PG Mike Conley (1st Team All BIG, NBA All-Star, Oscar Winner, Minnesota Timberwolves)

[osugrad21]

CPD

THE Q

With Memphis point guard Mike Conley, who helped Ohio State reach the national championship game last season.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Q: What do you miss most about college?
A: I miss the feeling I had last year in the tournament. When I knew March Madness was coming up, there was an excitement in the air around the campus. Everywhere you went you had fans following you and Ohio State alumni. It was a great situation. I miss that more than anything -- that environment and that month of March when you get to play on that big stage and play schools you don't normally play.
Q: Who do you still talk to on the Ohio State team?

A: Mostly David Lighty and Matt Terwilliger are the guys I keep in touch with the most, every week or so. I watch as many games as I can and give them observations about their game.
Q: Who do you like in the NCAA Tournament this year?
A: I'd love to say Ohio State again, but I've got to be unbiased. I really like Memphis this year. They've got a really good chance, a lot of talent on that team and a lot of veteran leadership.




Cont...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Grizzlies rookie guard Mike Conley Jr., a former Ohio State standout playing in Ohio for the first time as a professional, had 10 points and four assists.

 

[Buckskin86]

Box & One With Mike Conley
"He's A Man On Fire"

by Wesley Chism Jr., [email protected]
POSTED: Feb 26, 2008

SEATTLE -- The Memphis Grizzlies point guard wearing No. 11, Mike Conley, came into the league with great fanfare and is destined to live up to that reputation.

He was chosen with the fourth pick of the 2007 NBA Draft that was loaded with talent. Mike?s good friend and former Ohio State teammate Greg Oden went number one to the Portland Trailblazers.

?I can?t begin to tell you how exciting it is just being there on draft day waiting for your name to be called", Conley said. "I don?t remember sleeping a wink the night before the draft and my mind was just racing with all kind of thoughts.?

Box & One With Mike Conley

 

[starBUCKS]

Congrats with his new career high 11 assists tonight to go along with 15 points.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

espn.com

"They are a veteran team," said Memphis guard Mike Conley. "They are trained to hit those big shots that they made. ... We tried to go to a zone and they kind of just picked it apart. They really executed in the fourth quarter and played like a veteran team."

Conley had 15 points and a career-high 11 assists, the most by any Memphis player this season.

 

[Buckskin86]

Mike Conley: A Closer Look
by Erick Blasco (Senior Writer)
March 24, 2008

With so much uproar over my declaration that Mike Conley was heading down bust lane, I felt that it was only fair for to give the youngster a second look. Does the youngster have talent? Can he be a top flight point guard in the league? Perhaps.

Using Friday night?s 120-106 Grizzlies victory over the Knicks as a barometer, let?s take a close look at whether or not Conley is worth the number four pick in the draft.


Mike Conley: (5-8 FG, 1-1 3FG, 3 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 3 TO, 11 PTS)

So then, is Conley a bust?

No, that term is too strong. Conley does have enough potential to be a factor down the road, and he?s already an effective player in an open court offense.

For Conley to get the most out of talents though, he?ll need to work on a pull-up jumper to punish defenses who go under his screens. Conley also needs to get a lot stronger so he can finish when he gets to the paint. Conley?s passing is mediocre right now, and he tends to get frustrated when things aren?t going his way.

Conley needs to spend lots of time on defensive drills to quicken his defensive first step. An understanding of where he should be in help defense situations is also required for Conley to get the most out of his potential.

It would help if the Grizzlies had the players to run offensive sets more evolved than isolations and screen/rolls. Without an advanced playbook, Conley?s ability to run a halfcourt offense will be limited.

Still, Conley is incredibly young and the Grizzlies are going nowhere. Give the kid two more years to find out if he?s got simply potential or actual game.

Mike Conley: A Closer Look | Bleacher Report

 

[jimotis4heisman]

For Conley to get the most out of talents though, he?ll need to work on a pull-up jumper to punish defenses who go under his screens. Conley also needs to get a lot stronger so he can finish when he gets to the paint. Conley?s passing is mediocre right now, and he tends to get frustrated when things aren?t going his way.

that was pretty obvious after the first time i saw the kid play.

 

[bassbuckeye07]

Conley needs better players around him is what he needs.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Conley needs better players around him is what he needs.

That is what the number 3 pick in the draft it suppose to bring you...Not knocking Conley, but the Grizzlies knew going in that Conley would take a year maybe two to really develop into a very good NBA player...

He has Gay, Miller, Navarro, Warrick around him...They are just a very young team, with potential...

 

[joefoshow]

Conley just wasn't drafted into a good situation either with team like this so he would look like a bust for awhile.

 

[IronBuckI]

Conley just wasn't drafted into a good situation...

Not many third overall picks are.

 

[BUCKYLE]

So, in other words, he could've used another year at tOSU.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

That is what the number 3 pick in the draft it suppose to bring you...Not knocking Conley, but the Grizzlies knew going in that Conley would take a year maybe two to really develop into a very good NBA player...

He has Gay, Miller, Navarro, Warrick around him...They are just a very young team, with potential...

Not many third overall picks are.

Pretty sure he went #4 overall, guys.

Anyway, whoever is calling him a bust after 40 games or so is a fucking moron. Conley's been beat up this year which has really stunted his growth as a player. He's shown plenty of flashes of greatness.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

ESPN - Rookie Watch: Which veteran should Conley study? - NBA

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Mike Conley[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Memphis Grizzlies[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Steve Nash[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Phoenix Suns[/FONT]

Conley already has a great set of skills and is a creative finisher. And no one doubts his passing game. But what he can learn from Nash is the incredibly tough balancing act of being a pass-first guy on most nights, while jumping at the chance to score 30 points when necessary and not feeling guilty about it. Nash is a great teammate off the court, which reassures players that on heavy scoring nights, he's just taking what's being given to him and not being selfish. Conley should aspire to create a similar feeling from his teammates in Memphis.

 

[IronBuckI]

Pretty sure he went #4 overall, guys...

Irrelevant to the spirit of the discussion, but thanks for the assist. I knew it didn't look right when I typed it.