Can Dwight Howard land us AI?

[Diesel]

http://www.talkaboutbasketball.com/group/r...ges/416776.html

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James plays it like American kids aren't supposed to. His is a

fundamental genius supposedly cornered by the European market but on

display in the form of the next No. 1 pick. Howard, the 6-11 son of a

Georgia state trooper, wowed 17 NBA scouts at Delaware's Slam Dunk to

the Beach tournament the other night with 25 points, 21 rebounds, nine blocks, five assists and one frightening ability to handle the ball on

the break.

"If I go pro I'm thinking I'm going in there to dominate right away,"

Howard said in his locker room. "What I want to do is ... show

everybody LeBron just set a standard for high schoolers that we can

play basketball with the big boys. ... I think I can surpass LeBron."

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[Diesel]

The real question is if we get Howard, do we consider trading him at all?? We might have to part ways with Sheed and make Howard the next Lebron James only Better!

[Diesel]

NBAdraft.net Justin Young on Dwight Howard

I've seen Dwight Howard probably more than anyone outside of the Southwest Atlanta Christian program and I will say this until the day I die, he is hands down the best player in high school basketball and he isn't very far behind LeBron James at this level. It is hard to compare the two because their games are so different. But know this: Howard will be the number one pick. There is no reason not to pick him first. He has all of the tools to be a mix between Chris Webber, Amare Stoudamire and Tim Duncan. Keep these ridiculous Kwame Brown comparisions away. I coached Kwame at the AAU level. I know the two very well and Dwight is a man amongst boys.

By the way, he will face off against his good friend and AAU teammate Randolph Morris on Jan. 10 at Atlanta Metro College. On Jan. 30, they will play again, this time on ESPN at Georgia Tech.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/char...sts/7464498.htm

ATLANTA - The best high school basketball player in the nation doesn't need to drive a Hummer and would rather glorify God than Nike.

So, although Dwight Howard might be the top pick in June's NBA draft, that doesn't mean he's LeBron James all over again.

"He really knows how to be a role model in a time when so many athletes seem driven by material things," said Howard's coach, Courtney Brooks of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy.

Howard, a 6-foot-10 power forward, is a different kid on many levels. He listens to gospel rather than hip-hop. His replies are peppered with so many "yes, sirs" you'd assume he's a marine. And while many of his peers board at the classic basketball prep schools -- an Oak Hill or a Fork Union -- Howard attends a 300-student school where he'll be one of 14 graduates in the spring.

He likes it there, and why not? His support system is always nearby. His mother is a physical education teacher at the school and his father is the athletics director, along with being a Georgia state trooper. They taught their son to be proud, but not haughty, and to care about people for who they are, not what they can do for him.

Those lessons stuck.

"I think I was brought up in a loving situation. I was prayed for by everybody -- that I would be healthy, that I would be a son of God," Howard said. "Everybody treats me well here, but that's how everybody here is treated, not because of the situation I'm in."

His situation is certainly a blessing. Though he's broad-shouldered and massive, Howard has the quickness and ball-handling skills of a guard. In these watered-down times for the NBA draft, he appears to be the favorite to go No. 1. Almost certainly he'd go top-five.

Charlotte Bobcats coach/general manager Bernie Bickerstaff already has scouted Howard once this season. The Bobcats will have the fourth overall pick, so it's dicey that Howard would still be available.

Bickerstaff and other NBA scouts aren't allowed to comment on Howard's potential since he hasn't officially declared his intention to turn pro.

He is still considering three colleges -- North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Georgia -- but it's clear from his statements that he's leaning heavily toward the NBA.

"Physically, mentally, I think I can handle it," he said.

"Most people get college degrees to get a job. I would already have a job."

He treats basketball as a job, often doing individual workouts with Brooks at 6:30 a.m. They have known each other since Howard was 6 years old. Early on, Howard expected to grow no taller than 6-foot-4, so he trained to be a guard.

He said he went into serious pursuit of an NBA career at age 8, and he just had his 18th birthday.

"I worked on it every day, all the different things, particularly ball-handling. I'd be dribbling for two hours, dribbling through cones or with both hands," he said.

If he has a deficiency, Brooks said, it's the consistency of his outside shot.

That could be important, some scouts say, because right now he's more a finesse player than a true banger.

At 225 pounds, he could use some additional muscle, and has concentrated lately on weightlifting.

Successfully jumping from the preps to the pros is about more than the skill to play ball. It's about functioning as an adult and making the right choices. Howard said Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant's recent legal troubles reminded him how one bad decision can ruin an exemplary reputation.

Howard aspires to be like former Spur David Robinson, another highly religious player who built a school in San Antonio. He sees the NBA as a great forum to spread his faith.

"Since the NBA is national, and soon will be worldwide, people can see how I act, and that can lead people to Christ," he said.

"I don't have to say it all the time, because young people don't have a lot of patience with preaching, but I have to do it right."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/prep...rd-skills_x.htm

Howard proves to be a well-grounded star

By Ray Glier, special for USA TODAY

ATLANTA — The sparkling new gymnasium at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy seats 476 fans, which might be enough of a stage for your basic high school basketball center.

But Dwight Howard Jr. plays here. Envision fans crammed into doorways and aisles to catch a glimpse of the 6-11, 246-pound forward-center.

While the gymnasium does not fit his status, it is fitting in many ways. Howard is expected to declare for the NBA draft next spring, but there is no hint of the mania that surrounded last year's high school showcase player, LeBron James.

Dwight Howard Jr.'s entourage is a posse of one, Dwight Howard Sr.

