The Dewayne Dedmon Thread

[shadrock]

KO played well for like the first 15 games of the season, and then he seemed to sulk. I think it was something to do with Harkless being in the doghouse. way I see it, if he going to sulk and not pkay hard, screw him. Dedmon gives us so much more imo.

I remember reading that he took a game off due to family trouble. Maybe he's distracted.

This is a good point. The guy seems like a great teammate and an all-around good man. Its just he has not brought in on the court this year. If he is dealing with some personal issues I certainly hope he can rectify those and get back to bringing it.

For a while there, he was looking like a defensive stopper to the same level as Dedmon, who could also pass and was basically automatic shooting from the elbow. Somewhere along the road he lost all those skills. A personal issue would certainly explain it. Lets hope he can get it back.

[Last Guardian]

Nobody plays harder than Dedmon. This guy is nuts. He is an athletic freak...can block 3 point shots when he isn't that close to the shooter. He is a massive defensive presence around the rim. There is no doubt in my mind that with the plethora of offensive skill that vucevic posseses, that Dewayne Dedmon is the PERFECT guy to play next to him.

[OrlandO]

Nobody plays harder than Dedmon. This guy is nuts. He is an athletic freak...can block 3 point shots when he isn't that close to the shooter. He is a massive defensive presence around the rim. There is no doubt in my mind that with the plethora of offensive skill that vucevic posseses, that Dewayne Dedmon is the PERFECT guy to play next to him.

There's a big problem preventing him from being a perfect fit though... he is a foul machine at nearly 7 fouls per36 minutes.

[NBlue]

Nobody plays harder than Dedmon. This guy is nuts. He is an athletic freak...can block 3 point shots when he isn't that close to the shooter. He is a massive defensive presence around the rim. There is no doubt in my mind that with the plethora of offensive skill that vucevic posseses, that Dewayne Dedmon is the PERFECT guy to play next to him.

There's a big problem preventing him from being a perfect fit though... he is a foul machine at nearly 7 fouls per36 minutes.

I think there are 3 things that contribute to this:

1) Obviously, he is overly foul prone. He needs to work on this.
2) He never gets the benefit of a call. He is viewed by refs almost worse than a rookie. That will come with time.
3) He is having to clean up for a lot of poor defense elsewhere and is faced with a choice to either foul or allow a layup and he elects to foul -- the right call. I wish others on our team would do this.

All told, I'm not that worried about his high foul rate when put in context.

[tooler]

I don't think we should try to make him into something he's not. Unlike Kyle, we could sign this guy to a bargain contract and watch him fill in 12-15 MPG behind Vucevic for years.

[chosen12141]

Nobody plays harder than Dedmon. This guy is nuts. He is an athletic freak...can block 3 point shots when he isn't that close to the shooter. He is a massive defensive presence around the rim. There is no doubt in my mind that with the plethora of offensive skill that vucevic posseses, that Dewayne Dedmon is the PERFECT guy to play next to him.

There's a big problem preventing him from being a perfect fit though... he is a foul machine at nearly 7 fouls per36 minutes.

I think there are 3 things that contribute to this:

1) Obviously, he is overly foul prone. He needs to work on this.
2) He never gets the benefit of a call. He is viewed by refs almost worse than a rookie. That will come with time.
3) He is having to clean up for a lot of poor defense elsewhere and is faced with a choice to either foul or allow a layup and he elects to foul -- the right call. I wish others on our team would do this.

All told, I'm not that worried about his high foul rate when put in context.

What a team we would have if all of our boys took his defensive approach??? Nothing free! Wow!!!! Good post, great discussion!!

[rcklsscognition]

I had no idea about Dedmond, that SI article was great. He played with Vuc at USC. Never played basketball once before he was 18? Crazy.

[Last Guardian]

I don't think we should try to make him into something he's not. Unlike Kyle, we could sign this guy to a bargain contract and watch him fill in 12-15 MPG behind Vucevic for years.

A player with Dedmons defensive contribution cannot waste away at 12 mpg. Thats crazy. We are talking about a guy who whenever he is on the floor, and no matter who he is playing with between Vuc, KOQ, Frye....we suddenly look like a top defensive team. He should start with Vuc, but I'd settle for 22-25mpg.

As for fouls, yea he gets some cheap fouls, he'll learn to stay away from them as he becomes more important to the team.

[Bensational]

I don't think we should try to make him into something he's not. Unlike Kyle, we could sign this guy to a bargain contract and watch him fill in 12-15 MPG behind Vucevic for years.

that's the advantage of who Dedmon is and where he's at right now. he's humble and he's just prepared to play hard because he hasn't even whiffed a chance of being a guy who gets a lot of time. perfect time to lock him in for good value.

KOQ, on the other hand, knows that he can be getting minutes and money somewhere else. same with Tobias. it's just contract year stuff with those two.

[Bensational]

I remember reading that he took a game off due to family trouble. Maybe he's distracted.

This is a good point. The guy seems like a great teammate and an all-around good man. Its just he has not brought in on the court this year. If he is dealing with some personal issues I certainly hope he can rectify those and get back to bringing it.

