I Bleed Blue and White

If he goes in the second round and makes the team, somebody is going to get a bargain. But it is a roll of the dice on his part if he’s determined to stay in for the second round.

Pretty small @ 6′2″? Really. For a SG that’s a true statement. Not so for a PG. Of the 16 2009 NBA playoff teams and the listed PG’s on their rosters, 14 PG’s were shorter, 12 were the same height, and 15 were taller, the tallest being 6′5″, and he was the only at that height. Most of those taller were 6′3″, only 1 inch taller. There are shooting guards in the league shorter than him.

Not athletic? Really. Does he have to have a 40″ + vertical. Kobe Bryant doesn’t. Jason Kidd can’t dunk and he’s 6′4″ Speed, Ok it’s helpful. Well, more than helpful. But the bottom line is a PG has to get the job done. Drive and draw. Distribute. Get into the lane. Be effective on pick and rolls. Be a good free throw shooter (he is) Shoot a decent 3pt % (he does and he has NBA range) He’s strong. He can push the ball in transition. Easy buckets. He can cross over and finish with either hand.

“He’s not quite a 1.” I don’t think the VU 4 out 1 in offense is built for a true 1.

“His decision making isn’t quite there yet.” I buy that. Sometimes he tries to do to much. This is an area he can improve upon if he comes back.

I’m definitely not saying he’s a 1st rounder. I also believe he stands more to gain by coming back. I do think too many people sell him short. And I certainly don’t believe he’s #28 on this list of eligible PG’s. I mean, the kid was a starter on a Final 4 team. He made the shot that sent VU to the final 4. And his collective work in the tournament is not exactly chopped liver.

http://www.draftexpress.com/rankings/Draft-Eligible-PGs/

I do wish him well and it’s going to be real interesting come 6/15

Thanks for the in-depth insight Stan. Like you said, it should interesting in the next couple of weeks. Villanova’s team for next year will be impacted greatly by the decision.

Um, I like your enthusiasm, but there’s a couple of glaring inaccuracies here.
1. For the NBA, he’s slow. No getting around it. His first step is rated a “meh” to “maybe average?”.
2. He’s unaware of his left hand. Don’t know if they’ve been introduced or what, but there’s a bit of a disconnect there.
3. His 3pt shooting? Farcically streaky (not to mention terribly average).
4. His passing, if rated at all, would be overrated. Drive and dish? When? He drives right, sticks his arm out and tries to draw contact, generally failing to do so, because he’s so “slow” (nb: he’d beat me silly in a foot race, but then again, I’m not Chris Paul).

Yes, he does shoot a good percentage from the line. Doubt that’ll get him to the league though.

The bottom line is that he needs space to operate, but he’s too slow to create it for himself and he’s too small to simply overpower people. I love him, I think he’s got unbelievable tenacity and willpower, but in the NBA, the physical tools need to be there.

Next year, if Fisher’s running the point and Scottie gets to play off-ball, look for him to have a career year.

I agree with a lot of your analysis Chocolate Thunder. We shall see what happens, but I definitely don’t want to underestimate the intangibles that Scottie brings to the table. Like you mentioned, his tenacity, willpower, and he seems to have no fear of going at anyone to the basket. This guy is always getting knocked to the floor, and always getting back up. With that said, the NBA is a different animal, so I expect him to be back. We will find out soon enough.

He can play in the NBA, but I’m not sure this is the best year for him to give it a shot. As the scout said, it’s a DEEP year for point guards.

I agree he’s not a speed merchant. You don’t need a super first step to breakdown an opponent off the bounce. Granted it certainly helps. Screens, fakes and crossovers help in that department. You may also want to let me know what you think about Mark Jackson’s comments about speed in this clip I’ve found.
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1067043/index.htm He’s only played 17 years in the league and is second in all time assists. Sorry, I couldn’t find anything more recent.

Your “left hand” comment is pretty funny. But, I’m not sure it’s totally accurate.

3 pt shooting, my observation is that he’s much better off on a spot up than a pull up. I think the folks in the NBA move the ball much better (quicker, faster) than in college ball and that would benefit his spot up 3 pt shooting. I don’t know what you observe or read, but from what I read his 3pt percentages aren’t bad. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/60390 There are PG’s in the league that don’t have those percentages. And yes, I know the distance is greater.

His passing, drive, dish, when? I agree, he has a shoot first mentality. That has to change to be a better PG. Maybe we can put that on his NBA to do list.

I totally disagree that’s he’s too small to overpower people. He’s as big or bigger height and weight wise than the NBA pt guards on the 16 playoff teams. And I would venture to say that would project out to all the teams. I’d venture to say he could back down and post most guards his size or less if that’s what was needed in a game. And if he wasn’t strong he never would have had two 40 pt. games or got off the shot to send VU to the Final 4.

Space to operate? Everybody needs space, primarily to shoot. Most people at this level and certainly the next level are adept at making it. Who cares if he makes space himself or has the help of a screen or curls off a team mate. It’s getting the job done that counts.

I hope he comes back next year. One for the degree. Two, to have the chance at another special season.
And three, to improve his game and chances for success at the next level.

I want to qualify the size comment. I’m assuming his size is 6′2″ as listed on the VU website and not 6′0″ as listed in the article. If he’s closer to 6′0″, I’ll agree, size is a problem.

I wouldn’t necessarily get hung up on size; unless you’re way above average (6′ 5″ ish), it’s not going to compensate for your other weaknesses.

If he wants to play pro, he’s going to have to become an unbelievable passer, and in a hurry. The unfortunate part of that is that the kid is a born scorer, and at Villanova we’d benefit from him playing where he wants instead of trying to jam him into the mold of a true PG.

If you’d like an illustration, think about watching Fisher play vs. watching Scottie. At least once a game, Fisher will unleash a pass that takes you aback and go “wait, HOW did he see/do that?” With Scottie, it’s all routine and cut and dry. He’s not a creator, he’s an executor. With the occasional shot, Scottie will shock, but he’s simply not a good enough passer to be an NBA PG, or a consistent enough shooter/athletic enough to be a good SG.

Again, this is all said through the prism that the kid is one of the great players to come through Villanova. However, I don’t necessarily see his game translating into the ranks of professionals. Then again, I’m posting on a blog instead of running an NBA team, so shows how much I know.

I actually think he is athletic enough. Height at the PG position is adequate. Of course, quickness helps when you are not that tall. This is where I think he is underestimated. Not blazing fast, but I think quick enough to keep up (even in the NBA).

He’s got nice form on his shot and great range. If he could get more consistent with his shooting (I don’t see why not) that would be a great selling point.

The biggest problem I think, is not athleticism, but rather learning to play like a true point guard. He is at his best when he is patient, takes his time and let’s the game come to him. He looks bad when he tries to force the issue.

I think he could be a role player at the NBA level. I don’t blame him for testing the waters but I think he could really benefit from another year.

Thunder, I’m with you on Fisher. Definitely more of a true PG. And I’ll just guess right now via the SWAG method (Sophisticated Wild Ass Guess) that he’ll be drafted in the 1st round whenever he decides to go pro. I also hope he stays 4 years.

As far as height, I think Scottie’s height (if indeed he’s 6′2″) helps him considering the position he’d probably be playing and the guys he’d be matched up with.

I still think somebody in the NBA is going to get a bargain with Scottie, whether this year or next.