Here's
a nice note on J.J. Redick, who led Boo Williams to a big win. While it's a
bit early, the gold standards for ACC shooting - pure shooters - have always
been Brian Magid, Dennis Scott, and more recently Trajan Langdon. And
probably Mark Price, too. It'll be interesting to see if J.J. is in that
class. In a late note on the Big Time, Mike DeCourcy likes Carmelo
Anthony. A lot of people do. He's also high on Raymond Felton, and while Felton
is clearly the real deal, just as a reminder, let's look at two recent big time
high school players, and look at where they are now.
Ok, three. Schea
Cotton. Damien Wilkins. Korleone Young. Ok, maybe Chris Burgess, too. Not
to knock anyone, but rankings don't mean anything unless you see a true prodigy
like a Wilt or an Alcindor coming. A few guys who were unknown as freshmen
- Julius Erving. Tim Duncan. Larry Bird. David Robinson. When you
have teenagers, and you are trying to determine how to rank their talent, it's a
foolish thing to attempt. For one, the best-looking players may just have
matured physically sooner. And conversely, a lot of guys are just not
there at 17. Dennis Rodman is a classic example, but of course he's still
not really there, if you get our drift.
Also, in this Andy Katz column, there
are some great comments on Michael Thompson, who is by all accounts
improving by leaps and bounds.