by XUFan09 » Tue Jan 07, 2014 5:24 pm
I don't think it's a case of athleticism being overrated while shooting is underrated, simply because a player can become a decent shooter but he can't become athletic. Athleticism means they're some good room for upside, especially in shooting ability, but if a kid is unathletic, he better have a much more refined game or he won't be ranked highly. The unathletic player's game can still improve but not usually through the leaps and bounds of an athletic player's game. Of course, if that player is, say, Xavier's Trevon Bluiett, I'll take his game as it is, but most high school recruits are not Bluiett lol. The drawback to a player with upside is of course the distinct possibility that he'll never meet that potential. Maybe there are limits not previously seen (some players will just never be good shooters or never be good ball-handlers, for example, no matter how much work they put in). Maybe his work ethic just isn't strong enough. Or maybe he is being guided by a bad basketball coach, which frankly, I think Lavin is.
I picked Lavin because I look at this team with only a few shooters and a lot of athletic kids, and I think about what a good coach could do with them. They should be a really good defensive team, and their offense could flow much better than it has with him.
Gangsters in the locker room