Originally Posted by
Diddy
Yes, Wade had better numbers that G in college. Who were his teammates again?
What would G's numbers have looked like this year if he were allowed to ignore the team concept a la Wade during his last years in College.
And, please, ignore your perfect hindsight. Wade's draft was the Bron/Melo (and Darko. Freaking Darko) love fest. Wade was a complete after thought. Looking back, we realize how good he is. But he wasn't always. It took him a few years to adapt in the league.
And really, most of his hype and rep still stem from one of the best playoff runs a player has ever had. His finals performance was a thing of beauty. Since then he has put up good numbers on a really bad team. When he wasn't hurt.
Wade still isn't a great three point threat.
Are you all saying that in two to three years there is no way G can be that good?
This past year, towards the end, teams keyed on Gerald in way that will never happen in the pros. Teams basically left E-will alone and completely ignored whatever post we had in. Whenever G touched the ball 2-3 gus went on high alert and all shifted to take away driving lanes.
In the pros, if you try that, the other guys will eat you alive.
We all know about Duke's big three. If we are honest, it was the ONLY three. No one else on our team was dangerous. Nolan was capable, but so inconsistent that it was worth the risk.
Jon and Kyle, skilled, tenacious, and intetelligent though they were, could be effectively guarded by a single defender. Not shut down mind you, but one guy on an island could keep them from going off.
Not so with Gerald. His defender always got help from Mid January on.
And G did it with no Big to draw attention or sheild off a post Defender. He did it with no PG to orchestrate the O or set him up. With Lawson for a PG, G would have had 25 plus a game and been the most dangerous player in the ACC.
I stand by the Wade thing. Similiar bodies, similiar games. Sure, G needs refinement. If he was close to Wade now, we would still be playing. If he had some help. But I maintain that he was close to where Wade was when he finished his college career, and with the same level of work that Wade put in G can reach that level.
This paper thin, and patently obvious and self serving, attempt to denigrate G's abilities to keep him at Duke is just sad.