Essential The Official ESPN Insider Thread (ESPN+)

[Skooby]

Goodman: Lessons learned from Champions Classic

Goodman: Lessons learned from Champions Classic



Kentucky took down Duke with ease on Tuesday night and Michigan State got a sensational performance from senior Denzel Valentine to knock off Kansas.

The Champions Classic is the perfect environment to get some answers, with the bright lights and quality competition that is often lacking through much of nonconference play.

Here's what we learned after watching the doubleheader on Tuesday night:


1. Duke lacks a point guard who makes others better

Sure, freshman Derryck Thornton made a few shots in the 74-63 loss to Kentucky, but the Blue Devils lack a ready-made point guard. Matt Jones has never really played the point, and he has been forced to run the team. Last season, Tyus Jones found teammates for uncontested shots. Duke's best offense early in the game was a Marshall Plumlee putback, which isn't a good thing for Coach K. Mike Krzyzewski is a terrific coach who will make adjustments, and the offense will improve, but Duke still will have difficulty scoring this season.


2. Tyler Ulis is Kentucky's leader

This isn't so much of a takeaway but a reminder of how much I have loved Ulis, Kentucky's diminutive point guard, from the first day I saw him three years ago in AAU ball. Ulis does everything on the court: He runs the team, makes quality decisions, makes shots when needed, gives teammates easy buckets, defends and even rebounds well for his size (5-foot-9, 160 pounds). Championship teams need high-level floor leaders and Ulis is just that. This is the No. 1 reason why UK has a chance to get back to the Final Four.


3. Michigan State is a national power

I was worried about my preseason national champion pick of Michigan State after hearing that Seth Greenberg and Fran Fraschilla also chose Tom Izzo's team. However, after watching Valentine put up a triple-double and carry the Spartans on his back in the second half, I feel much better about it. I'll put the coach-player duo of Izzo and Valentine up against any other combo in the country.


4. MSU is incomplete

This Michigan State team we saw wasn't nearly what it could or should be. The Spartans played without two key frontcourt guys in Gavin Schilling (turf toe) and Marvin Clark Jr. (left foot injury), and also didn't get anything out of West Virginia transfer Eron Harris (two points). Freshman big man Deyonta Davis has a chance to be special down the road. Izzo has no shortage of shooters, with freshman Matt McQuaid (who can do more than just shoot it) the best on the team.


5. Grayson Allen has to embrace contact rather than shy away from it

On too many occasions, the Duke guard drove the right side and threw up a runner off the glass that was way off the mark. Allen got to the line only three times, all in the second half.


6. Kentucky's freshmen are mature

The duo of Jamal Murray and Isaiah Briscoe may be young, but they look like men. Murray is as good as advertised. I'd never seen him play in person before Tuesday night, and he's more athletic than he looks on tape. Murray and Briscoe are big, strong guards -- and that's one of the key reasons why they beat Duke. The guards were stronger and more physical.


7. Wayne Selden Jr.'s summer hasn't carried over

He had a terrific performance this past summer at the World University Games, but the junior wing remains inconsistent and will need to be more reliable for Kansas to be an elite team capable of cutting down the nets. Selden finished 3-of-12 from the field and was just 1-of-8 in the second half. Selden made 2-of-6 shots from beyond the arc, but needs to get back to what he does best -- driving the ball to the basket instead of settling for long-range shots.


8. It's going to take time for Duke freshman Brandon Ingram

The 6-9 skilled wing has a ton of potential, but he's only about 190 pounds. Ingram is ranked high on NBA draft boards because of that potential, but he will struggle with the physicality of the game. And he's also a kid who need to develop more of a killer instinct.


9. Kansas' guards need to remember to feed the big men

The Jayhawks' bread-and-butter is using angles to get the ball down low. Senior Perry Ellis was effective early and is tough to stop with his array of moves in the paint. However, four KU perimeter players took 21 of the 32 shots in the second half. They need to find a way to get Ellis the ball more often, as he's a difficult matchup because of his ability to score in a variety of ways.


