Thursday, April 8, 2010

Sail on, A.J.

by Barca Blog

Our favorite Aussie has decided to skip his senior year and move on to the professional ranks.

A.J.'s announcement will spark a wide range of emotions from Vanderbilt fans. Some will express their anger, while others will offer encouragement.

At the end of the day, though, I believe it comes down to being a personal decision between A.J., his family and the coaching staff (I sound like Tiger Woods, don't I?)... and I can respect that.

Instead, I will offer a video of the day from another group of Commodores.

Best of luck with whatever the future holds.

7 comments:

  1. You're not gonna get drafted, AJ. It's that simple.

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  2. Agree, and if he does it will be a second round "flyer" because of his size.

    Festus and Steve, while not as offensively gifted, are much more predictable players. AJ's biggest problem was his erratic play. Which is a huge issue for a player that is expected to contribute.

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  3. this is a sad day for Commodore fans. I hope it is not too late for AJ to change his mind. Don't hire that agent just yet. I have appreciated AJ's contributions at VU. I do hope he doesn't think that the fans have not been appreciative. Speaking for myself, I have always strongly supported him while thinking he could do more. If he wants to see where his development level should be, he should look no further than Samhan. At St. Mary's, Samhan made mincemeat out of AJ unfortunately. AJ should wait about the NBA until he can hold his own against the Samhans out there. After the Murray State game, i was certain AJ would not enter the draft because who wants to be remembered by such a performance as he had that day? AJ, we know you can do better. Use this next season at VU to improve your performance and thereby your draft position. your adoring fan

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  4. I'd be stunned if he ever makes it in the NBA. Got to think he's leaving so he can go play pro ball in Europe or Australia. But why now? Is it the money or was he unhappy at VU?

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  5. I think everyone who is glad A J is leaving or says they are ready for players who are more predictable are crazy. Festus and Tchiengang are good backups, they are not starters. Even though his play was eratic at times, there were times where Ogilvy was dominant. I have heard a couple of people say that he is worse now than he was as a freshman. People seem to forget that as a freshman, he had a little guy named Shan keeping the focus of the offense off of him. Even though Beal, Taylor, and Jenkins had good years, Vanderbilt's offense ran through AJ. There was no way to hide him after his freshman year. I guess everyone might appreciate him more when he's gone than when he was here unfortunately.

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  6. Fez and Steve are starters, not back ups. If AJ can't produce with the offense running through him in college, why even bother with the pros? Dominate players make the most of the challenge, not make excuses when they are challenged. He NEVER shined against a skilled big man, NEVER. I am a fan of AJ, I just think he is making a colossal mistake.

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  7. The person who posted on 4/8/10 at 7:18 is clearly more emotional than rational. When a player is such a large part of the gameplan, and is expected to contribute 15 pts and between 8 to 10 rebounds per night, any amount of inconsistancy puts a large dent into the gameplan. Next year, Vandy can now return to the perimeter team that has made them successful in the past, ie 1993 and 2007 and allow the other inside players to assume supporting roles.

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