Some prospects aren't getting enough respect on draft boards. PLEASE DRAFT ME aims to change that.DraftExpress says Florida State forward Al Thornton is sinking faster than David Stern's stomach seeing this. ESPN's Chad Ford has not yet doomed Thornton to the depths of McRobertsdom, but still shows Al going lower (#12) than he should.
A bit of perspective: Thornton played in a seriously tough conference -- Florida State faced the #24 toughest schedule in the nation in terms of opponent defense. Thornton was by far the go-to guy, taking up 30% of the team's shots when he was on the floor. But he couldn't be stopped. He shot 55% on two-point shots and 44% on threes, and got to the line very regularly (about one free throw for every two shots). A strong offensive rebounder, a good defender but a DAMN good scorer. What's not to like?
Plenty, apparently. From DraftExpress' plugged-in Jonathan Givony:
Al Thornton is not drawing the best reviews in his individual workouts so far, while some teams are now quietly wondering whether he might end up being available in the late teens portion of the draft. People we've spoken to have questioned his ability to play and defend the perimeter, pointing out his lack of fluidity, and even going as far as to call him "robotic" moving his feet outside of the paint. In addition to that, losing an inch on measurements from 6-8 to 6-7 did not help him, while his very soft-spoken off the court demeanor and more advanced age at 23 ½ has been working against him as well.I understand individual workouts are important in some fashion -- you get to meet a guy in person, you can get a glimpse of his character, a close look at the building blocks of his game. I get it. But this dude played 124 Division I games! He is not some unknown kid with freak athleticism and a moody jumper -- he's a well-known young basketball player with freak athleticism and a moody jumper. What are you going to really learn about Al Thornton by watching him take two dozen 18-footers you didn't already know by watching tape of his games against the NCs and the Dukes and the Marylands?
Thornton is an absolute gamer, and he'll be a scorer of reckoning and renown in the NBA. Of course other prospects are similarly/exceedingly intriguing. But if your goal is to win basketball games, and you've seen Yi Jianlian post up a Lazy-Boy and you've seen Al Thornton drop 29/12 on Brandan Wright... how do justify leaving the latter on the table?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-20-2007 @ 4:44PM
aaron Covington said...
finally some common sense in all this draft talk. i couldn't agree more. i might even like thornton better than hortford. how bout them apples?
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6-20-2007 @ 8:45PM
Jeff said...
draftexpress is run by gators, and they have 5 players they are pushing in the draft. That they take a ridiculous unfounded swipe at Thornton is not unexpected given that "president Jonathan Giovany" is only a 14 year old.
Nothing he says has any relevance
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6-20-2007 @ 11:19PM
erikstephenson said...
as a Sixers fan.. I don't want this guy.
/end of discussion
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6-21-2007 @ 10:08AM
ISAAC said...
COME ON THIS GUY IS ONE OF THE BEST. I CANT SEE HOW NOAH OR ANY OTHER FLORDIA GUYS GOING A HEAD OF HIM. THIS GUY BEAT FLORDIA BY HIM SELF. TRUST ME HE IS ONE OF THE BEST. I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS KID SINCE HE PLAYED REC. BALL
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6-25-2007 @ 4:21PM
Poole said...
Al Thorntons is a top ten draft and a lot of folks will be shock when they see him put up the numbers he will.Al can play.
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6-25-2007 @ 4:27PM
Poole said...
Al is a top ten draft pick he can play .
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6-26-2007 @ 10:55PM
S Tripp said...
Hush up about this!!! As a Spurs fan I want Al to keep dropping so we can get the biggest steal of the draft. Al is a great player and I would love for the Spurs to land him.
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6-28-2007 @ 11:54AM
All That said...
Anyone who thinks Thornton is NOT a top 10 draftee obviously hasn't seen him play these past 3+ years. It's hard to say how he will do in the NBA, because his defensive skills aren't the best yet, but he's the best pure scorer coming out of the draft, bar none...it's not even close, IMO. How many college ballers routinely scored in the 30's and 40's this year? Anyone other than Al? Don't think so.
What he did late in the college season is similar to what LeBron just did in the last 2 rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs...he simply willed his team to win. The opponent knew the ball was going to him, they double- (and sometimes triple-) teamed him, and he created space and scored anyway. That's what Al Thornton does. I forced a few friends of mine to watch a couple FSU games right before and also during the conf. tourneys, (people who had never seen Thornton play) and they were all stunned. I can't wait to see who drafts this monster scoring machine. I just don't think he's gotten the national exposure some of these other guys have received. Hey--any guy who can beat the Gators by himself has to be pretty good.
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