JR Giddens Wait a minute

[JR Giddens]

I thought the kid signed like 2 weeks ago. Why is this news now. Anyways where did ESPN get the facts to say JR Giddens has a reputation to be a strong NBA defender. He was pretty good with the Lobos but playing defense against NBA caliber players is much tougher  http://myespn.go.com/s/conversations/show/story/3553944

[BudweiserCeltic]

Agreed on a contract and signing are different things.

[cordobes]

Anyways where did ESPN get the facts to say JR Giddens has a reputation to be a strong NBA defender.

He's like Wilde, his reputation precedes him.

But what they say is that Giddens "brings a reputation as a strong defender", not as a NBA defender.  

[crownsy]

Anyways where did ESPN get the facts to say JR Giddens has a reputation to be a strong NBA defender.

He's like Wilde, his reputation precedes him.

But what they say is that Giddens "brings a reputation as a strong defender", not as a NBA defender.  

yea, they didnt say NBA defender in the story. they said what cor said, which is true.

will it translate to the NBA? we shall see.

[Spoon]

Well he can't exactly have a reputation as a strong NBA defender when he hasn't played a NBA game yet.

I think what they meant is he has a chance to be a strong NBA defender based on his defensive skills in college.

[crownsy]

Well he can't exactly have a reputation as a strong NBA defender when he hasn't played a NBA game yet.

I think what they meant is he has a chance to be a strong NBA defender based on his defensive skills in college.

/palmface

that's exactly what they said in the article, the OP misqouted.  does anyone read the actual links posted in these threads or the other comments anymore? 

[P2]

Giddens just agreed on a contract 11 days ago, and today he officially signed. It's not that hard to understand.

[incoherent]

I read the link and all the comments and I'm still confused. 

[Jon]

While we can't assume anything for sure about Giddens, I think the fact that he has a) long arms, b) good athleticism, and c) a good work ethic (at least on the court) bode well for him in man to man defense.  The real trick will be to see if he can pick up the C's team defense with the rotations and what not. 

[cordobes]

While we can't assume anything for sure about Giddens, I think the fact that he has a) long arms, b) good athleticism, and c) a good work ethic (at least on the court) bode well for him in man to man defense.  The real trick will be to see if he can pick up the C's team defense with the rotations and what not. 

While I've never seen Giddens playing, I'll answer yes to your doubt. There are two things I feel confident to predict about Giddens:
- He's used to be in the training facilities at least 45 minutes before the beginning of the session and he works hard there.
- Doc won't have to stop collective drillings and scrimmages because he's out of position or missed a rotation. He has a good understanding of the game and tactical awareness.   

Alford stresses this kind of things: discipline and hard work; the tactical part of the game, team play concepts. Not so much the development of individual skills though.