Name to Remember?

Jonathan Watters · Post #1 » by **Jonathan Watters** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:16 pm

I have no idea if this is a name to remember, I've never seen him play.

Jerome Jordan

He's a 7'1 soph, ESPN profile says he is from Jamaica.

Solid season numbers in part-time duty - 24 mpg, 10 ppg, 7 rpg, 3.5 bpg, 60% shooting.

Nothing to get too excited about there, this is C-USA after all.

But over his last 4, those numbers jump to - 30 mpg, 17 ppg, 14 rpg, 5 bpg.

Tulsa is 8-2 in its last 10...

And today Jordan's 23 point, 17 board, 5 block performance probably dashed UAB's at-large hopes.

I have no idea if he's any good. Hard to tell at the C-USA level. But he's only a soph, he's obviously huge, and he's obviously making a huge impact on his team. Those are good signs.

And he's so under the radar, DX and draft.net don't even have profiles on the guy yet! (That will change very quicky, I would guess

)

Check him out tomorrow vs the winner of UAB-Houston...

JoeT · Post #2 » by **JoeT** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:20 pm

Always looking for those sleepers, Jon.

Unfortunately CUSA's TV deal sucks and I never get to see any of their games with my cable provider.

vincanity1 · Post #3 » by **vincanity1** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:01 am

I've seen him play once. He has the size and he's a pretty good athlete. He doesn't have as much upside as he's already going to be 23 this year, I believe he is born 1985.

DanTown8587 · Post #4 » by **DanTown8587** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:27 am

Seen him in highlights, reminds me of a POB (small school, decent scorer, skinny) he comes back a year, gets around 275 and comes out next year, will compete to become a top player in the draft next year. But right now it will be tough for him to shake POB comparisons.

TB · Post #5 » by TB » Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:30 am

i dont know why he would want to shake pob comarisons.... I'm sure he would love to get drafted in the lottery.

RyGuy24 · Post #6 » by **RyGuy24** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 6:14 pm

17/9/4 I believe against Memphis. Looked very good and has very long arms, but I can definately see the POB comparisons. Nonetheless, he did look very good and threw down a couple of very nice dunks along with a few nice hooks. Definately a future top 15 pick, whether it's this year or (probably) next.

JoeT · Post #7 » by **JoeT** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 6:39 pm

RyGuy24 wrote:17/9/4 I believe against Memphis. Looked very good and has very long arms, but I can definately see the POB comparisons. Nonetheless, he did look very good and threw down a couple of very nice dunks along with a few nice hooks. Definately a future top 15 pick, whether it's this year or (probably) next.

There's no chance he's a top 15 pick this year, and there's definitely no guarantee he'd be one next year. His game is raw, and his post awareness is lacking. How a righty with his length never posts up on the low left block to utilize a hook across the lane is astonishing. His go-to move is a dropstep baseline in the deep right post that he finishes with a reverse (he went to this three times today, traveled on it the first time, finished awkwardly the second, and finished with a nice dunk the third, when he had a 6'8 350 pounder guarding him). Why a move of that difficulty is his go-to move is really puzzling to me. It's nice that he has the size and mobility to pull it off occasionally, but the guy needs a more complete post game (didn't look good going right shoulder on the one time he tried, missing a left-handed scoop shot, though he faked right shoulder frequently). He needs another year, maybe two, to really get his game where it needs to be. He also needs some bulk, but his shoulders and hips look fairly narrow, which is a concern when looking to add it.

Jonathan Watters · Post #8 » by **Jonathan Watters** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 6:47 pm

Top 15 pick is a little crazy. Definitely a project. His biggest issue is a lack of strength. It not only keeps him from getting good post position, but it is also hurting his mobility right now. If he puts on some muscle, he's going to be an absolute freak athlete. I'm not so concerned about his age, since he is so immature physically. He'll never be a bruiser, but there is obviously some room for him to add quite a bit of bulk. A great natural shot blocker, and ridiculous wingspan. Also seems to "get it" enough to where you could project at least some of that improvement, and that is probably more important than anything else with a big man.

