DRuff Listed Among Top Point Guards

[tornado]

Tell me now that Jim Les didn't go to bat successfully for his guys....

FoxSports just published their list of college basketball's TOP POINT GUARDS

Daniel Ruffin is in the Top 20!

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/7374792

(ahead of Sheron Collins, ahead of Bryan Mullins, ahead of all other MVC PG's)
I guess I have a problem with the #2 pick, a guy who's never played even one single college game!! and #11, Eric Maynor, who DRuff outplayed head to head.

[audacious_aficionado]

i'm surprised to see that they didn't mention his career assists stat. also, i would have been furious if they put mullins over him! he's been starting the last three years, has the most career assists of all active PGs, and he is a much bigger threat offensively. definitely the right choice.

[tornado]

But invariably the guy who plays for the winningest team will get the nod
over someone like Ruff who plays for a team many out east know little about.

[BradleyBrave]

But invariably the guy who plays for the winningest team will get the nod
over someone like Ruff who plays for a team many out east know little about.

Or don't want to know about (see our record v the Big East over the past few years).

[JC]

I think Ruffin is superior to about half of the guys ahead of him. He embarrassed #11 Eric Maynor of VCU last year, and it will be interesting to see how #5 Drew Neitzel (who is the best PG in the Big Ten) fares against Daniel.

I imagine O.J. Mayo isn't happy to see his name listed down at #12 with all the hype he's gotten.

[BradleyBrave]

I think Ruffin is superior to about half of the guys ahead of him. He embarrassed #11 Eric Maynor of VCU last year, and it will be interesting to see how #5 Drew Neitzel (who is the best PG in the Big Ten) fares against Daniel.

I imagine O.J. Mayo isn't happy to see his name listed down at #12 with all the hype he's gotten.

Neitzel is tough as nails. Maniscalco often reminds me of a righthanded version of Neitzel. I recall Drew having his way with us in East Lansing. Hopefully we can return the favor on December 4.

[VromanFan]

Neitzel is tough as nails. Maniscalco often reminds me of a righthanded version of Neitzel. I recall Drew having his way with us in East Lansing. Hopefully we can return the favor on December 4.

Yeah, that's the thing with the enthusiasm over Ruffin getting to face Neitzel. It already happened last year and it did not go well. Lets not forget MSU is bringing everyone back and we'll have a lot of new faces.

That all said, I think Ruff deserves the recognition and has been somewhat underappreciated for the steady job he's done for us the past three seasons.

[tornado]

The Sporting News just ranked Neitzel as a shooting guard, as did YahooSports and Rivals

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=281474

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=rivals-170826&prov=rivals&type=lgns

He shoots at an 18.1ppg clip and led the Big Ten in 3-pointers (much to the dismay of Jamar Smith fans).

So is he a point guard or a shooting guard?


BTW-- Neitzel just came in as the Preseason POY by both the Big Ten media and Sportsline

http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102807aad.html

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10439626

[BradleyBrave]

The Sporting News just ranked Neitzel as a shooting guard, as did YahooSports and Rivals

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=281474

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=rivals-170826&prov=rivals&type=lgns

He shoots at an 18.1ppg clip and led the Big Ten in 3-pointers (much to the dismay of Jamar Smith fans).

So is he a point guard or a shooting guard?


BTW-- Neitzel just came in as the Preseason POY by both the Big Ten media and Sportsline

http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102807aad.html

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebas...story/10439626

IMO he's a scoring point guard. Every game I saw MSU play last year he's the one who brought the ball up, called the plays, got the team into the offense, and guarded the other team's point guard. If that's not a point guard then I don't know what is. Ruffin is one of the league's returning scoring leaders, so I guess the same question could be asked about him.

[tornado]

But none of the national services has DRuff listed as a SG nor are they ranking him in SG rankings,
as they are doing somewhat commonly with Neitzel.

[numbr_9]

Yeah, that's the thing with the enthusiasm over Ruffin getting to face Neitzel. It already happened last year and it did not go well. Lets not forget MSU is bringing everyone back and we'll have a lot of new faces.

That all said, I think Ruff deserves the recognition and has been somewhat underappreciated for the steady job he's done for us the past three seasons.

I was at the game, and while neitzel played very well, he benefited hugely from Michigan State's huge inside advantage. He got a lot of open looks because of outside defenders having to collapse inside to help protect an undersized post defense.

not to take anything away from neitzel, IMO he was the outstanding player of the game. but if he was on last year's Bradley squad (without huge inside scoring threats to draw defenders away) I think he would have played a little more 'human'.

[Lakeview Brave]

Tell me now that Jim Les didn't go to bat successfully for his guys....

FoxSports just published their list of college basketball's TOP POINT GUARDS

Daniel Ruffin is in the Top 20!

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/7374792

(ahead of Sheron Collins, ahead of Bryan Mullins, ahead of all other MVC PG's)
I guess I have a problem with the #2 pick, a guy who's never played even one single college game!! and #11, Eric Maynor, who DRuff outplayed head to head.

Lebron and Kobe never played one single college game either. Im pretty sure they were better then anyone in college when they finished thier respective senior years in highschool.

[BradleyBrave]

Lebron and Kobe never played one single college game either. Im pretty sure they were better then anyone in college when they finished thier respective senior years in highschool.

True, but had they gone to college, the same arguments could have been made prior to their freshman year. People thought Durant would be good, but didn't think he would be THAT good. Some thought Hansbrough was one-and-done at the most, yet he's still in college. I don't care how talented a kid is, they've gotta prove it. Rose hasn't proven it yet. He could be Kobe and he could be Jacque Vaughn (another 'can't miss' bust out of high school).

[tornado]

BB, you probably remember this guy......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felipe_L%C3%B3pez_%28basketball%29

Felipe Lopez....
He was ranked as the top high school player in the NATION even when he was a sophomore in high school and it only got more insane from there.
He had writeups incessantly and was repeatedly featured as the next Michael Jordan.
He was the early '90's version of OJ Mayo, and got recruiting hype from the time he entered high school, and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the top high schooler before he ever played a game in college. And it helped that he was benefitted by the huge New York hype-machine pumping out daily reports of the kid's tremendous expolits on the courts and the playgrounds of New York.

The kid was labelled as a "can't miss prospect", and the recruiting battle for his services was as intense as for just about anyone since Lew Alcindor, with St. John's getting the kid.

Had there been similar preseason rankings back then, I am sure many if not MOST of the east coast writers would have predicted the kid would be the NCAA Player of the Year even as a freshman!!!

BUT-- alas...he had a good but less than stellar college career, and was drafted late in the first round in 1998 after four full years of college. He spent about as much time in the NBA as it takes to have a cup of coffee and has been a career CBA and Euro player ever since.

Felipe Lopez is living proof that the hype in high school doesn't always translate into the same success in college and pro ball.