The Jazz Junkies

The Rocky Mountain Revue was a blast!  I only was able to go for two of the nights (hopefully next year I’ll be able to go to more), but I also have been able to watch plenty of the games/highlights on t.v.  That being said, I have many comments and opinions about many of the rookies/second year players that played for the Jazz and also a couple opinions about other teams’ players.  Because I have several notes and analysis, I am going to break the posts up my on this blog into a few segments…  So here is part 1of Ben’s Rocky Mountain Revue analysis.

Here I will write about players and my opinions about them: (In no particular order)

Haminn Quaintance from Kent State (Rookie)
This guy reminded me a lot of Paul Millsap.  Yes, he is a Small Forward at 6′8″, but he fought really hard for his rebounds.  Even when he was matched against tall giants like Brooke Lopez he was still able to get rebounds and play good defense.  Quaintance was very aggressive both offensively and defensively.  As for the negative side, he at times seemed a little sluggish when running up and down the court.  He also was not a very good passer.  His passes seemed weak and not accurate.  Ben’s Opinion = Don’t sign him

Morris Almond from Rice/Utah Jazz D-League (2 yrs)
Almond is one of the better shooters that I have ever seen play basketball.  He has a way of squaring up to the basket at any spot on the court, and hitting his shots.  Almond also has good ball control.  I saw him weave in and out of defenders with quickness and accuracy and drive to the basket with confidence.  He is a great player and has a lot to offer.  As for the negative, he is not a good defender.  He reminds me defensively of a young Kobe Bryant.  Yes he is great on offense, but play some defense for Hell’s sake.  Move your feet, put your hands up.  Don’t just walk around and hope your teammates play defense.  He needs to learn to defend, especially if he is expected to defend the many stars of the N.B.A. Ben’s Opinion = Keep and play him in another year, just work on his defense

Kyrylo Fesenko from Ukraine/Utah Jazz D-League (2 yrs)
Honestly, I do like this guy although I don’t like his bleached-blonde hair, hee hee… But more seriously, I think he is a good player.  He looks like he has gained some weight, in the form of muscle and doesn’t look like much of a stick-man anymore.  To me that translates to being a better “post-player” and able to fight harder down low like a Center should.  Fesenko is sturdy on his feet and seems to be coordinated.  As for the negative, he didn’t seem very confident in his shot.  His shooting seemed weak and he didn’t look like he had a lot of desire to play.  Also, his free throw percentage is atrocious, learn how to shoot a free throw my friend… Ben’s Opinion:  Gain some weight and learn to shoot a lot better and more confidently.  I say keep him around for a while and see if he can improve in those much needed places.

Thats all for today, Ben’s RMR part 2 coming soon….

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite