Ponds Plans

[quote="Mike Zaun" post=329775]If he could shoot like Howard, he'd probably be a top 15 pick IMO.[/quote]

43% from the field?

The thing about Marquette is, they actually run plays to free up Howard for shots. Sure he can create space on his own, but when was the last time St John's ran a play to get Ponds open? All you see is a token pick at the top of the key. All of Ponds shots are contested. That's not exaggeration.

If Howard played for St John's his numbers would probably look alot worse.
 
[quote="Jack Williams" post=329758]Maybe Golden State takes a chance on him out of respect for mullin. Back up curry.[/quote]

Maybe with an invite to camp if he is undrafted. He will certainly be invited to NBA camps, and probably a G-League contract. But I doubt GS would burn a draft pick out of respect for Mullin. It sounds like a really nice fit to be on GS and back up Curry in terms of the complement of players around you, but then you pause and compare the lights out shooters on GS that score from anywhere over the midcourt line no matter what type of defensive pressure there is, and you ask if Ponds fits in that group or is even close. Then again, who is?
 
[quote="Room112" post=329777][quote="Mike Zaun" post=329775]If he could shoot like Howard, he'd probably be a top 15 pick IMO.[/quote]

43% from the field?

The thing about Marquette is, they actually run plays to free up Howard for shots. Sure he can create space on his own, but when was the last time St John's ran a play to get Ponds open? All you see is a token pick at the top of the key. All of Ponds shots are contested. That's not exaggeration.

If Howard played for St John's his numbers would probably look alot worse.[/quote]

Only 30.6% from the field since the Providence game a few weeks back, where it was mentioned on the broadcast that he was playing through a hip issue, so I think he's better then 43%, generally. I thought, from afar obviously, that he should have sat out the last couple of games, to rest up for the NCAA Tournament.

If the hip is bothering him, I'm sure scouts (and the teams they work for) are aware of it. If it's not "career threatening" serious (and since he's playing through it, it probably is not), then the bad percentage won't hurt him too much.
 
His NBA stock has for sure took a hit the last few weeks but if there is a time in college basketball to have a hot stretch and help your stock its the next couple weeks. He puts together anything close to the level of play he had for the 4 game stretch vs Duke, Nova, Marquette, Depaul, last year and he will see his stock rise back up.
In my opinions his biggest weakness is his stamina and endurance. Keep in mind he gets asked to do so much but he seems to get worn down and looks a step slow from game to game. In the NBA as an ancillary piece he wont have to work around double teams and focused help defense, hell also be surrounded by offensive talent to help accentuate his passing and vision. He could get lucky and find a good team who wants to take a chance on his talent and groom him, or in today's NBA he could find a team who may like him enough to give him big minutes while also not trying to win.

Please Shamorie beat Depaul
 
I was referring to Howard's 3 PT %. 55%, 40%, 42% his 3 yrs.

Ponds: 38%, 25%, 35% in his 3 yrs. Though Ponds would still be an undersized guard, you can work with 6'1 if you can shoot lights out like Howard. Ponds is more crafty getting to the rim and finishing...he really isn't a very good 3 PT shooter. If he made 3's like Howard he would definitely have a place in the NBA IMO. His biggest asset is driving and he may not be fast enough to get by the huge NBA defenders who are faster and more athletic. Shooting is the great equalizer. Don't have to be very athletic or tall to hoist 3's all day long.
 
[quote="Marillac" post=329606][quote="Chris7" post=329600][quote="Beast of the East" post=329554]By signing with an agent, this will end his college career. With a highly refined game, he would be worth a late first round gamble that he could translate college success at the NBA level. With his recent ineffectiveness and quiet periods in games masquerading as patience, scouts can only conclude that in the NBA where everything is bigger, stronger, and faster, successful transition wouldn't be likely at this point.

He may feel he has nothing to prove, but a return to campus, and a better campaign personally and by the team could elevate his NBA draft status. Except for injury and loss of 1 year of income, playing in front of packed houses around the country in college isn't the worst thing either, at least to me.[/quote]

It's very very easy for people like us to overlook this. Most of these kids come from nothing, and have played their way out of the projects to get to a good D-1 program. He's not simply going to overlook a year of professional income to appease the prototypical SJU fan old-school middle aged guys from Queens. As much as we want him to.

He owes us nothing. And we should be proud at the prospect of putting one of our guys in the NBA. That is a big contribution in and of itself to our future recruiting.

I've said it on here once before, and I'm not pointing my finger at you, because you aren't doing it in your post, but it's cringeworthy when men come on here and serve up backhanded criticisms to start players in a weird effort to get them to stay at school, just completely weird to me. All of a sudden everyone who wants him to stay is a NBA scout and can pinpoint the weaknesses of his game. It's not fair and not right to the player. Let the kid eat.[/quote]

What does a year of non-NBA professional income actually look like? Lovett is making 60k in Serbia before agent fees, middlemen, and taxes. Is that better than room, board, and education + resume building in New York? I don’t think so.

