UNC to Charlotte Bobcats

[BobCatsFanInTx]

You know many people have said that MJ was too loyal to the state of NC by drafting and hiring former UNC alumni but when I look back at our drafting of Felton and May I really find it hard to fault MJ on those choices. When we picked up these two young men they were among the best college basketball players in the country and there was no way of knowing they would not measure up to what was projected. Many other teams would have been happy to have either one of these two players if we had not taken them. They probably would have been drafted not long after we picked if we had not chosen either of them.

The reason I bring this up is because the UNC program is loaded with what looks like great talent again this year. If we were to chose a UNC player in the first round again this year it would not necessarily be JUST because they are players from UNC but because they are talented players who would fit in with Charlotte at the NBA level.

Now I have said the Bobcats need a banger and UNC has a banger who will most likely end up as the consensus division 1 college player of the year and I think he would fit in perfectly with the Bobcats. Tyler Hansbrough most likely wont be available by the time we pick unless we somehow get a top 3 pick but if he is I think it would almost be stupid not to pick him. The guy plays with serious emotion and a great ability to grab hard fought rebounds. He plays physical and though he is not the strongest player on the court he plays above himself. He is a decent medium range outside shooter and on the inside he is a warrior who scores with an ability to create space. When double teamed inside he has a bit of trouble but most players do. I feel IF we picked a player like him it would be about talent and not where he played his college ball.

UNC seems strong at pg again but I think picking Lawson would not look good considering we already have a quality UNC alum at pg in Felton. I actually feel Lawson is a bit more athletic but he is not a real assist machine either.

Would we be wrong to draft out of UNC again if we felt a UNC player was the best available talent?

With all that said, it really doesn't matter who the cats pick if they don't fire the idiot they have at head coach.

[twebb]

Tyler Hansbrough most likely wont be available by the time we pick unless we somehow get a top 3 pick but if he is I think it would almost be stupid not to pick him.

Wow we all know you are a UNC fan after this remark. No way Hansbrough goes top 3. The fact of the matter is that he will not be able to out muscle people in the Pros. He will be put in his place day one when he tries to go against someone twice as strong, with twice the athletic ability. I for one am praying we dont draft Hansbro, because no way he comes close to leading us anywhere (IE The playoffs)

[MattD]

Tyler Hansbrough most likely wont be available by the time we pick unless we somehow get a top 3 pick but if he is I think it would almost be stupid not to pick him.

Wow we all know you are a UNC fan after this remark. No way Hansbrough goes top 3. The fact of the matter is that he will not be able to out muscle people in the Pros. He will be put in his place day one when he tries to go against someone twice as strong, with twice the athletic ability. I for one am praying we dont draft Hansbro, because no way he comes close to leading us anywhere (IE The playoffs)

exactly my response, after getting back from the UNC v Clemson game I remembered why I like the NBA so much more (heresy I know) but they just arent as good. Hansbourgh is good because he is physical and he has decent size for college. In the NBA a PF like him would get eaten alive, hes not 6'10 hes not athletic, and hes not THAT strong. I would expect him to go between 17-22 range in the draft and unless he works REALLY hard dont expect him to be much more then a role player in the NBA. I just dont see how he fits with this level of competition.

[x2pacalypse]

as a UNC fan...i liked the felton pick but hated the may pick from the start

i don't really think we need a banger in the draft...i think we need a big man scoring option...nazr and emeka are already physical big guys....i would really like to pick somebody like hibbert up

i think right now our draft depends on if we decide to keep okafor or not

[BobCatsFanInTx]

Here let's shorten this post to two questions. With the Tarheels having so much talent once again, would it be such a bad thing to take a player from there as we have in the past?

When it comes to the best player available should the cats skip a player from North Carolina so they don't look like that is all they care about? It is obvious taking May and Felton did little to motivate the fan base so taking a UNC player can't be seen as a marketing ploy any longer.

[twebb]

The thing you have to look at is not talent but potential. This could be best shown by looking at this years and last years draft classes. Both are filled with talent. Last year we took (for a short period) Brandan Wright out of UNC with the 8 pick, solely off of potential. Based off of performance there is no way we would pick a guy who only scores around 10per. Keep in mind he went 8. This year we see Tyler Hansbrough, one of the leading scorers, rebounders, etc, etc. The reason we do not see him going high is based solely on the low amount of upside. Just because they show the talent you are talking about in college does not amount to any talent in the pros. It's a whole other monster to tackle, and it cant be done on heart alone.

[BobCatsFanInTx]

Tyler Hansbrough most likely wont be available by the time we pick unless we somehow get a top 3 pick but if he is I think it would almost be stupid not to pick him.

Wow we all know you are a UNC fan after this remark. No way Hansbrough goes top 3. The fact of the matter is that he will not be able to out muscle people in the Pros. He will be put in his place day one when he tries to go against someone twice as strong, with twice the athletic ability. I for one am praying we dont draft Hansbrough because no way he comes close to leading us anywhere (IE The playoffs)

I have to disagree with you on this. Hansbrough has been among some pretty physical players in college and handled himself quite well. Yes I am a Tarheel fan but I am not blinded by fanfare. Dennis Rodman was not the strongest guy in the world when he entered the NBA but we see how he progressed. A basketball player is still a basketball player no matter how his strength is rated. Plus this team is young and can afford to let strength and conditioning get him physically ready. The guy isn't being considered a player of the year candidate for nothing. He has skills and not every player he competes against is necessarily soft. He is in the ACC which is a hotbed for great players.

