Michael Chandler

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Originally Posted by TheHoopSide1

DSR has the greatest will to win I have seen in a while. In an AAU tournament where the game did not matter in the slightest (lack of coaches, etc.) Rivera single handedly willed his team to win. And I agree about him being the best player on one of the best teams. But the last time I saw him his quickness was such a glaring weakness (but of course it didn't matter because his pull-up is stellar) that I had a hard time putting him ahead of many people. He still has another year to climb the charts and I scheduled myself a visit to see him play since I heard what he did to Pike (did not think he could play that well against that quick of a team) *Note: he also only had 2 three pointers in that game, so his driving must have been on*
Like I said, right now, he is an astounding player, but he needs help on his first step to become truly elite; it is hindering every facet of his game (imagine if he had a Marquis Teague-esque first step how many points he would score). The sites rankings are based off of the ratings, and right now his athleticism is holding back his defensive rating as well. Some may call it a flaw, but you need quickness to guard at the point at the next level.

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I seem to remember another guy who played for DePaul back in the day that didn't have much quickness either- Mark Aguirre. He didn't play point, and I do not think that DSR will either. DSR is more of a 2 or some 3 as I see it. We've got PGs.

All that Aguirre guy did was take the whole program on his back, including old Ray Meyer, and take them to Final 4's.

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Originally Posted by MADXSTER

Watching him play actually reminds me of Byron Larkin. Great body control and consistently hits the mid range jumper.

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That will be nice. Who is the last guy we had that consistently took and hit mid-range jumpers? It seems to be almost a lost art.

I'm curious about one thing. Assuming that DSR lacks quickness, how did he get ranked in the top 30 nationally by Rivals? He must do some things exceptionally well to make up for his perceived lack of quickness.

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Originally Posted by XU 87

I'm curious about one thing. Assuming that DSR lacks quickness, how did he get ranked in the top 30 nationally by Rivals? He must do some things exceptionally well to make up for his perceived lack of quickness.

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I'm sure he's at least got deceptive quickness, but you don't get rated as a 5 star recruit without having some serious tools. Let's just say I doubt he'll leave Xavier being know as a guy who just isn't that quick.

Quickness is great but if you are mentally tough and do other things well you can be a great player without quickness.

I believe DSR wants to play point and was told he could at X if he earns the job. I suspect he will primarily play SG but get minutes at point. I expect Davis to be a very good PG and have the starting job once Tu and maybe Lyons leave. If everyone plays to potential it is going to be very difficult to get everyone minutes. Most likely someone will be a bust or transfer for more PT but there are a lot of players capable of minutes.

PG - Lyons, Davis, DSR
SG - Redford, Martin, DSR
SF - Wells, Canty, Martin
4/5 - Taylor, Latham, Reynolds, McKenzie, Robinson, TBA?

Depending on defensive and rebounding ability Canty could get some minutes at the 4. If the big men deliver I expect a final 4 with the above team. Plenty of experience with 3.5 second year players and 1 freshman plus another yet to be named. Martin is given a .5 since he is practicing with the team. Taylor has experience at D1 plus is practicing this year so he is counted as an upper classman. And the great news is that the team should stay at the top for years to come with the exceptional youth (based on rankings). Another big man would be a great get for the above class to keep depth at those positions.

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Originally Posted by xu15

I'm sure he's at least got deceptive quickness, but you don't get rated as a 5 star recruit without having some serious tools. Let's just say I doubt he'll leave Xavier being know as a guy who just isn't that quick.

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You never know until the player gets here. I'm in no way saying, or even insinuating, that I think DSR is overrated (I've never seen him play). But I still recall highly ranked recruits that never got even close to their expectations- Lloyd Price (who my dad called Floyd Prince), Churchill Odia, Joey Rey, Erik Edwards, Brian Henley, etc.

In light of the fact that DSR is in the top 25, and chose X over some big programs, I expect that he'll be a very, very good player. But we'll see.

Lloyd Price wasn't due to a lack of quickness. If I recall correctly he injured his ankle and was never the same after that. Normally that is an injury you can come back from but in his case it seemed to have lasting effects.

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Originally Posted by Masterofreality

I seem to remember another guy who played for DePaul back in the day that didn't have much quickness either- Mark Aguirre. He didn't play point, and I do not think that DSR will either. DSR is more of a 2 or some 3 as I see it. We've got PGs.

All that Aguirre guy did was take the whole program on his back, including old Ray Meyer, and take them to Final 4's.

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I think DSR is a better PG than the current PG's at Xavier...and to use a rough analogy Gilbert Arenas (granted the scandal and everything) played PG but John Wall came in and moved Gil to SG (also granted that Gil shot 3's too much anyway, the point is you put your best player at their best position). If you go to DSR's profile http://www.thehoopside.com/dvauntes-smith-rivera.php and scroll down to watch his highlight, you'll see what I mean by lack of quickness...that isn't knocking his skills at all...he is still one of the best players in the country..i would just to like to see his quickness develop (note :27 (seconds) and on in the video, he gets buckets, no doubt, but i don't know how he is getting passed these guys..he isn't quick, but he is very VERY crafty).

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Originally Posted by XU 87

I'm curious about one thing. Assuming that DSR lacks quickness, how did he get ranked in the top 30 nationally by Rivals? He must do some things exceptionally well to make up for his perceived lack of quickness.

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http://www.thehoopside.com/dvauntes-smith-rivera.php

*Note that unlike other sites, our ratings are the same for each grade..meaning that he isn't compared against other 2012's, but compared to other high-schoolers..period. also, check out his highlight video that shows off his skill set..

Chandler commits to Central Florida tonight. Judging by his past, I would assume he will de-commit from there in a few weeks.