panxing18
Pridružen/-a: 03.06. 2018, 03:33
Prispevkov: 198
|
 Objavljeno: 22 Avg 2018 03:09 Naslov sporočila: s started for two sea |
 |
|
Donte DiVincenzo’s plan was to come out and test the NBA draft waters this spring Shaquem Griffin Seahawks Jersey , with the expectation that he would be returning to Villanova for another season.
And then the national championship game happened.
The hero of Villanova’s win over Michigan picked the perfect moment to play the game of his life – 31 points on 10 for 15 shooting, five 3-pointers, five rebounds, one epic wink as the Wildcats put the game away. That’s what probably got him an invite to the Draft Combine, the event where DiVincenzo saw how he might fit at the NBA level.
His name will likely be called in the first round on Thursday night, guaranteed millions set to come his way. Not bad for a kid who came off the bench for most of his college career and wasn’t even picked as a Big East first-teamer, second-teamer or even honorable mention this past season. He did get recognized by the league as its top sixth man after a season where he averaged 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
”When I get into a system, I’m so worried about the team,” DiVincenzo said. ”I’m not worried about the numbers. I’m just worried about one, winning and two, the impact I have on a team whether it’s in the locker room or on the court. If I can do anything to help the team, then I’ll do that. That’s what I tried to do at Villanova this past year.”
His numbers at the combine were probably as eye-popping as what he did in the national title game. No one at the combine in Chicago last month had a higher vertical leap than DiVincenzo – 42 inches with a running start, 34 1/2 inches when standing. He also impressed scouts with his shooting ability, and didn’t need long to decide that his best move was to stay in the draft.
Some may have been surprised by his numbers in Chicago. Nova Nation was not.
”He works his butt off and he deserves all this,” said now-former Villanova guard Jalen Brunson, The Associated Press’ national player of the year this past season who’s also in this draft. ”And just to see where he’s come from since us rooming together freshman year to seeing how his work ethic has gotten better every day … he just goes at everybody. He just has that mindset that he’s a killer. And that’s what makes him special.”
There’s a price of fame, in that it also comes with a much higher level of scrutiny – which put DiVincenzo in a tough spot after the national championship game. While the Wildcats were celebrating and he was being named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, some of his old tweets were creating headlines as well.
Those posts Justin Jones Jersey Elite , mostly from between 2011 through 2013, included racially insensitive and homophobic comments. DiVincenzo’s account, which had been dormant since 2016, was shut down not long afterward.
”It’s crazy, good and bad,” DiVincenzo said when asked if he was surprised how much more attention he’s gotten since the national championship game. ”Everything with the Twitter thing that came out, that was bad. But people who know me, people who know who I am, they understand that’s not me. I just try to carry myself as more than just a basketball player.”
If teams had reservations about his tweeting choices from years ago, their concerns seem to be satisfied. DiVincenzo came away from the combine process convinced that he’ll be a first-rounder.
”Donte has handled this process intelligently and received very positive feedback from the NBA teams about his prospects in this year’s draft,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said last month when DiVincenzo opted to stay in the draft. ”We fully support this decision.”
He has some interesting nicknames.
For a while teammates called him Buddy Hield, because when the Wildcats were getting ready to play Oklahoma in the 2016 Final Four – a 44-point national semifinal romp for Villanova – DiVincenzo’s role in practice was to mimic the game of the Sooners’ star. And once in practice, where DiVincenzo was apparently showboating, Wright dubbed him ”the Michael Jordan of Delaware.”
Truth be told, Wright doesn’t remember that exchange with the Delaware native.
”He said I said it to him facetiously in his freshman year when he was acting like a superstar and I said to him: `You act like you’re the Michael Jordan of Delaware,”’ Wright said.
Those days are gone, regardless.
DiVincenzo might be going to Jordan’s league, but he knows that he still has plenty to prove – to others, and himself.
”Even if I work out by myself Authentic Customized Falcons Jerseys , I try to always prove something and not try to prove that I’m good or not trying to prove that I’m athletic,” DiVincenzo said. ”I try to prove that there’s something deeper in me and that I’m just scratching the surface right now. I try to get better every single day and that’s what I’m trying to prove – that I’m getting better, that nothing will stop me from getting better.”
