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

[OSU_Buckguy]

I just think that Conley's overall size will hurt him if he goes to the NBA after this season...

well, it's not as though he's going to get (much) taller. if conley is expected to go in the top-10 to top-15 this year, i would hardly be surprised if he leaves. even though they remarked not too long ago that junior would be coming back, those statements came before the sweet sixteen and elite eight. he'll have more competition next year with mayo, gordon, and rose. this year, it's lawson and law, with lawson likely behind him and law barely ahead of him. i would not be surprised if mayo, gordon, and rose were all selected ahead of him if he chose to leave next year, which is partly why i stated earlier that it may be better for him to declare after his junior year instead of his sophomore year.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

well, it's not as though he's going to get (much) taller. if conley is expected to go in the top-10 to top-15 this year, i would hardly be surprised if he leaves. even though they remarked not too long ago that junior would be coming back, those statements came before the sweet sixteen and elite eight. he'll have more competition next year with mayo, gordon, and rose. this year, it's lawson and law, with lawson likely behind him and law barely ahead of him. i would not be surprised if mayo, gordon, and rose were all selected ahead of him if he chose to leave next year, which is partly why i stated earlier that it may be better for him to declare after his junior year instead of his sophomore year.

Yeah I don't expect him to get much taller, but I think we can expect him to add more bulk to his frame with another year of being in the weight room.

As far as those guys going ahead of him, we will have to wait until they step on a college court and see what they can do. Gordon is more of a 2g.

Also Lawson needs another year of college ball as well and I expect him to be back next year...

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

Yeah I don't expect him to get much taller, but I think we can expect him to add more bulk to his frame with another year of being in the weight room.

adding enough bulk would take michael only a month to two months. it doesn't take a year to add bulk, especially when one is about 20 years old. if he decided to leave directly after his freshman year, he would have no problem whatsoever adding enough size. he doesn't even need much more bulk anyway. his build is fine for a point guard.

As far as those guys going ahead of him, we will have to wait until they step on a college court and see what they can do. Gordon is more of a 2g.

of course. however, all of those guards are already starting with good to exceptional perimeter shots. they're ahead of michael in that regard. though gordon may be more of a 2-guard, he can take the point with ease.

Also Lawson needs another year of college ball as well and I expect him to be back next year...

based on what i've seen of him, i, too, expect that he will return. that's not known now, though.

 

[PlanetFrnd]

Chad Ford Blog 3-27-07 (ESPN Insider)

An agent has claimed that both Oden and Conley will leave if tOSU wins the Championship. There may be a small window for them to stay if either or both struggle in the Final Four.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

adding enough bulk would take michael only a month to two months. it doesn't take a year to add bulk, especially when one is about 20 years old. if he decided to leave directly after his freshman year, he would have no problem whatsoever adding enough size. he doesn't even need much more bulk anyway. his build is fine for a point guard.

He is going to need to get stronger to be able to handle some of the bigger guards in the NBA on defense...

of course. however, all of those guards are already starting with good to exceptional perimeter shots. they're ahead of michael in that regard. though gordon may be more of a 2-guard, he can take the point with ease.

Conley's stroke is improving and those guys havent proven that they can shoot the ball in the college game when it is a little harder to get their shot off...I don't believe that they will have a problem, just pointing out...Also I didn't think Rose had that good of a shot...

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

He is going to need to get stronger to be able to handle some of the bigger guards in the NBA on defense...

again, adding size will not take him a whole year. if he decides to go and attempts to add size, this summer would be plenty of time to do so. heck, michael could add enough size in a month to six weeks. it's not as though he needs to become that much stronger.

Conley's stroke is improving and those guys havent proven that they can shoot the ball in the college game when it is a little harder to get their shot off...I don't believe that they will have a problem, just pointing out...

what they will do and what they are expected to do, insofar as michael is concerned, are two different things.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

it was about 2 1/2 weeks ago. but, at that time conleys jump shot percentage was 19 iirc. so take his numbers elminate layups, dunks and anything within five feet and hes about 1/5. thats the biggest weakeness at this point.

i said it earlier in the year he had a lot of little things to work on (taking an extra dribble, floor postioning, dribbling into bad place intraps. etc) those things have been fixed. the shooting is longer road.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

it was about 2 1/2 weeks ago. but, at that time conleys jump shot percentage was 19 iirc. so take his numbers elminate layups, dunks and anything within five feet and hes about 1/5. thats the biggest weakeness at this point.

i said it earlier in the year he had a lot of little things to work on (taking an extra dribble, floor postioning, dribbling into bad place intraps. etc) those things have been fixed. the shooting is longer road.

