Official “The Athletic” thread

[Anerdyblackguy]

Part 2

Spoiler

Van Houten: The coolest part about Kawhi: He plays mini hoop. In every house I’ve ever been to, he always had a mini hoop. You can only play with your left hand. You can’t play with your right hand. That’s a really cool thing because he’s working on his game even when he’s just at the house.

Franklin: He had a Nerf goal on the back of the door in his apartment, and he would just shoot. Friends would come over, playing 2K, and he would challenge us to a free-throw contest.

Van Houten: He’d come over to my house and he’d watch Michael Jordan highlights. We called them “Mike highs” … I mean, like four or five hours at a time.

Coach Velasquez: We’d be done with the game and he’d be on his phone watching Jordan on YouTube. Right away. He wasn’t texting. He was watching Jordan on YouTube. He’d watch it all day, every day.

Shelton: You would see him watching that stuff. But he still wouldn’t talk about it.

Coach Velasquez: Coach Fisher had a no-cellphone policy at team dinners, but Kawhi would have his phone on his lap watching Jordan highlights. He would really study his moves.

Franklin: On his phone, his background was Michael Jordan. … He would always say, “I’m Mike. You like LeBron, you like Kobe? Yeah, they’re cool, but I’m Mike. I want to be the best, the greatest.” And from how he carried himself, we knew he was serious. We knew that’s what he really wanted.
Van Houten: The only thing we’d give him shyt for was his hands. Like, “Damn, you make that iPhone plus look like an iPhone 5.” Or like, “Damn, it should be a cheat code to play with those hands.”

Deutchman: There were definitely a few jokes about self-pleasure techniques. (His hands) could be helpful or harmful, depending on your perspective. With those, he could probably do a lot more damage with yourself if you get a little too much into it, considering the size of your hands.

Franklin: I’d always get on him about his braids. Like after a practice or after a long road trip, we’re all sweating, and it would look like he just got out of bed with his hair. But he didn’t care at all.

Gay: I used to call him an Avatar. A freakish Avatar, that’s what he was in college. Long limbs, long body, could run like the wind.

Franklin: From what I can remember, if it wasn’t Michael Jordan highlights, he was watching an episode of the Martin Lawrence show. He could be entertained with that. He’s so low-maintenance. Low maintenance, high production.

Shelley: I don’t remember him going to any parties except for one, and he was just kind of off in the corner hanging out until we left.

Shelton: He would be with the team and kick it and party a little bit because it was San Diego and we were winning. But he’d still be the first person up, and he’d be in the gym shooting.

Gay: I used to tell him that I had an unblockable step-back. It took him a while, but he finally started blocking my step-back. And that’s when I was like, “This is just ridiculous.” I was just like, “Yeah, my time is over.”

Coach Velasquez: I’ll never forget when we played at Cal. He remembered that Cal didn’t think he was good enough. He heard that the head coach at the time, Mike Montgomery, didn’t think he was good enough. He made it his personal mission to go out there and want to destroy Cal. They had a really good team. Allen Crabbe was there. They had a squad. But Kawhi went up there at Cal, and you knew when he walked on the floor that game, they had no chance. It was ridiculous.

Shelton: We played at Fresno State against Paul George, and that was when Paul George was getting some hype. I remember Kawhi watching his clips and us doing the scouting report. Now, he never said anything that he was going to lock him up or that he wasn’t any good. He was just like, “OK.”

Franklin: We were playing against Jimmer and BYU in the tournament. He screamed to coach Fisher, “Let me guard him.” At that time, Jimmer was killing everybody in the country. He was Jimmer Fredette. Kawhi had no business taking that challenge or saying that he was better than Jimmer then, but he did it.

Coach Velasquez: (Coach Fisher) would always say, “Kawhi paid the bills.” Kawhi rebounded. Kawhi was the best defender on the floor. Kawhi ran the hardest in transition. Kawhi always did all the little things that helped your team win.

Shelton: He says the most by his actions. He’s probably the only person that I know, that I’ve met, that I’ve seen, that speaks that loudly through his actions. People are like, “Kawhi’s quiet.” I’m like, “No, he’s not. Have you seen him work? Have you seen the dude work out? Do you know what his routine is over the summer?”

Van Houten: He always found a way. If he wants to become the greatest, he’s going to find a way. If he wants to get in a gym and work out, he’s going to find a way.

Franklin: To this day, I apply everything I learned from him. He was the hardest worker. While we were going to class, he would hold his couple papers for the class in his hand and in his backpack he had his sports gear: his shoes, the ball. He was always in the gym. At night, in the day. You could definitely learn from him. That work ethic can be applied to anything. That was the most craziest thing I saw.

Coach Hutson: I was fortunate enough to be around a genius. He had a genius work ethic.

(Top photo: Harry How / Getty Images)

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

@Rell Lauren
@Trust Me

Spoiler

Britton: It’s time for the Mets to move on from Mickey Callaway

Mickey Callaway said it five times about his decision to take out Noah Syndergaard in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s 9-3 extra-inning loss to the Giants.

“That’s one I’d like to have back.”

The Mets should feel the same way about Callaway.

