Joe Alexander back in town....

[Nebula1]

p.s. Lots of guys dunk in college. All the outlooks seem positive for this kid, but it's the NBA. Will he ever be more valuable than Shane Battier?

Battier is a great player. I think a Battier type player is more important to winning than anyone we have other than Bogut.

And Sessions, of course.

Battier is a good piece, but would you trade the #8 (Alexander) for him? I don't think I would. Just hoping #8 becomes that kind of cog for the Bucks.

[LUKE23]

Then why not go with Randolph who would be the taller SF.

The Bucks need more defensive players, not more guys who shoot. Alexander only had 26 steals and 54 blocks with 103 personal fouls. Not exactly stellar defensive play.

Randolph, as a freshman, had 35 steals, 70 blocks and only 85 personal fouls and that was against other PF. Seems to me he is better defensively right now than Alexander is. Plus with Skiles teaching him defense, the sky's the limit.

Right now I see Alexander as a huge media creation. I always worry about guys that shoot up draft boards because of pre-draft combine numbers and a couple of workouts. He should be judged on what he has done in college and not what he has done against air in a workout.

Wow, don't know where to start with this post.

First off, defense isn't measured by the hustle categories. If that were the case, Allen Iverson would be considered one of the best overall defenders in the NBA throughout his career, given his steal rates. Defense is about staying in front of your man, knowing where you're supposed to be off the ball, playing help defense, taking charges, and boxing your man out to secure the defensive rebound. Shotblocking and steals are nice, but a lot of the time that comes with the payoff of players being out of position.

Alexander didn't only shoot up because of his combine numbers, although that helped. He shot up because he pretty much decimated the competition from March on, along with the stories of his essentially unhealthy work ethic towards basketball.

[LUKE23]

Battier is a valuable guy if you have a roster with a superstar (or two) on it, because he will never hurt you and he will play good defense. On a roster like ours, he's not nearly as good of a fit. And no way I trade #8 for him.

[randy84]

Then why not go with Randolph who would be the taller SF.

The Bucks need more defensive players, not more guys who shoot. Alexander only had 26 steals and 54 blocks with 103 personal fouls. Not exactly stellar defensive play.

Randolph, as a freshman, had 35 steals, 70 blocks and only 85 personal fouls and that was against other PF. Seems to me he is better defensively right now than Alexander is. Plus with Skiles teaching him defense, the sky's the limit.

Right now I see Alexander as a huge media creation. I always worry about guys that shoot up draft boards because of pre-draft combine numbers and a couple of workouts. He should be judged on what he has done in college and not what he has done against air in a workout.

You want to judge based on college performance and take Randolph over Alexander? Alexander's team was MUCH more successful than Randolph's and Alexander was dominant down the stretch in a much tougher conference tournament and then in the NCAA tournament. I've watched a lot of both of these guys, and while Randolph did some impressive things and undoubtedly has upside, Alexander consistently looked much more impressive to me.

Those defensive statistics mean very little to me. So Skiles can teach Randolph to play defense but he can't work with Alexander - a guy that has excelled under Bob Huggins, who stresses similar things and does it in a similar style?

So are you saying that Alexander is a better defensive player than Randolph?

Or are you saying the Bucks don't need defense?

If neither of these guys are going to contribute much next year, I would rather go with the younger guy with more upside. Alexander has only been playing basketball for 5 years, so he is going to have a steeper learning curve to adjust to the NBA, then a guy who has been playing competitively most of his life.

If you are looking at offense, then yes Alexander is better, but if you want defense then I would go with Randolph.

[fam3381]

Alexander has only been playing basketball for 5 years, so he is going to have a steeper learning curve to adjust to the NBA, then a guy who has been playing competitively most of his life.

If you are looking at offense, then yes Alexander is better, but if you want defense then I would go with Randolph.

I don't see how you can talk about the players' respective learning curves and not mention the fact that Alexander is physically much more mature than Randolph.

[LUKE23]

Then why not go with Randolph who would be the taller SF.

The Bucks need more defensive players, not more guys who shoot. Alexander only had 26 steals and 54 blocks with 103 personal fouls. Not exactly stellar defensive play.

Randolph, as a freshman, had 35 steals, 70 blocks and only 85 personal fouls and that was against other PF. Seems to me he is better defensively right now than Alexander is. Plus with Skiles teaching him defense, the sky's the limit.

Right now I see Alexander as a huge media creation. I always worry about guys that shoot up draft boards because of pre-draft combine numbers and a couple of workouts. He should be judged on what he has done in college and not what he has done against air in a workout.

You want to judge based on college performance and take Randolph over Alexander? Alexander's team was MUCH more successful than Randolph's and Alexander was dominant down the stretch in a much tougher conference tournament and then in the NCAA tournament. I've watched a lot of both of these guys, and while Randolph did some impressive things and undoubtedly has upside, Alexander consistently looked much more impressive to me.

Those defensive statistics mean very little to me. So Skiles can teach Randolph to play defense but he can't work with Alexander - a guy that has excelled under Bob Huggins, who stresses similar things and does it in a similar style?

So are you saying that Alexander is a better defensive player than Randolph?

Or are you saying the Bucks don't need defense?

If neither of these guys are going to contribute much next year, I would rather go with the younger guy with more upside. Alexander has only been playing basketball for 5 years, so he is going to have a steeper learning curve to adjust to the NBA, then a guy who has been playing competitively most of his life.

If you are looking at offense, then yes Alexander is better, but if you want defense then I would go with Randolph.

