7 foot center
- Thread starter MoTownPanther
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Regarding his recruitment, articles also say he was originally a 2018 recruit. He is reclassifying, which would explain some (not all) of the cool interest by most programs. Most are not lucky enough (or actually unlucky enough) to have the space and need for him this late in the 2017 class.
By the time he made it to Oakland and his last two years he was a decent player. Played OK defense, blocked shots and grabbed rebounds as a true center.
More athletic, but not as brutish and tough as Gary McGhee.
We certainly have seen worse in the post.
It's a sound strategy.
Fill the roster with lottery tickets every other program passes on
It kinda makes you wonder why he'd bother to reclassify then. Spend an extra year in the weightroom and end up at a better school or leave early and play for Pitt? Hmmm...
Shaq wasn't a five * he was all world . Your comparing one of the most dominating players of all time to a very good player . Some guys thrive in all star competitions and others don't .
Or on the positive side maybe he views Pitt as a great opportunity because they have an immediate need at his position and he feels he can come in and develop his game to higher levels by playing a lot of minutes early, Playing in a great conference and working hard.
To what end? Most guys who reclassify do it because they think they can make the NBA earlier. I just don't see any scenario where anyone who isn't already regarded as an NBA prospect would manage to shine bright enough in Pitt's current condition. Hopefully it works out for him. It just seems like a very curious decision to me.
Maybe the admissions department can explain that one.... hopefully he'll keep them busy enough that they won't notice Paris Ford's transcripts lol
Yeah, imagine that. He wasn't as good as a guy who turned out to be probably one of the five or so best centers of all time. Clearly then he must have sucked.
To what end? Who knows what his end is. I agree some come out early to get to the NBA faster but does that always have to be the case?
Maybe he simply feels his greatest chance of improvement is by getting into a college program, playing lots of minutes in a high level conference, getting into a top notch S&C program, etc... will put him into the best position to possibly make the NBA at some point.
Why does everyone have to be doing what's logical and thinking ahead to the future. Maybe he sees a chance to PLAY RIGHT NOW and wants to jump on it.
Right, you have a chance to play early at an ACC program. Playing in High School won't prepare him for the NBA as much as playing in the ACC.
And for the clowns poo pooing the staff for going after this kid, you are truly pathetic.
For somebody who is not a one and done 5 star, Pitt could be a dream come true. A place where you have a chance to play right away and maybe for 4 years straight. I guy like this could ride the bench and play a few minutes in 7-8 games for a typical ACC team, but maybe play regularly every game for this Pitt team. As bad as the team is, it's an opportunity for someone.
I just can't think of an example of a kid being rushed into PT on a bad team really proving anyone wrong. Guys like Simmons can play on a bad team because they already have clout.
Generally speaking, playing with better teammates makes you look better. This kid would need to be a phenom at Pitt to get attention. Our own fans argue about whether Adams really contributed here and he's pretty much the absolute best case scenario.
Obviously the kid has his reasons, and it is fortuitous for Pitt, I just doubt his logic. Birch enrolled early at Pitt and couldn't handle the pressure, so I don't think that really helped his lofty NBA plan.
My point with the post was that Mobley wasn't nearly as developed as he could have been. It took time with him. I'd take him any day of the week and twice on Sunday on my team. My point is that 7' bigs can develop in a college system in a few years if they don't go one and done. Mobley did that. Shaq didn't just dominate Mobley, he made him look like a 9th grader.
Isn't Aaron Gray the poster child for a 7 footer to come to Pitt, develop, and earn an NBA paycheck for several years? The guy was tubby and could barely do anything when he first got here and then developed and made 8 figures in the NBA...pretty nice trajectory in my opinion!
True dat! Of all the players that went through the Pitt program between '02 and '16, the Golden Era so to speak, it's ironic that Aaron Gray probably logged the most NBA time, outside of Steven Adams.
Yep. He had some skills but needed a few years of conditioning before he could see significant minutes. He was a very good NBA backup center. Any 7 foot kid entering college with decent skills and a high motivation to get better has a great chance to play professionally.
I wish to respectfully offer some important points about Aaron Gray.
I don't think he's quite the poster boy for development that you are offering in comparison to Efreteui. Aaron Gray was a legit recruit, just outside the Top 100 in recruit rankings. He did indeed need work on his conditioning, but was indeed regarded well enough as a center prospect. Much the same can be said about Gary McGhee, who was also a Top 150 type recruit.
These kinds of post recruits who you hope will become decent players into their sophomore years.
Efreteui and Peace are not the same kinds of recruits as Gray and McGhee. They are much, much longer shots.
That doesn't mean they can't or won't be successful. But generally speaking, unfortunately, it's less than likely that either will become fair quality ACC starters. And my problem isn't that we haven't recruited just one, but we might have two of these types.
And it seems to me that this is that type of recruiting that put us in the situation we are in at the moment.