Regret is a motto for these Mets, and each day gives them more reason to regret the decision they made 19 months ago to make Callaway a first-time manager in New York. Through 222 games at the helm, Callaway has done little to inspire confidence in his capabilities to lead this specific team, with his purported strengths failing to surface in a meaningful way.

For instance, Tuesday night marked the second time in three games Callaway was met on the mound with more than the customary level of frustration by his starter. Jacob deGrom had been similarly disgruntled at his removal on Saturday in Phoenix as Syndergaard was on Tuesday.

The decision, booed in the moment by those at Citi Field, never made good baseball sense. The right-hander had retired 10 of the previous 12 hitters, with an error among the exceptions. Only two of those outs required an outfielder. He was cruising.

The Mets hired Callaway to excel in precisely these moments. And yet he removed Syndergaard largely because he feared a potential stolen base by a player who doesn’t often attempt them. (Mike Yastrzemski, who was on first base at the time, has swiped about 10 bags a year in the minors, at a subpar 65 percent clip.) He admitted postgame that “the matchup was about the same” for Syndergaard against Evan Longoria as it was for Seth Lugo


Nevertheless, he instead turned to a bullpen that has proven, time and again in the past fortnight, to be as stable as the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Lugo couldn’t strand the inherited runner and protect the lead and Robert Gsellman was shelled in extra innings. Whether either will be available on Wednesday night behind Jason Vargas is unclear. One poor move reverberates, as it’s had a penchant of doing for Callaway since about mid-April of last season.

That Callaway owned the decision — “he wore it,” Pete Alonso said after the manager apologized to the whole team for his decision — is admirable. Callaway himself has largely lived up to the message of accountability he preached upon his hiring.

But the Mets need more than contrition from their manager. This is his second season and he should have surmounted the learning curve of this job by now. His team is not good enough to overcome such miscues.

No, Callaway is not the be-all and end-all of New York’s problems, and firing him will not cure what ails this franchise. Anyone who watches this team closely knows its issues stem from a persistently meddlesome ownership at the top. First-time general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s offseason maneuverings created more splash than substance, often leaving Callaway to choose between multiple subpar options.

But if Callaway is not the problem for the Mets, he’s just as clearly not a part of the solution. Hired for his pitching expertise, contemporary strategizing and skilled communication, Callaway has seen his entire pitching staff regress, his in-game tactics frequently backfire and his pregame comments often come off as scripted. There have been too many times in which he’s seemed in over his head.

His Mets have lost six of eight and 28 of 47. They own the fifth-worst record and fourth-worst run differential in the National League, and they’ve won a single series over a winning team in nine tries.

Fifteen days ago, New York reached an obvious breaking point in its season off an embarrassing sweep in Miami. Van Wagenen eschewed the chance to either fire or commit to Callaway, instead punting the decision down the road — beyond whatever “the foreseeable future” meant subjectively to him.

You didn’t have to be Cassandra to foresee this present. The Mets have shown little improvement in the time since, taking advantage of bad teams at home and being beaten by good ones on the road. The speculation surrounding Callaway has only intensified, morphing from if to when. It’s reached the point where it can become a daily distraction for a team already teetering on its own.

The manager is twisting in the wind. New York would be best served by ending the speculation and moving on.

 

[SadimirPutin]

top notch thread

 

[Derek Lee]

 

[finallyjames]

EDIT: taken care of, thanks @Lord Scarf

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Sorry about the late response.

Spoiler

RJ Barrett arrived quietly but not inconspicuously to the soccer pitch at Sara D. Roosevelt Park in lower Manhattan on Wednesday evening. He had already been through the full gantlet of pre-draft duties, from promotional appearances to news conference. Here, he walked into an annual charity soccer game held by his godfather, Steve Nash, flanked by his agent, friends and his family, with two of them nearby in Barrett Canadian hockey jerseys.

The long run-up to the draft is nearly done, with only hours remaining until the event is staged in Brooklyn on Thursday night. Barrett is, likely, the Knicks’ pick when they get on the clock at No. 3. But with only time to kill Wednesday afternoon and a large group of reporters around him, he answered question after question ahead of the big day, with it already clear that the Knicks — the only team he worked out for — are his preferred destination.

On whether it gave him any pause that the Knicks have been so bad for so long, and that Kristaps Porzingis wanted out despite a change in management and a new coach this season, Barrett was sanguine: “No. To each his own. Everybody has a different trajectory and path in life. I feel like where I go, that’s going to be the place for me.”

On why he wasn’t jealous of Zion Williamson while playing with him at Duke and seeing Williamson’s star power eclipse his, Barrett was open-hearted: ”When my brother is doing great, why am I going to be jealous? Why am I going to be mad? There’s no need. Everybody is trying to sit here and act like y’all would be killing him. We both did well. Everybody did well. I was just happy the team is winning.”

On the criticism of his game, specifically his 3-point shot, heading into the draft, he was defiant: “It’s not stopping me from being a top pick is it? Nah. I don’t care.”

It is this last point that needs more inspection. Barrett’s shot, despite his confident, and accurate, posture, was problematic during his one season at Duke. He shot just 30.8 percent on 3s and hit just 26.9 percent of his NBA-length 3s, according to The Stepien. Whether his shot can improve will help determine the direction of Barrett’s career, despite his prodigious talents attacking the rim, scoring and creating off the dribble.