Anderson Verajao does not have the strongest body in the world but you can bet the guy doesn't back down to anybody and gets more than his share of boards. He doesn't have half the skill set of Tyler Hansbrough. Tyler is tough on the court and just because he isn't some chiseled rock hard muscle man doesn't mean he can't ball in the NBA. If being a big chiseled player was the top requirement to a PF in the NBA a great many players would not be playing. Yes, GWall got roughed up some times at PF but that was more from wreck less play than physical incompetence. Don't get me wrong because I love GWalls hard play but he is at times a bit over the top. Tyler is physical in a different way, he gives no ground and fights down low. He is a scrapper who grabs many offensive rebounds that give his team a great many second chance opportunities. Maybe he is a bit soft now but give him a strength and conditioning coach that is worth a flip and by the start of next season he could easily add at least three to five pounds of lean muscle.

The whole reason I started this post however is not to hype Tyler but to see what the pulse of the board was on taking another UNC player IF that player was the best player available at the time regardless of how it was perceived by the rest of the NBA world. I say we don't rule it out regardless of how it might look.

[Icky Thump]

Tyler Hansbrough most likely wont be available by the time we pick unless we somehow get a top 3 pick but if he is I think it would almost be stupid not to pick him.

Wow we all know you are a UNC fan after this remark. No way Hansbrough goes top 3. The fact of the matter is that he will not be able to out muscle people in the Pros. He will be put in his place day one when he tries to go against someone twice as strong, with twice the athletic ability. I for one am praying we dont draft Hansbro, because no way he comes close to leading us anywhere (IE The playoffs)

exactly my response, after getting back from the UNC v Clemson game I remembered why I like the NBA so much more (heresy I know) but they just arent as good. Hansbourgh is good because he is physical and he has decent size for college. In the NBA a PF like him would get eaten alive, hes not 6'10 hes not athletic, and hes not THAT strong. I would expect him to go between 17-22 range in the draft and unless he works REALLY hard dont expect him to be much more then a role player in the NBA. I just dont see how he fits with this level of competition.

Hansbrough is like the offensive version of Okafor In my opinion. Okafor was a very nice college defensive presence but his lack of height, athleticism and offensive prowess hurts his NBA value greatly. Similarly Hansbrough's value in the NBA will be limited due to his lack of height and athleticism but instead of offensive probs he lacks the defensive skills.. if we could maybe put 'Brough and Okafor together we would have a serious post player.

[ohara831]

Lawson may make a fairly good Pro prospect, but Tyler H. will only be a bench big, good for 15 minutes per game. He cannot play defense and his offensive game is great for college, but not for the Pro game.

[BobCatsFanInTx]

The thing you have to look at is not talent but potential. This could be best shown by looking at this years and last years draft classes. Both are filled with talent. Last year we took (for a short period) Brandan Wright out of UNC with the 8 pick, solely off of potential. Based off of performance there is no way we would pick a guy who only scores around 10per. Keep in mind he went 8. This year we see Tyler Hansbrough, one of the leading scorers, rebounders, etc, etc. The reason we do not see him going high is based solely on the low amount of upside. Just because they show the talent you are talking about in college does not amount to any talent in the pros. It's a whole other monster to tackle, and it cant be done on heart alone.

You may be right and only time will tell, but in my opinion if being good in college stands for nothing half the guys picked in the top ten who were great in college and became good to great in the NBA would not have been picked. I see it as intangibles and that is something that can't be coached. I want a guy like a Morrison or a Hansbrough who will run through brick walls to help their team mates.

Tyler is a team player. He may not be a starter right away based on his strength and size but in my opinion he is an easy twelve to fourteen board a game guy and a guy who can get many inside the paint put backs. He will score the occasional outside shot and can set solid picks with his solid basketball IQ. Setting a solid pick on a defender has as much to do with solid footwork and balance as it does strength. If you watch closely the bigger stronger guy does not always break through a smaller players pick. Tyler can set decent screens as well because of balance and quickness.

Athleticism can be seen in many ways. Adam Morrison was not the best athlete in typical terms but he could score in the post and has a solid outside shot. Tyler is not flashy and pretty but pretty doesn't get rebounds and pretty doesn't get you in the right place at the right time. I for one would rather have a less flashy guy with great instincts and basketball IQ than a guy with crazy athletic skills but poor basketball IQ.

Since I have said all that, I would have to agree that I jumped the gun about Tyler being a top three. Still many let their love of AmMo cloud their judgment when the Cats took him so high. Of coarse AmMo is not the first guy drafted so high to struggle a bit their rookie years and the jury is still out where he is concerned.

I do however see Tyler as a short term project to become a very good player in the NBA. I say by his third year Tyler makes his mark. Next year I feel AmMo will be a fourteen to sixteen ppg scorer and may add five or six assist with about six to eight boards.

He is not much of a rebounder but I hope he will have a few assist set up by solid scoring which will be a big help. May has the talent to help the team if he can stay healthy but if he goes down for a long stretch next season he needs to retire.

Based on some past championship teams I feel the Bobcats are a team with great talent at the skill positions but without a physical banger who can get put backs and bang guys inside the paint while adding muscle and skill to setting picks they will not be ready to make a real run if they make the playoffs. We ghave scorers but what we need is an enforcer. MJ should know this because he had that for most of his championships. Dennis Rodman became a warrior and all he really did was grab rebounds. Without Rodman the bulls may not have won as many championships. Tyler may not be that guy but we need a banger who has a bit of scoring in him.

These are just my opinions unless I state otherwise.