So much wasted talent.
Sam? Mark? Sorry, Keith, I keep forgetting your name. Can you go put one of those name tags on?
Let's rip off this next report card as a double dip. It's half of the guys traded midseason, Ike Diogu and Keith Mcleod. I thought Ike would do well in Nellie's system. He's athletic with long arms and has some nice, quick post moves. In college he was an excellent rebounder and I was looking for that to translate into the pros. But when training camp and the preseason hit, Nellie wasn't feeling Ike who apparently had trouble learning and running the plays. I wonder how hard it is to learn all of Nellie's 1 play. Run, run, run, drive, kick, and shoot the 3. Okay okay, that's an oversimplification, but really, how many plays do you think Nellie has? I'd say he's got around 5-10 base sets and a bunch of things running off of those. So long as you know the base sets, you'll do fine. Maybe not for Ike.
What about Keith Mcleod? Nothin, nevermind. I thought he might be a good backup to Baron given the opportunity but well, that's enough about him.
On to the grades!
First, Ike Diogu...
Ike: Man! Teamed with the Dunmurphy sisters again!
Posterized.
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| Adam Lauridsen (Fast Break) |
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Grade: C-
I still don't really know why Ike failed on this team. His rebounding and offensive skills should have made him a natural fit, but he never showed the hustle or smarts that Nellie wanted from his players. I've got nothing bad to say about the guy and wish him well (hopefully on a team other than Dunleavy's).
Fun Score: 5
"We Like Ike": still a great slogan after 50 years.
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| Atma Brother #1 |
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Grade: D
When the Dubs first selected Ike I was pretty disappointed as I loved Hakim Warrick's Inspector Gadget upside. I (wrongly) pinned Diogu as Danny Fortson 2.0 on draft day 2005. Then during his rookie campaign I absolutely fell in love with his shooting touch and ability to seemingly score at will in the low post. Like Mullin I was fooled. Ike has a lot work to do if he's ever going to be a starter in this league beginning with defensive positioning and reacting, passing, and reading opposing defenses. I really wish it could've worked out for him with the Dubs, but Ike was in Nellie's doghouse since day 1 and never really got out because of all those nagging injuries. Good luck to Ike in Indy.
Fun Score: 2
I liked Ike.
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| DJ Fuzzylogic |
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Grade: C+
Next to Seattle, the Warriors probably have the worst draft logic. That is, they repeatedly drafting project big men (sounds like a potential reality tv show on Bravo if you ask me) that each seem to have a character or skill defects and flaws that the others don't have (some having multiple flaws, read=POB); this just means they're all really incomplete as players. For some reason, Diogu just looked uninspired. Maybe it was the lack of playing time, maybe it was a losing team and culture, or maybe it was having to play with Dun? Whatever it was, we're lucky his "potential" landed us Jax and Harrington . That might have been his single, biggest contribution.
Fun Score: 6
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| Fantasy Junkie |
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Grade: D
I always thought he was a little lazy on the court. He never seemed to hustle, just kind of glided along. He's got some great moves in the post, but has trouble rebounding for such a big guy. His time in Indiana was actually worse than his time in Oakland. Hopefully he shows something next year because the guy is talented.
Fun Score: 1
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| Hash |
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Grade: C
I'll stick with an average because he really didn't do a hell of a lot for us other than provide a bargaining chip for the trade. No fault of his own, but there you go.
Fun Score: 5
I liked what I saw! There simply was no opportunity to see more.
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| YaoButtaMing |
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Grade: D
D for Bust. D for not producing anything. D because he won't be in the league for more then 5 more years!
Fun Score: 3
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Up next is Keith Mcleod...
He never really played in a game, this is just warmups
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| Adam Lauridsen (Fast Break) |
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Grade: D
Nellie was dying all season for a back-up point guard, but McLeod wasn't up to the task. When your defensive-stopper PG insists in shooting whenever he gets the ball, you have a problem. Without Jerry Sloan to break his will on a daily basis, it was like he though he was the second coming of BD.
Fun Score: 1
In six months I won't remember that he ever wore a Ws' jersey.
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| Atma Brother #1 |
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Grade: D-
Who?
Fun Score: 7
Thanks for making the numbers work in the Indy heist!
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| DJ Fuzzylogic |
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Grade: D+
Who?
Fun Score: 1
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| Fantasy Junkie |
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Grade: F
Who?
Fun Score: 1
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| Hash |
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Grade: B-
Not a lot of playing time = not a lot of credit. He performed a role during garbage time and that's all we asked of him. It will be interesting to see his incorporation into Nellie's strategy in coming games.
Fun Score: 3
meh.
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| YaoButtaMing |
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Grade: C-
Who?
Fun Score: 3.5
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This is what happens when 4 friends who think they're funny independently grade one of the players. You get 4 of the exact same responses. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by 4 of the 6 responses being a sarcastic, "Who?"
What are your grades for Diogu and Mcleod?
2006-2007 GSoM Report Cards