Barrett has already put time and work into addressing that. He’s worked with notable basketball trainer Drew Hanlen since his season at Duke ended, continuing on their previous work together.

Hanlen provided The Athletic with a detailed list of how Barrett’s shot has changed since then. Barrett, Hanlen says, has moved his right hand on the side of the ball to get a smoother release and spread his shooting hand for tighter backspin. He’s also adjusted his stance and lowered his base for better fluidity and rhythm.

“During the Duke season, his hand and elbow placement caused inconsistencies, but both of those have been adjusted and I think he’ll become a really good shooter,” Hanlen said. “Like all rookies, he’ll have to adjust to the NBA game, but I think he’ll transition very well.”

If there is any lack of clarity about how important perimeter shooting is, consider that 101 players have made the NBA All-Star team in the past five seasons as a guard or forward and 66 of them shot at least 35 percent from 3 in the season they made it, which is roughly the league average during that span. The outliers are exceptional at nearly everything else, showing that it’s possible to be an All-Star and a poor shooter but it’s not likely. Russell Westbrook made four All-Star teams shooting worse than 30 percent from 3. Giannis Antetokounmpo has done it twice and once shooting 30.7 percent. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are other multiple-time offenders under 35 percent.

Emmanuel Mudiay returned to New York recently for the first time since the Knicks’ season ended two months ago. He had traveled the world and decompressed after the best statistical season of his career. Wednesday night, he was on the touchline at Sara D. Roosevelt Park in lower Manhattan, coaching one of the teams in Nash’s charity soccer game.

Only 10 days remain until an inflection point in Mudiay’s career. At 23, he’s about to hit free agency for the first time. The Knicks, he says, have yet to give him an inference into what they are thinking.

“It’s just something that we gotta talk about,” he told The Athletic. “I’m going to let my agent keep handling all that. I’m kind of just waiting it out right now.”

Mudiay averaged 14.8 points per game, shot 32.9 percent from the field and had a .493 eFG% — all career highs — while playing 27.2 minutes per game, his most since his rookie season in Denver. While the numbers improved, Mudiay also saw stagnation in other areas. After four years in the NBA, he remains at an unsteady place.

David Fizdale said Mudiay had proved he was at least “a legit NBA basketball player” after struggling early in his career and started him 42 times. The Knicks, however, face an uncertain summer during which free agency could bring a starting point guard.

“I would want to come back,” Mudiay said. “I love it out here, but it’s not in my control. But then again, I’m open to hearing everybody’s options as well.”

The NBA conducted its annual pre-draft news conference Wednesday afternoon in New York. It’s something like a draft prospect interview bazaar. About 20 players talk to the media, split into two half-hour sessions, 10 players at a time. It is not the platform for divining objective truth. It is an OK way to grab a few choice nuggets and quotes.

For instance, Jaxson Hayes worked out for only two teams during this spring’s pre-draft process — the Bulls and Hawks, which should give you an idea of where the Texas center can expect to go. More importantly, Hayes divulged that he’s “really good at Xbox” and that he can play “Mary Had A Little Lamb” on the piano. Adjust your draft boards.

Kentucky forward PJ Washington said he met with the Knicks at the draft combine last month in Chicago — he thought it was one of his best interviews. Virginia wing De’Andre Hunter says he has not worked out for the Knicks, making him one of the few players in that top-eight range not to have done so. The Knicks have worked out or met with Ja Morant, Barrett, Jarrett Culver, Cam Reddish and reportedly met with Darius Garland on Wednesday.

Reddish said he had a “pretty smooth conversation” with Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry and thought it went well.

“They’re real cool guys,” he said. “They’re kind of similar to myself. Respectable guys. Real cool.”

Nothing stands out from the meeting, he said, compared with others he’s had. He went to the restaurant in the hotel he stayed at, so he can’t even dish on the dishes he ate.

While the Knicks are thought to be ready to take Barrett with the third pick Thursday night, Reddish said he did not press his case to the Knicks brass for the team to take him over his Duke teammate.

“That’s not my decision to make,” he said.

Culver says his meeting with the Knicks went well, too. The Knicks brought the Texas Tech wing in for a workout and dinner earlier this month. (The best meal Culver had during the pre-draft process: at the Ritz in Cleveland.)

“We just talked,” he told The Athletic during an appearance at a JBL event in New York. “A lot of teams, when I go in, they just want to know the real me and see how I am just around them and stuff. It’s always good company and conversation.”

Culver, incidentally, has something in common with Knicks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. He’s also a big fan of J. Cole. The rapper is one of Smith’s good friends — they both grew up in Fayetteville, N.C. Cole name-dropped Smith on his cameo on 21 Savage’s “A Lot” and let Smith dunk over him during the 2019 dunk contest. Call that a life goal for Culver, too.

“Hopefully, one day,” he said. “I don’t know if I can jump like Dennis Smith.”

By the way, the best player Culver played against this year: “Probably, Zion, just his impact on the game.” There’s a reason Williamson is going to go No. 1.

