HAWKS ROOKIE WATCHsource:nbadraft.netMichael Beasley
Birthday: 1/9/89
NBA Position: PF/SF
Ht: 6-9
Wt: 245
Hometown: Upper Marlboro, MD
High School: Notre Dame PrepStrengths: A fabulous athlete with an NBA ready body... Completed one of the most dominant seasons in college basketball history, as a freshman His length, quickness, jumping ability and strength combine to make him one of the most difficult match ups He has range from anywhere on the floor all the way out to NBA three, but is especially effective with his soft touch around the rim, where he uses both hands to finish with a variety of moves His left handed jump shot is a thing of beauty, with a smooth release, he has good arc and is very balanced getting his legs under him to get great elevation Most dangerous out of the mid-post where he can square his man up, and attack with a variety of moves; including strong takes to the hoop, a nice midrange pull-up, or simply shooting over the top of helpless defenders From the triple threat his jabs and shot fakes are extremely efficient because he not only has a quick first step, but also a very long one that allows him to get by people at will When the defender tries to beat him to the spot, he has a terrific spin move that is virtually unstoppable His post game has progressed nicely, and he has shown a nice touch on a variety of hook-shots and fadeaways ... He fights hard to get good position on the block, and even harder when crashing the O glass, as seen by the 4 offensive rebounds that he averaged per game His ability to play the passing lanes and come over weakside to block shots, further adds to his ability to fill the stat sheet A strong personality with great confidence who never gets down on himself. There are few doubts about him becoming a bigtime impact talent at the next level.
Weaknesses: Even though he has great length and body strength, he is somewhat undersized for the PF spot at the next level His perimeter skills, while effective against weaker competition, may not be refined enough to allow him to move over to the SF position just yet, so there are some question marks regarding his position His game is based on sheer athleticism and strength, but his actual basketball skills can use some refinement Going right he is very shaky, and struggles dribbling the ball more than twice with his right hand He has decent footwork in the post, but an overall lack of go-to moves, forces him to at times get out of control and to leave his feet and throw up some ill-advised shots, although his ability to create in these situations is remarkable His mentality is to score no matter how many people are guarding him, countless times, he would find himself facing a double or even triple team, yet he would still opt to shoot instead of finding an open teammate. Something that can be at least partially attributed to a lack of quality teammates Averaged a measly 1.2 assists per game, which may not only be a testament to his scoring mentality, but also to his marginal vision His decision making is also suspect at times, he gets into trouble by trying to do too much, then attempts to throw difficult passes Defensively, he has come a long way from simply wondering around the court, but that doesnt mean that he is by any means a stopper just yet. He has the potential to be an incredible defender, but he has yet to show the willingness to get nasty and play with the same effort on that end of the floor Man to man, he is decent and shows improved desire but can improve From a team standpoint, he is still not very good at reading angles and being in good help position but that should come with experience There is some concern about his work ethic and whether cashing huge checks before the age of 19 will have an effect on his motor.
Eric Gordon
Birthday: 12/25/88
NBA Position: SG/PG
Ht: 6-3
Wt: 222
Hometown: Indianapolis, IN
High School: North CentralStrengths: A rock-solid and incredibly explosive combo guard Tremendously aggressive, and relentless when going to the hoop Constantly looks to attack and use his body to out-muscle weaker defenders at his position Is not afraid of going at bigger help defenders and drawing contact Great leaping ability and outstanding body-control allow him to finish effectively around the hoop An assassin off the dribble, where a quick first step and combination of hesitation moves allow him get by people at will His remarkable speed and change of pace are best seen in the open court as he can be a 1-man fastbreak going around defenders with ease Possesses an extra gear that he displays at times, especially when turning the corner in the halfcourt Possesses a smooth jumpshot, which he is able to hit well beyond the NBA 3 He has a very quick and smooth release, great elevation as well as nice arc on his shot Has shown the ability to play with his back to the basket from the midpost, where he is able to utilize his terrific body strength and finishing ability to abuse smaller players Defensively, he has the potential to be great simply because of his physical tools (good length, nice lateral foot-speed and strength), combine that with his desire and decent understanding of team concepts, and he is already well ahead of the curve.
Weaknesses: After a great start to his freshmen year, his game took a considerable nosedive coming down the stretch (the effects of the coaching change and his wrist injury have to be taken into consideration) His overall game made a radical change for the negative making him a very tough player to evaluate. Is he closer to the player who dominated in high school and the first month of the college season, or the one that played so poorly late in the year ... He has been a streaky shooter throughout the year, but in the last 10 games he became astoundingly inconsistent shooting 52/143 from the field for a measly 36%, as well as 10/62 from 3pt range for a staggering 16% during that time ... He fell in love with the 3pt shot, and at times completely abandoned his aggressive penetrating mentality He shot a ton of ill-advised shots early in the shot clock and needlessly way beyond the 3 point stripe Is seen as a combo guard more so because of his height He does not create much for his teammates, and showed poor decision making as well as limited passing skills Gets out of control frequently, compiling numerous turnovers by traveling or getting called for offensive fouls An aspect of the game that he also lacks is the ability to pull up from midrange; when he does shoot of the dribble he is often off-balance and his shooting form becomes inconsistent resulting in many badly missed shots His midrange game may be key for his success at the next level, because even with his athleticism, he struggled to finish in traffic during his season ending slump This can probably be attributed to the lack of height, because at 64 he is very undersized for the SG position Being able to pull up before the help arrives will not only make him more dangerous, but will prolong his career because of a decrease in punishment his body will take.
Joey Dorsey
Birthday: 12/16/83
NBA Position: C/PF
Ht: 6-8
Wt: 268
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
High School: Laurinburg PrepStrengths: A physical specimen type of interior force Very aggressive, strong and explosive Does all the dirty work, cleaning the boards and defending Simply overpowers a lot of players on the college level with brute strength and athleticism A tremendous rebounder, averaging more rebounds than points per game (9.6 rpg as a junior), and really hits the offensive glass hard where he averages nearly as many offensive rebounds as on the defensive end Runs the floor well and plays at a high intensity level An improving shot blocker (2.2 bpg) who also alters opponents shots His great length and leaping ability make him a load for opponents to contend with on both ends of the floor Has shown some improvement in his skill level, though hell likely never be much of an offensive player Capable of some rim rattling dunks and attacks the rim with ferocity.
Weaknesses: Lacks much of an offensive game His post skills and shooting touch remain very limited Doesnt have a consistent shot and scores mostly on garbage baskets Hes older than the average senior by 2+ years An absolutely abysmal free throw shooter at 46% which is actually an improvement from his first two seasons. Needs to further raise this to not be an end of game liability ... Also needs to cut down on turnovers (1.7) Probably best suited to play center and lacks ideal center height.
