Chris Gay of Augusta Chronicle on Garret Siler

[gsuteke]

Chris Gay covers Garret Siler with blogs and stories at Augusta Chronicle.com

I ask each of you to email Chris Gay himself with any "thank you's" if you so desire. His email address is chris.gay@augustachronicle.com

IF those who take their time (and a considerable amount in this case) to field our questions are met with positive feedback they will likely choose to do it again in the future.

Chris Gay took and answered a total of 21 questions from Squawkers - the 1st installment is below.

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Chris, Thanks for taking your time to answer these questions!

I am very excited about Garrett Siler agreeing to participate in the Hawks September camp and I personally think with his size and attitude he could help the Hawks. But, since you know a LOT more about Siler than I do can you tell me if you think he will eventually sign a contract with the Hawks and if he does do you think he has a good chance of making the final roster and contributing to the team? I hope he makes the team and ends up being an Atlanta Hawk for many years!

"He's in the preseason/veterans camp. So that's the first step. The Hawks have so many guys locked into contracts. I'm not sure if they have any room in the inn for him (or anyone else for that matter). I may be wrong on this, but I think the Hawks can retain his rights and send him to the Developmental League to work on his game. That'd be better than him just sitting on the end of the bench rotting. Garret needs to continue to develop his game against steady competition. I'd like to see him make the Hawks roster, but if he's the last man then I don't know if that helps his situation regarding his future potential.

"In my last conversation with Garret, he mentioned how much the Hawks' coaches and other personnel liked him. So that may be half the battle with him getting a job. I'd like to see him be a Hawk for many years as well. He's a home state guy who could have an astounding positive impact on so many children. Garret could be a role model the way Atlanta slugger Dale Murphy was in the 1980s."

1) When looking at Siler last year, how was he able to grab a high number of offensive rebounds ( compared to his overall number of rebounds )? Is he putting himself in great position to grab an offensive rebound from other guys missed shots . .. or does he grab offensive rebounds simply because he was so much bigger than everyone else?

http://www.aug.edu/a...me.htm#TEAM.CMB

"Garret used a combination of his size and positioning. It's easy to say he grabbed a fair share of offensive boards because he had height and weight advantages on most every other center he faced. But in Dec. 2007 against the University of Georgia, Garret had 10 rebounds (four offensive) and a block. Garret also had to play smart when going for an offensive board, because of his size. Officials were easy to call a quick whistle sometimes when he went for a missed shot on offense because smaller players made it look like he went over the back. So he really had to think his way around the blocks."

One of the knocks on Siler is he hasn't faced much competition at the D2 level in the paint. What level of Big men have you seen Siler compete against and do you think he'll be able to match up physically on the next level?

"The old D2 knock. I know Garret gets it all the time. If he would've played for Georgia or South Carolina, he still would not have faced many guys his size. He spent his senior season at 7-feet, 304 pounds. It's hard to match up with that at any level. In D2, he faced triple- and even quadruple-team defenses. Four times this past season, he went up against rival and nationally-ranked USC Aiken, which featured Auburn transfer forward Josh Dollard (6-7, 235) and center Brian Egwuatu (I don't remember his exact size, maybe 6-5, 225-230, but he was super strong and could jump out of the building). Anyway, Garret averaged 17.5 points, 5 boards and 3.8 blocks in those 4 games. Good numbers against good competition.

Going back to the D2 reference. It can be argued that top-tier Division 2 programs are better than a third to a half of the Division I programs out there (Augusta State led UGA with four minutes left two years ago and beat the College of Charleston in an exhibition in 2007-08). There were 4 top-20 programs in the Peach Belt Conference this past season. So Garret did face decent competition, and while he wasn't playing North Carolina or Kansas every week he also wasn't facing the likes of Delaware or South Dakota, either."

First, let me thank Chris Gay for taking time out to enlighten us on Siler.

1.) What is Siler's demeanor like on the court ? Is he a gentle giant or is he rough and tough ? Does he shy away from contact or invite contact ?

"He's been working since his freshman year at Augusta State to shed that "gentle giant" on-court persona. On the other hand, he's no thug on the hardwood. He doesn't mind contact. I think the more he plays, he likes banging against guys his size. If he does make the Hawks, you don't have to worry about him going Rasheed Wallace crazy on the court. Garret's just too nice a guy."

