Edgar Sosa has NBA game! Photo Courtesy of flicker.com
So as I stare at my Bounce 24 deadline, the scout in me has to say something again. I’m remembering this freaky athletic kid fresh out of Rice HS dunking on grown men and owning the park at Dyckman back in 2005 with a team called “The Young Ones.” He was putting up numbers so easily that when I heard he was going to Louisville, I thought he would start immediately and be out of there in two years.
I said that Sundiata Gaines was a pro and told folk Will Bynum is super-tough – he’s doing his poor man’s Kevin Johnson imitation daily with the Pistons – and now I’m saying that Edgar Sosa is NBA. If I were a GM looking to develop a guard, I would give him strong consideration in the upcoming NBA draft.
1. Edgar Sosa – If Edgar is not drafted then he will hit a free agent camp, play on an NBA summer league team, and if he doesn’t recapture his pre-Louisville ball rhythm get cut, which I think would be a mistake. The player that consistently rocked Dyckman with the “Young Ones” crew had his game reined back a bit and went through big head games with Coach Pitino, but Sosa is a killer with tremendous range, quick finishing ability at the rim and a better than average first-step. After 15 to 20 games in the NBDL, where he would be able to think shot first, I think he would be ready for the NBA.
What do you think? Is Edgar Sosa going to make the NBA?
March 10th, 2010 at 1:48 am
Real_Talk says:
by far the worst choice of a college by a great prospect in years. he will not make the NBA this year but if he shows he can kill oveseas and he has the right agent he can be in camp in 2011 on a team that needs a guard and he can have a shot. shoot, dre barrett made it because of need
March 10th, 2010 at 10:50 am
Elliot Rosado says:
Chances are very slim. He doesn’t have the mind set to run the point in the NBA. And the way Rick Pitino played him the last 3 years that’s what he made it look like.
March 10th, 2010 at 11:47 am
illest says:
bynums number dont suggest anything of a poor mans kj.
March 10th, 2010 at 11:59 am
Sean Couch says:
KJ was an All-Star guard who got his team to the playoffs frequently while Bynum is still finding his niche in the league…as for Sosa, it has looked haphazard for Edgar and Rick has dealt with him very harshly but scouts are willing to erase all that if he shows he can consistently knock down an open 3 and defend.
March 10th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
fan says:
I’m still baffled at how these guys became & continue to scout for N.B.A. teams. What are they looking for? Do they even know. Another great job where incompetence & years of failures. Get blamed on the players & coaches. While they retain their positions & continue to overlook what can’t be shown by stats & wins.
The question isn’t if he can hit a open 3 & defend. How many players currently in the league is he better than. I’d say close to 40%. Then he should be in. Another case if he wasn’t from NYC & played in a different system. He’d be there already. I also forgot the free throws showed he wasn’t ready his freshman year. Chris Duhon/Edgar Sosa
Mike Bibby(Current) Edgar Sosa
Earl Watson/Jrue Holiday/Mike Conley/
What is the purpose on sending good players overseas. When they have more talent that what’s in the league now. If Jonathan Bender/Shaun Livingston/Travis Diener/Kevin Olie,Jason Hart can sign contracts. Edgar Sosa & Jeremy Hazell should be on the draft boards. Rankings don’t make players. I hate the N.B.A. Where the experts/scouts couldn’t forsee what Brandon Jennings would be & also stated Steph Curry & Ricky Rubio are better PG prospects.
Couch…Why is Sherron Collins not spoken about more in basketball circles? Who do you have to know to become a scout? When do you actually think the Knicks or St.Johns will become basketball teams. New York has lost all kinds of respect due to mediocrity that’s plagued us the last 10yrs. NO one takes us serious. From Sebastian not holding his own. To the hate Lance gets. To Kemba & Sosa being held back by their coaches & Scouts for free throws. Corey Fisher being overlooked or Scottie Reynolds. Terrell HOlloway because he plays for Xavier. Jeremy Hazell because he shoots for a team that needs his point production. Mike Glover because the NCAA did what’s best for the kid. Anybody that goes to St.Johns because of Ron Ron/Jason Williams/ & Norm Roberts
If you’re coach doesn’t have contacts in the league how can you make it? If you’re not ranked your bottom of the barrell. This system has led to the poorly balanced teams in the league today. Especially the Globalizing of the game. AB from the Raps & Gallo were not & never are going to be worthy of lottery picks. What happens when Rubio isn’t better than Jose Calderon. Will they get it then. Yi Jinlain is better than who? Are overseas that much better than the states players? I still don’t see it.
