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Post by StPetersburgHoya (Inactive) on Jul 23, 2005 23:12:51 GMT -5
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RBHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by RBHoya on Jul 24, 2005 0:08:15 GMT -5
I've been visiting a lot of other teams message boards lately just to see what the chatter is around the Big East, and its amazing how many people think this kid is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I've seen more than a handful of people picking him to be POY in the conference.... The guy is lucky if he's the 2nd best player on his team, nevermind the best player in the conference.
It's amazing how people are so swayed by hype and media outlets. If Jeff Green were ranked #1 by nbadraft.net people would be talking about him instead of Gay. It's all good though, because when Jeff outplays Rudy again this year, all year, and goes first team all BE while Rudy goes 2nd or 3rd team, then perhaps we can finally put the issue to rest.
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Post by StPetersburgHoya (Inactive) on Jul 24, 2005 0:20:20 GMT -5
I don't know - 2nd and 3rd team is pretty harsh for someone that will be a pre-season All-Big East player, play on a winning team, have a lot of TV games, and still be a media darling no matter what his numbers actually are. I hope Jeff will get on 1st Team All-Big East but he simply doesn't have the media machine working for him like Gay does. In the long run though that might be ok - because that might be enough to convince Jeff to come back for a 3rd year.
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RBHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by RBHoya on Jul 24, 2005 1:58:22 GMT -5
I think Gay will be second or third team because I think both Williams and Boone have a better shot to go first team, and I can't imagine 3 Huskies going first team. You've got to pencil in 2 Nova players for the first team as well, and there are a ton of good players on the other 14 Big East teams who are going to want to lay claim to those final couple spots before Rudy.
Don't get me wrong, Gay's a great athlete and a nice player, but I don't think he showed enough last year to warrant the hype he has currently. People seem to think he's going to make some sort of quantum leap this year and just start dominating the league. I'm just not seeing it. He didn't make any all conference team last year, and this year he's going to be better than Sumpter, McNamara, Foye, Ray, Dean, Pittsnoggle, Hill, Boone, Williams, Bowman, Krauser, etc. etc. etc. to take home POY honors? No way.
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Post by theEDGEfactor on Jul 24, 2005 11:31:05 GMT -5
Yeah, RB, I agree with you 100 percent. I am not the biggest fan of Gay, but he is a great athlete, but he doesnt warrant all of this hype around him. Those players you listed deserve the hype because they have shown the game, Gay hasnt really shown all that much.
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HoyaNJ5
Century (over 100 posts)
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Post by HoyaNJ5 on Jul 24, 2005 11:39:44 GMT -5
To be fair, I think that the article points out what many believe to be true, i.e., that IF Rudy Gay can learn to be more aggressive, he can become a great player. I have no disagreements with that. I see the talent. I think its just a matter of time. The same can be said about Ben Gordon. Gordon's ridiculous athleticism and talent was always there, but it took some prodding to get him to step up. I'm not saying Rudy will definitely make that transition (see Villaneuva), but if he does, he'll be a heckuva player.
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Post by ColumbiaHeightsHoya on Jul 25, 2005 7:57:09 GMT -5
I think the fact he will be gone if he has a good year is part of it too. Many folks focus on NBA ability despite college play and Gay is the ideal type of hype guy. He'll be very good with more minutes and I wish we had him but the hype gets old after awhile.
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aggypryd
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by aggypryd on Jul 25, 2005 10:26:08 GMT -5
I think it all depends on Rudy’s focus next season. He’s definitely going to get more touches with Villanueva gone. He’ll definitely have a higher scoring average than Jeff and Brandon based on UCONN’s usual offensive output. (I think Jeff and/or Brandon will score a larger percentage of our team’s points than Rudy will have of UCONN’s points) We all know he’s going to have plenty of games on ESPN and Sportscenter will definitely hype-up the home-state guy. He’s a great athlete and has tremendous skill. We’ll see if he’s ready for POY accolades shortly. Here's Doyel's contribution... www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/8670607 |
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Jul 25, 2005 11:21:02 GMT -5
Gay looked pretty good the second half of last year and clearly outplayed Jeff in their second match-up, so I think there may be a bit of homerism going on here. Williams and Boone are good players too, but Rudy Gay is the best talent on that team, and the potential began to develop at the end of last season. With a full year of experience and an off-season to develop his game, I see no reason not to think he will be first-team All Big East and possible POY. Then hopefully he will move on to the NBA so we don't have to deal with him any more.