2.) Why were his rebound numbers so low at a D-2 college ? I assume it was a lack a of quickness and mobility to get to the looses balls that did not fall in his lap............If that is the case, does he at least box other guys out well enough to keep them from getting to loose balls ?

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Is a 7.7 rebounding average that bad? Yes, he has the size to dominate, but because of his size he also had a lot of bodies around him most all times as well. You've got to take his 7.7 rebounding average in context -- he averaged fewer than 27 minutes a game because of foul trouble. Five more minutes on the court and his rebounding average would have been 9-something.

Garret had pretty good quickness in college (he can run a mile in about 6 1/2 minutes -- maybe faster now). And he is pretty mobile. He went after loose balls. And yes, he worked on boxing out guys. But the problem Garret faced with rebounding: boxing out smaller guys. Referees had a hard time calling Augusta State games because of Garret's size, and sometimes he unfairly got whistled.

Garret is quicker and stronger than when he played his last collegiate game. And he will do a good job rebounding against guys his size."

For many years, the knock on Siler has been that he's too overweight to play good defense. With his recent loss of weight, do you think that he can be a NBA quality defender or does he not have the fundamentals to be a good defender.

"Garret's done a good job of getting his weight down over the years. Since March, he's lost about 30 pounds. So he's pretty much all muscle. With that being said, I haven't seen him play but I'm told he is quicker. That should help his defense. But he's also been a pretty good defender. Even with the extra weight, Garret's blocked (90 blocks in 35 games last season) and altered shots because of his heighth.

"I don't know of anyone knows for sure how good Garret can be because he's still developing his game on offense and defense. He's hard worker, he's a quick learner and he's smart. If someone in the Hawks' organization will continue to work with him, he'll only get better."

Why do you think Garret Siler didn't get drafted?

"Several factors. First, he didn't have the name recognition. Division II programs rarely get TV exposure. So he wasn't on ESPN with d*ck Vitale going nuts over him calling him a "Diaper Dandy" or anything like that. Second, if he'd worked a little harder before his senior season, dropped some weight then and continued to had an even stellar season he may have gotten drafted.

"Draft night was not a great one at his house. He was disappointed, but he wasn't overly emotional about it. Not getting drafted may have been good for him. It told him he's going to have to work even harder to gain respect."

Edited August 24, 2009 by gsuteke

[Gray Mule]

:jumping11:

Thanks!!

[gsuteke]

2.) Why were his rebound numbers so low at a D-2 college ? I assume it was a lack a of quickness and mobility to get to the looses balls that did not fall in his lap............If that is the case, does he at least box other guys out well enough to keep them from getting to loose balls ?

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Is a 7.7 rebounding average that bad? Yes, he has the size to dominate, but because of his size he also had a lot of bodies around him most all times as well. You've got to take his 7.7 rebounding average in context -- he averaged fewer than 27 minutes a game because of foul trouble. Five more minutes on the court and his rebounding average would have been 9-something.

Garret had pretty good quickness in college (he can run a mile in about 6 1/2 minutes -- maybe faster now). And he is pretty mobile. He went after loose balls. And yes, he worked on boxing out guys. But the problem Garret faced with rebounding: boxing out smaller guys. Referees had a hard time calling Augusta State games because of Garret's size, and sometimes he unfairly got whistled.

Garret is quicker and stronger than when he played his last collegiate game. And he will do a good job rebounding against guys his size."

This guy would make an excellent backup Center IMO. He doesn't have to contend with the calls going against him due to his size in the NBA and we wouldn't be asking him to play more than a few minutes a game next year anyway - and who knows he may outplay some of the backup bigs to be that 3rd guy behind Zaza and Horford.

[gsuteke]

90 blocks in 35 games - you don't block that many shots by standing under the basketb with your hands held up in a straight line.

[DrReality]

Great info. Makes me think about Pryzbilla.

[jy23]

I really hope we sign this guy and I agree with what he said about sending him to the D league if he's going to be the last guy on the bench. Idk if he can contribute this year but if he can then great!

[AnakinJoe]

I really hope we sign this guy and I agree with what he said about sending him to the D league if he's going to be the last guy on the bench. Idk if he can contribute this year but if he can then great!

