From: jdt29225@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Jazzy J )
Subject: Re: Duke players judged by NBA standards
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 20:11:15 GMT

crs@milton.u.washington.edu (Cliff Slaughterbeck) writes:
>The best NBA prospect on Duke's team is without question Grant Hill.  He can
>shoot, play defense, drive, finish, play some point, rebound (esp. good at
>the offensive boards), and drive the team bus.  IMHO, he is the next 
>Scottie Pippen without the two years of adjusting from Central Arkansas to
>the bigtime.

	No kidding.  In the next 2 years, Grant Hill will make every Duke
	fan forget Christian Laettner.  IMHO, Grant Hill will become the
	best player ever to donn a Duke uniform.  The comparison to Pippen
	is great.  If there's one thing about Hill he might want to work
	on is his outside shooting.  He was only 0-1 on 3-pters this season.
	He has a consistent shot right inside of the line -- why not step
	back and get that extra point?  The thing I like most about Grant
	Hill is his calm and composed exterior.  He's there to play the game,
	not berate or taunt the opponent.  And play the game he does.

>Second best prospect is (and I really hate saying this) Bobby Hurley.  He
>has an uncanny ability to nail important hoops.  Great assist to turnover
>ratio, and decent defensively.  Not as good as say, John Stockton, but with
>the same type of game.  Will end up a solid NBA point guard.

	I've been thinking that Hurley was a poor man's version of Stockton
	all along.  These last 3 years he's been running the show at Duke,
	I've always thought that he was the team's MVP -- without him, they
	always seemed to fall apart (case in point - 1990 final vs. UNLV).
	If U look at the stats thru the years, each year he's improved all
	of his stats -- most importantly his shooting percentage, and his
	A/TO ratio.  All this while averaging the most minutes on the team.

>Third is Laettner.  I've already compared him to Detlef Schrempf.  He can
>shoot well and has a lot of desire.  The question will be his quickness.
>I don't know if he can drive on the much quicker big men in the NBA, but
>there is always a place for 6'11" guys who have inside-outside games.

	Laettner will be a quality reserve player in the pros.  Not a 
	superstar, but a good reserve, ala Joe Kleine perhaps.  

>Thomas Hill and Cherokee Parks have shots, but look to be destined for CBA
>or Europe based on what I've seen so far.  I'll admit that the book on Parks
>is not closed--he may improve dramatically in the next three years.

	I'd have to disagree on Thomas Hill.  IMHO, the guy is a stud.
	He has great quickness, can drive to the hoop in great slashing moves,
	has great range on his shot (and a sweet shooting motion I must add)
	and not to mention his great leaping ability and his finishing on the
	break.  He also brings a great enthusiasm to the game and plays
	gritty defense.  IMHO, he's every bit as good as Hubert Davis, and
	Hubert's going to be a 1st rounder in the pros.  T.Hill just happens
	to be playing on a team where he plays a more supporting role, but
	I think that next year he'll show his 1st-round worth to the NBA.

	As far as Parks is concerned -- U have to realize that he spent most
	of the season playing injured -- and then playing behind Laettner is
	no easy task either.  He was considered the best high school post 
	player coming out of California since Bill Walton, so I think that
	in the next 3 years, when he becomes the man in the middle, he'll 
	start to really shine.

	Jazzy J
-- 
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|  "I am human and I need to be loved,            | Jazzy J                   |
|   just like everybody else does..." - The Smiths| jdt29225@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu | 
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