10. Kansas needs Cheick Diallo for his energy and toughness

The freshman still hasn't been cleared by the NCAA (the organization has yet to make any decision on Diallo, who watched the game from his dorm). Diallo won't be a huge scoring threat, but he plays with a high motor and will certainly help coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks.

 

[Skooby]

FYI, i'll be gone visiting fam til the middle of next week and won't be able to update.

 

[TrillCauleyStein]

props nikka

 

[Jplaya2023]

FYI, i'll be gone visiting fam til the middle of next week and won't be able to update.

have a fun and safe trip breh

 

[Dr. Narcisse]

Sando: Jameis Winston's improvement is real

 

[raptorize]

@scooby could you get this one? Thanks,
Adams: Is Curry both MVP and most improved?

 

[954UAlreadyknow]

Pelton: Kobe not a top-10 player of all time

 

[Jplaya2023]

5-on-5: Kobe's best, worst, all-time ranking

 

[954UAlreadyknow]

@Skooby

 

[Skooby]

Sando: Jameis Winston's improvement is real

Jameis Winston is making strides



The fourth interception Jameis Winston threw against Carolina in Week 4 gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie 25 picks over a 17-game run dating back to his final season at Florida State. Winston was fulfilling pessimistic pre-draft prophecies, including one from an NFL offensive coordinator who told me the Buccaneers would regret selecting Winston first overall.

"He threw so many bad interceptions in college where everybody is wide open," this coordinator said before the season. "[Winston] is gunslinger plus bad decision-making, and that equals bad."

Not so bad: Winston tossing five touchdown passes without a pick during a 45-17 demolition of Philadelphia in Week 11. That performance gave Winston 12 total TDs with only two turnovers since Week 5, good for a plus-10 differential that ranks second in the NFL, behind only Tom Brady's plus-13.

Winston's first 10 NFL starts have showcased the best (five-TD game) and worst (four-INT game) of what analysts thought he might become. It's time to project where evaluators will slot Winston in the next Quarterback Tiers surveyafter placing him in the fourth tier by default this past offseason. Viewing Winston's throws against the Eagles through the eyes of a veteran NFL coach helped. So did placing Winston's 10-start stat line alongside those for other rookie starters over the past decade.



About that Philly game
Winston completed 19 of 29 passes for 246 yards against the Eagles. His passer rating (131.6) and Total QBR score (94.7) were season highs. The Buccaneers rushed for 283 yards, with Doug Martin gaining 6.1 yards per carry before contact, best in the league this season for backs with at least 25 carries in a game. Winston took only one sack.




To better analyze Winston's performance, the veteran NFL coach consulted for this piece went through every throw Winston made, categorizing each by degree of difficulty.

The coach gave Winston high marks on three of the six toughest throws the quarterback made. Winston made two of these throws using play-action on first down, favorable circumstances for quarterbacks. The other positively graded throw carrying higher difficulty was more impressive because the situation was third-and-16, much tougher for the offense. Tampa Bay kept two backs in protection as receiver Vincent Jackson ran a sail route to the outside third of the field (see screenshot below). Winston rifled the ball from the far hash. Jackson was wide open by the time the ball arrived, so a perfect throw was not necessary. Winston delivered one anyway.




The coach gave Winston low marks on the three other relatively difficult throws the quarterback made against the Eagles. Every one of these was on a third-and-6 or longer. One of them didn't count because the Eagles were offsides. Winston actually completed one of these negatively graded throws, finding running back Charles Sims for a 14-yard touchdown.

"He is throwing to a back on a stop-and-go and he lobs the ball with pressure in his face and does not follow through," the coach said. "Two guys from Philly could pick it, one of them for sure. The back makes a miraculous play. [Winston] should not throw this ball and he lofted it because he could not follow through. Pure fortune here."