The Knicks didn’t work out Sekou Doumbouya, the French forward projected to go 11th in Sam Vecenie’s latest mock draft, but he does have interesting insight to add. Doumbouya is friends with Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina. The two missed each other by a little bit in Dallas this month, where Ntilikina is working out and Doumbouya left to go on his workout trail.

Doumbouya told The Athletic he believes Ntilikina is in for a bounce-back year.

“A little bit difficult but I know my guy, my boy is good,” he said. “He’s going to keep it up. He’s going to do a good season next year, I think.”

Doumbouya and Ntilikina now share an agency, Comsport, after Ntilikina left CAA midseason. Doumbouya didn’t recruit him there, but he believes that Ntilikina is getting right.

“Around him everything changed a little bit right now,” Doumbouya said. “He’s in a good situation right now.”

Asked whether Ntilikina wants to stay in New York, Doumbouya answered: “I don’t know. We going to see after the draft and trade.”

A thought on the Knicks and the second round. The Knicks have the 55th pick in the draft Thursday night (their original pick, No. 31, belongs to Brooklyn and I dare not bring up Travis Wear’s name here again in fear of more angry Alan Sepinwall tweets in my mentions). They need a way to add more talent to their roster and to do it without burning assets. They are, in some ways, in a similar spot to the Lakers, though not in the same dire straights in terms of salary-cap crunch.

This week, ESPN reported that the Lakers are aggressively trying to buy up second-round picks. That would give them a way to improve the roster without affecting the salary-cap room they have, with minimum salaries on the deck. Los Angeles is doing this because whenever they acquire Anthony Davis officially, they’ll be squeezed for cap space and need to find players to put on the floor around them.

The Knicks aren’t as tight, with some $70 million available to them this summer, but in their dream scenario, in which they sign Kevin Durant and another star, they will be. Even if they strike out completely, they still need to add talent to their roster. As of right now, they have six players under contract for next year who should be back, with several others on partially guaranteed deals that cloud their future. That’s a lot of room to add more. They are, correctly, hoarding their future draft picks.

The Knicks should take in what the Lakers are trying to do and what Miami did Wednesday and see if they can buy a second-round pick or two. Obviously, it will be pricey. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Miami spent $1.88 million to buy the No. 44 pick from Atlanta, along with a conditional future pick. The Warriors reportedly bought the No. 38 pick in 2017 for $3.5 million and $2.4 million for the 38th pick the year before that. It’s easy to spend someone else’s money, but the Knicks should consider that route this year, too.

Atlanta had six draft picks Wednesday night before it sold No. 44, but it still has two other seconds (35 and 41). The 76ers have four second-round picks (33, 34, 42, and 54). Sacramento has three second-round picks (40, 47, 60). Charlotte has 36 and 52. Any of those teams might be interested in selling a pick instead of taking a player to add to a roster that can’t handle that many new players or in lieu of drafting a player to stash overseas. Maybe one of them might just need the money.

 

[Max.]

 

[Max.]

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

There’s nothing there. The Athletic did it on a blog.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Spoiler

This is it, the calm before the storm. The Raiders players all split town after minicamp closed last week, and aren’t due back until July 26. We had Johnathan Abram on the podcast last Friday and will have one more show this week before taking a few weeks off.

We have stories and mailbags planned before training camp, including this one. Thanks for all the questions and comments. (As always, questions have been lightly edited for grammar and spelling.)

Aaron H. asks, A lot of talk around the narrative of Derek Carr being better “in Year 2 of Gruden’s offense.” I think that’s nonsense. Carr was really good in 2015 in Year 1 with Bill Musgrave, with a rookie Amari Cooper and first year with Michael Crabtree and others. Now that Carr has talent around him to produce, he should have a great year regardless of how long he’s been in the system. If he doesn’t … I’m pointing the finger at Gruden, not Carr. What say you?

I do think it’s an excuse, especially after last year at this time when Gruden and Carr both said that the quarterback knew the system better than the coach. Remember that one?

Last year comes down to the injuries and under-performance on the offensive line and the disappearance of hyped receivers, from trades (Ryan Switzer, Cooper) to unreliability (Martavis Bryant) to being worn down from overwork (Jordy Nelson) to injuries (Brandon LaFell). Carr put some bad plays on tape and took a beating, but also had a nice stretch where he didn’t turn the ball over.

Gruden didn’t have a great year play-calling and made some questionable decisions. That said, if you think Gruden is taking the fall if the offense struggles again, you are delusional.

Marty W. asks, Vic, what’s the holdup on signing the remaining draft picks? Seems odd that none of the three first-rounders have signed.

They’re too busy making plans for Winnipeg and Vegas. No, seriously, I don’t know but I have been told there is no real reason to worry. The Raiders always take their time, and the fact that they had three first-round picks this year maybe involves some more financial planning. I think one is already done, but they will likely wait until all of the first-round picks are done before announcing the signings.

Bo J. asks, I’m a lot more interested in P.J. Hall. I think that guy could really have a good career. Any word on him?

Nothing really. He is an under-the-radar kind of guy and the Raiders have a lot of defensive tackles this season. The coaching staff is trying not to bury any of last year’s picks too early, but some (Nick Nelson) are clearly facing an uphill battle to make the roster. Hall should be fine, though strong camps by Eddie Vanderdoes and Ronald Ollie could make things interesting. I have Maurice Hurst, Johnathan Hankins and Justin Ellis as roster locks.