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the_way
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
The Illest
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Post by the_way on Jul 25, 2005 11:44:54 GMT -5
I think we should really not confuse being able to dunk with being a great athlete, let alone a great player. Magic Johnson was one of the best players ever, but he wasn't a great athlete. Magic could barely get off the ground vertically. As far as Rudy being this "super" athlete. That doesn't really say much about his basketball skills, or his mental toughness. I've seen this guy play in Big East play, I even saw him high school. I think Gay is a solid basketball player, but far from great player. I don't see any of the intangibles that warrant the type of coverage this kid gets. Jeff Green has the intangibles: mental toughness, intelligence, fundamentals, basketball skills, leadership. Of course, the Rudy Gay fan club on this board who are enamoured with the way Rudy tomahawk dunks the basketball will say, "(annoying nasal voice) well, Rudy didn't have the chance to lead his team like Jeff did". Well, next year we will see. These are the same apologists who think Marvin Williams is the greatest thing since slice bread. Rudy Gay will be next year's Marvin Williams: A guy 6'9 who can dunk, hit the occasional 3 and dubbed "super athlete" and has "upside" for the next level. All smoke and mirrors. Yet 5-6 years from now, when Jeff Green will be at NBA All-star games, Rudy Gay and Marvin Williams won't be there to join him. Oh yeah, did anybody hear how Marvin Williams and Andrew Bogut struggled mightily in the NBA summer league. So much for the "hype".  |
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Jul 25, 2005 12:45:15 GMT -5
I think we should separate athletic ability from jumping ability. Magic wasn't a big leaper, but he was quick and had great hand-eye coordination.
As for Gay, I think there is a very good chance he busts out and becomes a great player this year. But he clearly wasn't that last year.
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the_way
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The Illest
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Post by the_way on Jul 25, 2005 12:51:24 GMT -5
I think we should separate athletic ability from jumping ability. Magic wasn't a big leaper, but he was quick and had great hand-eye coordination. Hand-eye coordination!? I guess Stockton, Mark Jackson, and Steve Nash had great hand-eye coordination too, right? Magic was one of the smartest, if not the smartest players to play the game, along with Bill Russel and Jordan. He was like a coach and quarterback on the basketball court. He wasn't really a great athlete. He wasn't really that quick. He never really beat people off the dribble. He posted up people a lot. He could run and lead the fast break, but he wasn't quick. In fact, Worthy would often times defend the 2 guard, and Magic would defend the small-forward on the opposing team. Jordan was a great athlete. He ran like a 4.3 40 and had a 39 vertical inch jump. My main point was that being a great athlete does not make you a great basketball player. It helps, but its not what makes you a complete or great basketball player. Hard work,intelligence,etc. makes you a great basketball player. |
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Jul 25, 2005 13:38:04 GMT -5
Yes, all those players you listed have good hand-eye coordination. Magic beat a lot of folks off the dribble because he was deceptively quick.
Regardless, I never said the guy was dumb. But to say he wasn't a great athlete is a joke. At 6'9", he managed to be quick enough and coordinated enough to hang as a point in the NBA. Of course Magic was a hard worker and had a high basketball IQ.
But hard work and intelligence will not make you a great basketball player if you don't have some athleticism to back it up. It is what often differentiates the good from the greats when you have two athletic people.
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the_way
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Post by the_way on Jul 25, 2005 13:51:41 GMT -5
Yes, all those players you listed have good hand-eye coordination. Magic beat a lot of folks off the dribble because he was deceptively quick. Regardless, I never said the guy was dumb. But to say he wasn't a great athlete is a joke. At 6'9", he managed to be quick enough and coordinated enough to hang as a point in the NBA. Of course Magic was a hard worker and had a high basketball IQ. But hard work and intelligence will not make you a great basketball player if you don't have some athleticism to back it up. It is what often differentiates the good from the greats when you have two athletic people. Right. Agreed on some of your points. But I don't think Magic was freak a nature because of athleticism. I put Magic in Bird's class. They both weren't the best athletes. But they were the best players of their era, and some of the greatest of all time. They didn't have the athleticism of Dr. J. or Jordan or Shaquille O'Neal. Magic wasn't a freak like KG, athletically. |
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SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by SFHoya99 on Jul 25, 2005 14:39:57 GMT -5
Agree.
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CTHoya08
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Post by CTHoya08 on Jul 25, 2005 16:23:58 GMT -5
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Post by StPetersburgHoya (Inactive) on Jul 25, 2005 16:26:10 GMT -5
Its one week during the offseason and two Rudy Gay articles?! I'm sorry in the offseason even a potential POY isn't worth that much print. And no he won't be POY.
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