I’ve never met an American that played abroad who wasn’t stiffed by his club overseas. Also, look at the tax rates in Europe. Not pretty.[/quote]

Don't know about now in terms of European reaction to African migration but fifty years ago the impact of Euroball on African American players was incredibly clarifying as they experienced life outside the bubble of American racism for the first time.
 
[quote="fuchsia" post=329806][quote="Marillac" post=329606][quote="Chris7" post=329600][quote="Beast of the East" post=329554]By signing with an agent, this will end his college career. With a highly refined game, he would be worth a late first round gamble that he could translate college success at the NBA level. With his recent ineffectiveness and quiet periods in games masquerading as patience, scouts can only conclude that in the NBA where everything is bigger, stronger, and faster, successful transition wouldn't be likely at this point.

He may feel he has nothing to prove, but a return to campus, and a better campaign personally and by the team could elevate his NBA draft status. Except for injury and loss of 1 year of income, playing in front of packed houses around the country in college isn't the worst thing either, at least to me.[/quote]

It's very very easy for people like us to overlook this. Most of these kids come from nothing, and have played their way out of the projects to get to a good D-1 program. He's not simply going to overlook a year of professional income to appease the prototypical SJU fan old-school middle aged guys from Queens. As much as we want him to.

He owes us nothing. And we should be proud at the prospect of putting one of our guys in the NBA. That is a big contribution in and of itself to our future recruiting.

I've said it on here once before, and I'm not pointing my finger at you, because you aren't doing it in your post, but it's cringeworthy when men come on here and serve up backhanded criticisms to start players in a weird effort to get them to stay at school, just completely weird to me. All of a sudden everyone who wants him to stay is a NBA scout and can pinpoint the weaknesses of his game. It's not fair and not right to the player. Let the kid eat.[/quote]

What does a year of non-NBA professional income actually look like? Lovett is making 60k in Serbia before agent fees, middlemen, and taxes. Is that better than room, board, and education + resume building in New York? I don’t think so.

I’ve never met an American that played abroad who wasn’t stiffed by his club overseas. Also, look at the tax rates in Europe. Not pretty.[/quote]

Don't know about now in terms of European reaction to African migration but fifty years ago the impact of Euroball on African American players was incredibly clarifying as they experienced life outside the bubble of American racism for the first time.[/quote]

I'm certain that French, Italian, Greek, and other flavors of Euro racism was like a breath of fresh air. :)
 
[URL]https://www.si.com/nba/2019/03...williamson-ja-morant-rj-barrett-march-madness[/URL]

49. SHAMORIE PONDS, G, ST. JOHN’S | JUNIOR
Height: 6’1” | Weight: 180 | Age: 20 | Last Rank: 49

Ponds is another player you either love or hate, but his shot-creation and creativity playing off the dribble does offer some appeal. He is not physically imposing in any way, but has a good level of craft to his game as a scorer and should be a threat to shoot from outside. Some teams will be turned off by his shoot-first approach, and his auxiliary counting stats are somewhat inflated by his heavy on-ball minutes and the lack of other passers on the roster. Nobody is mistaking him for a true point guard. Ponds’ productivity and ability to create off the dribble will appeal to some teams, but his lack of great physicality will be a stumbling point.
 
[quote="Beast of the East" post=329825]
I'm certain that French, Italian, Greek, and other flavors of Euro racism was like a breath of fresh air. :)[/quote]

Still don't think it's anywhere close to what they experienced and continue to experience here, so i'd say the air was indeed more fresh.
 
[quote="L J S A" post=329832][quote="Beast of the East" post=329825]
I'm certain that French, Italian, Greek, and other flavors of Euro racism was like a breath of fresh air. :)[/quote]

Still don't think it's anywhere close to what they experienced and continue to experience here, so i'd say the air was indeed more fresh.[/quote]

Maybe. I do know that when I visited PAris in 2008 they had recently enacted legislation requiring businesses of a certain size to hire Africans. Unemployment in the largely Somalian community was so absurdly high that all the things that happen when jobs are unavailable were occurring. I was in Paris last summer, and many of the service jobs within the city are now help by non French, especially in retail sales and uber drivers. Those of middle eastern descent and who were uber drivers (many Syrian) spoke of how the French hate them and do not want them there, and how their children are harassed in school by French peers.

Racism is ugly in all forms, and I wouldn't be so quick to think that America has cornered the market on it. That's just not true.
 
Ponds has had some form of nagging injury for most of the Year , whether it be Hip or Wrist . He has not been as quick going to the hoop and has not converted as many lay ups as he did so easily last year . This is just my opinion . Which is why his stats are down . A Healthy Ponds is BE POY by a fair margin but , he hasn’t been healthy . Many may feel differently and that’s ok .
 
