Does this Iowa roster have any NBA talent?

WindsorHawk said:
Possibilities...White, Olaseni, Clemmons and Jok
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Please note the word possibilities...didn't use the word probable.

Les Jepsen was drafted and played in the NBA...a full season not a 10 day contract. Anyone old enough to remember Les as a freshman, sophomore or junior knows there was NO WAY he could play in the NBA even at 7 feet tall...but he did. If Jepsen were a sophomore or junior now and mentioned as a possible NBA player the poster would be ripped a new one by 99% of the posters on this site. It just wasn't feasible. It was unthinkable.

If Jepsen could play in the NBA and improve as much as he did from his junior to senior seasons. The guys being mentioned in this thread have a chance...and Jepsen was a true post player with no outside game whatsoever.

Brad Lohaus is another guy that no one ever would have guessed could play in the NBA...even at 7 feet...prior to his senior year. He was so bad he was red shirted between his sophomore and junior seasons. Yeah, he played 11 years in the NBA.

The moral of the story is guys that work hard, receive good coaching and develop have a shot. Again...it's not probable but it's certainly possible. I've just convinced myself that Woodbury and Uthoff should be added to my list. I'm at 6 "possible" NBA players now.
 
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WindsorHawk said:
Please note the word possibilities...didn't use the work probable.

Les Jepsen was drafted and played in the NBA...a full season not a 10 day contract. Anyone old enough to remember Les as a freshman, sophomore or junior knows there way NO WAY he could play in the NBA even at 7 feet tall...but he did. If Jepsen were a sophomore or junior now and mentioned as a possible NBA player the poster would be ripped a new one by 99% of the posters on this site. It just wasn't feasible. It was unthinkable.

If Jepsen could play in the NBA and improve as much as he did from his junior to senior seasons. The guys being mentioned in this thread have a chance...and Jepsen was a true post player with no outside game whatsoever.

Brad Lohaus is another guy that no one ever would have guessed could play in the NBA...even at 7 feet...prior to his senior year. He was so bad he was red shirted between his sophomore and junior seasons. Yeah, he played 11 years in the NBA.

The moral of the story is guys that work hard, receive good coaching and develop have a shot. Again...it's not probable but it's certainly possible. I've just convinced myself that Woodbury and Uthoff should be added to my list. I'm at 6 "possible" NBA players now.
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I feel like the moral of the story is that no matter how terrible you are, if you are 7 feet tall and a D1 college basketball player you can likely play in the NBA.
 
Foval21 said:
Evans was can't miss the guy does a skill better than pretty much anyone else ever...rebound. That is why people make it in the league if you can do 1 thing (ie rebound or shoot the 3) better than everyone else you can last a long time. Reggie Evans is minute for minute one of the best rebounders possibly ever to play in the nba. Kyle Korver lacks athleticism and defensive ability but he made it and was can't miss because of 1 skill. Our players aren't that way. Most do a few to a lot of things ok to good, but none are exceptional at 1 skill.
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He's averaging 7 rebounds over his NBA career. That's hardly Dennis Rodman-like numbers. Gabe has 2 seasons to polish his game and he is already an above average shot blocker.
I never ever considered Reggie Evans a cant-miss NBA prospect. Below average free throw shooter. average defender. below average range and below average height for an NBA PF. His selling points were strong hands, great rebounder, physical and wide body.
 
ssckelley said:
i think Jared Reiner was the most recent Hawk to play in the NBA, that was 10 years ago.
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Is there anyone here that thought Jared Reiner was a cant-miss NBA prospect? That guy didn't accomplish much in college. That's my reasoning behind Gabe landing on an NBA roster. Tall athletic guys don't grow on trees.
 
lightning1 said:
He's averaging 7 rebounds over his NBA career. That's hardly Dennis Rodman-like numbers. Gabe has 2 seasons to polish his game and he is already an above average shot blocker.
I never ever considered Reggie Evans a cant-miss NBA prospect. Below average free throw shooter. average defender. below average range and below average height for an NBA PF. His selling points were strong hands, great rebounder, physical and wide body.
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I swear Reggie would miss a bunny on purpose to get the rebound and put back. He gets 2 rebounds instead of 1 and the 2 points and still shoots 50%. I'm pretty sure he didn't do it on purpose but it happened a lot. My wife and I would comment on it every time it happened.
 
