Breakout prospect in the ACC
Bunch of mistakes and stuff. Iman Shumpert. Ed Davis is currently listed as the second pick in the draft on the 2010 mock, so that is probably the easiest call to make in the history of ever. Just sayin. Iggy was right about moving him, Udofia is their future at point. Elliot Williams transfered from Duke to Memphis. Im not sold on Landesburg yet. He put up great numbers for a freshman, but it was on a terrible team and his percentages were terrible, so it was more of a he scored a lot of garbage points thing. He also dissapeared agaisnt almost every big team they played, check his espn box. I like him though, just saying some people are calling him an All American based on his numbers and there a little slanted.
After all that Haterade, I must say that the prospects I predict to break out most are Rakim Sanders of BC and Chris Singleton of FSU, and I would also look out for Dexter Strickland from UNC because the word i've been hearing from several places is that Strickland is a pg more than a sg, and is already better than the returning Larry Drew. If he beats him out for the job, his name will blow up as a freshman starting for Carolina. They have a pretty good track record under Roy, Ty lawson, Wayne Ellignton, Brandan Wright, Tyler Hansbrough are the only freshman starters since Roy has got there, oh and Marcus Ginyard. All of them are first rounders in the league and Ginyard has one more year after a medical redshirt.
Dont expect too much from UNC this year. They will be a tourny team, but not a team that gets past the 1st weekend. I think 2011 will be the year of the Tar-heel though.
Also, Dwayne Collins deserves some love as well. He is as explosive a finisher around the rim as Jordan Hill, which is pretty explosive. He is a dude thats about as strong as a bull, and he will average about 12 ppg off of dunks and stickbacks alone. He will have to develop a back to the basket and mid range game though before he's a legit prospect. He also is a disappearing act sometimes in big games. I like his explosiveness though, so watch out.
They have alot of talent, no question about it. But I dont think they have ayone on their squad thats gonna carry them to the Sweet 16 and beyond. I mean, who on their team would you feel comfortable saying "he can carry them to the promise land"? I dont see anyone like that on UNC this year, their too inexperienced. You have to have a guy that can carry the load and take over games.
I'm saying Roy has them ready and there a top 3 or 4 team in ACC. Depending on the ever intruiging NCAA Brackett matchups I think they could make a run because they have Big's and the tarheels always have a guard in waiting. 7 months early I think they'll make the sweet 16.
I don't know how you could have expected more of Shumpert. Their was absolutely no depth at Georgia Tech last year and he was a combo guard that was forced into playing PG because of an injury to Moe Miller. Look for him to have a HUGE year next year and for Miller and Udofia(future at PG....he's a beast) to play PG and Shumpert at the 2 even though he will still play some PG according to Hewitt. He's a lot better shooter than what he shot last year.
Don't really like Ish Smith though. Very fast but has never really impressed me.
He was a McDonalds AllAmerican. Thats why. The depth Tech had last yr shouldnt have effected him, it wasnt like he was tired because he was playing crazy minutes. He had expectations and a so called "combo guard" should be able to play PG. If not, he should just be labeled a shooting guard.
He also averaged 4 turnovers, shot 39% from the field and 32 % on 3's, and 66 % from the line while leading a team with 2 low post NBA prospects to a 12-19 record as the teams starter at the most important position on the floor for most of the season. Trust me, I went to about 8 GT games last year. Shumpert himself wouldnt call last year a success for himself or Georgia Tech sir..
I never called him a success either sir..I said he was solid especially for a young freshman(younger than most freshman last year) and had a better year than other McDonald All Americans guards like Jrue Holiday, Elliot Williams, Malcolm Lee ect.
Again he struggled with turnovers because he's more of a 2 than a 1.
With Felton off to the NBA, Drew II will able able to showcase his skills to run the point for the Tar Heels. During his Senior year in High School at Taft, he was able to improve his skills as a floor general. His jumpshot has continued to improve, and his ball handling ability has always been his strongest attribute.
Some of you might say Dexter Strickland will start from day one, but from everything I've heard is Dexter is more of a combo guard than a pure point, and we all know how Roy Williams feels about having a pure point guard to lead his offense.
He's in a perfect situation, where he won't be asked to score much with players like ed Davis, Deon Thompson, Tyler Zeller, and Jon Henson in the post, the only thing he's going to be concerned about is which one of those talented post player to feed in the post.
I think you guys should watch out for Ishmael Smith of Wake Forest. You may not watch him, but I think he is an explosive playmaker when he's on his game. Talk about a quick player. Him and Denis Clemente get my vote for quickest players end-to-end with the country with the ball in their hands. He also is a good passer in the dribble drive game. As soon as he tries to score and stop forcing passes he will be the best PG prospect in the ACC. Watch for alot of alleyoops with Al-Farouq Aminu and Ish Smith next year.