I Have A Feeling We're Going to Get Along Splendidly, or Immediately Disagree

by Jon L on Dec 10, 2009 3:10 PM EST in Ridiculous-osity Comment 13 comments

(Let me pre-emptively say that this post was written in the spirit of friendly competition, plus a real disagreement.)

First off, let's give a warm RU welcome to D-League Digest, the TrueHoop Network's newest blog which happens to be about the D-League. Hey, that's what this website happens to be about! More D-League coverage and exposure is always welcome, especially if that coverage doesn't involve embarrassing, embarrassing publicity stunts that require an immediate apology from Dan Reed.

I think Henry Abbott's announcement put it best when he said,

From Hardwood Paroxysm, 48 Minutes of Hell and a lot of other blogs in the TrueHoop Network do a great job covering the D-League, but we're now stepping up our game with the addition of Steve Weinman's D-League Digest, which will be on the beat day in and day out

Hey, uh, that's great, Henry. Hi. We exist, too. And have for several years. (I'm also pretty sure that TrueHoop stopped linking to blogs outside of its network at some point, but I can't confirm. So at least this way he'll be talking about the D-League at all.)

Steve Weinman also got a warm welcome from NBA TV, which had him on for an interview. Let's take a look.

Two points. First, it appears that the "day in and day out" coverage will be three days in and four days out per week. (Hey Henry, if you need links on Tuesday and Thursday, we have them.) Second, let's dive into this "Romel Beck is like Tayshaun Prince" issue, which Matt over at Hardwood Paroxysm (disclosure: this blog's founder) agrees with. For your convenience, I thought I'd break them down in a handy chart form.

	Romel Beck	Tayshaun Prince
Long arms?	Yes	Yes
Rebounds?	No	Yes
Defense?	No	Yes
Needs the ball all the time to score?	Yes	No

Don't believe me? Take a look at their numbers. Prince's worst rebounding season so far saw him average 3.7 rebounds per 36 minutes, and his career average is about five. Beck, however, averaged only 2.7 rebounds per 36 last season, and that was in the D-League against lesser competition. It's entirely possible that Beck will develop some rebounding prowess, except that he's 27 years old and hasn't done it yet. Prince also has averaged 12 and a half points a game for his career on five field goal attempts. Beck averaged 16 points a game last year, but needed 10 and a half shots to get there. It's a bit harder to quantify defense, so we'll go with secondary, qualitative sources. According to DraftExpress, Beck is "a scoring machine who struggles on defense." His coach in Dakota, Rory White, has said that he needs to work on his "on-the-ball defense, help defense," which is to say he needs to work on all defense. Again I say, this is at age 27. Meanwhile, some blog says that Prince "makes things very tough on great scorers." Saying that Romel Beck is like Tayshaun Prince because they both have long arms ignores, well, almost everything about the two players' games.

We here at Ridiculous Upside look forward to the day in which we are invited on to NBA TV to discuss the D-League, such as how Rod Benson is like Brandon Jennings because they're both from California. Welcome D-League Digest!

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Getting Along

RU is it for me. Breaking news everyday for the hard core DLeaguers. DLeague Digest is a day late and two days a week short. Fight On RU !!

by gpralph on Dec 10, 2009 3:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Well, well, well.

Look who decided to say welcome, then immediately get snarky.

…

I can’t fault you, it’s the internet. We’re supposed to be snarky.

Mostly on Beck I see similarities with body type and his form, based mostly on the body type. It wasn’t a “Romell Beck is a poor man’s Tayshaun in talent.” Because if he was, he’d be in the damn league.

But aside from that, I beg you. BEG YOU. Please, let’s all get along. We’re so much more capable of expanding attention to the D-League if we work together and don’t get all twitchy about territory.

If you put a gun to my head and tell me to name the best D-League blog out there, it’s RU. I started this thing and have been absolutely embarrassed by how much better of a job you guys do. At the same time, D-League Digest is brand new, and still getting its feet under them.

We’re not competing. If we all LINK to each other (like HP does every damn chance I get), then we’re all going to prosper. This macho “OUR NETWORK IS BETTER THAN YOURS!” should be saved for lesser minds.

So let’s go easy on the “friendly competition” and instead rejoice in the fact that, uh… there are now three blogs dedicated to the freaking D-league. How awesome is that?

LOVE FOREVER,
MATT MOORE
Hardwood Paroxysm
AOL FanHouse

http://hardwoodparoxysm.com

by Ridiculous Matt on Dec 10, 2009 4:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

As I said at the top, this was meant in a friendly spirit, plus some genuine disagreement. I’ve also said in another post, sometimes I get sarcastic because that’s just my way. The “what’s the deal with not linking outside the network” comment was not directed at you, but I will say that as a reader, it would be annoying even if I didn’t write for a blog. And as I also wrote, that’s just my impression and may not be an official policy or anything. I’m also perfectly willing to link to non-SBN blogs, and have done so in the past, and will continue to do so.