Overall defender? Yes, he's better than Randolph. Randolph is the better shotblocker and passing lane defender, so he's better in the gambling aspects of defense.

[RAtheMONsession]

for anybody that wants to see, he will be interviewed on ESPN after this commercial break

[ReasonablySober]

W-a-H, gotta give you props for calling it on Alexander. I like him as a person and I have to acknowledge that with his work ethic he could get much better, but I still maintain that when I saw him play he looked like a rich man's Mike Wilkinson.

But the NBA seems to love him so you were dead on with this guy.

[RAtheMONsession]

sounds like he really wants to go to milwaukee

He is the guy i want, i dont want trade up, i dont want a trade down, i want Joe Alexander

[randy84]

[quote="LUKE23"][quote="randy84"][quote="Wade-A-Holic"][quote="randy84"]Then why not go with Randolph who would be the taller SF.

The Bucks need more defensive players, not more guys who shoot. Alexander only had 26 steals and 54 blocks with 103 personal fouls. Not exactly stellar defensive play.

Randolph, as a freshman, had 35 steals, 70 blocks and only 85 personal fouls and that was against other PF. Seems to me he is better defensively right now than Alexander is. Plus with Skiles teaching him defense, the sky's the limit.

Right now I see Alexander as a huge media creation. I always worry about guys that shoot up draft boards because of pre-draft combine numbers and a couple of workouts. He should be judged on what he has done in college and not what he has done against air in a workout.[/quote]

You want to judge based on college performance and take Randolph over Alexander? Alexander's team was MUCH more successful than Randolph's and Alexander was dominant down the stretch in a much tougher conference tournament and then in the NCAA tournament. I've watched a lot of both of these guys, and while Randolph did some impressive things and undoubtedly has upside, Alexander consistently looked much more impressive to me.

Those defensive statistics mean very little to me. So Skiles can teach Randolph to play defense but he can't work with Alexander - a guy that has excelled under Bob Huggins, who stresses similar things and does it in a similar style?[/quote]


[b]So are you saying that Alexander is a better defensive player than Randolph?[/b]

Or are you saying the Bucks don't need defense?

If neither of these guys are going to contribute much next year, I would rather go with the younger guy with more upside. Alexander has only been playing basketball for 5 years, so he is going to have a steeper learning curve to adjust to the NBA, then a guy who has been playing competitively most of his life.

If you are looking at offense, then yes Alexander is better, but if you want defense then I would go with Randolph.[/quote]

Overall defender? Yes, he's better than Randolph. Randolph is the better shotblocker and passing lane defender, so he's better in the gambling aspects of defense.[/quote]

So in what aspect of defense is Alexander better that would make him an overall better defender?

[LUKE23]

Keeping his man in front of him, banging against his man in the post to keep him away from the basket, help defense, taking charges. You also have to take into account that Alexander is 220 pounds at 6-8.5, Randolph is 197 pounds at 6-10.5. Alexander is much stronger and right now has a body type more suited to guard NBA SF's.

[emunney]

It is not hard to be a better college defender than Randolph was at LSU.

[Sigra]

This is a good place to start Nebula. Don't know if its already been posted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdAYyqSOuPc

The guy knows everything. Now, can he do it in NBA?

[randy84]

Keeping his man in front of him, banging against his man in the post to keep him away from the basket, help defense, taking charges. You also have to take into account that Alexander is 220 pounds at 6-8.5, Randolph is 197 pounds at 6-10.5. Alexander is much stronger and right now has a body type more suited to guard NBA SF's.

I think everyone agrees that whomever we draft except for Beasley or Rose, is not going to help us much this year. So Alexander being 220 and Randolph being 197 doesn't mean a whole lot for this year. I am willing to bet that Randolph fills out and even if he doesn't he is being compared to Tayshaun Prince who is a pretty good defender being skinny.

[LUKE23]

Randolph likely has one of those frames that will not be able to add weight very well, and Prince does have 20 pounds on him, even though he is very skinny.

Randolph has a small forward body with power forward game, and that is going to be his major issue on both sides.

[Buck You]

When is the last time the Bucks had a forward who was as aggressive as Alexander going to the basket plus the work ethic and the talent level? Never. We need this guy.

[fam3381]

When is the last time the Bucks had a forward who was as aggressive as Alexander going to the basket plus the work ethic and the talent level? Never. We need this guy.

I like Alexander, but I doubt he shot 46% because he was extremely aggressive going to the hoop.

[randy84]

When is the last time the Bucks had a forward who was as aggressive as Alexander going to the basket plus the work ethic and the talent level? Never. We need this guy.

They have one right now with the exact same game as Alexander.....Desmond Mason.

[Balls2TheWalls]

When is the last time the Bucks had a forward who was as aggressive as Alexander going to the basket plus the work ethic and the talent level? Never. We need this guy.

They have one right now with the exact same game as Alexander.....Desmond Mason.

How about we try to get one that doesn't play like a geriatric?

[bango_the_buck]

They have one right now with the exact same game as Alexander.....Desmond Mason.

I thought we've been over this already, randy. Alexander is bigger and a decade younger. I'll take a bigger younger Mason on this team any day of the week.

If the proposed Suns/Clippers trade goes down, I could see Alexander being gone by #8...

ETA: Alexander has much better shooting mechanics than Mason. He doesn't have NBA 3-point range yet, but he'll get there. Jump shooting has never been, nor will be, a part of Mason's game...