Hickson to Cleveland at #19

Sid was right – JJ went in the 11-20 window. Here’s Chad Ford’s analysis:

I’m surprised they passed on local hero Kosta Koufos of Ohio State. But I do like Hickson, who’s a sleeper. He’s strong and athletic and he can score in multiple ways. He was 12-for-12 from the field in his first college game.

It’s more than a little bit surreal that the only ACC player selected in the first round was a freshman from the last place team. The next ACC player selected was Sean Singletary (from the 10th place team) way down at #42. Maybe it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise that the ACC didn’t fare very well in the NCAAT last year.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

07-08 Basketball Alums

65 Responses to Hickson to Cleveland at #19

  1. Ismael 06/30/2008 at 10:54 AM #

    Im sure all of you guys will see this but..Harrow committed; pretty cool.

    Speaking of the draft, one-n-done’s, here’s some food for thought…
    http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/8288490/Prep-star-considers-overseas-payday-over-NCAA?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=99

    I know i’d do it, whether i had good grades or not, if the skill level is there.

    Wolfdog…yes, where i grew up too, if you didn’t make the football team, you played soccer. However I have a huge amount of respect for soccer players and they are in by far better shape than football players. All the players on a soccer team (minus the goalie) are pretty much Running Back, Corner Back, Safety, Small-Linebacker athletic skill sets. Add in the Germans or Nigerians and you have guys who have Tight-End bodies with corner back footwork and skills. It just may be that alot of football players would be made to look silly on the socccer “pitch”. And it is the World’s game.

  2. choppack1 06/30/2008 at 11:44 AM #

    Ismael – yes, soccer is the world’s game – but that doesn’t mean that American’s should be forced to drop everything and partcipate or watch it. If there’s one thing that has turned me off to soccer, it’s the “soccer mafia.” We’re told that soccer is the most popular game in the world – and we’re stupid for not watching it or wanting to it. If you don’t like it, you’re told you don’t appreciate how good the athletes are – how they are better athletes than football players (sound familiar?).

    To me – soccer embodies so much of what I see is wrong w/ the world…Flopping, exaggerated injuries, self-centered celebrations that would make TO blush, and strategies so passive, that some teams literally hope to 1-1 or 0-0 and go to penalty kicks.

    Don’t get me wrong – I’ll watch the big soccer games. However, I’d much rather a watch an NFL game or a college football game than a soccer game.

    As for the comparison of soccer players to football players – it’s really irrelevant. Soccer involves endurance while football aggressiveness demands speed and strength. The contact that routinely results in a soccer player tumbling down, would look pretty funny on the football field.

    You want to know what soccer would like if it didn’t have that UN flavor – watch hockey. Those guys play all out leave everything on the ice…and you know what – they actually pull the goalie in an effort to win. I think hockey’s marketing slogan should be: Hockey, it’s like soccer played by men.

  3. Noah 06/30/2008 at 12:04 PM #

    Do you not think that factored into Chicago picking Derrick Rose? If you don’t, you’re wrong.

    I absolutely positively KNOW that Rose’s hometown was not a factor. Rose could have been from Alaska and he would have been the #1 pick in the draft. That he hailed from Chicago was just a nice side benefit.

    Did anyone buy a ticket to see the Hornets when they drafted JR Reid? No, because Reid was a mediocre power forward who had worn out his welcome in Chapel Hill with half-hearted performances. But people did buy tickets to watch Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning because they were good players who busted their ass.

  4. Noah 06/30/2008 at 12:15 PM #

    BTW, concerning the overseas-vs-college decision, the NCAA probably shouldn’t concern themselves too much with what players do.

    1) Most overseas teams are going to want a guy for more than one year. You might get an owner or two that are willing to rent a player for a couple of hundred thousand, but I doubt there would be that many people jumping ship. For one thing, most euro leagues are limited in how many foreign players they can bring in.

    2) If the NCAA wants to drop the 19-and-over rule, I think that’s a good thing. I don’t know why anyone thinks someone like Lebron James ought to HAVE to do a year in college. If you are good enough to go ahead and start enough to start earning a living, then go do it. Why waste our time by doing a year in college?