Jaden D. asks, is Nathan Peterman going to be the number 2 quarterback?

I expect Mike Glennon to be the No. 2 and I think Peterman still has practice-team eligibility, if Gruden sees enough this spring to keep him around.

Jas R. asks, How do you see the WR corps shaking out? Who are the odd men out?

Everybody wants to crown Hunter Renfrow as the starting slot receiver, but the rookie still has to beat out Ryan Grant, which I don’t think will be so easy. J.J. Nelson has been put in that mix by some, but he is strictly an outside receiver in the Raiders system.

So … Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams and Dwayne Harris are locks. Then you have either Grant or Renfrow and either Marcell Ateman, Nelson or undrafted rookie Keelan Doss. Maybe three of those five make it, depending on their special-teams contributions.

Roy W. asks, Interesting comments from Arden Key about Brentson Buckner. Seems like he has a clue. Don’t want to get you in trouble with the Raiders staff, so NFL-wide, what percentage of the position coaches really know what they are talking about? Fifty percent?

Coaches read. One hundred percent.

Luke K. asks, 1. Is there a competition between Doug Martin, DeAndré Washington and Chris Warren for that “hard runner” spot? Or is Martin a guarantee? 2. What’s the difference between Darren Waller and David Ausberry?

Shhhh… The Raiders may try and stash Warren again this season. I think Josh Jacobs, Jalen Richard and Martin are locks to make the roster, to the point where all three will sit out most of the preseason. That leaves Washington and Warren and whoever the Raiders sign to pick up a lot of the preseason carries. Washington is a survivor and a clear-cut NFL back in my opinion, and he does enough that Gruden doesn’t want to let him go.

Shout out to Ausberry. Very good dude. He had some big-play ability, but his body always failed him. Waller is also a former receiver and he seems to have taken care of his off-field issues and is poised for a big season if he stays healthy.

Nathan M. asks, Are there dates for training camp, Vic? Any discussions at The Athletic about 2020 Vegas coverage? Is Brandon Parker Plan C for right guard?

In answer to your first two questions: I let the dates slip earlier, but that is unofficial. We will definitely cover the Raiders in 2020 at The Athletic. I am taking it one season at a time, though.

As for the third question, they have given Parker a couple of reps at right guard this spring, but if Richie Incognito gets suspended, you will see Denzelle Good and Jordan Devey there, not Parker, who is their swing tackle.

Christopher H. asks, I’d be curious to hear which position coaches (outside of OC, DC and ST) or assistant position coaches seem to have the best chemistry and/or biggest impact on their position groups. Frank Smith, for example, has been talked up a lot by both players and Gruden. Any others under the radar making a similar impact?

Frank does a great job. And there are some interesting new faces. We mentioned Buckner, but there is also John Morton, who is well thought of around the league. He is a senior offensive assistant because his résumé is too good to be called a quarterbacks coach. Jim O’Neil is a NFL former defensive coordinator who is taking over the secondary this season and has brought a lot of energy.

Ed G. asks, Is Kolton Miller good? I know he played hurt most of last season, but it seems like they are asking a lot from him with the LT role (again).

I think Miller is good. He had a couple of nice games last year, and some really bad ones — but being a rookie left tackle with a bad knee is a rotten job to have. He is smart, mentally tough and has gotten bigger, stronger and healthier this offseason. I couldn’t tell you yet if Miller will ever be great — like a tackle picked at No. 15 overall should be — but I think he has a very high floor.

David C. asks, Did Gruden give any thought towards not retaining coach Tom Cable after last season? What is your honest opinion of Cable as an OL coach?

No. When you draft two tackles in the first three rounds, you give an OL coach a couple of years. But the Raiders gave Trent Brown all that money, and if the offensive line struggles again this season, Cable might be on the hot seat that fans want him to be on. I know the stats for Cable’s lines in Seattle and with the Raiders are not good, but I didn’t watch the Seahawks closely. Is it possible Cable was a better head coach than an offensive line coach?

Steven M. asks, For the league, the middle of the pack in sack stats last year was about 40 sacks. The Raiders, as we all know, had 13. Is it even possible for them to get to 40 with what they’ve done in the off-season? Where are those extra 27 coming from?

Forty seems impossible. If you are really a crazy optimist and give Clelin Ferrell and Key a combined 20, I still can’t get to 40. Josh Mauro is a run-stopper who could very easily be starting at DE, and Benson Mayowa’s career-high is six. The great Dennis Allen once said you can’t address all your needs, and the Raiders boosted their offense and secondary more than their pass rush. Gruden thinks the run defense will make up for it. We’ll see.

(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports)

 

[VegetasHairline]

@Nerdy black guy

 

[malbaker86]

I’m a subscriber to the Athletic and they have some great articles.


I don’t mind sharing them with you guys for free. Just tag me the article and I’ll post it for you. Just like the ESPN + thread.

