(Standard disclaimer: I like ESPN's Chad Ford, and I think he's excellent at what he does.)Ford updates his feelings on which NBA prospects are having good or bad NCAA tournaments. The bulk is on point (the Lopezes? good! Eric Gordon? bad). But one passage -- the unsurprising Part III of Ford's crusade against UCLA's Kevin Love -- must not pass without notice. Ford quotes a scout and responds:
"How many big guys can do the types of things Kevin Love can do?" he said. "His skill-set is so complete. He can't really run or jump, but once you get past that ... he's got everything. I think with the proper conditioning, he could be very good."May has suffered from knee problems during his NBA career, and had microfracture surgery this past summer. But when May has been on the floor, he's been dynamite: about 18 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes of play, on efficient shooting. On the floor, May has been a success. Unfortunately, he hasn't been on the floor enough to make Bernie Bickerstaff look smart.
Sounds a lot like the analysis people started to make about Sean May after UNC won the title. That's worked out well for the Bobcats ... hasn't it?
To compare Love to May as a way to argue Love will be a bust is saying you think Love will be as injury-prone as May has been. No matter how much of a draft soothsayer Ford can claim to be, he cannot predict whether a guy will tear a tendon at some point.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. I find this Ford story almost a complete re-run of his most recent NBA Dish conversation. Question of Fear is by far the best thing on a hoops podcast (sorry, one-on-one, Jones).
Posted at 4:25PM on Mar 27th 2008 by Ryne Nelson
2. TZ, did you mean to write "Chad Ford's crusade against Kevin Love"?
Posted at 8:02PM on Mar 27th 2008 by The Dude Abides
3. Injuries in sports can occur at any time. Even Chad Ford cannot predict everything right. Just get lucky guesses.
Posted at 10:47PM on Mar 27th 2008 by George B Vieto
4. Thanks TZ for recognizing that Sean May is actually pretty good when he plays. He has great hands, soft touch around the basket, and has developed a steady 17 foot jumper.
Posted at 4:32PM on Mar 28th 2008 by sdp