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Message: [QUOTE="RF2044, post: 61891, member: 40"] That's absolutely what I'm suggesting--and I agree with General20 and OttoMets above when they suggest that Watkins was a superior defender. You are right when you suggest that playing defense is much more than just about blocked shot. Sometimes, I think people get confused about the 5's defensive responsibilities since we predominantly play zone. In our system, pivots primarily are there to clog space, to deter penetration, and to step up and cover the foul line extended when the opposing team works the ball inside past the perimeter defenders. That's typically all we ask our big guys to do. Some have better shot blocking aptitude than others [Etan, Rick, McNeil, McRae, etc.] and are able to make up for teammates' defensive lapses by providing weakside help or [to quote Bill Raftery] negating attempts with a timely blocked shot to bail out the defensive breakdown. Others are bigger bodied, and are better space-eaters to clog the middle [Forth, AO, Otis, etc.]. Where Watkins excelled compared to many of the names listed above was that he was capable of bodying up and playing his man one-on-one, while still fulfilling his zone defensive responsibilities. He had to play some beasts in the paint during his time at SU--guys like Aaron Gray was a load who overpowered most players his senior year. He couldn't do that to Watkins, who routinely held him in check. Ditto Hibbert from Georgetown, who was a mountain that would overpower most smaller defenders. He couldn't do that to Watkins. And those SU teams Watkins started on his final two years were relatively poor defensively, so in addition to having his hands full in the middle, he also was called upon frequently to be the last line of defense when someone ole'd their repsonsibility. Thomas was the best shot blocker at SU I've ever seen [with apologies to Roosevelt Bouie, who was a bit ahead of my time], hands down, bar none. But he didn't have a great instinctive feel for the game in other respects, which meant that despite being an incredible athlete, he was very mechanical in how he played in every facet of the game besides shot blocking. Which also meant that he was prone to getting caught floating and didn't anticipate where the ball was going well. Now, he could make up for that many times with superlative shot blocking aptitude, but pound for pound Watkins was the better defensive player--and probably the best defensive center we've ever had. I agree 100% with General20 above, characterizing it as elite defensive aptitude. That doesn't mean that he was a "great" player or that he was as good in other dimensions of the game--he wasn't--or that he was as good as some of the other centers we've had. But on defensive ability alone, he was on a different level than the other centers we've had. [/QUOTE]

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