Gist averaged 15.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game this past season and was the team leader and captain.
A few articles to note talking about James Gist and his selection to San Antonio.
The Diamondback : http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2008/06/26/Sports/Gist-Drafted.By.Spurs.With.57th.Pick-3385946.shtml
The Washington Times : http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/d1scourse/2008/Jun/26/gist-spurs-second-round/
The Baltimore Sun : http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/basketball/bal-gist627,0,558825.story
Having landed on the 2007 NBA Champions, things could have been worse for James. The Spurs also have a pretty good track record of drafting players who can succeed in the NBA. The Spurs currently have 7 unrestricted free agents, (Brent Barry, Kurt Thomas, Michael Finley, Damon Stoudamire, Robert Horry, Jacque Vaughn, and Dermarr Johnson), leaving them with 8 players under contract and 3 new draft picks coming in. So there is definitely space on the roster for Gist to make the team.
The issue with being drafted in the 2nd round is that it is not a guaranteed contract for players and they have to work their way on the roster, which should not be a problem for the Forward from the Terps.
I project Gist starting the season off having trouble finding minutes, but at some point when given the chance will prove himself as a small forward who will also have the capability to guard some power forwards in the league. Gist will provide a mid range jumper, which a great instinct for blocking shots and rebounding.
James Gist was the 7th Terp to be drafted in the past 8 years (Strawberry, Wilcox, Dixon, Blake, Morris, Gist, Baxter).
Congrats James Gist!
3 comments:
Steak you had a pretty close prediction guessing that Gist would go 52 to the Heat. Not bad. I think this is a great fit for Gist who is extremely athletic but needs to work on some of his fundamentals. Thats all the spurs are is a fundamentally sound bball team and he will learn alot.
I think an interesting question will be is who will have a longer NBA career ... DJ Strawberry or James Gist?
To be honest with you I think it will be James Gist. Like I said before, he is very athletic and has the opportunity to play for a very fundamentally sound team. DJ is a good basketball player but I think he will have a harder time getting playing time in Phoenix. He is a great defender but not much offensively.
Post a Comment