why was Boozer drafted so low?

[Mr_wonka]

Round: 2 / Pick: 34

unreal. I mean Rando went last pick 1st round. Its pretty darn rare to have good players slip that far in the draft. Happens in the NFL all the time...aka Tom Brady. But man, Its crazy thinking about. The guy played for Duke as well, so its not like no one knew about that guy.

explanation?

[Jvaughn]

You mean so low?

He wasn't very athletic, was slow footed and his post game wasn't where it should've been. Plus he was an undersized center, and scouts questioned his ability to transform himself into a suitable PF. He was viewed as a solid player, but not 1st round potential. You could say the same thing about Arenas.

[nomorezorro]

boozer falling was actually pretty puzzling at the time. he was a very solid college player and while he may not have been perceived as a lottery talent there's no way he should have been a second rounder.

this was a period where people were in love with high-upside high-risk picks, so a very solid college player didn't have the flash of a lot of other guys. if a carlos boozer-esque player came out of the draft right now, there's no way he falls that low

[GaNGsTaRr93]

They thought he was a undersized center ( Read somewhere)

[Evil_Headband]

From ESPN pre-draft:

Positives: Boozer has the NBA body to bang in the paint. He converts an incredible amount of shot attempts around the basket, and really crashes the boards.

Negatives: Boozer is not great facing the basket, and could struggle to get shot off in traffic at next level because he has a poor arc on his jumper, and scouts question his hands. He also raised some eyebrows with his weight gain this summer.

Summary: Boozer will have to make the transition from center to power forward in the NBA. Scouts aren't sure he has the versatility to his game to make the move. He's not quick enough to handle the Garnetts and Webbers of the world and he's not strong enough to shut down guys like Elton Brand.

[KeithBoothfan]

Undersized height-wise for the PF spot, seemed in college to be using only brute strength to do his damage down low. Played mostly below the rim. Was a good rebounder at Duke, but not dominant.

He showed a lot of things no one saw coming even in his first year as far as cleaning the glass and scoring, but he became a 20/10 guy over time by adding that midrange jumper to his arsenal, getting even better finishing with both hands, and becoming a really good PnR guy (which Duke doesn't really do), while also maximizing his athleticism while staying huge.

Scouts definitely whiffed on that one, but it wasn't a controversy that Boozer slid at the time. He looked a lot less skilled than his predecessor, Elton Brand, at the time.

edit: Him falling to round 2 was surprising, but falling out of the lottery was expected. Mid-late 1st was what I remember him being pegged for.

[ballerkingn2]

He fell bec of scouts felt he didn't do anything great on the court just everything good and was athletic enough to be a factor at the next level. Plus remember they where drafting high schoolers when he came thus pushed him even further down.

It was expected that he would be a 1st early 2nd as I remember back then,but no one thought he would have this much of an impact at the next level like he has thus far.

[lostonbase]

lonny baxter

[ballerkingn2]

lonny baxter

Boozer was picked before lonny you mean roger mason jr

[Fukudome1]

whats up with all the magic wearing red shoes?
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****whoops thought i was in game thread

[DRose19]

Pick 34...hmm i wonder

[DRose4MVP]

Rondo wasnt the last pick of the first round. He was 21st.

Boozer wasnt utilized all that much on that Duke team. It was all about Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy, and Dahntay Jones. I guess thats the reason?

[DNP CD]

lonny baxter

Wow lostonbase! What number am I thinking of?

To explain: The reasons that Lonny Baxter didn't succeed in the NBA are the reasons that teams weren't sure that Boozer could. Kind of undersized and could succeed by muscling smaller/lesser players in college or summer league but just couldn't get it done against real players.

A more recent example is Glen Davis.

[HomoSapien]

I remember watching Boozer and college and then just not understanding why websites like NBAdraft.net had him going so low. He always seemed like a very good player to me. I wasn't surprised at all when he became so good in the NBA.

He was hurt by the following things:

1.) He was a junior. His previous two years weren't that great. Scouts were still all about hyping the raw seemingly high potential guys.

2.) Guys from Duke have a reputation of being disappointing NBA players.

3.) He was viewed as undersized, because everyone was trying to find the next Garnett.

[tatertotsnjuice]

Millsap was pretty much picked last.

[puma0821]

This seems to happen a lot with big men, specifically undersized heavier guys... there is almost one or two every draft.

Off the top of my head I can think of: Big Baby, Blair, Milsap, Maxiel, Turiaf, Kendrick Perkins, David Lee, Carl Landry, Craig Smith, Gasol.

Ok I admit, I looked towards the end of the list : That's just from 03 to 09 though. Also, Boozer is probably better than all of those guys as of now.

[DerrickNoah]

Looked at as an undersized center & overall role player on a very good Duke team.

[KEGster]

His final game at Duke was the Sweet 16 versus Indiana. Devils were heavy favorites to repeat and had a double digit lead in the 1st Half if I remember correctly

He was out played by Jared Jeffries, taken 11th overall and averaging 2 points this season.

The final play of the game was Jay Williams bricking the tieing free throw on a continuation drive. The rebound fell into Boozer's lap and with no leg lift he bricked the rebound

Boozer was viewed as the 3rd wheel behind Jay & Mike Dunleavy Jr. And the season before (2001 title team) Duke replaced an injured Boozer in the lineup with a stiff (Casey Sanders) and the Devils went on their title run. Boozer returned and they would not have won without him (beaten Maryland & Zona) but his contribution was most certaintly down played

[DRose4MVP]

The final play of the game was Jay Williams bricking the tieing free throw on a continuation drive. The rebound fell into Boozer's lap and with no leg lift he bricked the rebound

Wrong. Duke was down 4 and Jay Williams made a 3 plus the foul with 4 seconds left. He missed the free throw that would tie the game. Boozer grabbed the rebound and on the putback Jared Jeffries got a hand in on the ball when Boozer brought it down, thus forcing him to put up a akward shot.

It was one of the best college basketball games I have ever watch. In fact, I have the game recorded and just watched it the other day to see Mike Davis (Indiana's coach) nearly faint when Jay Williams made the 3 and got fouled when down by 4 points. What a game.

[gailgoodrich]

From ESPN pre-draft:

Positives: Boozer has the NBA body to bang in the paint. He converts an incredible amount of shot attempts around the basket, and really crashes the boards.

Negatives: Boozer is not great facing the basket, and could struggle to get shot off in traffic at next level because he has a poor arc on his jumper, and scouts question his hands. He also raised some eyebrows with his weight gain this summer.

Summary: Boozer will have to make the transition from center to power forward in the NBA. Scouts aren't sure he has the versatility to his game to make the move. He's not quick enough to handle the Garnetts and Webbers of the world and he's not strong enough to shut down guys like Elton Brand.

Crazy to read this scouting report when the face-up high arcing jumper became his signature shot.