pancakes3 wrote:I don't want to call these "red flags" but for me, these 3 questions about Bennett put Porter ahead. (note, preferring Porter is not the same as hating on Bennett.)
1 - How does a 5-star McDonalds all-American end up at "only" UNLV?
2 - Why is he a year older than he should be?
3 - Do you see him as a long-term solution at PF or SF?
a) if PF, moreso than Nene who's signed long term?
b) if SF, moreso than what Porter brings to the table with his superior perimeter skills?
1 - He went to H.S. in a Vegas suburb, it was a natural fit. Dave Rice has had some success recruiting for UNLV recently, including getting Khem Birch to transfer from Pitt. Birch is another Canadian who was a top fifteen recruit in 2011. Bennett was the #7 recruit according to Rivals and ESPN and he would have been ranked higher if he hadn't gotten hurt his senior year. He had his choice of schools, but he ended up choosing UNLV because of location IIRC.
2 - He's got a '93 birthday, he was just born in March. He didn't lose a year anywhere. The guys with '94 birthdays like Noel reclassified to come out of H.S. a year early.
3 - PF.
A.) Fortunately Nene is interchangeable at the 4 & 5. You can play Bennett at PF and Nene at C. Nene's minutes also need to be carefully managed from here on out so that you can preserve his body and get the most out of him. Nene is going to eventually have to come off the bench as he ages IMO. Sooner than later, I don't think he's going to be a 30 minutes a night guy. I think you can feature a healthy rotation with Bennett, Nene, and Oak getting most of the PF & C minutes.
Also I wouldn't say Porter necessarily has superior perimeter skills. Both can shoot. Porter is a much better passer and a better defender and better off the ball player. But Bennett is a much better ball handler and slasher and he's much better shooting off the dribble, something Porter has struggled with so far.
Already had 5 workouts.
