Quite a haul

[Marsh01]

If Craig didn't miss so many bunnies he wouldn't have been shat on so much.

True dat

 

[armory]

For all the crap Craig Forth has taken from people like me over the years, there are 3 things he was great at - he shut off the baseline drive amazingly well, at an elite level, which was a big key to our defense in 2003; he set great picks on offense, especially for Gerry; and he was a good teammate, i.e., not a jerk, somebody who got along with his teammates and was willing to take on a lesser role for the good of the team.

I ripped Craig Forth a ton, and TBH, he earned most of it. No 7-footer should ever miss that many layups and no 7-footer should get posterized by a rim! He eventually grew onto me because you knew what you were going to get from him and while not offensively productive he was never a liability. And he definitely set sexy picks.

 

[IthacaMatt]

If Craig didn't miss so many bunnies he wouldn't have been shat on so much.

He could have rebounded better, too. But his position defense was excellent. For a guy who barely could jump, he had a lot of blocked shots.

 

[jordoo]

Everyone knows that all children dream of playing in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.

They all have the same deam . . . . . . . to follow SU, Pitt, Lville and ND to the best bball conference on the east coast and for that conference to hold its championship @ MSG!

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The problem with Forth is that in order to talk about his ability you really had to get into nuances of the game like setting picks and screens on offense and establishing position on defense.

He was really good at more advanced, technical aspects of the game but kinda sucked at the generic parts, like making baskets.

 

[anomander]

tough to see everyone so down on Rak. Personally, i think he is by far the best big man we have and one of the better big men in the league. you don't find freak athletes his size, and when he is playing with confidence they don't get much better on the college level. he was never expected to come in and dominate offensively, that just isn't his game. but what he does is play good defense, is usually always in position, and blocks shots. he is also pretty good finishing at the rim when he's on. now i'll admit i'm probably the biggest rak apologist there is because i see what is there, but even i was disappointed in his effort last game. i see exactly what JB did when he yanked him. it's not him playing hard it's him continuing with the play. he will attempt for a block, but then after the shot is off he doesn't get back into the mix. that is something easily fixed, and am expecting a bigger role from him down the stretch. JB wants to play him because we are so limited offensively with bmk in there.

with that said i can guarantee rak was 100% gone before the season started. now, it's still pretty high he's gone, but there is a chance he comes back. you have to realize it's not if these kids are ready to play in the nba, but do they have the potential to make money playing ball somewhere in the world. with basketball global now there are a ton of other places you can have a nice career without being in the nba. you never know these kids family situation, so to easily dismiss these kids making bad decisions based on that would be foolish. i for one would love to see him back, but i'm definitely not counting on it. if you can see how JB attacked recruiting, you can bet he knows whats going on as welll.

 

[VaBeachOrFan]

Surprised everyone is jumping on Rak.

. . . . The NBA doesn't care at all about college stats.

I personally think Rak could be a steal for a NBA team in the 2nd round that wants to play uptempo. . . .

You mean like the Lakers? Think D'Antoni would like to have MCW (1st round) and RAK (2nd round) in his lineup if he could swing it? Think Nash would be a good mentor for MCW and Kobe could ignite RAK's motor? Just a thought, given that the current Laker roster is a total mismatch with D'Antoni's preferred style and coaching abilities.-VBOF

 

[orangecuse]

I wonder how many times Magic got his pocket picked at MSU or LAL?

That's funny, but so true...

 

[Flacusian]

Rak is a total enigma. There is no doubt that he has the tools to be a beast but my take is that his temperament and propensity to pick up and execute the subtleties of the game is not where it should be in JB's eyes. Some of the earlier posts which allude to his seeming nonchalance dovetail in with some of the comments that JB has made in the past. I think the balance of the season will be telling as to what we can expect with regard to his returning / transferring/ testing the draft waters.

There are times when it looks like he could dominate and others when you are left scratching your head. I hope he does have some type of epiphany and really finds his motor as we move toward the post season. Frankly, I'd like to see him come back because it often takes they big guys longer to really develop their game and he certainly has the physical tools to be a force for us.