Okay, I am being silly.. Minnesota will be blessed to get one or the other. These kids are among the nation's elite, according to what I have read.. It is so vital to get a PG of this ilk, for the future of the program. This would make players like Coffey and Hurt so much better as they would have a PG they could trust. Both Washington and Wright are tearing it up in their AAU play.
I would love both players but there is a reason Ryan J said you cant have both.. I suggested it kiddingly but knew there is no way 2 top PGs are going to commit to a program in the same class. If you carry on the thought and possibly consider putting both players on the court at the same time, that can get tricky as well People automatically think if both players dribble, pass well, and shoot well that they are compatible on the floor.. That may or may not be true
One of the things about compatibility with other guards on the floor is measured by how they play, off the ball. I think the lesson is the LA Lakers in Magic Johnson's rookie year... The Lakers had Norm Nixon, who was a phenomenal athlete, good dribbler, and shooter.. But you could tell the Lakers wanted to let Magic run the offense early in his career and Nixon wanted to prove to the management that was the wrong decision.. Nixon was what I call, A VOLUME BALLHANDLER.. Had to have the ball in his hands with control in the offense.. Which was counterproductive to the Lakers at the time.. Nixon was capable of 50 point games in the NBA and spectacular passes but needed to handle the ball so Magic was taking that away from him. CANT HAVE 2 PGS ON THE FLOOR LIKE THAT!! The Lakers benefited in a HUGE WAY when they got rid of Nixon and picked up Byron Scott.. Scott did not need the ball in his hands to be effective so Magic had full control of the offense.. Made that team so much better. If you put 2 incredible offensive players like Derrick Rose and Allen Iverson in their best years, together in an offense, you would say "Wow, how do we guard those guys?'' 2 'blurs' on the court together.. But both HAVE TO HAVE THE BALL IN THEIR HANDS.. I would suggest it may be fun in some games but probably would not work out for a whole season because both are volume ballhandlers. With the situations of the Heat in Miami, LeBron was more of a Magic Johnson type where Wade was the off guard.. The guy that had to learn to sacrifice was Chris Bosh, on that team so there was no real issue with ballhandling. Cleveland Cavaliers have a guy, Kyrie Irving, that has the capability of working off the ball and being satisfied with that so it is ok when LeBron handles the PG duties in a set. So it can work with 2 great ballhandlers but needs scouting and guys willing to sacrifice egos to make it work.
I say all that in considering the dream that Minnesota would have a chance at getting both... HIGHLY DOUBT either would consider Minnesota anymore if the other committed first. But if both would consider it, there has to be a lot of scouting to say that one has the ability to play off the ball while the other handles, in their sets. There have been guys that have been able to work off the ball after being PGs.... BJ Armstrong and John Paxson come to mind for the Bulls teams with Jordan... The triangle offense mitigated that some, as well. As much as some of us would want both players for depth or to play together, the reality is that we would be blessed to get either one of those guys.. I hope one commits very soon.
I would love both players but there is a reason Ryan J said you cant have both.. I suggested it kiddingly but knew there is no way 2 top PGs are going to commit to a program in the same class. If you carry on the thought and possibly consider putting both players on the court at the same time, that can get tricky as well People automatically think if both players dribble, pass well, and shoot well that they are compatible on the floor.. That may or may not be true
One of the things about compatibility with other guards on the floor is measured by how they play, off the ball. I think the lesson is the LA Lakers in Magic Johnson's rookie year... The Lakers had Norm Nixon, who was a phenomenal athlete, good dribbler, and shooter.. But you could tell the Lakers wanted to let Magic run the offense early in his career and Nixon wanted to prove to the management that was the wrong decision.. Nixon was what I call, A VOLUME BALLHANDLER.. Had to have the ball in his hands with control in the offense.. Which was counterproductive to the Lakers at the time.. Nixon was capable of 50 point games in the NBA and spectacular passes but needed to handle the ball so Magic was taking that away from him. CANT HAVE 2 PGS ON THE FLOOR LIKE THAT!! The Lakers benefited in a HUGE WAY when they got rid of Nixon and picked up Byron Scott.. Scott did not need the ball in his hands to be effective so Magic had full control of the offense.. Made that team so much better. If you put 2 incredible offensive players like Derrick Rose and Allen Iverson in their best years, together in an offense, you would say "Wow, how do we guard those guys?'' 2 'blurs' on the court together.. But both HAVE TO HAVE THE BALL IN THEIR HANDS.. I would suggest it may be fun in some games but probably would not work out for a whole season because both are volume ballhandlers. With the situations of the Heat in Miami, LeBron was more of a Magic Johnson type where Wade was the off guard.. The guy that had to learn to sacrifice was Chris Bosh, on that team so there was no real issue with ballhandling. Cleveland Cavaliers have a guy, Kyrie Irving, that has the capability of working off the ball and being satisfied with that so it is ok when LeBron handles the PG duties in a set. So it can work with 2 great ballhandlers but needs scouting and guys willing to sacrifice egos to make it work.
I say all that in considering the dream that Minnesota would have a chance at getting both... HIGHLY DOUBT either would consider Minnesota anymore if the other committed first. But if both would consider it, there has to be a lot of scouting to say that one has the ability to play off the ball while the other handles, in their sets. There have been guys that have been able to work off the ball after being PGs.... BJ Armstrong and John Paxson come to mind for the Bulls teams with Jordan... The triangle offense mitigated that some, as well. As much as some of us would want both players for depth or to play together, the reality is that we would be blessed to get either one of those guys.. I hope one commits very soon.
Last edited:
