Emails in on NBA Draft & wishbone
The new emails are in, and lots of talk about the NBA Draft, plus some discussion about the late, great wishbone.
Lew: “In my opinion, the Thunder did well in the draft. They need a center most, and a shooting guard second. Trading for, or acquiring, Blake Griffin would not fill either requirement, nor would Rubio (an unknown talent). They got a guard who can hit the three and later got a center who, hopefully, can develop into a force on defense. I give them credit for the best possible result, given their position in the draft.”
Well, I wouldn’t put a B.J. Mullens poster on the wall just yet. He’s a total stretch. But since he was a surplus pick, that’s OK. I like Harden. Rubio would have been fine, too. Griffin would have transformed the franchise.
Bob: “So if the best players period win championships – example: U.S. Dream Team – then I am not a huge fan of Presti. But if team unity is the biggest issue – example: Phil Jackson’s 10 championship rings – then Presti is a genius and I most definitely am not (that later part has been proven over and over by the way). The Thunder seems to have above good and borderline great talent. If they can pull together the loyalty and chemistry, we could have a neat long-term borderline dynasty ahead of us. I sure hope so, but regardless, you gotta love having something other than OU football to talk about all year.”
This is why I love the NBA. Yes, it’s great to have something to talk about in June. Even if some of the talk is goofy. The best talent doesn’t always win; of course chemistry matters, though I don’t think Phil Jackson is the great example of that. The Thunder has very good young talent, and young is a great qualifier. Before we start talking borderline dynasty, let’s get the Thunder to 35 wins.
Alan, before the draft, wrote: “Rubio looks good, but I don’t know about that with Westbrook already in the picture for the Thunder. Why not trade down and get some good stuff, and put yourself in a position to draft (Stephen) Curry at the 2?”
The Thunder brass agrees with you on Rubio. Not a good fit. But I like Harden much more than I like Curry. I think Harden can penetrate and score and pass. I’m not sure Curry is anything more than a Kyle Korver, a one-dimensional shooter.
Richard: “I am a fan of Hollis Price, the former Sooner. The man plays hard and has a lot of heart. I don’t see how he is playing overseas and the Thunder has a player like way-overpaid Earl Watson, who is horrible. Earl should be ashamed of his boneheaded play. I guess that is why Earl played very little at the end of last season. Hollis is not too old. Hollis has a lot of skills. He may love to play in Europe or Russia, I don’t know. Could the Thunder work him into their system? Would Presti even know who he is? I think some public awareness is in order for Hollis and the role he could play for the Thunder.”
You know, we’re going to have to emerge from this mentality at some point. Blake Griffin, for example. Griffin is a wonderful prospect and would be a huge get for anyone, including the Clippers, who got him. But the hand-wringing over the Thunder somehow getting Griffin was a little over the top. If he had played at Connecticut or Wisconsin or Stanford, no one would be suggesting trading Jeff Green and the draft pick for Griffin. And the idea that Hollis Price belongs in the NBA is just silly. Price was a wonderful college player. But he’s now 28 and been playing overseas for six seasons. He’s not been overlooked by the NBA. He’s just not big enough or strong enough or good enough. Earl Watson is a functional NBA point guard. Not great, but OK. It’s tough for this college market to swallow, but Earl Watson is miles ahead of Hollis Price.
O.L.: “Gosh, do you and the Opubco staff have anything to write about besides featuring Blake Griffin with photos in every issue? I guess he is newsworthy, but he is getting worn out with me and maybe a few others readers too. Perhaps this is a slow time for sports, but it might not have been if OU and OSU would not have crapped out in baseball. Maybe the sports staff could say more about why this happened. Anything to get Griffin of the front page for a change.”
The days of Griffin frequenting the front page are over. He’s old news now. You won’t be reading a bunch of college baseball stuff, but you won’t be reading a lot about Griffin.
Royce: “I especially enjoyed your column about the Thunder Three and I completely agree. As much as I love Blake Griffin, it’s not worth splitting those guys up.”
Like I said…
On to the wishbone. Some agreed that it wouldn’t work today; others, not so much. Kent: “Great article on the wishbone. It died in 1988. Switz still believes it would work. It would not. Too much speed on defense and too one-dimensional. Check the last three games in 1988: 16, 3 and 7 points.”
Pat Jones believes it still would work and does, in a broken-bone format, at places like Georgia Tech. I’m not so sure. Let’s see if the Yellowjackets continue to run on ACC opponents.
Don: “You make some thought-provoking points, but I would agree only to a point. I coached three option offenses in four years (wishbone, I bone, and veer). I had limited success, because we couldn’t recruit the type of fullback or quarterback we needed. It appeared to me that Gary Gibbs was influenced by recruiting to switch offenses. He had reasonable success running the option in 1989 with Steve Collins but switched with mixed success to a pro I with Cale Gundy in 1990. Had fullback Jermaine Fazande not broken his jaw in pre-season, and Eric Moore not been driven into the retaining wall at OSU, John Blake in 1998 would have been able to win at least three additional games.”
Seems to me if an offense relies on a certain type of fullback, it’s in trouble. Quarterback, yes. But fullback? As for 1998, OU already was losing when Moore got injured at Stillwater, and Fazande, while a good player, was no difference-maker. OU went 5-6 in 1998 and was closer to 3-8 than 7-4.
Joshua: “Random question. Who are your favorite OU football players of the ’90s? Yes, I said ’90s.”
Great question. Made me think a little. I thought of Reggie Barnes and Chris Wilson, linebackers I really liked. Dewell Brewer always was fun. P.J. Mills, too. But my vote has to go to Steve Collins. Always was a solid guy when he played, and I’ve gotten to know him some through radio and really like him a lot.
Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel.
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