April 12, 2005  ...I attended a portion of the “Peja Stojakovic, Bobby Jackson Charitabowl” this evening at Country Club Lanes in Sacramento. Money was raised for charity and it seemed like everyone was having fun. Former Oakland A’s great Dave Stewart was bowling as were Darius Songaila, Geoff Petrie, Wayne Cooper, LaSalle Thompson, Lawrence Funderburke, Henry Turner, Greg Ostertag, Gary Gerould, Grant Napear, & radio personalities Davey D., and Armstrong & Getty. A strong turnout of fans paid to watch the celebrities. ...Rick Adelman was on the Jim Rome radio show this am. ...We anticipate the return of Bobby Jackson to the Kings active roster very soon. ...An NBA executive tells us he is in favor of the 20 year-old age limit in the League if for no other reason than “it is nearly impossible to scout college, international, and high-school kids.” ...I agree that scouting is difficult. The good high-school kids have agents telling them not to play in more than one All-Star game. The idea is to post a solid outing in the first All-Star game and then rest on your one high-efficiency outing. Likewise, college seniors are skipping Portsmouth play. The P.I.T. has become so irrelevant in the grand scheme that the same NBA exec said he didn’t even go. “All the best from Portsmouth will be at Chicago anyway”, he said. The Chicago pre-draft camp is set for June 7-10, 2005. ...I’m gonna get my elbows up and make this year’s draft list my best ever. I already have more time invested this year than any previous. I have personally spent time, this season, plugging stats for 685 different non-NBA players. Of the 685, I have done career statistical audits, & kept notes on 338. Normally, I would just post it all for free to the world but that would be giving away too much too early. This time around I will still post my rankings (which will change up to draft day) as I see fit. It is the order that matters when you see a draft list here. My time is invested in establishing a base efficiency for a player and then applying that base efficiency relative to what exists in the NBA landscape. A quick example is that, yes, Andrew Bogut is probably the best player in the draft  when he is in the pool filled with draft hopefuls only. When you move Bogut into the ‘adult swim’ with NBAers—I believe other draftees become more valuable. Bogut, as good as he is, will struggle to match up with Shaq, Tim Duncan, KG, Amare, Jermaine O’Neal, or Yao. You under-dig what I’m saying?

April 10, 2005 ...After watching the Roundball Classic twice, the McDonald’s All-American game twice, and the Hoops Summit, I can say with certainty that the class of 2005 (high-school) is the worst since I intently started paying attention to amateur hoops in 1999.  There are some players there but nobody who sticks out like a freak. I’d say my favorite kid is Martell Webster who is headed for Washington Huskies land. ...The Duke Blue Devils are getting a hell of a nice point guard too in Greg Paulus. He was also the Gatorade National High School Football player of the year as a QB. Seriously, this kid sees the floor like Magic, and John Stockton. He broke the Hoops Summit assist record in the second quarter. Now, he can’t score for squat, but he sure can pass. ...I want to point out my favorite web sources for draft info. ESPN.com - College Basketball (You can find career college stats there.) ... Jeff Sagarin’s college basketball ratings. (I use his strength of schedule to weigh how tough a players opponents were). ... FIBA Europe is a good international source. ...To get news on the draft, I search Google. ...Common destinations for draft news: Draft City  - They covered the Portsmouth Invitational well. ... Hoops Hype  - Info on salary. ... NBA Draft net  -  They have the best web friendly mock draft board. ... USA Basketball. ...I sure wish I could find out more about Brandon Rush. He was pretty impressive in the limited minutes I saw him play. ...I read a story about the Portland Trail Blazers using computers to make better draft picks.  That’s what we’ve been doing for years now. ...The TV-Director on the Roundball Classic was horrible. He missed all kinds of court action to show sideline interviews. He was burned on replays repeatedly - missing live action to show the highlight. ...Former Kings Fast Break dancer Mercedes Colon is now on General Hospital. 

April 6, 2005 ...Last night I made it to ARCO to watch the Kings dismantle Seattle. The Sonics were playing without Rashard Lewis and Vladimir Radmanovic, the Kings were without Brad Miller and Bobby Jackson. ...Eddie House is starting to find a groove as a member of the Kings. He has slowed his game down just enough to become effective. His shot selection is better, and he is looking for teammates.  That is good coaching. ...Kenny Thomas needs to remember to be a rebounder, and he also could settle for his jumper less. ...Jerome James will not be mistaken for any All-Star Center but I give him tons of credit. I saw him in Kings camp as a rookie and I thought he would weigh about 400 lbs. by now. To his credit—James has been in the league for five years.  ...Would it be sac religious to say I’m not so sure Reggie Miller is a first ballot Hall of Famer? (This is where I always get myself in trouble). He had some huge games, and some unbelievable games but is that automatic Hall of Fame? I guess on longevity and scoring—he’s in. He is 13th all-time in the NBA in scoring. I can see it. He is also #1 in threes made.  ...Just thinking about potential Hall players that are now in the association. Tim Duncan, Shaq, LeBron, Kevin Garnett, Dikembe Mutombo (3rd in blocked shots, 22nd in rebs. All-time),? Jason Kidd? (10th all-time in assists) Gary Payton (3rd in steals, 6th all-time in assist). I’ll say Dwyane Wade is that good but I know you all need some more proof. That should be coming. ...Dirk Nowitzki. If he stays healthy and compiles the same numbers without much fall off. ...Kobe, and Allen Iverson are probably in too. ...Two guys that can be in the Hall if they keep par for a few more seasons are Ray Allen, and Tracy McGrady.  ...Time for Good Shot / Bad Shot. ...I was on the money when I said on July 8, 2004 “...We’ve always been high on Josh Davis (Wyoming). An aggressive rebounder, and good athlete, Davis was the MVP of the CBA in 2003-04. He should be in the NBA.”  — He is on the Philadelphia 76’ers and has stuck all year. ...Good Shot: On June 25, 2003—before the draft I said, “Mickael Pietrus. ...I still don't see it. ...Not a lottery pick. The shooting numbers just are not there. A great athlete, yes. (MY-kel PEET-russ) is a slasher, and great defender. He struggles with the perimeter game. Over last two European seasons he's 61% from the FT line. 38% FG shooter over same period. Nice pedigree but I feel he is very overvalued right now.” ...Bad Shot: I listed Kirk Hinrich 20th overall in the 2003 draft. Hinrich was picked much higher, rightfully so. Bad Shot: On dec. 10th, 2003—I said, “We suggest that Phoenix will improve when Joe Johnson plays less minutes. Joe, at this stage of his career, should be coming off the bench, providing a scoring spark.”

 

April 4, 2005 ...Chalk up another win for efficiency. North Carolina, the team with the most talent and efficiency, was too much for Illinois to handle in the NCAA Championship game. It doesn’t always work that way (see Detroit Pistons 2004), but more often than not—efficiency is key.  ...Sean May was fantastic.