RE: Martin

[Jared Garth]

since 1992 5 busts smith olowokandi,brand martin, brown ( still young though)

Now I have posted enough for awhile. Will post perhaps when the season starts

 

Go Bearcats

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From: "Lusby, Jeff" <address@hidden>
Reply-To: address@hidden
To: <address@hidden>
Subject: RE: [UC Basketball] Martin
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 2005 13:26:43 -0400

Just out of curiosity, exactly how many of the number 1 picks would not be considered a bust based upon Jared's criteria.....

 

"They all agreed that he was a bust as a first overall. I mean you would expect the first overall to have made more than one all-star team, been the MVP of his own team once and to win a championship."

 

Not being a big NBA follower, if I look back at the first round picks from 1980 until 2004, that would mean that only Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Akeem Olajuwan and James Worthy were the only 1st picks to not be bust.  Of the rest, it looks like Kmart, Allen Iverson, Shaq and Patrick Ewing would be the only other first round picks that at least made it to the finals.  Guess this means that if you win the lottery and get the first pick, you would be better off trading the pick because the chances of not having a "bust" are not very good.  It is possible that I missed a few people that have played in the final, but I didn't realize that - as I said I haven't really followed the NBA all that close unless there were some Bearcats to watch.

 

Note that I left out Shaq because the team that drafted him did not win a championship either.  He need Phil and Kobe to get his title.

 

I have no illusions that Kmart is the greatest player in the NBA.  He is however a very solid player and certainly one of the best defensive players in the league.  He has now turned around 2 teams and from I watched the NBA finals, the announcers were not talking about any other Net (other than Kidd)  players except Martin. 

 

Not sure how you can consider him (or hardly any of the first picks) a bust.  There is so few players selected each year that for the most part, most of the high first round picks do become productive players.  (Not like the NFL where first rounders are busts all the time)  However, look at the position he plays and list all of the players at that position that are better.  He is not in position (nor the type of player) that is going to be in the spotlight like Shaq, Duncan, Lebron, etc... He does not play at 1, 2 or 5 which is where most of the highlights and therefore the players that kids seem to want to emulate.  If I was starting a team, he would certainly be on the list of players to consider, because defense wins championships - always has and always will.

 

Now as for his senior year in college, that is a whole other topic which is separate from his NBA career.  He is playing in a different style of game and asked to do different things.  Not better, not worse, but different.

 

Jeff

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From: Jared Garth [mailto:address@hidden
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2005 8:16 AM
To: address@hidden
Subject: Re: [UC Basketball] Martin

The homers sure hate to see the reality of their sacred cows. I would have liked to see kmart healthy in his senior year. Did he and Huggins have the heart to win it all? We will never know, but in some ways it was better that he got hurt because what would a early exit do to the program with a healthy team consisting of 2 top fives and a future all-american ( Logan). I would have loved seeing a UCONN, MSU, Florida matchup.

 

I liked Huggins, but he is gone folks. UC is still here. let's rally around the team, and for those who only followed the coach-- Well get a ladder, take down a jersey and go deliver it to Denver  -- cause he is refusing to come back here to play a game.

Mike, I said Kmart was decent. he is a solid second fiddle on his teams. What I also said that #1 overall picks have lofty expectations. Kmart never fulfilled those in jersey and had the door opened for him. Maybe they didn't like his temper. Maybe jefferson delivered more on his expectations. Anyways, I wish kenyon good luck in Denver. He and Nick were always my favorite NBA players. It will be hard to just consider him neutral.

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From: address@hidden
Reply-To: address@hidden
To: address@hidden
Subject: Re: [UC Basketball] Martin
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2005 17:10:44 EDT

His jersey issue aside, Kenyon is a solid nba power forward. Comparing him to Fortson is silly. Danny can not make the starting lineup on any team he has played for. That's not a slam on Danny its just a fact. Kenyon might not be a hall of fame pro or a super star that the league bases it advertising on but teams thought enough of him to pay him the top level salary. He consistently ranks in the top 10 in his position. He was the second best player on a team that went to the finals twice. He might not be the second coming of Michael Jordan but few are. Based on the economics of the nba he was a steal for the Nets.