Winston missed receiver Mike Evans on a deep ball with 7:51 left in the first quarter, the first pass of the game that the coach considered difficult. "This is the ball that the kid made the juggling catch on in the Super Bowl," the coach said, referencing Jermaine Kearse's catch for Seattle against New England. "Rodgers and Brady place this in the receiver's hands. It's a hard throw, an NFL quarterback throw, and he does not make it here. He throws it in peril of interception by leaving it inside, with the free safety overlapping quickly."

Overall, the coach thought Winston did a good job executing relatively simple duties on a day when a dominant ground game made life easier and the Eagles failed to capitalize on a few chances for interceptions. Winston completed 7 of 8 passes for 116 yards when the team used play-action or threw screens. His touchdown passes traveled 8 yards past the line of scrimmage on average. The Buccaneers also used bootlegs. This was exactly how a personnel director envisioned the Buccaneers trying to play when I asked him for thoughts before the season.

"He is very talented, very smart and he sees it," this director said. "He has to work at it and protect the football. They will help him. Whether they can protect him or not, I do not know. They will do everything they can by running the ball and scheming."

Winston's first 10 starts stack up well
Winston is one of 25 quarterbacks over the past decade to make his first 10 starts as a rookie. He ranks fourth among them in QBR (60.9), trailing Robert Griffin III (76.6), Andrew Luck (75.3) and Matt Ryan (72.6). Russell Wilson(60.0) is sixth on the list, just ahead of Vince Young (54.4), Teddy Bridgewater (54.1) and Cam Newton (52.1). That is not bad company.

The first chart shows where Winston stands across nine statistical categories among that group of rookie quarterbacks making their first 10 starts since the start of 2006. Six of the 25 tied for the best record at 6-4, while Derek Carr went 0-10. Griffin led the way in completion rate at 67.1 percent, while Blaine Gabbert was at the bottom with a 48.8 percent rate. Griffin threw only three interceptions, best of the bunch. Matthew Stafford threw 20, more than double the number Winston has thrown.



Rookie QB (1st 10 starts) Best Since 2006 Winston Worst Since 2006
W-L 6-4 5-5 0-10
Completion Pct. 67.1 58.3 48.8
Passing Yards 2,965 2,405 1,452
Yards/Pass Att. 7.9 7.7 5.2
Passing TDs 15 15 3
INTs 3 9 20
Passer Rating 101.0 86.5 61.1
Sacked 11 17 37
Total QBR 76.6 60.9 10.6


The second chart shows which rookies were the best and worst in each category through 10 games, plus Winston's ranking among the 25 players in each category.



Rookie QB (1st 10 starts) Best Since 2006 Winston Rank Worst Since 2006
W-L six players 7th Derek Carr
Completion Pct. Robert Griffin III 13th Blaine Gabbert
Passing Yards Andrew Luck 3rd Jimmy Clausen
Yards/Pass Att. Robert Griffin III 3rd Bruce Gradkowski
Passing TDs three players 1st Jimmy Clausen
INTs Robert Griffin III 6th Matthew Stafford
Passer Rating Robert Griffin III 4th Mark Sanchez
Sacked three players 19th Blake Bortles
Total QBR Robert Griffin III 4th Jimmy Clausen


Projecting Winston's spot in 2016 QB Tiers
Twenty of the 35 coaches and personnel evaluators polled before the season placed Winston in the fourth of five possible performance tiers. That is typically where voters will place a rookie when there are sufficient questions about how the player might fare. Winston also commanded one vote in the second tier, 10 in the third and four in the fifth. I suspect voters who placed Winston in the bottom three tiers will move him up one tier from where they had him previously.

Winston has twice as many interception-free games in the NFL (six) as he had at Florida State last season. That suggests he is learning from his mistakes, something Winston did not seem to do at the college level. The off-field and maturity concerns that followed Winston into the league have not seemed to work against him so far. Winston's outsized personality also seems to be a plus for a team that has won four of its past six games after losing 20 of its previous 23.

How well will Winston handle success?

