This is the first call for scouting report for the 1996 Usenet draft. We need scouting reports for as many seniors, and underclassmen that have declared for the draft, as we can get. A sample scouting report will be included at the end of this post, but to see more please see the Usenet web site: http://sunsite.unc.edu/craig/draft/usenet.html Each scouting report should include: strenghts, weaknesses and a few lines giving some details about the player. Don't worry about stats, Jazzy will supply those. Sample ============================================================================= Name: Cherokee Parks College: Duke Height: 6-11 Weight: 240 Position: Center Other positions: Power Forward Strengths: Shotblocking, agility, finishing moves, rebounding, jump shot to 21' Weaknesses: Lack of concentration, occasional passiveness, stamina Stats: G MIN FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA REB PF AST TO BLK STL PTS 91-92 Duke 34 435 60 105 0 0 50 69 81 57 13 30 35 5 170 92-93 Duke 32 899 161 247 0 0 72 100 220 68 14 56 65 25 394 93-94 Duke 34 1038 186 347 3 17 115 149 284 77 31 57 76 37 490 94-95 Duke 31 1091 222 443 31 85 114 147 289 68 45 63 55 26 589 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTALS 131 3463 629 1142 34 102 351 465 874 270 103 206 231 93 1643 MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG TPG BPG SPG PPG 91-92 Duke 12.8 57.1 ERR 72.5 2.4 0.4 0.9 1.0 0.1 5.0 92-93 Duke 28.1 65.2 ERR 72.0 6.9 0.4 1.8 2.0 0.8 12.3 93-94 Duke 30.5 53.6 17.6 77.2 8.4 0.9 1.7 2.2 1.1 14.4 94-95 Duke 35.2 50.1 36.5 77.6 9.3 1.5 2.0 1.8 0.8 19.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTALS 26.4 55.1 33.3 75.5 6.7 0.8 1.6 1.8 0.7 12.5 Poop: Cherokee Parks came to Duke as the most heralded big man to come out of California since Bill Walton. He was billed as impressive and dominating, both offensively and defensively. While he never quite lived up to that hype in his career at Duke, he did manage to carve out a very effective four years, with excellent shooting, rebounding and shotblocking numbers, as well as a substantial number of wins. Yet Parks will always be judged by his potential, and there is definitely a sense that he hasn't tapped all of his considerable talent. Whether his limitations will allow him to do that in the NBA remains to be seen. As a freshman, Parks started off well, scoring and rebounding in double digits until an injury slowed him down. The other factor that hurt his progress as a frosh was Christian Laettner's notorious verbal torture. Laettner, in an effort to make Parks a better and tougher player, insulted, taunted and humiliated Parks whenever possible. This ended up having the opposite effect, with the mild-mannered Parks sulking and languishing on the bench. When Laettner lightened up later in the year, Parks responded and ended up a valuable reserve as Duke won the national title. Parks started as a sophomore and stepped up his game with the departure of Laettner. Still, Parks would frequently disappear for long stretches at a time during games, especially defensively. This would often occur against teams with inferior post men. Parks would usually come to play against highly touted big men, such as when he played extremely well against future lottery picks Juwan Howard and Chris Webber in a game at Duke. "The Chief" did start to play consistently in the last ten games of the season, before disappearing and then getting injured in an NCAA loss. As a junior, Parks put up slightly improved numbers, but played with much greater consistency. He started putting up more jumpers, including the occasional three-pointer. He played fine defense and again rose to the occasion against big-time competition. His interior defense helped lead Duke to the national championship game. As a senior, he had his finest statistical season on a losing team. Without his offensive presence, the team would have been much worse. He became a prolific scorer playing with an inexperienced backcourt. He played excellent defense without the benefit of experienced forwards to play help defense. His three point shot became a consistent weapon. His scoring duties cut down on his rebounding somewhat, and he began to take some questionable shots. He was unable to unite a team that had young players in key spots, but that may have been beyond most players. The key to his season what that he felt confident as the main offensive threat. In general, Parks is a very good athlete who has decent speed, good leaping ability, and excellent agility around the basket. He is not extremely strong or dominating inside, relying more on timing and agility to pick up blocks. He doesn't have the strength to go inside consistently and draw fouls, although he is an excellent foul shooter once he's there. He has a servicable drop step though he lacks a consistent back-to-the-basket move, and never uses a hook shot around the basket. He's a good rebounder who can dominate when inspired, nabbing 20 in a game as a junior for a Duke team that was not rebound-oriented. He has very good hands and is a great face-up shooter. He has deadly baseline shots with a quick release. For shots 17' and further, his release is considerably slower but still very accurate. He is not a great passer and only an adequate ballhandler, and so has problems with double-teams around the basket. He plays much better with someone who can get him the basket, since his one-on-one moves are average at best when he's on the perimeter, although he did occasionally show a surprisingly quick first step. While better in a halfcourt game, he is an excellent outlet passer and is also capable of finishing the fast break. The major knocks on Parks as a pro are his aggressiveness, consistency and finding a true position for his size and speed. Parks has at times lacked the competitive fire necessary for success, although it has usually come while playing inferior opponents. This will obviously not be a big factor in the NBA. Parks proved as a senior that he could be consistent in every game for a team that needed him to play well to have any chance to win. He has the size and heft to play center in the NBA, but probably isn't strong enough to do so. Power forward is probably his eventual destination as a pro, although with his shot he could spend time as a small forward. I expect Parks to go in the early first round, possibly in the lottery. Any team that needs a big man that can score and block shots would do well to draft him, but they would be better served if they already had a good point guard and played more of a halfcourt game. He also would probably serve best as the third scoring option on the team. Scout: Rob Clough