The Fabulous Three in MSG (at the Jimmy V)
Gosh, what a horrible headline.
Tuesday was a real treat: Three of the nation's premier freshman at Madison Square Garden. None of them had a particularly outstanding evening, but I've now seen Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, and Derrick Rose a few times each. My early-season thoughts on each of them follow.
1. Let's start with Beasley. He came into the game averaging 27 and 15 or something similarly preposterous, but that's been inflated a bit by inferior competition. Regardless, many feel he's the top pick in the 2008 NBA draft, and it's hard to argue with them. There's a lot to like. The thing I noticed immediately about him when I saw him during the Old Spice Classic was how quickly he moves once he receives the ball. This point was driven home to those seeing the kid for the first time tonight during the first possession. Beasley posted up a Notre Dame defender on the left block, caught the ball and immediately turned and drilled a ten-footer while being fouled.
He's just as comfortable pulling the quick trigger on the perimeter, as well. The stat sheet says he went 0-for-3 from three-point range tonight, but I only remember two of those attempts. Both came when he was trailing a play, and both times, he confidently stepped into the shot. Both went in and out. For the year, he's 8-for-20 from deep.
Back to his inside game, since that's where he spends most of his time on the floor. A lefty, he seems capable of scoring with both hands, but he's a little reluctant to use his right. That's the kind of thing that can be learned in time. He's scored at will at every level he's played at, so there hasn't been a pressing need to naturally switch to his right hand when the situation calls for it.
There are a few things I don't like. First, he needs to become more physical, both offensively and defensively. Secondly, I haven't seen him pass the ball particularly intelligently, although to be fair, his team isn't good; they aren't necessarily deserving of passes from Beasley, nor are they often in the right place for a pass. Third, he doesn't move without the ball with much conviction, although again, his teammates' deficiencies make it tough for him to get open.
The final thing that concerns me is that he was dragging going up and down the court tonight. If it's just conditioning, that can be improved, but he also came out of this game before the first TV timeout and appeared to signal for an inhaler. They didn't mention anything on the broadcast and I couldn't find much about it during a brief Internet search -- the most useful link came from a K-State message board thread in which someone asked if he had asthma and got no answer. If true, I certainly hope that doesn't hamper his career and there are professional athletes who have coped with asthma, but it is something to watch.
2. My opinion of O.J. Mayo has changed a lot since I first saw him. Not sure what the reason for the attitude change -- stiffer competition? The debut of his buddy Davon Jefferson? -- but he was a far more energetic player Sunday against Kansas and tonight against Memphis.
Mayo's an obviously special offensive talent with all the tools he needs at the next level. He's a terrific finisher, has a nice pull-up midrange game, and can hit the NBA three, even curling off a screen. But he's also shown a few things that have been pleasant surprises.
One is his unselfishness. He came to USC with a reputation as a gunner, but he's been more than willing to share the ball with his Trojan teammates, and he's shown wonderful flair and court vision on occasion. The one caveat here is that the bad shots I have seen him take in the last two games have come very late, in the last three minutes or so, with his team down a possession or two. That "take over the game late" mentality is one that all true stars have, and I think he'll eventually learn what's a good shot in that situation and what isn't.
The other thing that was a surprise to me is his defense. He played a huge part in shutting down Rose tonight. I don't know what his reputation was regarding defense coming into college, but if he can by and large stay in front of Rose, he can cover nearly anybody.
3. Speaking of Rose, he's the one I have the smallest read on; in part because of his unusual struggles tonight, in part because he has a much stronger supporting cast from the others.
He's lightning quick and has big-time offensive game. His hesitation dribble move comes complete with a Marbury-esque shoulder shimmy, and he doesn't even palm the ball the way the Starchild does. He's got a nice jumper, a floater in the lane, and he can be a spectacular finisher at times.
He's also stepping into a difficult situation, as point guard of a veteran team with national championship aspirations -- and one that plays an uptempo style, at that. He'll outgrow some of his questionable decision-making simply through experience.
One play from the game against USC is a little more concerning. Late in the first half, Rose had the ball in the backcourt with the shot clock off. There was no pressure on him, and this was clearly a "hold for one" situation. Nonetheless, Rose spotted teammate Chris Douglas-Roberts in the right corner and fired a 40-foot pass upcourt to him. CDR was open, but there was one problem: Rather than looking for a pass from Rose -- why would he be, in that situation? -- he was directing traffic, motioning his teammates into their proper positions for Memphis' offensive set. The pass bounced at Douglas-Roberts' feet and out of bounds.
Sure, if Douglas-Roberts had been looking, he'd have caught the pass and on this particular play, it'd have been no harm, no foul. But the issue is simply that the pass itself is just a dumb play. There was absolutely no reason for it. They were holding for one shot. There was no pressure in the backcourt. It was a totally needless pass -- at best, it accomplished nothing significant -- and in this instance, the worst-case scenario came true: it resulted in a turnover and USC got the last shot of the half.
Rose immediately took responsibility for the turnover -- though I have no way of knowing if he understood why his mistake was so bad. To be fair, that kind of hit-ahead pass is usually the right play in Memphis' uptempo offense. But a point guard needs to think the game well enough to eliminate these kinds of mistakes from his game.