@Nerdy black guy

Inside a recruiting flip: How Florida sold Derek Wingo on...

thanks in advance

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

@Nerdy black guy

Inside a recruiting flip: How Florida sold Derek Wingo on...

thanks in advance

Spoiler

Carrieann Wingo brought a notebook and colored pencils into the car. A visual person, she planned to draw tables and charts outlining pros and cons comparing Florida and Penn State during the ride back home from Gainesville. Derek Wingo, her son and a highly coveted four-star 2020 linebacker from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, arrived on Florida’s campus for a confidential visit Saturday morning as a Penn State commit.

He left committed to the Gators, and the family drove back home without Carrieann Wingo even opening the notebook.

“There was no need for it,” she said.

Understanding why involves learning what Derek Wingo and his family most value, and how Florida’s staff demonstrated an approach congruous with their desires.

For Florida, months of patience led to an opportunity Saturday. According to people with direct knowledge of Wingo’s recruitment, linebackers coach Christian Robinson made sure the Gators were prepared.

The visit was meant to be private.

Derek Wingo made it clear to Florida that he didn’t want media to know he was going to be in Gainesville on Saturday. Penn State head coach James Franklin isn’t a fan of prospects who are committed to the Nittany Lions visiting other programs. There was no going behind Penn State’s back, either: Carrieann Wingo made it clear a few days earlier to Ja’Juan Seider — Penn State’s running backs coach, a primary recruiter for Wingo and a former Gators assistant — that Wingo wanted to make one more trip to Florida. Wingo valued his relationships with Penn State’s coaches and appreciated the staff’s efforts toward him. Balancing his desire to affirm his decision and feelings while wanting to be respectful toward Penn State led to confidentiality.

Simply put, if Florida wasn’t the right place for Wingo, he didn’t want to create an unnecessary stir or do anything to form the false perception he was unhappy with Penn State and looking around in the process of finding out.

A problem: Florida was hosting a camp for 300 football players, including many kids and coaches who knew Wingo.

“The potential for something getting leaked was huge,” Carrieann Wingo said. “We weren’t trying to protect Derek. Derek didn’t want to disrespect Penn State, their fans and their coaches. He wanted things to be done the right way.”

To uphold that wish, Robinson offered to meet the Wingos in Florida’s academic center or in the school library. Anywhere away from the camp near the Gators’ indoor practice facility. A decision was made that Robinson would meet the Wingos in the parking lot near the football stadium. He left the camp by himself, picked them up in a golf cart around 10:30 a.m. and took the back entrance reserved for coaches to the offices inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Inside his office, Robinson handed Derek Wingo and his parents each a packet of 25 pages of information designed specifically for Wingo. Robinson, sources close to Florida’s program said, spent the entire night before the visit, with the help of Gators assistant director of creative media Kevin Camps, creating the packets.

Around 4 p.m. on Friday, Carrieann Wingo had informed Robinson that she and her son had created two extensive lists of questions about Florida they wanted to be answered. Robinson went to work answering each inquiry with detail.

The information was contained in Gators folders. There were pages on life after football, former players, faculty and departments. There were pictures of the dorms. There was information about athletes’ stipends. There was a campus map and a graphic with the exact mileage from the Wingos’ home to The Swamp, because Wingo indicated in his list of questions he wanted to learn just how close the Gators were. There was even an itemized depth chart with pictures and an explanation of how he could be used on third downs as a freshman.
It was meant to be take-home information that provided answers. In case they weren’t making a decision Saturday, they could look back and not have to wonder.

Inside Robinson’s office, Carrieann Wingo told him jokingly, “I hope you didn’t miss out on dinner with your fiancée.”

“All of our concerns were there,” she said. “Absolutely everything Derek and I had on our lists with the exception of a couple of things that were addressed with specific departments were in those packets.

“It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns, either. There were some things where I was like, ‘Eh, I am not that crazy about that.’ He was very transparent. He gave us the good, the bad and the ugly. No one is perfect. There was no sugarcoating, no pretending. It was unbelievable the time and effort he must have spent.”

Wingo’s subsequent extensive meeting with Florida head coach Dan Mullen went just as swimmingly for both parties. At one point, Mullen told Wingo that he knew the stud linebacker liked wearing No. 15, but no specific jersey number would be dispatched to him if he arrived with a GPA below 3.0. Carrieann Wingo appreciated the candor and sense of accountability.

Much to Wingo’s parents’ liking, Mullen and Florida’s staff never compared the Gators with Penn State. They never said they were able to do anything better than Penn State, either. Their message was they believed Florida was the best fit for him on and off the field, and they would accept his commitment anytime from Saturday up until the final seconds of signing day. There was no pressure.

At some point during the exchange with Mullen, Wingo’s parents looked at him and knew his mind was at ease and made up. Wingo gave Mullen his commitment, contingent on it being handled with respect and class toward Penn State. In other words, Wingo wanted to do it on his terms and when he was ready. He even asked Mullen if the decision had to be made public at all, but then realized he would be asked about Penn State during upcoming camps and, he put it to his mother, he “didn’t want to be living a lie” or disrespecting Penn State.

Wingo then told Mullen he was going to tell Franklin at a later time. Wingo had no interest in “reopening his recruitment,” receiving inquiries from coaches around the country. Shortly after the meeting, while still on campus, he looked to his mother and said, “Mom, I can’t do this. I need to tell Coach Franklin now. I can’t be living a lie. I owe it to that Penn State staff.”