—
The massive hole on the left side of Cleveland's offensive line may be shrinking.
Needing to find a replacement at tackle following the retirement of perennial Pro Bowler Joe Thomas, the Browns used the first pick in the second round of the NFL draft Friday night on Nevada's Austin Corbett, a walk-on who turned into a four-year college starter and is versatile enough to play three positions.
The 307-pounder close friends with Browns guard Joel Bitonio, who played alongside Thomas for several years and told Corbett about the person and player he could replace.
"As far as it goes in being 'the next Joe Thomas,' that is just a rare, rare human there," Corbett said. "If I can learn from him and follow in his footsteps, that's just amazing."
Two picks after getting Corbett, the Browns used the No. 35 overall selection on bruising Georgia running back Nick Chubb, who ran for 1,345 yards last season, two years after suffering a knee injury.
The pick was announced by Browns legend Jim Brown, the franchise's all-time leading rusher.
"I have no questions about this guy," said vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith, who compared Chubb to former All-Pro Jamal Lewis. "Just give him the ball."
The Browns traded their third second-round pick, No. 64 overall, to Indianapolis for the No. 67 pick and took Miami defensive end Chad Thomas. Cleveland also received a sixth-round pick from the Colts.
If football doesn't pan out Cheap Marquez Valdes-Scantling Jersey , Thomas has a music career to fall back on. He plays nine instruments and has produced for hip-hop artists, including Rick Ross.
For the Browns, the first two days have provided a chance to bolster a roster that failed to produce a win last season. They've been bold, taking quarterback Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 pick, and feel much better about their future.
"The main thing is that we have improved," said assistant general manager Eliot Wolf. "You set out to improve every single day. We feel like we have done that. Obviously, if we go out and do not win a game, then none of this means anything. Anyone can win in March or April."
As the league's lowest scoring team last season, the Browns needed playmakers. Chubb gives them another and he joins a running back group that includes free-agent signee Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson, Cleveland's best offensive player last season.
At 227 pounds, Chubb can run inside and he's quick enough to turn the corner for a big gain. He scored 15 touchdowns last season finished his career with 4,769 yards, second in SEC history to Herschel Walker.
"When you play running back in the SEC, you have to be able to create between the tackles with your feet and you have to be able to play a physical style of football, and Nick Chubb exemplifies all of that in his running style," Highsmith said. "Not only is he a great football player, he's a tremendous person, tremendous individual, tremendous leader and he exemplifies what we're trying to build here in Cleveland."
Corbett fits that mold as well.
He was undersized when enrolling at Nevada Bo Scarbrough Jersey Elite , but inspired by his brother who played at San Diego State, he worked his way into getting a scholarship and eventually drafted by the Browns.
"No D-I program wants a 240-pound offensive lineman. My brother at the time was playing at San Diego State," he said. "He was on scholarship so he kind of set the bar for me. If he can play D-I, then so can I.
"Then I just got the opportunity to walk on at the local college here at Nevada. That was the only way I could play D-I. Financially, that was the only way so it made sense for us. It is just a difference in how you have to go about yourself when you are a walk-on."
The Browns plan to move right tackle Shon Coleman to the left side, but he could be challenged for the starting job by Corbett.
"If Austin is able to be the left tackle, it would be great," Wolf said.
The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Thomas started for two seasons with the Hurricanes, recording 10 sacks.
Andrew Berry, another of the team's player personnel vice presidents, feels Thomas can have an immediate impact as a rookie.
"We thought he was one of the most physical defensive linemen in the draft," Berry said. "We think he's a very talented, strong, athletic defensive lineman who can play multiple spots along our front. He is a player when we talk about setting the edge or keeping contained in the run-game, he can really put on a clinic tape of being able to do that at one of the end spots.
"He is just a strong, long, physical guy that uses his hands well."
.
_________________
panxing |
|
Pogosta vprašanja
Išči
Seznam članov
Skupine uporabnikov
RSS Feed
Registriraj se
Tvoj profil
Zasebna sporočila
Prijava
