JaVale McGee

[miller31time]

from jazzfans.com:

...

The problem is he’s extremely far from reaching his full potential—so far that you have to wonder if he’ll ever make it considering the way he looks at times on the court. Struggles to establish position and finish in the paint, settles for some incredibly awkward off-balance shots, and is virtually a black hole with his passing skills—averaging 4 turnovers for every 1 assist. Looks very disinterested at times, doesn’t hustle, gives up on plays, late getting back down the floor, and might be the worst man to man defender we’ve ever evaluated in the post. Gets pushed around, gambles excessively for steals, has no stance or fundamentals, doesn’t move his feet, and is a complete non-factor even against the mediocre competition he faces. According to Synergy’s “PlayType QuickTable stats,” McGee was scored on 66% of the time when being posted up in the paint (against the likes of Fresno State, Utah State, Houston, etc). Is light years away from being able to compete on an NBA level defensively, if ever."

......

Lovely. Good to know we aimed for the worst defender in the draft....

[doclinkin]

That's the same DX article everyone else has already cited, just re-quoted elsewhere. So right, one guy's opinion repeated ad nauseum on ten different sites.

I'm sure the kid needs work, I'm also equally sure he'll improve banging against Haywood/Etan/DSong in practice, or trying to cut off Dray with the ball on his dribble-attack, or trying to chase Pech and Jamison out to the perimeter. And all of them scrap for the rebounds.

Actually I'd love to watch these Wizards scrimmage, there'd be arms flailing everywhere with all that size and unharnessed raw talent out there.

[yungal07]

CCJ I'm surprised you're choosing to ignore the near-incredible numbers from the pre-draft camp measurements/tests for McGee -- usually you're the guy who's up on that stuff.

As doclinkin laid it out, his combination of speed/length/jumping ability is damn near uncanny. The guy runs the floor like a player 6 inches shorter, he has a 33" vert which is sick for a 7'footer, and his standing reach is ridiculous. And he's gained about 10 pounds of muscle since the season let out. Those are some things that are hard to ignore.

Methings McGee's career is going to be what he makes of it from a mental aspect, and not because of and physical limitations on the court. The guy has too many physical gifts. I can't say the same for Pech however.

[Halcyon]

I can't wait until summer league, I want to see how raw and bad defensively he really is before believing somebody's opinion.

[fishercob]

CCJ I'm surprised you're choosing to ignore the near-incredible numbers from the pre-draft camp measurements/tests for McGee -- usually you're the guy who's up on that stuff.

CCJ actually focuses less on the measurables and more on college stats. He's pretty damn good too.

[miller31time]

I will forever trust CCJ, simply based on his call of Millsap being a legit player in this league.

[newslowsad]

Have we talked about what a lovely family portrait this is?

[nate33]

I think it's funny that they actually searched for a room with 7-foot ceilings for the photo-op. Most ceilings are 8-9 feet.

[fishercob]

Who was the last Wiz to wear 34? Oak?

[miller31time]

Well at least he's photogenic!

[newslowsad]

My new name for Eddie is Krazy Eyez Killah.

[doclinkin]

I think it's funny that they actually searched for a room with 7-foot ceilings for the photo-op. Most ceilings are 8-9 feet.

Press conference raised platform. But yeah he's tall.

[omegatronic3]

size is great but theres plenty of athletic freaks who never pan out. That kind of reach is a good start though.

What impressed me from the videos was that he looked like he has a decent stroke. He looked pretty comfortable shooting even out to 3 pt range. We dont need him to bulk up much...Theres only one Shaq and hes almost out of the league. He'll get stronger..the only question is whether he has instincts for the game.

The fact that he can probably dunk without jumping and that he can shoot a j are a pretty good start though.

[BruceO]

I watched the videos that are out on him. He has good hands and dunks everything around the rim. WHo else does that, SHaq? Dwight? chandler? all those guys have comparable reaches, the first three are good shot blockers, this guys longer than mutumbo, camby, chandler or any other long guy you can think of outiside of shaq and yao, and the fact that hes not a stiff because of that size. he moves fast, 3.25? c'mon and he also can jump despite the size, doesn't rely on the heigh only. So its cool that he has these things, and you throw him the ball he'll catch it. In the long run this will make arenas better cause he has a finisher.
Another thing thats awesome is his motor, DX talked about the long training sessions he had, his trainer really tried to build his endurance, and if he can take that sort of punishment to get better I;m sure he'll take the right kind of punishment to get better. This guy is not gonna get worn out quickly like blatche does, and his foul rate is decent. Blatche fouls alot for his blocks etc. the fact that we have him and Blatche, and Haywood will be good. I think people this size who are all special will push each other and be able to matchup against each other, they may realize they are less special and need to create a separatation. That drive to create a separation is what I'm looking for.
its funny the only thing we can complain about is his man defense and weight, But 241 isn't bad. he's not gonna remain skinny like people think. 240 is decent already and the experts think he can gain weight and strength, Benching only 8 times in the combine? I think dwight didnt do that many either, HE's heavier than camby or Chandler when they came in the league. And the man defense, learning to use his body against players his size is a new thing for him. He;s gonna learn, already they said he's better at closing out players, reducing the space, he has length that cannot be taken away and all the players his size, (darko, shaq, howard, Bybum, camby) are all elite shot blockers when given a chance, don't see why he should be any different. He gains more strength and his defense will be reasonable, his help defense is already ok according to DX, He has the beginnings of a comfortable perimeter game for his size, his passing is suspect although Ive seen some good passes. He's already got a jump hook coming with either hand, once thats developed he doesnt even need that much more to succeed. Those 6 eight PF's are a dime a dozen. We seen how blatche sometimes dominates games (game against philly) just because the combinatation of materials makes it hard for the other team to get a favourable matchup. If one of these young guys, Pech, blatche or mcgee pan out they are well worth a few players so we are distributing risk in a good way

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Well in his rookie year, if he can give us what we used to get from Calvin Booth, that's really all we need with Haywood and Etan, and I think he's gonna be able to give us that.