“The hardest thing I’ve ever seen him go through was making that phone call,” Carrieann Wingo said.

Wingo picked up the phone and searched for Franklin’s number. Then he waited. His phone screen went black. He picked up the phone and found the number again. Again, he waited.

“Mom,” he said, “I know this is the last time I am going to talk to them. The relationship is going to be ruined.”

Finally, Wingo called. An assistant coach picked up. Then Franklin called back.

Franklin was upset. He wanted to know what Penn State did wrong and what they didn’t do right.

“And honestly they didn’t do or not do anything,” Carrieann Wingo said. “I mean, they did everything right. And when you see Twitter blow up and they’re out for his job and this and that, it’s so difficult because it has nothing to do with that. It was just what was best for Derek.”

Wingo’s parents have preached principles to him that are applicable to the wild world of college football recruiting:

• Don’t backstab people.
• Be upfront in a respectful manner.
• Don’t tell people just what they want to hear.
• Don’t burn bridges.

Wingo is lauded in the Fort Lauderdale area and even by rival high school coaches for his maturity and moxie. Relationships are most important to him, those closest to him say, because he enjoys forming bonds and, like many 17-year-olds, likes making people proud.

“That’s why this was, for us, the most difficult situation,” Carrieann Wingo said.

Wingo committed to Penn State last Christmas. The news was a shocker to Florida, sources close to the program said, because Robinson had been in touch with him consistently leading up to that week. Wingo fit the type of player Florida wanted in its linebacker room because he was smart and motivated. He received a message from Robinson after his commitment to Penn State that read, “I will always be here. I’m a fan of yours. If you ever want to talk, I’ll be there for you.”

“When he committed to Penn State in December, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that’s where he wanted to be,” Carrieann Wingo said. “He was 100 percent all in, and was for months. However, I think he fell in love with the staff and not the program because he is such a people person.”

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Part two

Spoiler

There was also the fact that Wingo never really wanted to go to school too far from home — at least one of his parents has attended each of his athletic events in his life — and he hates the cold weather. Still, he couldn’t give up the relationships he had with the Penn State staff. He didn’t want to disappoint them.

Carrieann Wingo described Penn State’s staff as “an amazing, tight-knit, family-oriented group.” When Derek committed, his parents supplied a lesson on what that meant.

“But we also understand that at the time, he was 16,” Carrieann Wingo said. “Honestly, I don’t think these kids should be able to commit before the spring before their senior year.”

It wasn’t until March, however, that Carrieann Wingo started to realize Derek didn’t really know the answers to specific questions about Penn State and his potential future there. Decisions can still be OK if they are wrong sometimes, in her view, as long as they are also calculated. This one may not have been.

“It was our fault for failing him and not saying, ‘Did you do your research?’” Carrieann Wingo said. “We kind of felt like we failed him as parents, thinking, how do you allow this when we didn’t make sure he had the information he needed.”

Florida was always one of Derek Wingo’s top choices. He first visited last summer for the Gators’ cookout.

One day in March, Wingo told his mother that he thought he might have committed too soon.

“At that point, we felt we owed it to him as parents to understand that he may have made a mistake,” Carrieann Wingo said.

Wingo’s parents, both Florida State fans, agreed to go to Florida with him in March, shortly before his scheduled visit for Penn State’s spring game. Before that visit, his father had never been to Gainesville.

Penn State was aware of the visit, but Wingo’s presence in Gainesville that day was unknown to the media and public.

“Honestly, the purpose of that visit was to rule Florida out,” Carrieann Wingo said. “To kind of show Derek that, OK, we are going to go here and then Penn State and you’re going to feel the feelings for Penn State all over again and we are going to be done.”

That’s not what happened.

“They did nothing but impress,” Carrieann Wingo said of Florida’s staff during that visit. “It was unbelievable. There was no pressure. We have spoken to coaches from all over, and every time, we heard, ‘Penn State offers this, but we can do this better.’ There was never any of that at Florida.”

Wingo then went to Penn State for a three-day visit, but something was amiss. A Penn State coach even asked him at one point, “Derek, are you good?” He said he was. But something was on his mind.

“Something was different,” Carrieann Wingo said. “His heart wasn’t there anymore.”

When Wingo arrived back home, he wrestled with his recruitment. He asked his parents what they wanted him to do, but they were adamant that it was his decision. Someone gave the family advice: When you can’t decide between two loves of your life, you should always take the second one because if you were truly in love with the first one, you never would have even entertained the thought of the second.

“That really hit home with us,” Carrieann Wingo said.

A team captain for his high school, Wingo was uncharacteristically tired and unorganized over the past few weeks. Major summer camps like The Opening were approaching. So was the NCAA’s dead period. He wanted and needed clarity on his recruitment.

About one week ago, he asked his parents about another trip to Gainesville.

“This all happened so fast,” Carrieann Wingo said.

“I need to go one more,” Derek told his parents. “I don’t have all the information. If you were to make the decision right now, which would you choose?”

“Penn State,” Carrieann Wingo replied. “But that’s for me because I don’t have all the information on Florida.”

