Charlotte is in the mix for Ari Stewart from Wake Forest. He will have 2 years remaining. Current Niner assistant coach, Desmond Oliver was Stewart’s primary recruiter for Georgia. Look for Xavier to be a possible destination as well. He visited Mack’s team back in 2008.
[b]J[/b][size=13px][b]anuary, 2009:[/b] Stewart has great athleticism, quickness, and springs which makes him an absolute terror on the break. This elevator man excels when he has the chance to jump off two feet and rise effortlessly in the air, much in the same way that current Phoenix Suns shooting guard Jason Richardson seems more comfortable as two-feet leaper, as opposed to jumping off of one leg. He has a considerable amount of upside and will have to improve his ball-handling skills to excel on the next level. Stewart has range on his jumper that extends out to the 3-point line, but he has to get much better in the mid-range game, using his leaping ability to elevate over defenders after taking one or two dribbles for a pull-up jump shot. As his experience increases, his feel for the game will improve as he sometimes seems confused as he tries to figure out how to best utilize his athletic gifts. Stewart will block shots, but he ranks as an undisciplined shot-blocker at this point.[/size]
December, 2008: Ari is a skilled, athletic wing that can take you off the dribble or elevate in your face with range on his jumper. He is very effective at the elbow or free throw line extended where he can use his jab game and versatility. He has big time length and athleticism that allows him to shoot and rebound over his opponent and get easy put backs. Ari is a quick leaper. He is a bouncy player with a smooth stroke that will fit in terrifically into Dino Gaudio’s system at Wake. Ari put together an impressive showing in the Beach Ball Classic in leading his team to the championship game of the tournament. He garnered All-Tournament honors while averaging 18 ppg and 8 rpg.
July, 2008: (2008 Reebok Summer Championships) After a pedestrian 1st half where he hunted for his own shot far too often, Stewart settled down to have an impressive 2nd half. He is a bouncy face-up 4-man with an excellent touch out to 15-feet. He needs to hone up his ball skills and overall feel for the game, but he can definitely score at a rapid pace within 15-feet of the basket.
[size=13px]Februrary, 2008: Stewart is a long and athletic combo forward with tremendous potential as a player. He is great in transition, attacks the rim and has very good size for his position. When you watch him play, he appears to be trying to expand his game and learn how to be a true perimeter player. He gets better and better each time out, but does have times where he is not tremendously productive. Stewart plays on a loaded high school team and he always does some things that leave you wondering how good he can be. Stewart needs to become better in the half-court and needs to continue to work on his skills and his perimeter game. His one and two dribble pull-ups need to improve, but as far as potential and athleticism go, Stewart is one of the best in 2009.[/size]
[size=1em]Scout.com Player Evaluation:[/size][table][tr][td][table][tr][td]
[size=13px]STRENGTHS[/size][/td][/tr][tr][td][size=13px] Athleticism[/size][/td][/tr][tr][td][size=13px] Penetration[/size][/td][/tr][tr][td][size=13px] Transition Player[/size][/td][/tr][/table][/td][td][table][tr][td]
[size=13px]AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT[/size][/td][/tr][tr][td][size=13px] Ballhandling[/size][/td][/tr][tr][td][size=13px] Catch and Shoot[/size][/td][/tr][/table][/td][/tr][/table][size=13px]Athletic wing player with strong size and length. Definite ability and high-major talent. Has shown elite talent in bursts and flashes so consistency is needed. Enjoys the game.[/size]
We have one open spot left for next year that most think will go to a frontcourt player unless we have a transfer. Do we take Stewart without a transfer?
YES PLENTY OF ROOM!! Just like we should of found room for Skeen a couple years ago. We need high level talent period. Lets deal with the problem of having 2 quality players at the same position instead of being talent deficient like we have been recently.
Yea there’s no room for a guy who averaged 8.5 ppg as a sophomore and was a top 50 guy coming out of HS. Nah, there’s no room on a team that won 2 conference games last year and 10 games overall.
Yea there’s no room for a guy who averaged 8.5 ppg as a sophomore and was a top 50 guy coming out of HS. Nah, there’s no room on a team that won 2 conference games last year and 10 games overall.[/quote]I know what you’re saying, that we could use him, but Wake did only win 1 conference game and 8 games overall. They were one of the few teams in the state that might’ve been worse. Team performance may not be the best argument.
YES PLENTY OF ROOM!! Just like we should of found room for Skeen a couple years ago. We need high level talent period. Lets deal with the problem of having 2 quality players at the same position instead of being talent deficient like we have been recently.[/quote]
Yea there’s no room for a guy who averaged 8.5 ppg as a sophomore and was a top 50 guy coming out of HS. Nah, there’s no room on a team that won 2 conference games last year and 10 games overall.[/quote]I know what you’re saying, that we could use him, but Wake did only win 1 conference game and 8 games overall. They were one of the few teams in the state that might’ve been worse. Team performance may not be the best argument.[/quote]
lol, that’s like saying no one should’ve picked up John Fields, Mike Cook, or Gabe Blair since they played for ECU.
Yea there’s no room for a guy who averaged 8.5 ppg as a sophomore and was a top 50 guy coming out of HS. Nah, there’s no room on a team that won 2 conference games last year and 10 games overall.[/quote]I know what you’re saying, that we could use him, but Wake did only win 1 conference game and 8 games overall. They were one of the few teams in the state that might’ve been worse. Team performance may not be the best argument.[/quote]
lol, that’s like saying no one should’ve picked up John Fields, Mike Cook, or Gabe Blair since they played for ECU.[/quote]Not really. You would argue those players were good and that the transfer team could use them regardless of that team’s prior year performance (e.g. Cook transferred to Pitt, who didn’t exactly struggle before he went there). Stewart could be a good addition because he’s got D1 experience, has shown to be a pretty good player, and we will likely be thin at sf soon.
Really just wanted to use this as an excuse to point out how badly Wake sucked this year, one of the few things I enjoyed about this season. Your follow-up post gives me the opportunity to point out how much ECU sucked while those guys were there.
i imagine that once he plays for a good coach(which i believe major is) and is surrounded by talent, his talent will blossom. id take this kid and risk being thin at center this year.
[quote=“get_gold78, post:17, topic:25228”]im expecting so much out of all our new recruits, not so much our current players.
is that being a bad fan?[/quote]
If you had to ask… then you are a bad fan. But not as bad as the baddest of us.
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