Friday, January 16, 2009

Evaluating Howard Thompkins

Draft Express does a pretty thorough job of evaluating Howard Thompkins and other members of this season's freshman class.

Pete Herrmann once compared Thompkins to Tracy McGrady, and stated how much the whole coaching staff was looking forward to getting Thompkins out on the court.

I felt that the comparison was off, due to the fact that since coming into the League, McGrady distinguished himself by his athleticism. Perhaps diminishing some these days, but the fact remains that McGrady is still considered an above the rim player.

Thompkins, on the other hand, from what I could tell in his high school games, was not a slasher/high-flying dunker, but more of a solid, fundamentals guy. Solid, but definitely below the rim.

To be fair, Herrmann also likened Thompkins to Tim Duncan. And I thought then and still think now, that that's a much more apt comparison.

The good news is that while McGrady went straight to the NBA and Duncan went to Wake Forest. Thompkins is suited up in the red and black.

The point for mentioning the above comparisons is that I think Draft Express is "spot on" in assessing the things that Thompkins needs to work on to improve his game. If he gets more lift off the floor, works on his conditioning, and hits the weights in the off-season, Dawg fans should have many more exciting games ahead.

Draft Express

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