Branden Dawson was Jerod Ward for 3.5 years and all of the sudden....

[maelfan]

turns into Steve Wojciechowski from his days at Duke.
Why does it take some players so long to stop sleepwalking through their college careers. If Dawson played with this much heart and fire his first two years he may have been in the NBA by last year, or an All American candidate. Always puzzling to me.

 

[tarun262]

I have had the change to interact with quite a few athletes. The difference phsyically amongst athletes is not that much - it really isn't. It's the mental makeup that really sets them apart. Some of the most gifted physical players don't have the mental makeup to be successful while some average physically gifted players just can will their way into games/wins. It's easier in HS when you are so much more dominating physically then others but once you get to college - you are amongst others who are equally as physically gifted if not more then you. If you don't have that mental edge, it won't happen. I think it's really hard for college kids to keep that mental dedication - given all the distractions - and sometimes it just takes time for players/kids to blossom. My 2 cents.

 

[blockm2]

Jerod Ward was a chronically injured player that really blossomed his senior season averaging 13 pts and 6 boards on 38% shooting behind the arc.

 

[24to12]

He has been hampered by injuries. Also it's true: players mature at different rates, and some adjust better to the higher level of play than others.

 

[DetroitRockCity]

Branden Dawson better find a jump shot before the NBA draft. A 6'6" forward that can't shoot outside of 5 feet is not
going to cut it.

 

[Divided42]

Originally posted by blockm2:
Jerod Ward was a chronically injured player that really blossomed his senior season averaging 13 pts and 6 boards on 38% shooting behind the arc.

Well Dawson tore his ACL his freshman year so it's not like he has a perfect health record either. He is also having a pretty darn good senior year too, he is a terror on the boards and averaging about 12 points a game and just might be Big Ten Defensive player of the year. Jerod was a much bigger recruit than Dawson was, he was a consensus top 5 kid and #1 according to some while Dawson was "only" #17 in the RSCI rankings. If Dawson had any kind of jumper his defensive versatility, rebounding, size, strength, and athleticism would let him have a long NBA career IMO, but after 4 years it's still terrible.

This post was edited on 3/5 9:26 PM by Divided42