True, but since the first Tennessee game, he has been our highest % shooter from three. He has taken noticeably fewer than Lewis, COok, Butler, and Harris but was connecting on 39%. Butler was at 38% and everyone else in the mid 30's. (Or something like that, I can't access my spreadsheet today for the actual figures.)

I won't argue that he's a great shooter, nor that he's even the best shooter on the team......just that he's not as bad as he started this season.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

True, but since the first Tennessee game, he has been our highest % shooter from three. He has taken noticeably fewer than Lewis, COok, Butler, and Harris but was connecting on 39%. Butler was at 38% and everyone else in the mid 30's. (Or something like that, I can't access my spreadsheet today for the actual figures.)

I won't argue that he's a great shooter, nor that he's even the best shooter on the team......just that he's not as bad as he started this season.

looking at it and using a calc i got this
16/40 .400

or 16/42 .381 in b10 play

or 1/6 .167 in the ncaa

while interesting is the 3pt line a good marker of how a guy will fair shooting in the nba? that line is deeper. the game is more spaced. on and on. pure numbers dont take into account shots he should have taken. we know how many times hes passed on shots.


time will tell. traditionally freshman cant shoot. for every jay burson or jamar butlerish example you have bfc.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

looking at it and using a calc i got this
16/40 .400

or 16/42 .381 in b10 play

or 1/6 .167 in the ncaa

while interesting is the 3pt line a good marker of how a guy will fair shooting in the nba? that line is deeper. the game is more spaced. on and on. pure numbers dont take into account shots he should have taken. we know how many times hes passed on shots.


time will tell. traditionally freshman cant shoot. for every jay burson or jamar butlerish example you have bfc.

I'm with you. This is the one thing that he doesn't excel at. Just throwing out some figures to show he isn't as bad as the bottom line figures might indicate.

 

[jwinslow]

Conley has improved his perimeter shooting, but how many times has he hit a contested three? Most of his attempts are wide open looks.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

i disagree. he hits when hes mildly pressure. not contested per se. but when someone is near him and he shoots in a sync. when he catches and has time he struggles. like i said b/c of this he cant make you pay.

basically if his man is in the area i like the odds.
if hes wide open. wont take it or doesnt use his normal shooting motion. not a good open shooter. (lots of nba 3s in this style)
when guys are all over him pull up stuff liek that. havent seen it out of him.

my guess is matta has a red, yellow, green system for his guys.

some guys have green lights from everywhere (sean connelly under obie)
some guys have spots where it applies
others time and poessions
etc.

my guess is that mike has an inbetween lights. so he likely has a lot of yellows so thinking is involved. vs a guy like lewis who knows coach has said "ron i trust you. if its there take it"

i dont know if that makes any sense. but if youd like it to rewrtten let me know.

 

[buckeyemomof3]

His Brain is Big Enough

Yeah I don't expect him to get much taller, but I think we can expect him to add more bulk to his frame with another year of being in the weight room.

His size is not an issue, his biggest and most important body part is his brain. He's the smartest player on the floor, which is extraordinary for a freshman.

 

[LitlBuck]

His size is not an issue, his biggest and most important body part is his brain. He's the smartest player on the floor, which is extraordinary for a freshman.

I'm sorry but I don't care if you use the most intelligent player on the floor. In the NBA if he is not strong enough, they are smart enough in that league to post him up right away and often.

again, adding size will not take him a whole year

I also do not think that you can bulk up in a month or two. Sure, you can put on some
weight
in that period of time but there is no way that you can add true strength in that amount of time.

With regards to his outside shooting if outside shooting did not mean much, Eric Snow would still be the starting point guard for the Cavs.

 

[BUCKYLE]

I'm sorry but I don't care if you use the most intelligent player on the floor. In the NBA if he is not strong enough, they are smart enough in that league to post him up right away and often.

IMO, there are maybe four centers currently in the NBA that could "post him up right away and often" based on strength.