It was interesting to see coach Lovie Smith standing to the side in the locker room recently while Winston gave an impassioned postgame speech that would have made Ray Lewis proud. Lewis earned the floor over many years. Players typically earn true leadership status through consistent performance over time -- game after game, practice after practice, meeting after meeting, offseason workout after offseason workout. Winston has played well in a handful of his first 10 starts, so time will tell whether his demonstrative leadership has staying power. For now, the Buccaneers can feel good about the strides Winston is making.

 

[Skooby]

@scooby could you get this one? Thanks,
Adams: Is Curry both MVP and most improved?

Is Stephen Curry both MVP and most improved player?

Last week as a guest analyst on ESPN's NBA Countdown, Golden State Warriorsforward Harrison Barnes delivered a hot take regarding teammate Stephen Curry.






Could Barnes be right?

Well, Curry is already the front-runner to repeat as MVP, but the Most Improved Player award typically goes to guys who surprise us by breaking out of the pack.

Last season, for instance, Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls won the award by leaping from role player to star in a single season.

So the award doesn't really fit Curry. Or does it? Who is doing more to break out of the pack than Curry?

Let's look at several measures to see where Curry has improved.

Scoring
Curry has upped his scoring average from from 23.8 to 32.1, an increase of 8.3 points per game. Among players to appear in at least 10 games last season, onlyC.J. McCollum (+13.1) has seen a larger surge. While McCollum is the type of player you'd expect to see a sharp rise in scoring, it's incredibly rare for a player of Curry's stature to improve this much in one year.

In fact, his 8.3 PPG increase is nearly twice that of any reigning MVP in NBA history. Only three MVPs have ever increased their scoring by three or more points per game the following season, according to Elias research. All three repeated as MVP.



DeAndre Jordan has a higher field goal percentage on shots in the paint.

Jordan has done it by dunking 34 times. Curry? One dunk.

Perhaps the most mind-boggling shooting statistic of all relating to Curry's first 16 games is the fact he's actually catching and shooting better when guarded than when unguarded, and it's another area in which he has shown improvement.

Curry is shooting 41.3 percent on unguarded catch-and-shoots and 50.0 percent on guarded catch-and-shoots, per Synergy research. Last season, he converted 39.9 percent of his guarded catch-and-shoots. The world's most dangerous shooter is improving his ability to get up accurate shots, no matter where the defender is.



real plus-minus (RPM) presents a good news, bad news situation for Curry.

His offensive RPM has skyrocketed by more than two points per 100 possessions over his total from last season, which ranked second to James Harden. If it holds up, Curry's offensive RPM will be the best posted by any player over the past 15 seasons.

On the other hand, his defensive RPM has slipped significantly. While Curry's defense made major strides from 2013-14 to 2014-15, it has regressed early this season to the point of Curry being a negative player on that side of the ball.

The end result? An overall RPM that, while still league-leading, is actually worse than last season's.

The verdict
Would voters actually consider giving Curry both awards?

We know they'd give him the MVP.

But in the way of Curry becoming an unprecedented MIP award winner are a lot of other candidates who fit the more traditional pattern.

For instance, McCollum appears to be a strong candidate, and he was nominated before the season by a number of ESPN experts.

Eric Bledsoe has increased his PER almost five points as he tries to lead thePhoenix Suns to a surprise playoff berth. Nicolas Batum is a key player for a playoff contender; his stats have improved with his larger role for his new team, the Charlotte Hornets.

Furthermore, history says Curry won't win both awards.

In the voting records for most improved maintained on Basketball-Reference.com dating to 1995-96, three players -- Derrick Rose in 2010-11,Kevin Durant in 2009-10 and Glen Rice in 1996-97 -- have finished in the top five for both MVP and MIP in the same season.

While those three enjoyed breakout seasons, none were coming off an MVP campaign, a fact that paints a far more gloomy picture for Curry's most improved chances.

In fact, no reigning MVP has come back to finish in the top 10 in the most improved voting the following season.

Then again, from what we've seen so far, no MVP has ever stepped up his game quite like Curry.

