From: gidi@Hilbert.Stanford.EDU (Gidi Avrahami)
Subject: UseNet Draft:  Call For Scouting Reports
Followup-To: gidi@cs.stanford.edu
Organization: Brotherhood Of Breath
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 20:53:29 GMT

matthew@pram.cs.ucla.edu (Matthew Merzbacher) writes:
>Due to other commitments, I won't have time to run the UseNet mock 
>draft this year.

Well, I am happy to announce that Craig Simpson (craig@unx.sas.com)
and your humble servant have been appointed to continue the tradition.

And I think we all owe Matthew a two minute standing ovation for the
great job he did with the draft last year.

[APPLAUSE APPLAUSE APPLAUSE APPLAUSE APPLAUSE]

And now, to the business at hand.

>  b. Get a list of prospects.  By far the hardest task.  Getting a list of
>     players and info is really useful - you'll have to rely on the net
>     for lots of the help here.

Before we start the draft, it would be nice to have our own scouting
reports on the candidates.  I know it's a little early, and the
juniors still have a whole month before they need to declare their
availability, but why not start right away.

Below is an example of the kind of profile we're looking for, written
after painstaking research by Matthew himself.  We will need more of
these, especially for the following players:

Shaquille O'Neal [As if there's a chance in hell he won't be #1...]
Alonzo Mourning
Christian Laettner
Jimmy Jackson [if he comes out]
Harold Miner [if he comes out]
Malik Sealy
Don MacLean [see below]
Byron Houston
Todd Day
Adam Keefe [I can do it -- GA]
Tom Gugliotta
LaPhonso Ellis
Walt Williams
Clarence Weatherspoon
Robert Horry
Ronald "Popeye" Jones
Anthony Peeler
Bryant Stith
Lee Mayberry
Tony Bennett
George Gilmore

If you are aware of other players that are being touted as possible
draft picks, do send them in -- at least their name & the basic facts.

In order not to burden the newsgroup with traffic, I suggest that
you send all the replies to me.  I will edit them (if necessary) and
make the final reports available to the net-readership and to the
UseNet Draft GM's.  I will try to keep track of info on the net,
but I may miss some of it if it doesn't get mailed directly to me.

			Happy scouting,

			And may all your draft picks pan out
			to be perennial all-stars!


					Gidi
					(vice draft-meister)



Appendix: Matthew's template:
=============================
> For each player on the list, you'll ideally have something like:
>  Name
>  School
>  Height
>  Natural Position
>  Other Possible Spots
>  Strengths
>  Weaknesses
>  Poop
>
> near-ideal Example:
>  Name: Don MacLean
>  School: UCLA
>  Height: 6' 10"
>  Position: Big Forward
>  Other spots: Small Forward
>  Strengths: Great shooting touch
>  Weaknesses: Possible lack of rebounding, shooting range
>  Poop:
>	MacLean is the PAC-10 all-time leading scorer (surpassing San 
>	Antonio's Sean Elliot during the NCAA tourney this year).  He's
>	got a very quick release and a soft shot.  With his height and
>	release, he shouldn't have problems with too many blocks.  Although
>	his range is only 19 feet (no NBA 3-pointers), it has been steadily
>	increasing over the years, so he might be able to extend it again
>	within a year or two.
>
>	MacLean has been known as a ball-sink and a jerk in college.  His
>	senior year showed a marked improvement in his personality, though
>	I still wouldn't want him on the same team as (say) Charles Barkley.
>
>	Can he rebound?  Yes, but maybe not against NBA caliber players.  If
>	not, then he's a liability at big forward and too slow to play small
>	forward regularly.  He might fit in well on a team with big guards
>	who can crash the boards.
>
>	MacLean can run the break and handles the ball OK.  If you've got
>	a coach who can trim down his ego, then you might take a chance
>	on "Dandy Don".
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro