Scouting reports for Texas A&M and Oklahoma players

Notes from Texas A&M v. Oklahoma (2/17/07)

TEXAS A&M

- Acie Law: A speedy 6 ft 1 point guard who loves to push the tempo. He can also shoot off the dribble effectively and get his shot off whenever he wants, but prefers to involve his teammates. Physically similar to Tony Parker, although right now he is not as adept at finishing among the trees as Parker. Despite his speed and quickness, his defenders show decent success at stopping his penetration, which may be because for a college point guard, he does not demonstrate an above average ability to quickly change directions while dribbling. Law also has a slight frame, which may hurt him defensively in the NBA.

NBA Projection: Jason Terry. While Law is a nice player in college, he is a combo guard who hasn't demonstrated the ability to consistently create scoring opportunities for his teammates. Right now his speed and ability to shoot off the dribble can help some teams, but probably won't be a career starting point guard.

- Josh Carter: shows a good stroke from deep. Fits the eye test. Sometimes a non-factor when he isn't scoring. Very comfortable spotting of for 3, but not much of a shot off the dribble. Excellent in the open court.

OKLAHOMA

- Longar Longar: 6'11 - shows range to 15 ft. Long, active and very quick off his feet. Longar enthusiastically patrols the lane and will swat smaller players who try to drive to the rim. Demonstrates outstanding timing on his shot blocking attempts. Also an adequate passer out of the post. Has shown the ability to hit the 10 foot jumper. Doesn't have a lot of strength and may not be able to defend bigger guys in the post. More worrysome is that his frame doesn't appear able to add much more weight. On offense, he sometimes has difficulty finishing around the basket. Moves in the post are still mechanical. Surprisingly, he seems more comfortable making a move from the wing while facing the basket.

NBA projection: Francisco Elson. A tall, springy PF/C who can deter easy buckets inside by the opposing team. Can hit the occasional J if left wide open. Won't shutdown other teams centers or power forwards .