 

[Skooby]

Pelton: Kobe not a top-10 player of all time

Why Kobe Bryant is not a top-10 all-time player

With Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant announcing his retirement from basketball at the end of the 2015-16 season, attention now turns to Bryant's legacy.

Just five months remain in Kobe's career, so this seems like a good time to ask about where he ranks among the all-time greats. In particular, is he one of the 10 best to play the game?

A close reading of the facts suggests the answer is no. As remarkable as his career has been, Bryant's résumé can't quite compare to that of the league's inner-circle Hall of Famers.



Win shares: Kobe ranks No. 15
Win shares, found at Basketball Reference, are our most complete historic NBA metric. They give us a way to compare players across NBA eras.

Although full box-score stats did not become available until 1977-78, when the league started tracking player turnovers, Basketball Reference estimates turnovers and other stats that were not recorded at the time (including steals and blocks before 1973-74) to come up with approximations for player value throughout league history.

Bryant is currently 15th among NBA players in career win shares (172.5), with an outside chance of surpassing Reggie Miller (174.4) by the end of the season, if he improves his level of play. Because he has started so poorly, Bryant has actually lost 0.6 win shares from his career total so far this season.



Expected championships added: Kobe ranks No. 20
As Miller's high ranking suggests, the problem with using win shares as a historic measuring stick is they tend to reward longevity over quality of play. To better reflect the impact players had on their teams, I've developed a model that relates their win shares each season to a typical team's chances of winning a championship.

This model shows value is exponential rather than linear. For instance, a season with 15 win shares (such as Bryant's 2005-06 campaign) is nearly three times as valuable as one with 10 win shares (such as his 2010-11).

A preliminary version of this model shows Bryant 20th all time in expected championships added (ECA), just behind Larry Bird and ahead of the late Moses Malone.



Expected championships added
Player ECA Win Shares WS Rank
Wilt Chamberlain 3.82 247.3 2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3.14 273.4 1
Michael Jordan 2.69 214.0 4
Karl Malone 1.86 234.6 3
LeBron James 1.84 178.9 11
Oscar Robertson 1.73 189.2 9
David Robinson 1.63 178.7 12
Dirk Nowitzki 1.40 192.0 7
John Stockton 1.32 207.7 5
Tim Duncan 1.30 201.2 6
Bill Russell 1.23 163.5 17
Kevin Garnett 1.23 190.4 8
Charles Barkley 1.22 177.2 13
George Mikan 1.22 87.8 111
Shaquille O'Neal 1.19 181.7 10
Jerry West 1.16 162.6 19
Magic Johnson 1.14 155.8 20
Chris Paul 1.10 131.3 32
Larry Bird 1.05 145.8 23
Kobe Bryant 1.01 173.1 15


Why Kobe doesn't rate as well by advanced stats
Bryant comes out slightly worse by this method because of his lack of truly elite statistical seasons. Bryant's best season in terms of win shares, 2005-06, ranks 102nd in NBA history behind, for example, Stephen Curry's 2014-15 campaign.

That's fairly consistent with what other advanced metrics indicate. Bryant's 2005-06 performance did rank 56th all-time in PER, but his best season by my wins above replacement player statistic (2002-03, with 20.4 WAR) ranks 72nd, dating back to 1977-78.

ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM) is even harsher. Because of the need for detailed play-by-play data, RPM is available only since 2000-01, but in that span, Bryant's best rating (plus-6.3 points per 100 possessions in 2007-08) ranks 80th in that span.

These all-in-one metrics are universally picking up that by the standards of all-time great scorers, Bryant was relatively inefficient. Bryant's best season in terms of true shooting percentage (.580 in 2006-07) would rank seventh inMichael Jordan's career, seventh in LeBron James' and behind five of Kevin Durant's seven full seasons.

Since Bryant wasn't an exceptional rebounder or distributor and has never rated especially well statistically as a defender, he would need to be better than his peers as a scorer to provide more value than they did. That was only the case in Bryant's very best seasons.


