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Before the NBA Draft, and after being taken by Memphis with the #3 pick, Cameron Boozer made it clear that he didn’t understand why he wasn’t seen by many as a likely #1 pick.
He has a point, but let’s look at the other side of the argument.
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Boozer is seen, somewhat unfairly, as not highly athletic. By conventional measures, AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson are more athletic. They do jump higher and run faster.
But as we learned during the run-up to the draft, Boozer rated better on his athleticism than many people expected. In some metrics, for instance, he surpassed UNC’s Caleb Wilson.
But athleticism is not always the ultimate metric. The gold standard there is still Michael Jordan, but that guy refined his game endlessly, and he became a great scorer, great defender, and great ball handler.
He mastered his craft, in other words.
Arkansas’s Darius Acuff has mastered some of his craft, but not defense. We’ve talked a lot about the importance of going to a solid organization, and Acuff, unfortunately, went to Sacramento. He won’t get what he needs there, so if he becomes a good defender, it’ll be because he wants to, and so far, he’s shown no desire to defend.
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You can’t measure athletic intelligence by measuring athletic ability. Tim Duncan is widely regarded as a better player than Karl Malone, James Worthy, Charles Barkley, or Clyde Drexler. A quiet presence on the court, Duncan was called the Big Fundamental, and he rarely made foolish mistakes.
He mastered his craft.
Of all the players in the draft, no one has mastered his craft to the level Boozer has. That’s been called a high floor, with the implication that his potential ceiling is not that impressive.
But this guy walked into his first college event, an exhibition game at Tennessee, and scored 24 points, pulled down 23 rebounds, and handed out 6 assists.
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Keep in mind that Tennessee regularly beats opponents into the ground. It’s a Rick Barnes trademark.
As an 18-year-old, Boozer consistently dominated older players while at Duke, and his consistency was ridiculous.
But can that translate into success…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/boozer-criticism-valid-130100851.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-24 13:01:00
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