For a while there, he was looking like a defensive stopper to the same level as Dedmon, who could also pass and was basically automatic shooting from the elbow. Somewhere along the road he lost all those skills. A personal issue would certainly explain it. Lets hope he can get it back.

i wouldn't blame any of our guys for losing trust in our coach and team this season. JV doesn't seem like he had much method behind his designs, and that really could have smothered the enthusiasm of guys.

even JB still seems to be inconsistent. AN gets big minutes one night, 4 the next. same with O'Quinn.

and that doesn't seem to match how other players are treated. Dipo gets a free pass for forcing shots on a cold night. Willie Green got away with playing like Kobe for 3/4's of the season. Frye got away with not even trying on defense.

a lot of this will settle into place if JB can just anoint Vuc and Dipo as our go-to offensive options, so that the rest of the team can get behind them. once that level of identity is in place, the rest should settle pretty quickly.

[NBlue]

KOQ, on the other hand, knows that he can be getting minutes and money somewhere else. same with Tobias. it's just contract year stuff with those two.

Tobias, sure. KOQ -- I'll believe it when I see it. Sure, he'll get another contract somewhere. Right now he is struggling to play at all on one of the worst teams (record wise) in the league. I'm not sure that other teams are going to be beating down the door for him despite the CW of this board...

[Bensational]

KOQ, on the other hand, knows that he can be getting minutes and money somewhere else. same with Tobias. it's just contract year stuff with those two.

Tobias, sure. KOQ -- I'll believe it when I see it. Sure, he'll get another contract somewhere. Right now he is struggling to play at all on one of the worst teams (record wise) in the league. I'm not sure that other teams are going to be beating down the door for him despite the CW of this board...

Well, it's happening already and you don't see it, so I doubt that is the case. The metrics all say Kyle is our best defender in the post. His role has changed from C to PF to stretch 4 throughout the course of the season. He isn't playing very well lately, I'll agree, but he's played very well for us in the past and you deny that, so I'm confident he's stuck in your doghouse forever.

[NBlue]

KOQ, on the other hand, knows that he can be getting minutes and money somewhere else. same with Tobias. it's just contract year stuff with those two.

Tobias, sure. KOQ -- I'll believe it when I see it. Sure, he'll get another contract somewhere. Right now he is struggling to play at all on one of the worst teams (record wise) in the league. I'm not sure that other teams are going to be beating down the door for him despite the CW of this board...

Well, it's happening already and you don't see it, so I doubt that is the case. The metrics all say Kyle is our best defender in the post. His role has changed from C to PF to stretch 4 throughout the course of the season. He isn't playing very well lately, I'll agree, but he's played very well for us in the past and you deny that, so I'm confident he's stuck in your doghouse forever.

I think he played like a solid backup in the past. I have not seen him at that level this year with the exception of maybe one or two games. My largest concern is a consistent lack of energy and effort. A backup in his role needs to bring that at a high level and he, quite simply, has not.

Defensive advanced stats can provide some insight but, imo, are highly unreliable. Defense is inherently a team effort and advanced stats defensively can either under or over emphasize the individual's role -- you need to watch and evaluate on your own. I should note its not exactly like we are stacked with great post defenders... you are saying he is a better post defender than Frye or Nicholson -- yeah, I'd absolutely agree but we are talking about 2 of the worst post defenders in the league -- and they both appear to be getting minutes over him now! That really says something.

[Last Guardian]

Dewayne Dedmon is a huge part of this teams future. I think many people need to start realizing this. I don't care if he came from the DLeague. He is a defensive juggernaut. He is a physical match to Javale McGee and has the defensive IQ to use it effectively.

[Nyce_1]

Dedmon's progression will allows us to pass on WCS. Is that a crazy thought? A player from the d league is playing well enough to pass on a top 10 player in the draft?

[MoMM]

Dedmon's progression will allows us to pass on WCS. Is that a crazy thought? A player from the d league is playing well enough to pass on a top 10 player in the draft?

Hassan Whiteside?

[MoMM]

I had no idea about Dedmond, that SI article was great. He played with Vuc at USC. Never played basketball once before he was 18? Crazy.

On Wikipedia says that Vuc played there until 10-11 and Dedmon went there in 11-12.

[MrOrlando]

So, does anyone else see the line up of Payton/Dipo/Harris/Dedmon/Vuc being a reality now?

Dwayne is that hustle, defensive force that belongs next to Vuc. I don't care really how much they're paying Frye, what's done is done. We might suffer on offense a bit, but that's a given, we can plan for that. The extra rebounds and defensive plays would surely negate at least some of the difference in offense.

[OrlandO]

I had no idea about Dedmond, that SI article was great. He played with Vuc at USC. Never played basketball once before he was 18? Crazy.

On Wikipedia says that Vuc played there until 10-11 and Dedmon went there in 11-12.

Dedmon signed with USC in 10-11 and redshirted that year. Spent the fall semester at his old school, then started practicing with USC in the following spring semester. So Dedmon was probably around Vuc behind the scenes for 2-3 months. Probably practiced together.

[OrlandO]

So, does anyone else see the line up of Payton/Dipo/Harris/Dedmon/Vuc being a reality now?

Dwayne is that hustle, defensive force that belongs next to Vuc. I don't care really how much they're paying Frye, what's done is done. We might suffer on offense a bit, but that's a given, we can plan for that. The extra rebounds and defensive plays would surely negate at least some of the difference in offense.

As long as you don't mind him constantly getting in foul trouble. Yes, I'm aware he played a lot without fouling last night against, but the two games before that he racked up 5 fouls each in less minutes. It's not something he can change overnight. I'll be keeping an eye on his foul and block rates as he tries to adjust from here on out.