I realize my thoughts are discouraging, but this is how I see it at the moment. I do hope my take on this turns out to be inaccurate.
If you have open scholarships why not take a chance on a 7' . The more of them you have the better chance one of them turns into a player ! If they don't develop they can always transfer . Malcolm Gilbert was a top 100 guy size does matter !
Perhaps it's just me, but I don't think it's a good thing churning players in and out is a good thing. Having said that, I do have to acknowledge that's how college hoops is, now more than ever before. Actually , it's been that way for quite a while, but we were not used to significant roster turnover like so many other programs (which didn't stop Bob Smizik for writing a column to rip on Pitt about four years ago for all of our transfers).
You need to think of it differently . If your a 17-18 year old kid with high bb aspirations and your offered an opportunity to play big time college ball you take a shot at it . If after a yr or two you realize your aspirations were nothing but a dream and you'd still like to play ball while in college you move on to a lower level . I.e. D Wilson and receive a free education . Are programs like Pitt taking advantage of kids or offering them an opportunity to live their dreams ? Depends on how you look at it doesn't it !
This program is now a much, much, much longer shot to be relevant for the next decade, so this is where we are, they need to take chances on guys just because the are 7 foot
I don't think that's going to get it done. To be relevant, Stallings simply needs to start recruiting better players. Having a class mostly of developmental guys and/or projects will only continue a place near or at the bottom of the ACC.
Golden is a good start. But out of a five man class, he needs to be our 3rd or 4th rated recruit -- not the best.
FWIW--and it's not worth much at this point--KS' use of Nix was a head-scratcher.
The guy gave useful minutes and filled up the stat-sheet every time out.
He wasn't gonna play 40 min or make all-ACC
But he was a useful piece of larger puzzle that had no bigs or post-presence
With 1-yr remaining and no 2017 replacement in sight didn't get why he got the bum's rush
However, it's KS' team/job--so I'll defer to his judgment
However, Nix's treatment puts me in mind of the story about the Houston Rocket GM whose analytics told him to draft Marc Gasol, but whose scouts talked him out him out because Gasol didn't didn't pass the "eye-test" and they nicknamed him "man-boobs."
Nix was short-armed, round-shouldered and ran funny, and he resembled Mr. Potatohead and the Pillsbury-dough boy more than Dwight Howard...but he was effective in short spurts...and he noticeably improved, added energy and jazzed the crowd...maybe not a big loss in the long run...and, again, KS is entitled to his own judgment...but i kinda miss him
The guy gave useful minutes and filled up the stat-sheet every time out.
He wasn't gonna play 40 min or make all-ACC
But he was a useful piece of larger puzzle that had no bigs or post-presence
With 1-yr remaining and no 2017 replacement in sight didn't get why he got the bum's rush
However, it's KS' team/job--so I'll defer to his judgment
However, Nix's treatment puts me in mind of the story about the Houston Rocket GM whose analytics told him to draft Marc Gasol, but whose scouts talked him out him out because Gasol didn't didn't pass the "eye-test" and they nicknamed him "man-boobs."
Nix was short-armed, round-shouldered and ran funny, and he resembled Mr. Potatohead and the Pillsbury-dough boy more than Dwight Howard...but he was effective in short spurts...and he noticeably improved, added energy and jazzed the crowd...maybe not a big loss in the long run...and, again, KS is entitled to his own judgment...but i kinda miss him
Signing kids like Damon Wilson is why Dixon isn't here anymore. There's no reason that's what we should plan to continue doing.
We're a few months away from class #3 under Stallings and recruiting has somehow been worse than Dixon. KS is crossing the Rubicon.
If nothing else, he tried really hard and was one of the few on last year's roster to visibly improve over the course of the season. A big bruiser like that would've been really helpful for the young guys to face in practice.
Class #3 will be the telling class of the KS era unless this current class surprises everyone . I can't hold him 100% responsibile for last yrs class everyone finally thought JD had signed some players . No doubt he should've added a grad transfer point guard .
Let's let this class fill out first , I liked Nix for what he was , but the course of their season wasn't going to be altered with him here or not .
Personally, I really don't think they pushed Nix out. From what I heard, the staff actually liked Nix. My take is that Nix wanted to know if he'd have a greater role next year than last year, and the staff was honest with him and said likely not. Knowing that, I think Nix decided to go somewhere where he'd play more.
All coaches should be honest with their players even if it's not in the best interest of their programs .
Gray was a very good college basketball player, on the hand McGhee was not. The guy could not catch a cold or shoot outside of 5 feet and probably averaged more fouls then points.
If you want a lottery ticket comparison Stallings signed a seven foot kid named Luke Kornet ranked around 350 a few years ago. Good basketball players come from all rankings.
Let's hope Peace or Efreteui are not another McGhee and more like Kornet.
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