I know some are making comparisons to Horner, Brunner, Haluska, etc. Keep in mind those guys didn't have a coach around to make them better, develop their talent, increase their game IQ, etc. Their coach (he who will not be named) spent the majority of a timeout talking with the assistants. The players were lucky to get 10 seconds of coaching before play resumed. The 3 players I mentioned did get better during their careers but it's because they busted their tails at practice, in games and out of season to improve IMO. I don't think it had a lot to do with coaching.

Coach Fran on the other hand is always coaching. He's banging chairs around and yelling while getting blown out by a better team. He's always teaching. He's always coaching. He's always working to make the players better...as are his assistants. Did Fran make Gatens a better player? Did he make May a better player? Has any player not improved under Fran? Okay, I'm sure there will be some but some guys just won't listen, don't get it, don't want to put in the work/effort, etc.
 
WindsorHawk said:
I swear Reggie would miss a bunny on purpose to get the rebound and put back. He gets 2 rebounds instead of 1 and the 2 points and still shoots 50%. I'm pretty sure he didn't do it on purpose but it happened a lot. My wife and I would comment on it every time it happened.
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He's just a fan of grabbing two balls.
 
That joke was in reference to him grabbing Chris Kaman's testicles. That's why it's funny.
 
lightning1 said:
He's averaging 7 rebounds over his NBA career. That's hardly Dennis Rodman-like numbers. Gabe has 2 seasons to polish his game and he is already an above average shot blocker.
I never ever considered Reggie Evans a cant-miss NBA prospect. Below average free throw shooter. average defender. below average range and below average height for an NBA PF. His selling points were strong hands, great rebounder, physical and wide body.
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He averages 7 Rebs in less than 20 mins...that equals 17 rebounds per 48 min. That is incredible. He is considered one of the greatest rebounders ever.
 
Foval21 said:
He averages 7 Rebs in less than 20 mins...that equals 17 rebounds per 48 min. That is incredible. He is considered one of the greatest rebounders ever.
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By whom? He's a great rebounder but that is it. He brings little else to the table. He's a role player and the NBA is full of them. That's why guys like Jared Reiner end up in the league. He's tall and he can fill a role and hopefully develop. Gabe Olesani fits that description, IMO but he is more athletic and blocks more shots than Jared Reiner ever did.
 
JonnyGuido said:
There was a recent post about final four teams and the amount of talent you realistically need to get there and I have heard how most NCAA championship teams ordinarily have 3-6 future NBA players on its roster. Do we have any right now? I say potentially the only possibilities are Uthoff and Woody. Thoughts?
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There is not any NBA talent on this team, period.

That doesn't mean they can't finally make the dance or do very well in conference play and be fun to watch.
 
lightning1 said:
I remember a guy. 6'8 and 230 lbs. No outside shot. couldn't jump real high. Wasn't the best finisher around the rim even as his post moves were limited. He could rebound though. Reggie Evans was his name and he is still on an NBA roster, even though he's only averaged 4.1 ppg over his career. I never thought of him as being a can't miss NBA prospect. What's the point of that? A lot of players have long NBA careers that don't dominate games. There are only 5 guys on the floor at any one time yet there are 14 players on an active roster.
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Reggie was a beast on the boards at Iowa, but he essentially played post forward. He had no game outside of 8 feet in college. It's even more limited in the game. However, he has been voted (for three years running, I believe) the dirtiest player in the NBA.
 
FBletterman said:
Yes Aaron White, he's a matchup nightmare
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On the collegiate level he can be and is to a lot of team but I don't see how he is in the NBA. A lot of guys who are bigger than him play a similar slashing type style but they can also hit jumpers. Basically, I don't see how he offers much that would make him a matchup nightmare in the pros because he brings something to the table that others do in a much better way.
 
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