I agree with SlyFoxx on his observations.

Also, I just don't see him having a career in the NBA, like many others on here. Taking nothing away from him, as I love his game and feel lucky that we have him. He has been a joy to watch.

But he is a great college player. See other 6' 1" "greats" that we had in the past 20 years and their success in The League. Barkley, Thornton,and Cook come to mind. Perhaps Shamorie has been better than those kids, but he will have a lot of difficulty making a career in the NBA, just like those kids did. And today's players are even bigger, faster and stronger than ever.

I do hope he proves me wrong!
 
[quote="ZanMan" post=330218]I agree with SlyFoxx on his observations.

Also, I just don't see him having a career in the NBA, like many others on here. Taking nothing away from him, as I love his game and feel lucky that we have him. He has been a joy to watch.

But he is a great college player. See other 6' 1" "greats" that we had in the past 20 years and their success in The League. Barkley, Thornton,and Cook come to mind. Perhaps Shamorie has been better than those kids, but he will have a lot of difficulty making a career in the NBA, just like those kids did. And today's players are even bigger, faster and stronger than ever.

I do hope he proves me wrong![/quote]

Bootsy was about 6’4” I believe.
 
I fully expect Ponds to leave and wish him well. He has been a good player for us and, now, I have started to reflect on his three year career.

Shamorie was an impact player from the moment he stepped on campus. That said, as soon as the NBA talk started, his growth seemed to level off. I feel like players who maintain focus on their collegian careers and let the NBA chips fall where they may, often do better. Myles Powell, who may now draw more NBA interest than Ponds, is a good example of this.
 
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[quote="Monte" post=330281][quote="ZanMan" post=330218]I agree with SlyFoxx on his observations.

Also, I just don't see him having a career in the NBA, like many others on here. Taking nothing away from him, as I love his game and feel lucky that we have him. He has been a joy to watch.

But he is a great college player. See other 6' 1" "greats" that we had in the past 20 years and their success in The League. Barkley, Thornton,and Cook come to mind. Perhaps Shamorie has been better than those kids, but he will have a lot of difficulty making a career in the NBA, just like those kids did. And today's players are even bigger, faster and stronger than ever.

I do hope he proves me wrong![/quote]

Bootsy was about 6’4” I believe.[/quote]

Yeah, he was taller. Hatten would have been a better example, along with the other two guys.

Omar Cook leaving after his freshman year has to be one of the dumbest decisions anyone on this team has ever made. His passing and defensive skills were top-notch. The only thing he didn't do well was shoot, and I thought, if he stayed, he could have gotten that to an acceptable level. The only question I would have had was: could he coexist with Hatten? Both were ball dominant guards, so that might have been a problem.

Barkley left too early also, but the NCAA pretty much forced his hand on that one. Can't get on him for it.
 
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From the Athletic piece on him and Pascall

https://theathletic.com/874220/2019...aschall-and-shamorie-ponds/?source=dailyemail

Shamorie Ponds, 6-1, 175 pounds, junior:

Strengths:

Ponds has an ability to get to the rim off the dribble and is a better playmaker for others than given credit. Ponds’ teammates left several assists on the table by missing open jumpers off his penetration. Despite his 6-foot-1 size, Ponds isn’t afraid to mix it up inside and uses a floater inside the paint area. He routinely got defenders off their feet with a pump fake before attacking the defense.

On defense, Ponds has shown an ability to pick his defender’s pocket and poke the ball away on traps averaging 2.3 steals over his collegiate career.

Weaknesses:

At the pro level, Ponds will have a tough time defending players at the league’s premier position due to his lack of size and weight. While Ponds is a point guard by size, he is considered a scoring guard.

NBA talent evaluators weigh in:

NBA executive No. 1: Exciting and explosive scorer who shows an NBA game that will translate. I’m a huge fan of his game. He’s crafty. He’s a first-round late pick for me in a weak draft.

NBA executive No. 2: Ponds could be a better NBA player because of spacing and better players around him. His 3-point shooting has gotten better but needs to get much better. He needs to improve his defense and play harder and less cool. Draft range: Late first to mid second round.

NBA scout No. 1: I think he goes pro. He’s done as much as you can at St John’s at this point. He’s inefficient and has a lot of freedom. Defensively, I think it’ll be tough. Maybe he gets drafted in the 50s as a wiry scorer like Ish Smith. I’m not sold on him. A good comparison I’ve heard is Brandon Jennings.

NBA scout No. 2: He has a lot of the same risks as Allonzo Trier did, but Ponds has a worse body (smaller), is not as athletic and is even worse on defense. Both are seen as score first players, on-ball scorers, with questionable shot selections. Both are more street ball than winning players. I think he’s a mid-second to a two-way player.
 
Ponds would have been a higher draft choice had he had the opportunity to have a good big man teamate
 
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