Tuesday was a real treat: Three of the nation's premier freshman at Madison Square Garden. None of them had a particularly outstanding evening, but I've now seen Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, and Derrick Rose a few times each. My early-season thoughts on each of them follow.
1. Let's start with Beasley. He came into the game averaging 27 and 15 or something similarly preposterous, but that's been inflated a bit by inferior competition. Regardless, many feel he's the top pick in the 2008 NBA draft, and it's hard to argue with them. There's a lot to like. The thing I noticed immediately about him when I saw him during the Old Spice Classic was how quickly he moves once he receives the ball. This point was driven home to those seeing the kid for the first time tonight during the first possession. Beasley posted up a Notre Dame defender on the left block, caught the ball and immediately turned and drilled a ten-footer while being fouled.
He's just as comfortable pulling the quick trigger on the perimeter, as well. The stat sheet says he went 0-for-3 from three-point range tonight, but I only remember two of those attempts. Both came when he was trailing a play, and both times, he confidently stepped into the shot. Both went in and out. For the year, he's 8-for-20 from deep.
Back to his inside game, since that's where he spends most of his time on the floor. A lefty, he seems capable of scoring with both hands, but he's a little reluctant to use his right. That's the kind of thing that can be learned in time. He's scored at will at every level he's played at, so there hasn't been a pressing need to naturally switch to his right hand when the situation calls for it.
There are a few things I don't like. First, he needs to become more physical, both offensively and defensively. Secondly, I haven't seen him pass the ball particularly intelligently, although to be fair, his team isn't good; they aren't necessarily deserving of passes from Beasley, nor are they often in the right place for a pass. Third, he doesn't move without the ball with much conviction, although again, his teammates' deficiencies make it tough for him to get open.
The final thing that concerns me is that he was dragging going up and down the court tonight. If it's just conditioning, that can be improved, but he also came out of this game before the first TV timeout and appeared to signal for an inhaler. They didn't mention anything on the broadcast and I couldn't find much about it during a brief Internet search -- the most useful link came from a K-State message board thread in which someone asked if he had asthma and got no answer. If true, I certainly hope that doesn't hamper his career and there are professional athletes who have coped with asthma, but it is something to watch.
2. My opinion of O.J. Mayo has changed a lot since I first saw him. Not sure what the reason for the attitude change -- stiffer competition? The debut of his buddy Davon Jefferson? -- but he was a far more energetic player Sunday against Kansas and tonight against Memphis.
Mayo's an obviously special offensive talent with all the tools he needs at the next level. He's a terrific finisher, has a nice pull-up midrange game, and can hit the NBA three, even curling off a screen. But he's also shown a few things that have been pleasant surprises.
One is his unselfishness. He came to USC with a reputation as a gunner, but he's been more than willing to share the ball with his Trojan teammates, and he's shown wonderful flair and court vision on occasion. The one caveat here is that the bad shots I have seen him take in the last two games have come very late, in the last three minutes or so, with his team down a possession or two. That "take over the game late" mentality is one that all true stars have, and I think he'll eventually learn what's a good shot in that situation and what isn't.
The other thing that was a surprise to me is his defense. He played a huge part in shutting down Rose tonight. I don't know what his reputation was regarding defense coming into college, but if he can by and large stay in front of Rose, he can cover nearly anybody.
3. Speaking of Rose, he's the one I have the smallest read on; in part because of his unusual struggles tonight, in part because he has a much stronger supporting cast from the others.
He's lightning quick and has big-time offensive game. His hesitation dribble move comes complete with a Marbury-esque shoulder shimmy, and he doesn't even palm the ball the way the Starchild does. He's got a nice jumper, a floater in the lane, and he can be a spectacular finisher at times.
He's also stepping into a difficult situation, as point guard of a veteran team with national championship aspirations -- and one that plays an uptempo style, at that. He'll outgrow some of his questionable decision-making simply through experience.
One play from the game against USC is a little more concerning. Late in the first half, Rose had the ball in the backcourt with the shot clock off. There was no pressure on him, and this was clearly a "hold for one" situation. Nonetheless, Rose spotted teammate Chris Douglas-Roberts in the right corner and fired a 40-foot pass upcourt to him. CDR was open, but there was one problem: Rather than looking for a pass from Rose -- why would he be, in that situation? -- he was directing traffic, motioning his teammates into their proper positions for Memphis' offensive set. The pass bounced at Douglas-Roberts' feet and out of bounds.
Sure, if Douglas-Roberts had been looking, he'd have caught the pass and on this particular play, it'd have been no harm, no foul. But the issue is simply that the pass itself is just a dumb play. There was absolutely no reason for it. They were holding for one shot. There was no pressure in the backcourt. It was a totally needless pass -- at best, it accomplished nothing significant -- and in this instance, the worst-case scenario came true: it resulted in a turnover and USC got the last shot of the half.
Rose immediately took responsibility for the turnover -- though I have no way of knowing if he understood why his mistake was so bad. To be fair, that kind of hit-ahead pass is usually the right play in Memphis' uptempo offense. But a point guard needs to think the game well enough to eliminate these kinds of mistakes from his game.
posted by H.S. Slam, Ph.D at 1:49 AM
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