The information was provided Saturday.

“Side by side,” she said, “there was just no comparison which school was a better fit for him.”

Florida staffers, particularly Robinson, regularly checked in on Wingo. For the Gators, he was a must-get. Sometimes Wingo would reply. Sometimes he wouldn’t. The talks were sometimes about football, but Wingo and Robinson also bonded over a relatable fact: They are sons of interracial parents.

Some on Florida’s staff believe momentum seriously picked up by late May. Four-star edge rusher Khris Bogle is from Fort Lauderdale and is friends with Wingo. Bogle arrived on campus last month. He reported back positive experiences to Wingo. Bogle, in essence, became an extra line of communication.

The development was a sign that the Gators’ staff, fresh off 10 wins in their first year, may no longer be the only voice when it comes to pitching elite prospects. For a class that moved to No. 8 in the 247Sports Composite ranking after Wingo’s commitment, that could be critical. Wingo plays the money linebacker position that Vosean Joseph played last year. Freshman Tyron Hopper, a four-star prospect in the last cycle, is also expected to play that position, but the depth beyond that in the future is nearly nonexistent (Amari Burney is slated to start at the money linebacker position this season, but his future may be back in the secondary).

Wingo’s commitment eliminates some pressure for the Gators’ linebacker recruiting. Now, they can focus more attention on national standouts such as Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell. The Gators’ hope is, much how Bogle helped land Wingo, Wingo can help secure a big-time teammate in a defense that usually deploys two traditional linebackers on the field at the same time.

For Derek Wingo, that’s less stressful than his own recruitment.

“We all woke up with such a peaceful feeling Sunday morning,” Carrieann Wingo said.

Late Sunday morning, she asked her son what he was doing.

“Mom,” he said, “I am just sitting here.”

She asked: “Just sitting here?”

“Yeah,” Derek said. “I woke up a Gator. I’m great.”

Said Carrieann Wingo later: “It was such a relief.”

(Top photo: Courtesy of the Wingo family)

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

@Nerdy black guy

Damn I missed this one. My bad king

Spoiler

Oregon’s Bol Bol seemed perfect for the Kings in the second round of Thursday’s NBA Draft.

Strategy? What strategy? Shouldn’t the Kings be happy that a player who was considered a top-five talent before the season was available at No. 40? Especially one who would seem to be a long-term fit as a versatile big man with perimeter skills.

The Kings didn’t deviate from their research, passing on the talented 7-foot-3 son of former NBA player Manute Bol to go with Wyoming guard Justin James.

It was a matter of the Kings’ trust in their research, and like many teams, being scared off by health and other knocks on Bol, which included questions about his effort from some teams.

That doesn’t fit these Kings.

The Kings want shooters. They want smart players. They want players who want to run. Missing one of those components is a red flag for Sacramento, which isn’t willing to ignore those kinds of flaws simply for the sake of talent.

The Kings believe they found what they like in Virginia guard Kyle Guy (55th), Serbian guard Vanja Marinkovic (60th) and James.

“Shooting, basketball IQ, run, that kind of stuff,” Kings general manager Vlade Divac said after the draft. “You saw that last year, and basically we’re going to continue to play that way, and we need the players that can fit our style, and I think all three of them are good fits for us.”

The reality is that second-round picks start out as long shots. They aren’t first-round picks with guaranteed contracts, so they have to prove their worth from the start.

If the Kings are going to take a chance on a player, it’ll be one who fits what they want from all their players, not just the best talent available.

“It was more the best player that can fit the way we want to play in the future, and I think the outcome was perfect for us,” Divac said.

The Kings weren’t looking just at need (if so, they would have focused on backup point guard, center or small forward). They wanted style fits.

That will be important to remember when free agency begins June 30.

The Kings are going to value fit over perceived talent rankings. It’s one reason Harrison Barnes might be worth more to Sacramento than to another team in free agency.

But when it comes to the three draft picks, each will have to show well starting with the California Classic July 1 in Sacramento to have a chance of making the team.

It would be tough to imagine all three sticking, given that guard is a position where the Kings have depth. But with the G League and two-way contracts, the Kings could get creative in figuring out how to keep them around.

Divac said he doesn’t know if Marinkovic would come over to the United States to play this season or stay overseas and perhaps join the Kings later.

James (6-7, 190 pounds) is a player Divac said could eventually play both guard positions in the NBA. He averaged 22.1 points as a senior. He shot just 29.6 percent on 3s as a senior, but he shot 33.7 percent from 3 for his career.

Divac said Guy (6-2, 175) might eventually play point guard, but right now he’s a shooting guard.

“I could say a lot of stuff, but his shooting is just exceptional,” Divac said. “I don’t know if I can say it (definitively), but I’m very confident he’s one of the best shooters in this draft. He’s just unbelievable.”

Guy was a key player for the 2019 NCAA champions, averaging 15.4 points and making 42.6 percent from 3-point range.

Marinkovic (6-6, 190) averaged 12.2 points, shooting 32.8 percent on 3s in 19 games for Partizan Belgrade of the Adriatic League First Division in 2018-19. He’s a player Divac knows well, and he was a teammate of Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic with Partizan in 2013-14 while also being a member of the Serbian National Team.