However, I will say that if asked to talk about Romel Beck, “Tayshaun Prince” would not be the first player to spring to mind, long arms or no, and I would’ve said so even if, I dunno, DraftExpress had been the one to make the comparison. Or Motown String Music. I didn’t even get into how Benson is probably the best big man in the league rather than Tolliver.

The internet is fun, isn’t it?

Ridiculous Upside, where developing talent and winning are not mutually exclusive.

by Jon L on Dec 10, 2009 4:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hey, I’m with you on Benson. I almost feel like I can’t write about it anymore because it just makes it worse. It’s sickening.

I just really don’t want us “competing” and by that I mean the THN networks and RU. It’s counterproductive to a very powerful degree.

We should definitely do a weekly roundtable with who we think should get called up. And then they’ll call up someone horrible and we can all make “wah-wah” noises.

http://hardwoodparoxysm.com

by Ridiculous Matt on Dec 10, 2009 5:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hard to digest ...

The funny part is that D-League Digest didn’t even exist before it entered the True Hoop network. Oh Snap!

I enjoy RU and keep up the good work. But I am reminded of how Chad Ford’s SportsTalk never made fun of ESPN, but HoopsTV did. Guess which one ESPN bought? Don’t give them an excuse to ignore you. You owe yourself that much.

by Malamba on Dec 10, 2009 4:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks - I think - for the welcome, Jon

As Matt intimated above, I have no desire to get into any politicking between SBN and THN. I am to some extent a part of both – on staff at CelticsBlog also – and I’ve got great respect not only for SBN as a network but for RU specifically, as I referenced in my inaugural post at D-LeagueDigest, as quoted below:

Thanks to Kevin Arnovitz and Henry Abbott at the TrueHoop Network for welcoming me with open arms to their family of blogs and of course to the folks at SBNation’s Ridiculous Upside for setting a terrific standard and offering a guiding light in D-League coverage.

As far as the issue of Romel Beck is concerned, I would ask that you go back and listen to that part of the interview once more, in which I specifically refer to Beck’s arms as the basis for the reference to Tayshaun Prince. That’s all I said about Tayshaun Prince, mostly because of the exact line of thinking you’ve laid out in your post: They aren’t all that similar as players.

None of the comments about Beck’s scoring ability were made as a base of comparison for Prince, and there is no contest between them on the defensive end. If it came off differently, that’s a lesson to me: I should be more clear next time.

Now if you think I’m an overly simple being for even bringing up Tayshaun Prince just to make note of the fact that Romel Beck has really super-duper long arms, then absolutely, I’m guilty as charged.

I’m all for some ribbing when deserved, and from time to time, I’m probably going to say things that will merit me getting ripped in a way that goes far beyond “ribbing,” merely because I’m human, and I make mistakes. But I do think you’re jumping on me a bit unfairly on this particular point.

Aside from that, I’m looking forward to being a part of the D-League coverage scene this season and to becoming a more active member of the RU community as well. Feel free to drop me a line anytime.

-sw

Growing up in the Weinman household, you learn two rules very quickly if you aspire to reach double-digits in the years-of-age category: Hate thy Knick, hate thy Yankee.

Go Celtics, Go Dodgers. -sw

by Steve Weinman on Dec 10, 2009 5:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

As I said, this was meant as friendly ribbing.

Overall I thought you did a good job in the interview, and I did see your introductory post. Sorry for not saying thanks for the shout earlier. I think it’s great that the D-League is getting more coverage. I did catch that you made the Prince-Beck connection in terms of arm length, but I still wanted to respond to the video, as I would have with any other video about the D-League that would’ve appeared on NBA TV. I don’t think that you made the connection that “Romel Beck = the next Tayshaun Prince,” but I do think that connection could be made by others based on the interview and the HP post.

Ridiculous Upside, where developing talent and winning are not mutually exclusive.

by Jon L on Dec 10, 2009 6:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for clarifying, Jon

And I specialize in articulating the dopey – so you’ll no doubt have plenty of opportunities to rib (and perhaps rip) further…

Glad we’re on the same page in re: Prince and Beck.

-sw

Growing up in the Weinman household, you learn two rules very quickly if you aspire to reach double-digits in the years-of-age category: Hate thy Knick, hate thy Yankee.

Go Celtics, Go Dodgers. -sw

by Steve Weinman on Dec 10, 2009 8:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

TrueHoop does link to SBN blogs, Henry Abbott himself does it all the time in his bullets. Just don't expect them to include one in the TrueHoop Network

Of course they could buy in the writers, but they would have to leave behind the name and site.

by Norsktroll on Dec 10, 2009 6:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

If that's true, then perhaps I'm overstating it

I’ve just noticed that for the last few months, the majority of the TH mothership’s links and bullets have been to THN blogs. I also wouldn’t say that I was all that offended, but I do think that if you’re going to list D-League blog coverage, you should probably list all of it. But whatever, that’s his right.

Ridiculous Upside, where developing talent and winning are not mutually exclusive.

by Jon L on Dec 10, 2009 6:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs