who do you think will be the most improved player next year?

Dom, then Amir, improve the most, IMO.

Um the million dollar bonus. No one is going to give him any money to play basketball at this point. Are you really serious with this question?

Look I think Garrett is a nice role player who if given his undivided attention could possibly develop into a Postall type(2nd round draft pick two seasons in NBA). The Reds are not throwing around a million dollars. If it was the Yankees you could probably chalk it up to an extravagant reach. Obviously they see something. If he has a nice summer there is a very real chance Garrett does not finish 4 years here.

Um yeah I'm serious with this question. 

If he was soooooo good he would have played baseball instead of basketball.  He would have been drafted a lot higher for even more than $1 million spread over 4 years which in MLB terms is a drop in the bucket for any team- Yankees, Reds, Marlins, Pirates, whoever.   He was drafted where he was because he's 6'6 and throws smoke.  I'm very curious to see how he holds up this summer.  Will his velocity stay as he throws more.  Will he develop some secondary pitch(es).

ST John's fans are funny. Most of you seem to ignore the obvious if it is unpleasant. Despite all signs pointing towards him not returning we had endless threads predicting coach's return date last season. Up until the BET actually. Harkless turning pro was also shouted down by most of you right up until he announced he was turning pro. Actually the day he announced pro people were still questioning it.
Garrett will probably not pick up a basketball all summer. I am not sure how much improvement you will see. Unless some of you are talking about his curve?

And some St. John's fans liked to start rumors about coach not returning at all next season. It goes both ways. And I think it was more realistic based on the evidence that he would return at some point this season than not return at all.

Everyone knew Harkless turning pro was a possibility, although I didn't think it was likely, I knew it was a possibility. Garrett I'll give you will probably not improve much over the summer, but once practice starts I think he'll improve dramatically over the course of the first season, just like we saw from him this season.

If Dom became just an average jumpshooter, his game would be taken to a whole new level. Since defenses don't have to respect his shot, it really cuts off his driving lanes, which is where he excels on offense. Defensively, I'm not sure how much room there is for improvement. He's already one of the best in the BE defensively in my opinion.

I think the most improved player will be Sir Dom. He just did not look confident on offence end this past year.

I know people are going to think I am crazy, but I see a lot of Dwayne Wades game in Sir Dom...

If Dom became just an average jumpshooter, his game would be taken to a whole new level. Since defenses don't have to respect his shot, it really cuts off his driving lanes, which is where he excels on offense. Defensively, I'm not sure how much room there is for improvement. He's already one of the best in the BE defensively in my opinion.

Agreed, his ball handling needs work as well. 

When we went man to man against Lehigh in the final 10 mins he did an outstanding job against CJ Mccollum.  I hope we mix in a little more man to man this year with a deeper bench, i think it's a skillset for a lot of the current players on the roster.   

As far as most improved ill go Phil Greene.  I am also optimistic Gift will step up next year against Big East competition.   

Two sport can be done but the athlete has to be comparable in the two sports. If you are significantly better in one sport, the other sport will eventually suffer. Garrett is a better baseball prospect than basketball prospect. He is going to have to concentrate more on baseball.

I hear that he can't hit the side of a barn and throws more strikes at his local bowling alley than on the mound.  Hopefully we don't have anything to worry about and get a great 4 years from him.

I think 3'lo will improve the most.  Will be a hugely confident and less fatigued 1st scoring option (only option? Does Jakarr = Moe?) aided the most by improved point guard play and going back to his natural true 2.  Be shocked if he's not an all BE team selection next season.  Maybe our only one.

I think the most improved player will be Sir Dom. He just did not look confident on offence end this past year.

I know people are going to think I am crazy, but I see a lot of Dwayne Wades game in Sir Dom...

A reminder - at this point in their respective careers, DWade didn't look like DWade - he wasn't playing ball - he was sitting out his freshman year at Marquette as a partial-qualifier academically - and that was as an unranked 3 star prospect, with only 3 D-1 offers...

 Garrett is a low level baseball "project".  He's not leaving.  He was drafted in like the 60th round( i'm guessing). Unless he's a Mike Piazza, I wouldn't espect Amir's path to the Majors accelerate anytime soon...but what do i know.

 to answer the question posted,  i think Pointer will be most improved.  Tremendous athlete, probably best on the team, that the staff needs to work on the basics with.  Handle, 10-15 foot pull up J, and passing.

Garrett is a low level baseball "project".  He's not leaving.  He was drafted in like the 60th round( i'm guessing). Unless he's a Mike Piazza, I wouldn't espect Amir's path to the Majors accelerate anytime soon...but what do i know.

 to answer the question posted,  i think Pointer will be most improved.  Tremendous athlete, probably best on the team, that the staff needs to work on the basics with.  Handle, 10-15 foot pull up J, and passing.

