The Tim Tebow Theory

Tim Tebow is so amazing that I have my own theory that uses him as an example that he hasn't proven, yet. The theory goes as follows: If a player is great in college, a proven winner, has at least one championship and player of the year award and maybe a record or two. And has that little hustle and leader mentality, then said player will do at the worst, good at the pro level. Even if they have psychical limitations such as lack of height, or little athleticism. So when Tebow gets drafted and plays for a team he will prove this theory for me.

Another player that this theory applies to is Tyler Hansbourgh. I have said multiple times that I believe he will be a great player and should be drafted by the Cavs, and I still do think he will be great. However with the recent beating given to Cleveland by Orlando and their unorthodox team style and this transition in the NBA to smaller line-ups and more athletic forwards and centers, I know think they should go after a player with that sort of upside. The main problem with this is that these types of players take some years to develop and are very hit or miss, remember Darius Miles was allegedly going to be the next Kevin Garnett according to the Sports Guy Bill Simmons.

Rashard Lewis took several years to become the killer x-factor that he has been this year. Josh Smith is another one who took awhile and actually still is developing in to a great player. In fact a year or two ago I was hoping the Cavs would realize their faults at the power forward spot and make an offer to him, but then the Hawks resigned him and he made a nice little leap in to a potential star player. For the record I love Kevin Durant. I love what he does at the small forward spot, but if he were to put on some pounds and play some defense like he plays offense then he could be the epitome of the athletic power forward. I find that these players a lot of times start off as tall small forwards then develop a bit on the defensive end and get some more weight and strength to them and then they switch to the power forward spot. At least this seems to be what Lewis and Smith did and they are my main examples.

So in looking at the draft finding player that not only fit that bill, but what players will have the least possible amount of bust potential, limits the choices available in a draft filled with nothing but point guards and 'tweener forwards. The bust potential in basketball seems to be about twice as high in football. Mainly because the players need to be good at everything, you can only have 12 players there's hardly room to develop anyone or have specialist on the team. In football you can draft a long snapper, now nothing against football it's a completely different sport, but being a GM there is a heck of a lot easier. I happen to take a little bit of pride in finding relatively unknown players that become good players (I don't know why I just enjoy knowing about a star player before everyone else). My big sleeper pick from the NFL Draft this year was cornerback Kevin Barnes from Maryland who was drafted in the third round I believe by the Redskins. He will most likely be their nickle corner by the end of the year and the only reason he was unknown was because he suffered an injury.

Anyways let us move on to the few prospects left on my list. Most of the 'tweeners this year are around 6'8 or 6'7 and this is just too small to be in the mold of my athletic power forward. I'm not saying these guys like James Johnson and Sam Young will be bad, just not what I am looking for. So let's get to the main two guys: Austin Daye and Earl Clark. Both seem to be bursting at the seems with potential and ability but for some reason neither player has put it together completely. Austin Daye is very lanky and skinny like Durant, I almost feel like he has to be a small forward cause he won't be able to bulk up. Reminds me a bit of Corey Brewer and while I bring up his name, shouldn't he be due for a breakout season? Yes he is on a piss poor team but he was the main conduit for those championship Florida teams. Hopefully he bulked up a little bit and worked on his offensive game (dribbling and shooting) and then next year will stick to his style of play (lock down defense, creating for other players) and become a solid player. He is still a favorite player of mine and I hope he makes the strides to becoming at least a good, if not great player. On a side note about Brewer he is too short to be that power forward I am looking for and also, Ben was in his hometown of Portland, TN and said it was a dump. Earl Clark seems like he would be that perfect size and weight and has all the ability but much like Josh Smith it remains to be seen if he can put it all together. If he grows up and studies and works on his game than sure, he can become that player I am talking about. But I would have to put the high risk tag on him, I think he is the biggest potential bust of these 'tweeners. Much like say Brandan Wright a few years back, who I'm not completely giving up on but he needs major improvement soon.

So who you may be asking is this amazing fantasy player of mine? Well remember Anthony Randolph last year and how he seems like he could be poised to be the next KG of sorts or at least the next Rashard Lewis. Well this year there is a player by the name of Alade Aminu who played on a mediocre Georgia Tech team with another player that was basically the same as him. So he has gone relatively unknown because of those two mishaps. Now I didn't watch much college basketball this year, but from everything I read about this guy he went from producing a lot more than his final stats to getting a reduced role because of the limited offense and coaching he received. He averaged something like 11 points 8 rebounds 2 blocks and a steal a game coming off the bench and in a terrible system. Even so he was ranked 7th in the ACC in rebounds and 4th in blocks. His steals blocks and rebounds suggest he can defend and even get better. My main tick is his only 1 assist per game, that means he's not seeing the floor well and at 6'10 he should be seeing it pretty well. He was a track star so he is very athletic and started his own foundation called the Brotherhood of the World. His main knocks are that he may not be all that strong right now and doesn't have the best defensive presence or basketball IQ which causes him to try and do more than he should at times. Both of which are coachable and very fixable. Basically he is 6-10 or taller with a 7-3 wingspan and can run the floor and score in the post and with the ball on the floor and shooting. Common thinking would be that he can improve all his weaknesses and even his strengths with the right coaching and doesn't seem to have that bust potential with a mostly ready NBA body and abilities that will translate to the league right away. Yet he is still projected as a mid to late second rounder. So hopefully Cleveland will take a look and draft him to get some more athleticism and another potential not just starter, but a potential star.

Just realized that his brother Al-Farouq Aminu was his brother. I was almost thinking they were the same person. But that would be a pretty spectacular duo at both forward spots for a team. Especially in Al-Farouq develops his offensive game with a some consistent jump shooting and grows a few more inches. He already seems a little better defensively than his brother. I wonder why they didn't go to the same college like the Lopez and Griffin brothers...

By the way I have no clue who will win the Finals this year. I'm hoping it will be the Magic because they beat the Cavs and because they were my pick for "team that is doing good but people under appreciate and think are overachieving but will actually go far in the playoffs." Also note that my pick in the West for that team was not the Blazers or the Rockets, but the Nuggets, so I was 2 for 2 on those picks. The most I can hope for is another good series like the Celtics/Bulls series and not just another mediocre series with a good game or two.

UPDATE: Since I mentioned Tim Tebow and Florida Gators in this post I thought it would be an opportune time to show this article from Yahoo Sport's college football blog. Yes Florida is a hot bed for speedsters. No I do not believe any of those times can be legit, except Jeffery Demps who qualified for the Olympics and his 100 meter dash is converted in to something like a 3.66 second 40 yard dash.

posted by: Jason