The MAC has never had a plethora of NBA level talent but does any team now have a player that will someday make a dent in the NBA? Any clues as to why not?
At Kent, we've never been a team of stars but I could always count on geting jacked to go see a Gary Trent, a Szerbiak, a Bonzi, a Kaman, etc...
Sometimes the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. At Kent, this has seemed to be the case.
Antonio Gates was probably the closest thing to being a star at Kent yet the Flashes failed to win the MAC in his senior year.
Flash Freak Wrote:The MAC has never had a plethora of NBA level talent but does any team now have a player that will someday make a dent in the NBA? Any clues as to why not?
At Kent, we've never been a team of stars but I could always count on geting jacked to go see a Gary Trent, a Szerbiak, a Bonzi, a Kaman, etc...
We don't get the "stars" because we are never on tv and because for the most part, the MAC sucks in b-ball.
It remains to be seen if he's NBA material, especially at his height, but CMU PG Giordan Watson just dropped 30 in our last game, and he had 23 points and five steals against Cincinnati.
Ohio doesn't have the star this year either. No B-Hunt, Trent.......Williams isn't the guy that a team can lean on. Troutman will score 25 one nite then zero the next. The rest are role players. ohnnie ackson has not done much after coming to Ohio with lots of hype.....He hasn't found his J's in two years in Athens.
Flash Freak Wrote:The MAC has never had a plethora of NBA level talent but does any team now have a player that will someday make a dent in the NBA? Any clues as to why not?
At Kent, we've never been a team of stars but I could always count on geting jacked to go see a Gary Trent, a Szerbiak, a Bonzi, a Kaman, etc...
I wouldn't necessarily call him a huge star but it appears a lot of the 'experts' think that NIUs Center James Hughes can make it to the next level.
see number 57 in the 2007 mock draft
http://www.nbadraft.net/
Hughes is without a doubt an NBA caliber player. His make or break will be his rebounding. If he can produce on the glass, an NBA team will sign him because he blocks shots, is mobile and can score. I like John Edwards and he made it for 2 years. Hughes is far superior to Edwards all around.
Peavy has an outside chance. He has the height and skills necessary. Alot more skill than Ira Newble. His make or break will be consistency. He needs to play at the level he is early on for the entire year.
Idbihi has a chance because he is big and has a J. He too needs to rebound better.
Of these guys, only Hughes has a chance to be drafted. That is not a lock either. The last few years, NBA teams have to international players in round 2 and just invited american born players to camp.
You are correct however that there is no major star like a Trent, Szczerbiak, Wells, Kaman, Daniels... MAC teams need to continue getting the talent they have been but figure out a way to get some of that talent back in the conference. Its dedication to recruiting, doing your homework and finding the hidden gems missed by the majors.
personally, i'd rather have a team full of players as opposed to having a team with a prima donna star who thinks he's all that, regardless of whether he is or not.
oh wait, sorry...i was having a Jeremy Fears flashback! lmfao
RobertN Wrote:Flash Freak Wrote:The MAC has never had a plethora of NBA level talent but does any team now have a player that will someday make a dent in the NBA? Any clues as to why not?
At Kent, we've never been a team of stars but I could always count on geting jacked to go see a Gary Trent, a Szerbiak, a Bonzi, a Kaman, etc...
We don't get the "stars" because we are never on tv and because for the most part, the MAC sucks in b-ball.
In the early 90's, MAC basketball had better exposure relative to other conferences. The MAC had games on ESPN2 back when it was the equivalent of ESPNU while the MVC had nothing and was low major in RPI.......That helped the MAC in recruiting those players, as did the recognition Ball State, EMU, OU, Miami, Kent earned for their runs in the postseason.
ESPN moved toward a policy of covering every the conference tourney for every D1 league while dividing the media coverage among all mid majors equally.........this way of doing things is good for weak conferences like the OVC or Atlantic Sun but is not benefiting the MAC which is not getting the respect that it is due from the network.
bobcat_backer Wrote:personally, i'd rather have a team full of players as opposed to having a team with a prima donna star who thinks he's all that, regardless of whether he is or not.
oh wait, sorry...i was having a Jeremy Fears flashback! lmfao
So you traded Fears for Walther. Talk about a prima donna!
J-BIDDY Wrote:bobcat_backer Wrote:personally, i'd rather have a team full of players as opposed to having a team with a prima donna star who thinks he's all that, regardless of whether he is or not.
oh wait, sorry...i was having a Jeremy Fears flashback! lmfao
So you traded Fears for Walther. Talk about a prima donna!
Bubba is anything but a prima donna.
Then he has grown up a bit from when he was at Akron, because that is all he was.