    The flip-side of that is…why is the NBA doing its very best to foster this atmosphere that encourages these kids to go pro so early? Does any NBA scouting department really think they have all the information they need on these players? They’re drafting these kids and just throwing them away when they inevitably fail. They’re also taking kids knowing that they won’t be ready to contribute for several years. Okay, well then why are you drafting them? This isn’t baseball where you can bring them along and nurture them in the minor leagues.

    Basketball’s success is largely based on the fact that it’s still enough of a draw to bring in the best athletes. It can still pull kids away from football and baseball. How long is that going to last?

  5. packpigskinfan23 06/30/2008 at 12:19 PM #

    you make a great point chop- I can see why Americans dont get all excited about soccer, but WHY NOT for hockey?! I mean seriosuly!?!? It is EVERYTHING Americans look for in sports- speed, hits, violence, finesse, insane athleticism, big personality’s, legends, great young talent, excitement… and did I say HITS?! You guys think the media has a bias against NCSU! You should really read the garbage they write on hockey. ESPN despises hockey… so I guess the rest of America should to.

    back to what I said at the beginning of this rant- I can see why people get excited about watching soccer. I never really have myself, and I have played the game my whole life. Every couple of years I get a little excited near Wold Cup/Olympic/EURO times, but this years tourny was EXTREMELY exciting. I think the Turkey/Germany game was the best soccer game I have ever watched.

    Now you guys who say soccer is a game for those who “couldnt make the football team”, thats just a joke… and an injustice to all soccer players in this state. Obviously American football is the more popular of the two sports, but I know for a fact that our head football coach did everything he could to try and get a lot of us Soccer guys to switch over. The problem was, we LOVED the game, and we had played it our whole lives. Some of us were at the level where we could have advanced to play after HS. Why would we ruin that?! Not for American meatheadedness… thats for sure!

  6. Wolf Dog 06/30/2008 at 12:26 PM #

    I respect soccer, just didn’t grow up around any true soccer players and not a single hockey players. Didn’t even see a ice rink till I was around 21. Those that played soccer were outcasts of other sports when I grew up. I don’t think you can compare football players and soccer players, how can you compare an O lineman that can lift 400 pounds and weigh 300 pounds to a kid that is trained to run all day? To me a boxer is one of the best conditioned athletes in the world and a world class runner is one awesome athlete. I think you got to respect anyboby that works hard to be the best at what they do, no matter what the sport or career.

    As far as Bobcats, yea with Jordan they got UNC envy. They really thought drafting Felton and Maye would sell tickets. It didn’t. I think Larry Brown was a good move. Hard to imagine he back coaching Pro Ball in charlotte. Deja Vu, he was coach of Carolina Cougars. As a kid I lived in Va. Beach for a time. I am an old ABA fan saw Dr. J play with the Virginia Squirea at the Norfolf Scope.

  7. rkw 06/30/2008 at 1:25 PM #

    “Does the Harrow commit mean that John Wall is not coming to Raleigh?”

    I don’t see how Harrow’s commitment would have a negative effect on Wall’s consideration of NCSU. If anything, it would reduce the notion of Wall being the “savior” of the program at PG. It could also ease the way for Brown to finally commit and possibly affect Favors as well. Commitments like those would give Wall a good idea of what he would have to work with at NCSU. Finally, Wall couldn’t be blamed for thinking he could be one-and-done at this point so the commitment of a 2010 PG probably wouldn’t concern him much one way or another.

  8. happypackdad 06/30/2008 at 1:50 PM #

    Agreed, I doubt a ’10 PG affects a decision by a 1-&-done ’09 PG. Need a C sometime soon. If Favors commits, we still need a C in ’10.

  9. Ed89 06/30/2008 at 1:57 PM #

    ^^^”I absolutely positively KNOW that Rose’s hometown was not a factor.”