The verdict
Naturally, the arguments in favor of Bryant's greatness are likely to revolve around the five championships the Lakers won during his career. While it's a bad idea to credit team success to one individual, it is true that Bryant's postseason performance is a point in his favor.

He ranks eighth in career playoff win shares. Factoring in playoff value surely lifts Bryant's all-time rank from 20th, but it's harder to make the case that he should jump all the way into the top 10.

It's not just advanced statistics that are down on Bryant's best seasons. He won only one MVP award, which puts him behind the 12 players (including former Lakers teammate Steve Nash) who won the league's highest honor multiple times.

Although there's a case to be made that Bryant should have won in 2005-06, when he set an NBA record for usage rate and carried a limited Lakers team to the playoffs, Bryant benefited from something of a "lifetime achievement" factor in 2007-08, when he beat Kevin Garnett and Chris Paul for the award.

In terms of the share of MVP votes accumulated over the course of his career, Bryant ranks 11th.

Considering all those factors, I'd ultimately rank Bryant somewhere around the 15th-best player in NBA history. You might move him a few spots in either direction, depending how you value playoff performance versus regular-season success, peak value versus longevity and the league's quality of play over time.

But when it comes to cracking the 10 best NBA players ever, Bryant didn't quite accomplish enough in a career that now has a finish line in sight.

 

[Skooby]

5-on-5: Kobe's best, worst, all-time ranking

The best, the worst and the all-time ranking of Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant made it official Sunday night -- the 2015-16 NBA season will be his last. Our panel of Insiders assesses where Kobe ranks among NBA and L.A. legends, analyzes his greatest strengths and weakness and shares favorite memories.

1. Where does Kobe rank historically among the NBA's greatest players?

Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: The game evolves, and contemporary greats stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before them. That makes cross-era comparisons more complex than they seem at first.





But let's do it. I'd definitely takeKareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and Bill Russell over Bryant. That would place him in the Nos. 8-15 range, along with guys like Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Rick Barry, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Moses Malone and Julius Erving.

Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider:Around 15th, as I explained inSunday's column on his place in league history.

David Thorpe, ESPN Insider: I have him in the 6-12 range, and ultimately probably in the top 10. Jordan, Magic, Duncan, Kareem and Bird are untouchable to me. But as one of the all-time best scorers and defenders, Kobe belongs in the top dozen for sure.

Tom Haberstroh, ESPN Insider: I'll put him at 14th. I'm not a "count the ringzzz" guy because championships rely so much on things beyond a player's control (front office, coaching, teammates, injuries, etc). Bryant is one of the best scorers ever, but he wasn't efficient. Case in point: He has missed 502 more field goal attempts than any other player in NBA history. And counting.

Chad Ford, ESPN Insider: Just outside the top 10. Jordan, Russell, Chamberlain, Kareem, Duncan, LeBron, Bird, Magic, Shaq and Oscar Robertson are all ahead of him, in my opinion. He's in the upper echelon of the next group with Hakeem, Jerry West, David Robinson, Karl Malone, Moses Malone andDirk Nowitzki.

2. Where does Kobe rank all time among the Lakers?
Elhassan: Third. Magic is still the greatest Laker, in my opinion, and Kareem is probably 1a. I give Bryant the nod over Shaquille O'Neal for longevity, and over Jerry West and Elgin Baylor for overall excellence -- an extremely high compliment considering the illustrious careers of those two men.

Pelton: Fourth. I would put him behind Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar and West. Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar had higher peaks, as evidenced by multiple MVPs, and West was the better all-around shooting guard, in my view.

Thorpe: Magic was "Showtime," and Kareem made that team far better with his low-post talent, which allowed those teams to excel when opponents took away their fast break. Though both had their share of drama in Tinseltown, neither was perceived as negatively as Kobe. But he still ranks third on my list.

Haberstroh: Second. No Laker has more win shares, games, minutes, points, steals, free throws or turnovers (OK, forget that last one) than the Black Mamba. But, man, I can't put him higher on the list than Magic, who was stripped of his age-31 to age-35 seasons due to HIV.