Not only is Dwight Sr., the school's athletics director, he is a Georgia state trooper. Dwight Jr.'s uncle, Paul Howard, is the district attorney of Fulton County.

And the ride of choice for this year's marquee high school player is not a Hummer but a dark blue 1984 Crown Victoria.

"You know," recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons says, "he is a wonderful player and simply just a real nice kid."

Howard emerged last spring as the USA's best high school player, according to Gibbons, when he "destroyed" some of the best big men in national tournaments. He is strong enough for the post, lithe enough for the wing.

When Howard talks about getting out in transition to beat opponents down the floor, he is talking about beating opponents' guards down the floor.

"He is the best player in the country, by far," Gibbons says. "He's a more refined Kwame Brown. He plays with more heart, he has more ability, and Kwame, remember, went No. 1 to the Wizards.

"If you took a poll of the pro scouts and asked them to name the player most likely to go right to the NBA, it would be Dwight."

Dave Telep, recruiting analyst for The Insiders.com, also has Howard ranked No. 1 among high school players, as does The Sporting News. Pro scouts and league officials don't officially discuss players while they're in high school.

Howard has been attending Southwest Christian Academy since kindergarten. The school has 300 students in K-12 and does not coddle athletes. Among his classes are statistics and advanced placement English.

Last season he led the Warriors to a 30-3 record and a Class A runner-up finish, averaging 21 points and 18 rebounds. He can dominate inside, but he has guard skills to play in the open floor. He was 5-10 as an eighth-grader and played the point for his father's AAU teams, so he handled the ball.

Not only did Howard acquire point guard skills when he was younger, he also developed a competitive streak playing against older youth. He was in the fourth grade when he started to play against eighth- and ninth-graders.

"They were a lot smarter and stronger, so I learned," he says. "They pushed me around a lot to see where my head was and see if I would back down."

The only chance some opponents might have this season is if Howard loses that competitive edge, which he says is the cornerstone of his game: "Every night I have to play like I'm going against 300-pound guys and they are the best."

Howard has cracked a pole on the basket at his house and shattered a backboard at his school. He seems strong enough to declare for the NBA.

"The NBA is just basic discussion so far," his father says. "He has this dream of the NBA and it's part of the thought pattern. If there is a great desire by the owners for him and there is a chance he could be in the top 10, we would consider that.

"We want to evaluate it at the end of the year. We've heard from different sources he could be in the top five. If he's in the top five, we would have to say, 'Go ahead.' The final decision would be his."

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsr...1p30ianweb.html

Howard, the 6-11 son of a Georgia state trooper who wowed 17 NBA scouts at Delaware's Slam Dunk to the Beach tournament the other night with 25 points, 21 rebounds, nine blocks, five assists and one frightening ability to handle the ball on the fast break.

"If I go pro, I'm thinking I'm going in there to dominate right away," Howard said in his locker room. "What I want to do is make that step and show everybody LeBron just set a standard for high schoolers that we can play basketball with the big boys. ... I think I can surpass LeBron."

If it sounds crazy, so did the notion of James already standing among the 10 or 12 best players in the NBA. Howard's next tour stop is Saturday's Pangos Dream Classic at UCLA, while James will continue to sell $110 sneakers and make the kind of beautiful music worthy of a Mozart in shorts.

"So premature a fruit might fall before it has come to maturity," Friedrich Melchior von Grimm warned about young Wolfgang.

[Plainview1981]

Most people get college degrees to get a job. I would already have a job."

He treats basketball as a job"

That's not a good thing. Treating basketball like a job

is NOT a positive thing.

"That could be important, some scouts say, because right now he's more a finesse player than a true banger.

At 225 pounds, he could use some additional muscle, and has concentrated lately on weightlifting."

That's not such a good thing either.

"

[TROUBLEMAN69]

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That's not a good thing. Treating basketball like a job

is NOT a positive thing.

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Why isn't that a good thing? Heck if I'm paying you millions of dollars I hope you are treating basketball like a job. As far as his other activities, he would be eligible to play at any school in the country, so academics are not a problem.

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at 225 pounds, he could use some additional muscle, and has concentrated lately on weightlifting."

That's not such a good thing either.

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I don't see how that's a bad thing either. I guess he should stay Demarr Johnson's size his entire career. Lebron James lifted weights in high school, he was a football star. I would think that if your future is in the paint at the 4 spot, then maybe he needs to bulk up. You guys kill me with your overanalysis of things.

TROUBLEMAN

[Plainview1981]

What I mean is that if it's treated like a job instead of

being a passion then there is a problem. And I said that

being a 225 pound PF that shoots outside is not a good

thing.

[TROUBLEMAN69]

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What I mean is that if it's treated like a job instead of

being a passion then there is a problem. And I said that

being a 225 pound PF that shoots outside is not a good

thing.

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OK, I see your passion point, but I think you are taking his comments out of context. The way I understand it is, he doesn't need to attend college to prepare for a job, when his job is available to him after high school.

As far as being a 225 pf that can shoot outside, I believe that is a good thing. He will get bigger and having the ability to put the ball on the floor to create a shot is a wonderful tool, as long as he doesn't use it like Rasheed.

TROUBLEMAN

[chillzatl]

We've fought and scratched and suffered...YES SUFFERED to get to this point. There's no way in hell we can trade this pick. I would rather take the gamble on the pick being a bust than trade away the attention and potential hype and glory that pick would bring. If we're in position to draft Howard, we need to get him.. Or whoever the front runner is at that point.

[Plainview1981]

I wouldn't trade the pick for AI only because of his

age. I guess I need to realize that we need either

Kobe/Tmac but that isn't happening.