (pardon the pun) reason why I see Reece going - at the latest - in the mid-1st round. Remember Trenton Hassell? Hassell jumped from being a possible undrafted player before the draft to being picked in the late first round. Why? He was a big, 6'6" point guard that enthralled teams simply because of his size. Yet Reece has something Hassell doesn't have - skills.

I just can't see team after team passing up the possibility of having a skilled 6'6" point guard on their squad. As much as I hope Reece goes to the Hawks, I think he'll be picked much before #21.

As the title of a Jimmy Buffett song notes, "Only time will tell."

-Andrew Gould