I'm not sure the D-Leagues are the right classroom for big men. It seems to be a league where the guys with the ball in their hands get all of the touches. If he stays with the Hawks, he will at least get the benefit of scrimmaging almost daily with legit big men. And he will learn from NBA-caliber coaches. And he'll have access to NBA-caliber workout facilities and conditioning coaches. Sending him to the D-League, he would likely get to run up and down the court during games but I don't know if he realizes any other benefit. I'm guessing that practicing 3-4 times a week against Zaza and Morris would do more for his development than playing games against 6"9" forwards who are forced to play center.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I'm not sure the D-Leagues are the right classroom for big men. It seems to be a league where the guys with the ball in their hands get all of the touches. If he stays with the Hawks, he will at least get the benefit of scrimmaging almost daily with legit big men. And he will learn from NBA-caliber coaches. And he'll have access to NBA-caliber workout facilities and conditioning coaches. Sending him to the D-League, he would likely get to run up and down the court during games but I don't know if he realizes any other benefit. I'm guessing that practicing 3-4 times a week against Zaza and Morris would do more for his development than playing games against 6"9" forwards who are forced to play center.

I agree. I think that may be the reason why the Hawks never sent Solo to the D-League for an extended period of time. Because the overseas market is so lucrative, the D-League can't even stake claim to being a viable "minor league" system to the NBA. You might have 1 - 3 guys a year from the D-League. And they all seem to be guards or small forwards.

The players that have talent, but maybe can't come to contract terms with an NBA squad, will opt to go to Europe to play for a few hundred thousand to a few million . . instead of playing for the tens of thousands that D-Leaguers play for.

IT may be better for Siler to go up against Horford and Zaza in practice, than it would to go up against D-League centers. I think of how the Raptors sent Pape Sow to the D-League a few years back to develop him.

Who . . . you say?

Exactly.

Pape looked like a demon in the D-League. On the NBA level, his game was weak.

[DrReality]

If we sign Joe Smith it would be a great asset for Siler. Good to have a vet around to show him the ropes. It would be amazing if the Hawks signed this guy and he developed into a decent player. Don't remember the last big they did that with . . . . if ever.

[gsuteke]

I'm not sure the D-Leagues are the right classroom for big men. It seems to be a league where the guys with the ball in their hands get all of the touches. If he stays with the Hawks, he will at least get the benefit of scrimmaging almost daily with legit big men. And he will learn from NBA-caliber coaches. And he'll have access to NBA-caliber workout facilities and conditioning coaches. Sending him to the D-League, he would likely get to run up and down the court during games but I don't know if he realizes any other benefit. I'm guessing that practicing 3-4 times a week against Zaza and Morris would do more for his development than playing games against 6"9" forwards who are forced to play center.

I don't get the impression that players get alot of run in practice during the NBA season. For instance when teams are on the road practice may consist of a walk through at the team hotel in a ballroom.

I agree with Chris on Siler benefiting from a stint in the D-League.

And BTW - we've got a 6'9" forward who is being forced to play center on our team!

[mrhonline]

The D-League would likely be a step up in talent for Siler.

If I were the Hawks and I liked what I saw in camp, I would offer him a one-year deal with a non-guaranteed contract for the second year.

Year one - send him to D-League, keep Morris to be the practice dummy

Year two - say goodbye to "RandMo" and let Siler be the practice dummy

[PDubATL]

I don't know. It could be better for Siler as a player to get some actual court time in the NBDL but I think our team might be better off having him ride the bench and play in our practices. In football, teams often put in players on their practice squad to emulate their opponents. We don't have anyone even close to Siler who could emulate Shaq/Howard in practice. Just having his bulk may help our frontcourt get prepared for the difficult matchups against ORL/CLE.

[gsuteke]

The DL would be a tough decision for me in respect to Siler if I were Woodrow or Sund. On the one hand he'll benefit with the playing time he'll get as the focal point of the DL team. On the other hand he'd be useful playing 3 to 4 minutes of spot duty against the larger Centers in the league each night as dictated by need in respect to matchups.

That's if Woodrow would play him though.

Edited August 26, 2009 by gsuteke

[jy23]

The DL would be a tough decision for me in respect to Siler if I were Woodrow or Sund. On the one hand he'll benefit with the playing time he'll get as the focal point of the DL team. On the other hand he'd be useful playing 3 to 4 minutes of spot duty against the larger Centers in the league each night as dictated by need in respect to matchups.

That's if Woodrow would play him though.

Thats y I said I would rather have him in the DL than for him to rot at the end of the bench. If he's going to be used then by all means keep him here, but its been said plenty of times that he hasn't had alot of basketball experience bc he started playing so late so if we could at least give him game action in the DL then i say send him down.