Ford: Third. Kareem and Magic are ahead of him. Shaq didn't play with the Lakers long enough to be in there. Wilt was beginning the downturn of his career. So it's Kobe or the Logo. Both guys were relentless. Both were lifelong Lakers. Both were legends in their own right. But Kobe's five titles to West's one gives him the slight edge for me.

3. What were Kobe's greatest strengths as a player?
Elhassan: His almost encyclopedic knowledge of the game and players, both past and present. All great players are students of the game to some extent, but Bryant's voracious appetite for film and scouting reports is the stuff of legend. Additionally, his ability to tie the thread from the moves of the greats of yesteryear to modern technique made him unique among his peers.

Pelton: His ability to create a massive number of shots for himself without losing much efficiency in his prime. In 2005-06, when Bryant used a record 38.7 percent of the Lakers' plays, his .559 true shooting percentage was still far better than league average. Only a handful of players in NBA history could have pulled that off.

Thorpe: Pretty simple, really. Elite-level athlete. Elite-level work ethic. Elite-level hoops IQ. Elite-level ball handler. Elite-level scorer, in transition and half-court play. Elite-level technician with his footwork and his ability to use his body and size to seal defenders. Very good shooter at times. Elite-level defender. Incredibly mentally tough. And likely the single top competitor of his generation.

Haberstroh: His ability to beat you one-on-one. This, though the rings are nice, is why he's worshipped. His array of weapons with the ball may be unmatched among players not named Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Most players have a counter to your counter. In his prime, Kobe had about 15 ready to go.

Ford: Relentlessness. Tim Grover, who trained both Jordan and Kobe, wrote a book about this. The instinct to destroy and demoralize opponents (and sometimes teammates) in pursuit of excellence. While Kobe had elite athletic tools and was incredibly skilled, it was that relentlessness that moved him from great to unstoppable.

the eight players in NBA history with 5,000 or more career 3-point attempts, Bryant (33.1 percent) is the only one to make them at worse than a 34.9-percent clip.

Thorpe: His mental toughness and confidence ran him into trouble as a decision-maker, especially regarding shot selection. He just got too tunnel-visioned too often. And his drive for excellence, combined with his inability to relate to Shaq's lack of same, helped break up what could have been the best era for a team ever (in modern times). It also helped curb the enthusiasm of others to go to L.A., as far as we can tell.

Haberstroh: His borderline unhealthy obsession with beating you one-on-one. Basketball is a team sport, but Bryant often made it feel like he was going to do it his way or no way at all. He never averaged more than six assists in a full season, and it seemed like more of his teammates would go in the foe column rather than friend. Can you say the same about Jordan, Duncan, Magic or LeBron?

Ford: Relentlessness. Kobe's win-at-any-cost attitude helped him win five titles. But it was also self-centered, making it difficult for him to collaborate with less-talented teammates. That same relentlessness turned off teammates, and toward the end of his career, when his athleticism waned, the Lakers struggled to build a team around him that was elite.

5. What's your favorite Kobe memory?
Elhassan: Without a doubt, Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals versus the Indiana Pacers. With O'Neal fouled out, Bryant took over (on a bum ankle, no less), scoring eight of the team's 16 points in overtime to give the Lakers what would prove to be an insurmountable 3-1 series lead.

Pelton: I was fortunate to be in Portland for a 2013 regular-season contest to cover Kobe's last great game. He played the full 48 minutes in a win over the Blazers and scored 47 points -- on my birthday, no less. Two nights later, he ruptured his Achilles, and you know the rest of the story.

Thorpe: Off-court memory: My brother telling me, "We should buy their stock," when Kobe signed with Adidas, then far behind Nike in the sneaker wars. On-court memory: I was teaching Luol Deng how to find chances to post up, and I had him study tape on Kobe when he would run to the post in transition. The first time he did it in a game, Deng called me afterward to say he literally saw himself as Kobe in that moment of time. We think of Kobe's scoring skill, but people miss how smart he is on the court.

