The Hawks first round selection in the 2017 draft requires me to give props to our Dan McDonald and explain why I trust his perspicacious prospect evaluations the same way I trust the sun will rise in the East tomorrow.
Back in the spring of 2014 I sought Dan's advice on overlooked, high academic post players whom I might suggest my friends out West should consider recruiting. I was also looking for under-rated, late blooming Southern prospects that we might have good chance of picking up late in Athens. I knew Dan has a particular knack for discovering such diamonds in the rough who are off the radar of more successful programs because they play for small schools or for obscure AAU programs.
Among the names Dan gave me was a kid I hadn't heard anything about who played for an AAU team I hadn't seen before. I couldn't find a single word about the kid in the national services. If I remember correctly, he was only a two star rating on a list from Scout and didn't even have a rating on Rivals at that point. His higher ranking from ESPN was still to happen in the future.
I have a particular memory of talking with Dan at Suwanee in July 2014 on the early days of the Best of South tournament that had attracted quality teams from throughout the region. I remember the tourney well because that was also the first time that I had watched a home-grown, South Georgia prospect named Tyree Crump. iirc, Paintdawg and Monk were also in the house looking for possible Bulldog prospects.
Dan urged me to watch the team he had previously recommended -- The Florida Flash, because of their young post player whom he had by that time grown enamored of. By that time the only other writer who I had heard recommend the prospect was Justin Young, whose HoopSeen organization was operating the Best of South tourney.
My first viewing wasn't particularly remarkable and I didn't hesitate to rib Dan for touting such an ordinary prospect. He responded that I should not be so quick to judge and suggested that I watch the prospect again and take into account that the player was much younger compared to the other teammates.
The second game was indeed more impressive. I noticed the large prospect's footwork and mechanics were excellent. He was maybe a step or beat slow in his reaction time, but his decision making and court IQ were outstanding. He was still a puppy and would surely grow into his frame and learn with experience to play more smoothly. The kid had a high motor and ran the court well. He shared the ball unselfishly and worked well in tandem with a promising PG on his team.
By the third and fourth game that I watched the West Palm Beach prospect, I was hooked. He displayed a simple style of back to the basket, old-school play that produced powerful rebounds, multiple put backs and outstanding dunks off the pick and roll. He seldom shot outside the lane area, so it would have been easy to overlook his promise so as to mistakenly consider him a one-dimensional player. I spoke briefly with him in the hallway to tell him how much I admired his play and found him to be a personable, polite and well-spoken young man.
I searched the internet again without success for national stories about this likeable kid. I found none. Zilch. Zippo. Nada. The next morning however I discovered Dan had posted this first national feature story linked here highlighting the unknown prospect. There were many other writers present watching that same tourney, but I challenge you to find another, earlier story about the player. The following day, ESPN's wonderful writer/evaluater Rob Harrington, followed Dan's lead with this later story containing a glowing paragraph about this unknown prospect and pronounced that "No big man at the event enhanced his stock more among the throngs of coaches attending Suwanee ..."
Yep, that was my introduction to the future ACC All-Star at Wake Forest and Hawks' first rounder John Collins.
Back in the spring of 2014 I sought Dan's advice on overlooked, high academic post players whom I might suggest my friends out West should consider recruiting. I was also looking for under-rated, late blooming Southern prospects that we might have good chance of picking up late in Athens. I knew Dan has a particular knack for discovering such diamonds in the rough who are off the radar of more successful programs because they play for small schools or for obscure AAU programs.
Among the names Dan gave me was a kid I hadn't heard anything about who played for an AAU team I hadn't seen before. I couldn't find a single word about the kid in the national services. If I remember correctly, he was only a two star rating on a list from Scout and didn't even have a rating on Rivals at that point. His higher ranking from ESPN was still to happen in the future.
I have a particular memory of talking with Dan at Suwanee in July 2014 on the early days of the Best of South tournament that had attracted quality teams from throughout the region. I remember the tourney well because that was also the first time that I had watched a home-grown, South Georgia prospect named Tyree Crump. iirc, Paintdawg and Monk were also in the house looking for possible Bulldog prospects.
Dan urged me to watch the team he had previously recommended -- The Florida Flash, because of their young post player whom he had by that time grown enamored of. By that time the only other writer who I had heard recommend the prospect was Justin Young, whose HoopSeen organization was operating the Best of South tourney.
My first viewing wasn't particularly remarkable and I didn't hesitate to rib Dan for touting such an ordinary prospect. He responded that I should not be so quick to judge and suggested that I watch the prospect again and take into account that the player was much younger compared to the other teammates.
The second game was indeed more impressive. I noticed the large prospect's footwork and mechanics were excellent. He was maybe a step or beat slow in his reaction time, but his decision making and court IQ were outstanding. He was still a puppy and would surely grow into his frame and learn with experience to play more smoothly. The kid had a high motor and ran the court well. He shared the ball unselfishly and worked well in tandem with a promising PG on his team.
By the third and fourth game that I watched the West Palm Beach prospect, I was hooked. He displayed a simple style of back to the basket, old-school play that produced powerful rebounds, multiple put backs and outstanding dunks off the pick and roll. He seldom shot outside the lane area, so it would have been easy to overlook his promise so as to mistakenly consider him a one-dimensional player. I spoke briefly with him in the hallway to tell him how much I admired his play and found him to be a personable, polite and well-spoken young man.
I searched the internet again without success for national stories about this likeable kid. I found none. Zilch. Zippo. Nada. The next morning however I discovered Dan had posted this first national feature story linked here highlighting the unknown prospect. There were many other writers present watching that same tourney, but I challenge you to find another, earlier story about the player. The following day, ESPN's wonderful writer/evaluater Rob Harrington, followed Dan's lead with this later story containing a glowing paragraph about this unknown prospect and pronounced that "No big man at the event enhanced his stock more among the throngs of coaches attending Suwanee ..."
Yep, that was my introduction to the future ACC All-Star at Wake Forest and Hawks' first rounder John Collins.
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