# Scouting Report: Gerald Green



## butr (Mar 23, 2004)

I decided to take my own advice. Let's learn about the prodigy.

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=21466&Sport=2

http://www.insidehoops.com/gerald-green-110904.shtml

http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/Draft/2005prospect/geraldgreen.htm

http://www.preproundball.com/prospects/2005GeraldGreen.html

http://nbadraft.net/profiles/geraldgreen.asp

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/columnist/harrington/2005-03-10-mcdonalds_x.htm

http://www.suntimes.com/output/roundball/cst-spt-4arballx.html

http://www.elitehouston.com/News/ggreen_webnews_20040224.htm


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## ansoncarter (Dec 22, 2004)

"His work ethic is going to take him places"

"comparisons to Tayshaun Prince because of his length"

"No one has a better combination of athleticism, perimeter ball skills and ability to knock down the outside jumper or pull-up J in the class of 2005"

"very coachable… desire to be a great player"

"Green is a good shooter, with NBA range on his true jump-shot. Green is a big-time athlete that sports a near 40-inch vertical leap"



Thanks for the links. This guy sounds like the second coming. Just the hype machine and all, but it's hard not to get at least a little interested. Even people sick of hype must like that shooting is one of his strengths. 

this is the quote that did it for me..."The 6-8 sky walker, is extremely athletic and puts down highlight reel slams (between the legs, 360's)"

edit...oops. I didn't notice the comma. I thought he was doing between the legs 360's at the same time. I thought he was an alien or something when I read that)


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## lucky777s (Nov 13, 2003)

I liked his draftcity interview. The kid actually favours an age limit on the draft so HS kids can learn the game better before going pro. Already passed his entrance exams. Would have no problem going to college for a couple of years. Will examine his options after the HS all-star games and see where his draft stock is.

He seems pretty level-headed to me. Not an egomaniac who thinks the world owes him everything.

He won't pass up on a top 10 draft position. He will go pro.


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## Junkyard Dog13 (Aug 9, 2003)

seems worth to take if he still there when we pick.


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## TRON (Feb 29, 2004)

any news on whether he will declare or not?

Just a guess but the Raptors will take this kid with their first pick if he is still available


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

People read that NBA Draft.net profile and think he doesn't try and has bad work ethic, but everything else I've read about him says he is an extremely coachable player, and he never stops working to improve his game. 

I think he will declare, because he is ready to step in right now and make an impact, and he will be a lottery pick. He seems like he wants to go to college, which would be a good thing for him, but for our sake, I hope he doesn't because he will be a top 3 pick once he goes to college for 1-2 years.


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## ballocks (May 15, 2003)

i don't know if i really like this draft pool in terms of talent that could complement what we do and don't already have, so i wouldn't mind learning more about this kid. first of all, i want to know whether he is truly the "best" player in his class- i don't really know what that means, but then again i do.

if he is, i wouldn't mind selecting him for that reason alone. i mean, i don't tend to simplify the values of these college/HS players, but being the top talent in your class is usually something important. sure, he might not be able to contribute right away, but we probably wouldn't be relying on that kind of an immediate contribution anyway. MLSE management, in that case, would have to determine approximately how far they're looking into the future. if we're trying to build a championship contender within the next three years and babcock expects it would take the raps _exactly three years_ to develop a prodigy like green, it could make sense. 

now, i've never seen him play for myself, so i think it would be kind of foolish to critique his game on the bases of nbadraft.net and draftcity.com scouting reports, but there _are_ some other things that could certainly scare me away from gerald green. the first is his projected spot in the draft- why is he so low (relatively)? we've seen the top high schooler in america picked amongst the top 3 since ~ 2000 and green barely cracks the top 10. is it a weak year for HS talent? i don't know. have league GMs finally discounted the value of 18 year olds with "potential"? again, i don't know. are they so impressed with lebron james that they'd feel almost guilty by taking another HS talent in the same lottery ballpark? i doubt it but you never know.

or are the internet mock drafts simply inaccurate this year? i mean, the group of players who are expected to be available is more unknown than ever- with or without HS kids- and maybe we'll have to wait a couple of months before we _really_ know who to identify as the diamonds of 2005 (as seen by nba teams). 

still, i'm not necessarily averse to taking a high school player. he might fit in with our long term plan- or he might not. i'm sort of sick of the "he can jump out of the gym!" scouting reports, though. that doesn't mean very much in my world. for example, i personally don't think josh smith will become the star atlanta expects of him, and he may house the best athletic talents i have ever seen. this is basketball, not gymnastics, and selecting a kid without any college experience is risky enough; selecting him on the basis of what he can do on the trampoline or pommel horse is one of the more dangerous strategies for any general manager to follow (imo).

last thing: if i had to make a guess, i'd almost put money on this guy coming out this season. he's committed to oklahoma state of all schools, and eddie sutton's on the way out pretty soon. i don't know why any high school player, let alone the cream of the crop, would commit to ok st right now unless it were done to change his image in the eyes of professional GMs. i could be totally off-base here, in fact i probably am, but i wouldn't be surprised if green and his advisors had read how he was being perceived around the league (immature, etc.) and decided to commit to the college that could best change that image. 

really, i can't justify a blue-chip prospect committing to oklahoma state for any other reason. i'd be surprised if coach (eddie) sutton stuck around beyond this year, and shocked beyond next season. i see green playing these market games in order to best prepare himself for a big day in june. 

peace


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## JuniorNoboa (Jan 27, 2003)

Agreed with the rant on athleticism.

The HS recruiting class for players entering college next year is said to be fairly weak, so I would assume its the same for high schoolers looking to get drafted.

I'm not quite sure why Oklahoma St would be a bad school. Sutton has been willing to give frosh a chance (such as Curry this year who has taken on a bigger role as the season has progressed)

Sean Sutton (Eddie's son and a pretty damn college guard in the early 90's) is pretty much playing even roles with his dad now, so there will certainly be a fairly smooth transition at Oklahoma St. once old Eddie takes a bow.


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## butr (Mar 23, 2004)

ballocks said:


> last thing: if i had to make a guess, i'd almost put money on this guy coming out this season. he's committed to oklahoma state of all schools, and eddie sutton's on the way out pretty soon. i don't know why any high school player, let alone the cream of the crop, would commit to ok st right now unless it were done to change his image in the eyes of professional GMs. i could be totally off-base here, in fact i probably am, but i wouldn't be surprised if green and his advisors had read how he was being perceived around the league (immature, etc.) and decided to commit to the college that could best change that image.
> 
> really, i can't justify a blue-chip prospect committing to oklahoma state for any other reason. i'd be surprised if coach (eddie) sutton stuck around beyond this year, and shocked beyond next season. i see green playing these market games in order to best prepare himself for a big day in june.
> 
> peace


There can be something said for staying close to home. Okl. St. has been a competitive program, I don't think this lowers my view of him at all.

I would expect him to declare if he THINKS he can go top 10. 

I wonder wherer Rudy Fernandez will be in comparison in 3-4 years?

2 unknowns they are right now.


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## ballocks (May 15, 2003)

blowuptheraptors said:


> I would expect him to declare if he THINKS he can go top 10.


you're probably right. still, i don't think he has any intention of playing at oklahoma state- i don't think he ever did. that might be because he _knows_ he's top 10 material already, i don't know, but i don't think he ever looked at a map to stay "close to home". i think eddie sutton's historical aversion to "ghetto children" played more of a role- i think green wants to change the way he's being perceived. 

but who knows...

peace


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

How about Gerald Green with our first pick, and Deron Williams with our second?


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