Reactions to the Knicks Drafting Iman Shumpert
by BirdGT on Jun 25, 2011 3:00 PM EDT
in Georgia Tech Basketball
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PrintIt's almost like Isiah Thomas never left the Knicks front office...there were plenty of good reasons for New York fans to boo so lustily after their first-round pick.Brennan cited Shumpert's selection as the most surprising event of the 2011 NBA Draft. I think Big12Hoops writer, Matt Patton, summarizes why most Draftniks think the selection of Shumpert was unwarranted:
Many of my questions about Shumpert go back to last season, when he was the facilitator on a team with two elite forwards (Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal). Despite having not one but two trump cards down low, Georgia Tech struggled offensively. And it’s fine to blame coaching to some extent, but Shumpert never looked comfortable facilitating for the Yellow Jackets. Then this year he was the best offensive performer for the team (the only performer with an offensive rating over 100 according to Ken Pomeroy), but he was not good at getting his teammates involved or consistently taking good shots.Sometimes, I think there is a tendency for NBA and NFL Draft analysts to be hyper-critical of upper classmen. In Shumpert's case, this is probably true as SBN's Posting and Toasting breaks down Shumpert's positives:
I like what I've heard and seen regarding Shumpert. The flaws are clear-cut: Right now, he's neither a great shooter (though perhaps not as bad as his college percentages would tell you) nor a great passer, and thus isn't so much a combo guard as he is a...non-bo guard? I don't know. All that said, he's huge for a backcourt player, has absolutely obscene raw athletic skills, and loves to play defense. All good things.In my opinion, it doesn't really matter what the bloggers and media talking heads think. It's what the GM and owners think. Why was Shumpert drafted 17th overall? The New York Post interviewed Mike D'Antoni and he said the following:
"His knock was he couldn't shoot, but as soon as he got the ball, his form was perfect and he made shots," D'Antoni said. "You can say it's one day. But by his form, we think he can become very good shooter. If that's the knock on him, we're excited about that. His best qualities are defensively and athleticism, but his workout is one of the best we've ever had and we've been drafting high the past three years. We all turned together at the same time and said, 'Wow, this is pretty good.'"Fortunately for Shumpert, he was drafted in the first round and has more than a snowball's chance in Hell of sticking around. Unfortunately, he was drafted into the most critical, cynical media market on this side of the Pond. I hope Shumpert succeeds. I thought he put in his time at Tech and was a great rep for the Institute during his three years at AMC. Shumpert is the only Tech player to record a triple double against an ACC foe; was the fourth player in ACC history to lead a team in scoring, rebounds, assists, and steals; and finished as Tech's 32nd all time leading scorer with 1,166 points. Good luck in the NBA, Iman. We could've used you next year but I'm pretty sure I'd trade the Gwinnett Civic Center for Madison Square Garden 999,999 times out of 1,000,000.
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Englightening.
Thanks for this. As Knicks fan I don’t quite get some of the Shumpert criticism. It’s funny to me is how Rajon Rondo is heralded as a great PG in the league when he cannot shoot AT ALL, to the point where teams leave him wide open, yet Shumpert has been getting criticized for his lack of shooting touch. Granted, I don’t watch college basketball at all, but from reading all of the draft profiles, it seems to me that the parallels between Rondo and Shumpert are there. Both guys are freakish athletes with long winspans and were fortunate enough to end up on teams with All Star scorers. People rave about Rondo’s passing ability, and it is stellar, for sure, but he is has KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce as finishers. I’m pretty sure Shumpert’s assist totals will rise with Melo and Stoudemire as finishers.
Now, I understand Rondo and Shumpert may play different styles, but that comparison is being drawn for the kind of impact each player has had/could have on their respective NBA teams. The main difference I see from the draft profiles is Rondo gets higher grades in passing ability and intangibles/basketball IQ. I was wondering if you could give your thoughts on Shumpert’s understanding of the game.
