Sunday, March 18, 2007

Overrated/Underrated in the NCAA Tournament

Overrated: Taurean Green, Florida G--A lot of people call him the key to the team, and I suppose that's true, in a way--because when he's off his game, he can practically take down the defending champs all by himself. He takes an alarming amount of bad shots and tends to get surprisingly careless with the ball. He has obvious talent, but to me, he's a mediocre floor leader and only the fourth-best player on the team. I'd like him a lot better if he distributed the ball more to the top three and took fewer three-pointers with 20 seconds left on the shot clock.
Underrated: Al Horford, Florida C--Considering a lot of experts see him as a top-10 pick in next year's draft (if he makes himself eligible), it's saying a lot about him to call him underrated. But I still think he is. He's one of the most complete big men I've seen in a long time: He's got the size, strength, rebounding ability, and low-post moves of a legitimate center, but he handles the ball well, is a good passer, and can defend on the perimeter. And he's very mature and under control. He doesn't force the action and he doesn't play with unnecessary flair, even though he has the skills to do so if he wanted. Noah gets more attention, but Horford is really the best player on the team, and also the best pro prospect.

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