Haberstroh: It has to be the no-flinch clip with Matt Barnes in 2010. This says everything there is to know about Kobe Bryant. Fearless. Menacing. And he doesn't even lift a finger.

Ford: The 1998 All-Star Game. Kobe trying to go toe-to-toe with Michael Jordan. Waving off screens from Karl Malone and other All-Stars as he tried to outplay his idol. I think it foreshadowed both Kobe's rise as the next face of the NBA and his shortcomings as a teammate. If Kobe plays in the All-Star Game again this season, I doubt much would change. I could see him waving off teammates to stick to LeBron one last time.

 

[FappleMeOff]

Michigan and Maryland recruits react to D.J. Durkin hire

 

[Skooby]

Michigan and Maryland recruits react to D.J. Durkin hire

Michigan and Maryland recruits react to D.J. Durkin hire


Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin was hired by Maryland to fill the vacant head coach position, the school announced Wednesday. Durkin helped first-year coach Jim Harbaugh establish a top defense in Ann Arbor, and also helped expand Michigan’s recruiting net across the country.

Durkin has helped reel in some major defensive prospects for the Wolverines in the 2016 class, including two ESPN 300 defensive linemen in Jordan Elliott andRon Johnson.

Elliott took to Twitter to tell Michigan fans that the news would not impact his commitment to the Wolverines.

Johnson had a similar message, saying Durkin leaving doesn’t change much for him.

“I’m a Wolverine,” Johnson said. “I love the academics and my comfort level there.”

That thought seems to be similar to how the other defensive commitments feel as well.

Jonathan Jones.

“I had a nice relationship with him and it definitely impacts you because [of the question of] who is going to be the defensive coordinator now,” Jones said. “Of course you still have Harbaugh and I fell in love with the school personally. If Harbaugh left this would be a whole different thing, but he will probably bring in a big name that will have a productive defense.”

Jones does mention that he wants to talk to his parents about the news because of that uncertainty. He doesn’t know who the next defensive coordinator will be, what kind of relationship he will have with him and if that new coach will still want to recruit him.

ESPN 300 linebacker Caleb Kelly had similar feelings and added that he wants to wait and see who Michigan brings in to coach the defense because he would need to know who his coach would be if he were to choose Michigan.

Fellow Florida native and ESPN 300 linebacker Devin Bush Jr. said he thought the news would impact him more than it has, so he isn’t too concerned.

“He was my recruiter and position coach and the defensive coordinator, so I thought if he left you can count Michigan off,” Bush Jr. said. “But now that it happened, I still am considering Michigan. It doesn’t impact me as much as I thought it would.”

The move also means that Maryland's commitments finally know who their new head coach will be, an assurance that seems to have sparked some excitement from the Terps’ prospects.

Durkin is young, energetic and known as a good recruiter with a good reputation, and recruits seem to be aware of that.

Defensive end Terrell Hall tweeted excitement over the news. Hall is an ESPN 300 prospect from the state of Maryland and says now that Durkin is there, he is hoping to get in contact with the new staff.

“Definitely, he has a great history,” Hall said. “I haven’t talked to Maryland in a while, but some of the recruits have already reached out about this.”

The good news for both programs is that there is a recruiting dead period starting on December 14, running until January 13. That means coaches can call prospects, but cannot have any in-person contact.

That will give each side time to regroup and figure out a game plan with enough time left to close out to signing day.

The big questions for both sides, though, are No. 1-ranked Rashan Gary for Michigan and ESPN 300 quarterback commit Dwayne Haskins Jr. for Maryland.

Neither was immediately available for comment on Wednesday, but fans of both teams are waiting anxiously to hear their reactions to the news.

Haskins recently visited Florida, but the Gators picked up a commitment from fellow ESPN 300 quarterback Feleipe Franks and are reportedly talking to Georgia quarterback commit Jacob Eason.

Gary and his mother, Jennifer Coney, have commented on the importance of Harbaugh and defensive line coach Greg Mattison in Gary's recruitment, both of whom are still coaching at Michigan.