The Knicks need Carlos Powell or Daryll Showtime Hill now. I mean like right now. Sundiata Gaines could being playing significant mintues know as he’s world’s better than Douglas. T2(Quinton Holsey would kill both Gallo & Chandler) Ask Wilson Chandler about Mike Glover he saw up close & person at FIREBALL
March 13th, 2010 at 11:30 am
I Know Ball says:
Yeah, the mind set is important see. Mental 90% n physical 10%. You said if he weren’t from NYC and played in a different system he might have made it pro. Interesting. However, a few middle school players learned from the mistakes of their elders; they will change how the rest of the world looks at us. The stronger middle school generation in NYC began their movement around 2005. We capitalize on pass first smart guards that can shoot trey ball before going into high school. So no one can say they couldn’t shoot well in high school. This new generation will be polished very early in their development.
March 13th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Sean Couch says:
Sherron Collins is a top-flight guard who is considered a late first/early second-rounder by NBAdraft.net. I like Collins and if he is available late a team in need of pg has a good one for 10 years.
As far as NBA scouts, the things they look for are NBA mechanics and flow – For instance: are shot mechanics consistent? How does a player react against stronger comp? Do they use their athleticism to their benefit? What move do they display that indicates they can create a good shot or create a second opportunity for a possession on the floor. Most important is – Can they guard?
A player i all of a sudden like is Luke Harangody from Notre Dame. I watched him and I like his offensive mechanics and his deceptive speed. He isn’t going to blow by you but I think his mechanics and competitive spirit make him a big body 4 that can bump and grind for buckets. The white version Glen “Big Baby” Davis. He has a pro skill set and to be honest when I first saw him, I didn’t like him at first but I like him now…
Anyway back to NYC-
What made Rod Strickland and Mark Jackson (10-year plus vets who are in the top 20 in assists of all-time) and Kenny Smith (an NCAA and NBA championship winner) special.
The difference wasn’t just training to death, it was the consistent level of pick up ball played in hot spots everyday in New York City.
It’s why Brooklyn consistently has had stronger players – they still ball hard outdoors for the most part. The up and down park games throughout the city are no joke and that level of comp has diminished dramatically in the past 10 years.
They got parks in LA that Nike sponsors and all the top players go there to run outdoors. It would be a good look to do it here. Outdoor run, not indoor, let a kid call his foul and make a move in a park, there is nothing like it…
Kids don’t go hard like they used during pick up. It’s not the same. I used to go out and get a RUN, everyday up in Dyckman Park back in the day. I don’t see that anymore…
March 16th, 2010 at 7:25 am
Nhamz says:
Sean – (what’s good fam!) – All good points made here. However I would also add that many of the problems NYC has faced over the last 10 or so years has also been a sign of the times with the upcoming generation and it’s not unique to NYC.
I’ve seen a MAJOR culture change over the last 10 years with the attitude and beliefs of young players coming up. Some of that can be attributed to the rise of AAU as the ‘be-all-end-all’ route players now see it as, but on a whole, young en’s are getting WAY too ahead of themselves acting like they have a PRO mindset when they have barely hit their teens. They don’t want to run fulls on the playground anymore because they are ‘protecting their knees’ or have full AAU schedules which keep them away from the asphalt. Or worse still, they have the wrong type of ‘people’ in their ears convincing them they are the next big thing so have to handle their time differently (keeping them away from the asphalt). Whatever the reason, the bottom line is, we are a long way away from how it used to be back in the day when your ball education was all about running with older heads, playing your role and learning from those who have come before you in full court competition.
It’s no different over here in London. Too many young players think they know it all already, and aren’t trying to listen to older heads. As a result, players today are coming up UNDER DEVELOPED with less game feel, toughness and understanding than they used to. No doubt about it, pound for pound, there are more athletes today than their used to be – but without solid fundamentals and game IQ, these athletes are never going to break through to that next level.
This isn’t about calling out the young players, as they don’t know any better, they are still kids – but maybe the responsibility is on us as the older generation to bring that culture we had, back. Instilling the right values and creating the type of environment that produces ball players who know how to play both ends of the floor and understand the game from the neck up.
I see you doing your thing all the time with your playground workouts for HS players and such. Maybe we need to take a closer look at that type of approach.
Just my 2 cents…
March 16th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Sean Couch says:
Nhamz -
My man, good to hear from you and no doubt the rhythm is different nowadays
i do see a need for that killer quality that develops by just playing against people better and older than you consistently and getting your game up.
Yo we gotta get up and do that midnight madness joint for Bounce. Hit me on the e-mail, big edition coming up…