UKmadness 2009 rankings, #20

#20, Brandon Paul - Committed to Illinois

Positives
- The best part of Brandon Paul’s game has to be his athletic ability. Paul is one of the premiere athletes in the 2009 class, and at only 6′2″ his athletic ability helps him make up for a lack of height. Because he is so athletic Paul is able to attack the rim with a purpose and is able to finish a great percentage of the time because he has the ability to hang in the air and the ability to adjust his shot mid-flight if need be. He is a bonifide scorer around the basket and is great at hitting tough shots around the basket.

- The other part of Brandon Paul’s game is something that I already touched on and that is his ability to just score. Paul has a scorer’s mindset when he has the ball, because whenever he has the ball his first thought is to score the basketball. Although he is not a bad passer Paul will usually look for his shot on a fastbreak and he will usually score. Paul is a rare type of player because even though he is only 6′2″ and plays shooting guard he goes strong to the basket and does not shy away from contact. When Paul drives the lane he forces the defender to either make a remarkable play or foul him and usually neither happens because he just scores.

Negative
- The biggest negative for Paul is one that he can not help, and that is his height. Paul is only 6′2″ and that might be great if he were a point guard but Paul prefers to play the shooting guard position rather than running the team. His game is modeled after a shooting guard as well, he is not a fabulous passer, has a shoot first mentality, and can score from all areas on the court. Paul needs to work on becoming an all around guard because the only guard his size or smaller that has succeeded in the NBA is Allen Iverson and no offense to Brandon Paul but he is not the next Allen Iverson.

Comparison
The player in the NBA that Paul is closest to attribute wise is Golden State Warriors shooting guard Monta Ellis. I believe this is a good comparison because both players have point guard bodies but a shooting guard skill set, both players are phenomenal athletes, and both players have the same frame, 6′2″ 175 lbs. Although Ellis a bit taller and more athletic there are definite similarities in their games.

Web Wednesday – 6/4/08

Recruiting Trail/Rumor Mill

• As is being reported by many people on the internet, it appears as though Matthew Pilgrim will become the next Kentucky Wildcat. Hoopsreport.com broke a story that Pilgrim was scene in Lexington, KY and scene checking into the Wildcat Lodge, the dorm in which all of the UK basketball players stay. If the report is true, Pilgrim would be required to sit out a full basketball season (2008-2009) and would then join the team for the 2009-2010 season. Pilgrim will be able to practice with the team during his ‘year off’ so going up againts guys like Patrick Patterson on a daily basis would no doubt help improve his skills.
• The other recruiting rumor flying across the web is that Vinny Zollo will be transfering to Clark County High School in Kentucky. In an interview with WKYT, Zollo says that if he does “Move to Kentucky that’s where it’s gonna be (Clark County)”. Zollo still has three high school years left until he plays for the Cats but being in Winchester, KY means he
• Another player that UK might or might not have signed is former Nebraska signee Roburt Sallie. Sallie got out of his commitment to Nebraska because he would have been ineligable in the Big 12 and has planed visits to UK, Maryland, Memphis, and Cincinnati.

Player Updates

• On a slightly different note, Jared Carter and Ramon Harris played another game in their Mali Tour. Jared finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds while Ramon had 11 points and 8 rebounds, leading the team in both categories. If you follow the previous link you can view the team blog that has constant updates.

Videos

Here are a couple Roburt Sallie videos: