Tuesday, May 20, 2008
And the bad news is...
It's really starting to look like Alexander could be history. Evaluations at ESPN.com and DraftExpress.com have him projected very well. (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft / http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Joe-Alexander-1185/) They are reporting that his recent workout in Las Vegas was very impressive. Among the mock drafts I looked at, he was projected anywhere from 14th to 24th. It seems he's considered the 2nd or 3rd best small forward in the draft behind Danilo Gallinari from Italy and Donte' Greene from Syracuse.
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3 comments:
I'm sure it would be hard to turn down the money but maybe someone will convince him another year could mean lottery money.
Greg, it is looking like he will be just that. He is doing very well and his stock keeps rising. I would obviously love for him to stay another year. But as time moves forward his stock is falling into the lottery. This means a guaranty of 3 million for two years. Yes that is hard to ignore. I think that the only way Joe stays is if he is told something completely different than he has been told to date. I am happy for him. I wish him well regardless of his decision. I just hope Joe realizes that he owes his NBA career to Bob Huggins. His coaching brought to the forefront his gifts. I believe that were Joe still in the Belein system he would not be an NBA player.
Da Geek
No question he can thank Huggins for the millions he is going to make. In the articles about his recent workout, his athleticism and shooting were extremely impressive. He was still being labeled a project however, with weaknesses handling the ball (he is going to be expected to handle almost as well as a point guard in the small forward postiion), and needs much improvement on defense, especially moving his feet. Though his stock is rising, small forward is not exactly the premier position in the NBA and at this point, he is expected at best to be one of the last two lottery picks (13th or 14th). I'd think another year would improve his lottery position to the top 8. I don't know how significant the money difference would be at that point.
It's certainly something that should be gone over thoroughly. Alexander wasn't really on the radar as a prospect until the last 4 games of the regular season. Given the learning curve he's already had, I think he would be much better off continuing to work on his game at the college level where he will enjoy some successes instead of playing as a seldom used reserve and getting schooled for the next year and a half in the NBA.
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