[crackhed]

I watched the videos that are out on him. He has good hands and dunks everything around the rim. WHo else does that, SHaq? Dwight? chandler? all those guys have comparable reaches, the first three are good shot blockers, this guys longer than mutumbo, camby, chandler or any other long guy you can think of outiside of shaq and yao, and the fact that hes not a stiff because of that size. he moves fast, 3.25? c'mon and he also can jump despite the size, doesn't rely on the heigh only. So its cool that he has these things, and you throw him the ball he'll catch it. In the long run this will make arenas better cause he has a finisher.
Another thing thats awesome is his motor, DX talked about the long training sessions he had, his trainer really tried to build his endurance, and if he can take that sort of punishment to get better I;m sure he'll take the right kind of punishment to get better. This guy is not gonna get worn out quickly like blatche does, and his foul rate is decent. Blatche fouls alot for his blocks etc. the fact that we have him and Blatche, and Haywood will be good. I think people this size who are all special will push each other and be able to matchup against each other, they may realize they are less special and need to create a separatation. That drive to create a separation is what I'm looking for.
its funny the only thing we can complain about is his man defense and weight, But 241 isn't bad. he's not gonna remain skinny like people think. 240 is decent already and the experts think he can gain weight and strength, Benching only 8 times in the combine? I think dwight didnt do that many either, HE's heavier than camby or Chandler when they came in the league. And the man defense, learning to use his body against players his size is a new thing for him. He;s gonna learn, already they said he's better at closing out players, reducing the space, he has length that cannot be taken away and all the players his size, (darko, shaq, howard, Bybum, camby) are all elite shot blockers when given a chance, don't see why he should be any different. He gains more strength and his defense will be reasonable, his help defense is already ok according to DX, He has the beginnings of a comfortable perimeter game for his size, his passing is suspect although Ive seen some good passes. He's already got a jump hook coming with either hand, once thats developed he doesnt even need that much more to succeed. Those 6 eight PF's are a dime a dozen. We seen how blatche sometimes dominates games (game against philly) just because the combinatation of materials makes it hard for the other team to get a favourable matchup. If one of these young guys, Pech, blatche or mcgee pan out they are well worth a few players so we are distributing risk in a good way

good post, i was gonna add that it wont be surprising if blatche and mcgee become arena's favorite bigs bcuz they can run and finish well.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

CCJ I'm surprised you're choosing to ignore the near-incredible numbers from the pre-draft camp measurements/tests for McGee -- usually you're the guy who's up on that stuff.

As doclinkin laid it out, his combination of speed/length/jumping ability is damn near uncanny. The guy runs the floor like a player 6 inches shorter, he has a 33" vert which is sick for a 7'footer, and his standing reach is ridiculous. And he's gained about 10 pounds of muscle since the season let out. Those are some things that are hard to ignore.

Methings McGee's career is going to be what he makes of it from a mental aspect, and not because of and physical limitations on the court. The guy has too many physical gifts. I can't say the same for Pech however.

Whoa, yungal07, you got me ALL wrong.

I think predraft camps are largely a waste of time and that predraft measurables might as well include having the guy drop his pants to show the gawkers how it's hanging. That's how relevant size is to me.

I've always gone by the numbers (have degrees in math in education.) How the player performed over time and against competiition are paramount in what matters to me. If a dude's 4ft tall, 300 lbs, but can hold position on the blocks and can jam in traffic I'm considering him a prospect. Even at PF.

The intangibles I DO THINK matter are what teammates and coaches from his past say about the players character and worth ethic; as well as any potential disqualifiers of the legal, psychological, or drug variety that are known about the player prior to the draft.

yungal, I don't give a darn if McGee's knuckles drag the ground when he walks or if he's as fast as Tyson Gay.

Can he play? What type of dude is he?

Honestly, I think McGee's going to come in a work his ass off as a pro. I suspect he might have some offense to him when he gets stronger. I think he'll be better than expected but not a factor at the highest level. He's intriguing, but I think the Wizards could have drafted way, way, way better at #18.

Most intriguing about McGee is that both parents were pros and his mom's a former WNBAer and a coach. The red flags are his dad and why is he so developmentally arrested, despite his mom's expertise. Is he just a late bloomer physically, or has he been an ADHD/ODD type in his past? How grounded is the dude?

Why hasn't he been better so far?

[Wizardspride]

Most intriguing about McGee is that both parents were pros and his mom's a former WNBAer and a coach. The red flags are his dad and why is he so developmentally arrested, despite his mom's expertise. Is he just a late bloomer physically, or has he been an ADHD/ODD type in his past? How grounded is the dude?

Why hasn't he been better so far?

You do know that McGee has only been playing organized basketball for a few years...right?

That might explain the pace of his development.

[W. Unseld]

The red flags are his dad

I'm curious about his dad as a red flag. I've been looking around and haven't seen anything mentioning where his dad is now. Also, I would be thrilled if he came in and worked his tail off but I'm getting the "easily dejected" vibe.

[WizarDynasty]

the guy has been playing as guard most of his life and he has show post offensive moves that not one person on this roster has developed and the guy is only 19. He already has better hands and better finishing ability than any big man on the break. I don't consider jamison a big man.