That's a hard question
Paul Hewitt left us wondering what his basketball IQ was after 10+ years on the Flats, and as we all know, that tends to trickle down to the players as well. Hewitt’s overall lack of an offense at all makes it very hard to judge a players understanding of the game, or at least it does for me as I base those assessments on how the player does within a defined system. Not having a system muddies the waters for me. However, defensively, I’d say you have absolutely nothing to worry about. He absolutely understands man defenses and knows where he needs to be. In fact, Hewitt tried switching to a zone heavy defense much of last year and from my memory, I can’t recall yelling at Shumpert at all for being out of position.
Shumpert definitely understands the flow of the game. My only concern mirrors OrientalNC in that he has disappeared in games before. Asking why here might not be the best idea as we all would probably blame Hewitt. Shumpert gave a lot to multiple teams, both before and after the Favors/Lawal combo and had to put up with a lot of losing. I can understand why he might have been discouraged from time to time. I have to think that getting drafted in the first round cured that.
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
Doug Gottlieb
His job (like all the wanking talking heads) at the Worldwide Leader are there only to create controversy and get people talking.
I’d like to see his take on Mother Teresa and her draft positioning for the SAINTS.
“Well, she has the notoriety, buy I’m worried that her intangibles will not stand up to scrutiny when the chips are down and there is pressure from outside forces”.
“Give me your take at 800-ESPNSUX”
by DressHerInWhiteAndGold on Jun 26, 2011 8:37 AM EDT reply actions
I agree.
Even when they do something right, it is often promoted as “ESPN did this.” Their puffed up bloviators on SportsCenter are even worse.
That said, I think this was a very risky pick for the Knicks. Iman may become a wonderful pro, but he had some disappointing off nights after his amazing performance against VPI. I watched him just disappear a couple times and wondered where the player I loved was hiding. Was his concentration lacking at times? We all have off nights, but he ended the season on a sour note against those same VPI players in the ACC Tournament. I am sure several NBA scouts wondered the same about him.
If I were a Knicks fan (several of NY friends have shared their feelings) I would likely be somewhat puzzled by the pick, but also hopeful the Knicks’ brass knew what they were doing.
Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?
knick fan here
excited bout the pick. I liked Iman before the draft, and like him still (based on watching no college ball and just what I read before the draft).
One thing I have been wondering and have not found much on, is if he can run the pick&roll. Its a major part of the NYK offense, and Mike D and the P&R are actually BFFs. They got matching necklaces and everything.
Did the GT offense run the P&R? and if so, was Iman good at it?
and yeah, espn sucks. They consistently dog the knicks for not playing D, they draft a guy known for his D and they get panned for not picking an Offensive minded player.
I wouldnt worry so much about the NY market. As bad as the media is, there are tons of fans that actually recognize game and can appreciate that things take time. And with Melo, STAT and Burps (chauncy) around, i think the reporters will have enough to focus on without hounding Sherbert too much.
I think it was Bobby V who said: "You are never as good as you are when you are at your best, and you are not as bad as when you are at your worst."
GT didn't run anything on offense
Most nights it felt like watching a rec league pickup game on offense, a lot of running around waiting for the other team to leave the lane or a shooter open and a lot of early-in-the-clock shooting. The players ran picks for each other, but I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say that we ran PnR as an intentional set piece with any consistency.
Shumpert is a good passer so I’m sure you’ll be fine. He knows the point and can play the point, which with his size could create some definite mismatches for his opponents, but I always got the impression he was more comfortable as a SG.
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
thanks!
i dont know if its a good thing or bad thing that there wasnt an offensive system in place… but at least we know it wasnt a lack of understandign that held Sherbert back…
I think it was Bobby V who said: "You are never as good as you are when you are at your best, and you are not as bad as when you are at your worst."
Has he got a nickname already?
Sherbert?
As in cool?
by DressHerInWhiteAndGold on Jun 26, 2011 7:43 PM EDT reply actions
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