    Did Vinny call and tell you??? So, if Beasley had been from Chicago, you say there’s no way they would’ve picked him instead of Rose? We’ll never know, but I’m just saying the fans of Chicago would have been pissed if the Bulls would’ve passed on Rose — NOT because he’s the best player (which is highly debateable), but because he is from Chicago. For the sake of argument, let’s just say that it worked out well for them that he was from Chicago and he was the player they wanted.

    As far as Harrow, I agree with rkw, a 2010 PG doesn’t really affect Wall’s decision.

  10. Noah 06/30/2008 at 2:31 PM #

    The fans of Chicago want the Bulls to WIN, they don’t give a damn where the guy is from.

    Did the Texans draft Vince Young, fresh off his national title run at UT? No. And I might add that not only did Young attend college in Austin, he’s from the Houston metro area.

    Instead, the Texans shored up their terrible defense, made a good trade for a serviceable QB and made terrific strides.

  11. choppack1 06/30/2008 at 2:57 PM #

    pp23 – You are correct about the EuroCup this year. I also thought that Spain played a very exciting version of soccer.

    I am not your average soccer “hater” – I played the game and liked playing it, but I never developed the passion for that I had for basketball. I also didn’t enjoy playing “sandlot” soccer as much as I enjoyed “sandlot” football. Like you, I enjoy the World Cup and I did enjoy the Euro Cup.

    I do respect the game. When I was in Madrid, my wife and I went to the Real Madrid-Beyer(sp?) Munich game. It was a blast, but it was also a perfect example of why I prefer American football over the world’s football. Munich scored on one of the goals where everything went wrong for Real Madrid. The rest of the game was spent by both teams playing defensive soccer. The reason the game was so amazing is because of the fans – the game itself was kind if dull and sloppy.

    Where I grew up – soccer was (sorry to say it) – the sport of choice for both left-leaning families of white kids and well-to-do families of white kids. The grass marketing was that “any kid could play” – and when every kid played – they played! You didn’t have to be tall, big ans strong, exceptionally fast and you didn’t have to have great hand-eye coordination. You can read between the lines why white parents – and especially Mother’s (who played an even more dominant role thanks to divorce) all over the country chose to enroll their kid in this sport instead of football. This is the very reason that US soccer struggles to this day, our best athletes are playing football, basketball and to a lesser extent baseball. The athlete’s have gotten better, but our best athletes are still playing sports that require them to use their hands.

  12. Ed89 06/30/2008 at 4:22 PM #

    Noah — I’m not sure what point you are trying to make or what the hell you are trying to argue??? I’m not saying teams should draft local players, but it doesn’t hurt — especially if the player sells tickets.

    “The fans of Chicago want the Bulls to WIN, they don’t give a damn where the guy is from.” Yes, they WANT to win…what kind of juvenile logic is that??? You give the average fan WAY too much credit….Did you see ANY of the pre-draft interviews with Chicago fans??? 8 out of 10 said “Rose, he’s the hometown kid.”

    The fans wanted Rose because he’s a Chicago native…not because he gave them a better chance to win in the long term. The Bulls management did NOT draft him because he’s from Chicago, but it doesn’t hurt, and that IS why the fans wanted him. The owner drafted the player he thought was best for the team…this time it happened to be a hometown guy — which definitely DOESN’T hurt. Time will tell if they made the right decision.

    The Texans fans WANT to win, too, and WANTED the Texans to draft either Bush or Young. We’re talking about the fans…The reason the Texans didn’t draft Young was because their defense STUNK and Vince Young’s talent may or may not translate to the NFL. They really didn’t need a QB (or a RB) nearly as much as they needed defensive players.

  13. Ed89 06/30/2008 at 8:47 PM #

    Choppack,
    I think you hit the nail on the head in your last post…

  14. ktoh 06/30/2008 at 10:16 PM #

    I wish JJ all the best but I also thing for what it is worth that Simmons ,and Julius had more going for them after they left here. Julius is trying to just get a roster spot while Cedric is just hanging on.

  15. redfred2 07/02/2008 at 9:54 PM #

    ^Way, WAAAY, off base. Don’t know how many minutes, especially at first, but JJ Hickson will be PLAYING in the NBA.

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