Definitely a prospect, though. If he stays all 4 years, he could be the kind of force that allows Tulsa to actually compete with Memphis.

JoeT · Post #9 » by **JoeT** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 7:03 pm

Jonathan Watters wrote:Top 15 pick is a little crazy. Definitely a project. His biggest issue is a lack of strength. It not only keeps him from getting good post position, but it is also hurting his mobility right now. If he puts on some muscle, he's going to be an absolute freak athlete. I'm not so concerned about his age, since he is so immature physically. He'll never be a bruiser, but there is obviously some room for him to add quite a bit of bulk. A great natural shot blocker, and ridiculous wingspan. Also seems to "get it" enough to where you could project at least some of that improvement, and that is probably more important than anything else with a big man.

Definitely a prospect, though. If he stays all 4 years, he could be the kind of force that allows Tulsa to actually compete with Memphis.

Memphis' incoming class next year isn't too impressive (one top 150 player so far according to ESPN, though that could change), with Dorsey and likely CDR and Rose gone.

Jonathan Watters · Post #10 » by **Jonathan Watters** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:10 pm

JoeT wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Memphis' incoming class next year isn't too impressive (one top 150 player so far according to ESPN, though that could change), with Dorsey and likely CDR and Rose gone.

Well...

They are still going to have twice the talent of any other team in the C-USA. Doesn't matter how much they lose, that isn't going to change.

Remember, there wasn't a C-USA team that could consistently play within 20 points of the Tigers this year...

SlickWilly8 · Post #11 » by **SlickWilly8** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:30 pm

I don't understand why the POB comparison is sucha bad thing, unless it relate's to his mentality. To me it seems like POB has all the physical tool's to be a great post player in the league, it's just he doesn't have the heart or drive to put in the hard work it takes to become great. IMO if POB had the heart and drive that Howard has, he could be something special, it's just a shame he has no heart. Are the POB comparison's for Jordan about his perceived heart, or are they just about his physical tools?

JoeT · Post #12 » by **JoeT** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:30 pm

Jonathan Watters wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Well...

They are still going to have twice the talent of any other team in the C-USA. Doesn't matter how much they lose, that isn't going to change.

Remember, there wasn't a C-USA team that could consistently play within 20 points of the Tigers this year...

They're losing their three best players with no one coming in to replace them. Obviously they'll hope for Taggert, Dozier, Anderson, and Robinson, among others, to grow into their new, expanded roles, but I don't know if they can maintain that kind of dominance while losing their top three. They'd still obviously be the favorites in the conference, by a large margin, but I don't expect them to go undefeated again and I don't expect them to be as strong a national contender.

Jonathan Watters · Post #13 » by **Jonathan Watters** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:47 pm

JoeT wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

but I don't expect them to go undefeated again and I don't expect them to be as strong a national contender.

Well, I didn't say anything about that...

Post #14 » by **UGA Hayes** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:59 pm

Isn't it weird how many anonymous 7 footers exist in this world.

Post #15 » by **Ruzious** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:39 pm

Yeah, it brings me back to when I saw Jerome James playing when he was in college - on a local access tv station. I was like - OMG - this dude looks like Shaq - he just needs to get in a little better shape, and I never heard of him before.

And no, I'm not Isaiah Thomas. :lol:

_BBIB_ · Post #16 » by **_BBIB_** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:24 pm

Name to remember is John Riek.

Kid will at least be a rich man's Dalembert.

JoeT · Post #17 » by **JoeT** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:31 pm

_BBIB_ wrote:Name to remember is John Riek.

Kid will at least be a rich man's Dalembert.

His floor is a rich man's Dalembert? His floor is a top 10 center in the NBA? You're saying that about a guy that raw? Hell, Greg Oden's floor is probably a rich man's Dalembert, and that got him drafted #1. I'm sorry, but that's a pretty strong assertion for someone like that. How much have you seen him play?