22nd lol

Moe.   

Quote from: boo3 on March 20, 2012, 03:08:06 PM

Garrett is a low level baseball "project".  He's not leaving.  He was drafted in like the 60th round( i'm guessing). Unless he's a Mike Piazza, I wouldn't espect Amir's path to the Majors accelerate anytime soon...but what do i know.

 to answer the question posted,  i think Pointer will be most improved.  Tremendous athlete, probably best on the team, that the staff needs to work on the basics with.  Handle, 10-15 foot pull up J, and passing.

22nd lol

  Duly noted.  Correct me if wrong though.  Amir was drafted based on his live arm, only?  He didn't even play organized baseball for most of high school?  It's not like he's a year in AA, then to the majors. He's got a ton of work to do. 
As far as the signing bonus goes. Is he allowed to play this summer and decide to hell with it?  Can he keep the $$. I wonder if there is language in the contract that says he need "X" amount of years working with trainers, etc...?

Quote from: Moose on March 20, 2012, 03:11:35 PM

Quote from: boo3 on March 20, 2012, 03:08:06 PM

Garrett is a low level baseball "project".  He's not leaving.  He was drafted in like the 60th round( i'm guessing). Unless he's a Mike Piazza, I wouldn't espect Amir's path to the Majors accelerate anytime soon...but what do i know.

 to answer the question posted,  i think Pointer will be most improved.  Tremendous athlete, probably best on the team, that the staff needs to work on the basics with.  Handle, 10-15 foot pull up J, and passing.

22nd lol

  Duly noted.  Correct me if wrong though.  Amir was drafted based on his live arm, only?  He didn't even play organized baseball for most of high school?  It's not like he's a year in AA, then to the majors. He's got a ton of work to do. 
As far as the signing bonus goes. Is he allowed to play this summer and decide to hell with it?  Can he keep the $$. I wonder if there is language in the contract that says he need "X" amount of years working with trainers, etc...?

Your right about why he was drafted.  6'6 lefties don't grow on trees.  Not sure about how the bonus is structured.

Exactly. He's a very athletic, 6'6" lefty who can hit mid 90's on the radar gun.

More than likely he's very raw with one or two pitches and will be able to sit low 90's at this point.

According to ESPN/Baseball America Garrett's signing bonus is $1million spread out over FIVE years.

Meaning I'm not just speculating, but they see Amir as a very long-term project.

High School pitchers in general jumping from high school to the higher levels of the minors remotely quickly are incredibly rare as is, let alone a two-sport star who barely played any organized baseball the last couple of years.

Like I said earlier in the thread, he's going to be on a very limited schedule most likely, working alot with the spring training complex's/low minors' pitching coaches on developing his repetoire and getting used to acclimating himself for a summer baseball schedule.

VERY highly doubt he makes some huge splash with the organization to the point where he throws away basketball lol

Exactly. He's a very athletic, 6'6" lefty who can hit mid 90's on the radar gun.

More than likely he's very raw with one or two pitches and will be able to sit low 90's at this point.

According to ESPN/Baseball America Garrett's signing bonus is $1million spread out over FIVE years.

Meaning I'm not just speculating, but they see Amir as a very long-term project.

High School pitchers in general jumping from high school to the higher levels of the minors remotely quickly are incredibly rare as is, let alone a two-sport star who barely played any organized baseball the last couple of years.

Like I said earlier in the thread, he's going to be on a very limited schedule most likely, working alot with the spring training complex's/low minors' pitching coaches on developing his repetoire and getting used to acclimating himself for a summer baseball schedule.

VERY highly doubt he makes some huge splash with the organization to the point where he throws away basketball lol

Was going to post the same thing regarding Amir's contract. 0404 beat me to it. Anyways, here's the ESPN link.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/34117/reds-give-amir-garrett-a-1-million-bonus

 Thanks fellas re: contract.

 I don't see Amir quitting hoops for baseball anytime soon, unless something crazy happens.

Amir just yelled at me and told me to go to class with him. I think he's my favorite.

Amir just yelled at me and told me to go to class with him. I think he's my favorite.

Good sign. Better than the other way around, you class-cutting slacker.

Quote from: HowCouldUBeSoHarkless on March 20, 2012, 07:17:08 PM

Amir just yelled at me and told me to go to class with him. I think he's my favorite.

Good sign. Better than the other way around, you class-cutting slacker.

Good stuff.  I saw Amir at Roosevelt Field Mall a few weekends ago. He pulled out this huge Louis Vuitton wallet the size of a small pocketbook.  On most guys, not a good look, but Amir made it work. 

Sir Dom.....IMO if he improves his outside shot he can be an All Big East player in two years.