Jay Gavin vs Brett Blizzard

Pavarotti

Pavarotti

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I am going to post this on the Zone, which I will suspect will start a flame war, but I'd like the input of UNCW posters when it's all said and done.

I have heard lots of people talk about Jay Gavin being a great "pure shooter." I was wondering what those of you who have seen him play (I only got to see about 20 minutes of the B&G scrimmage this year) think he stacks up in comparison to Brett Blizzard. Blizzard was, hands down, the best shooter I have seen in this league. I also remember him playing some very good hard-nosed, UNCW defense. Are we getting a player, who like Blizzard, can accurately hit a three off of every screen? Blizzard was always impossible to defend, because if you chased him over the screen, he'd beat you off of it and catch and shoot. If you went under, he'd take a step back and catch and shoot. If the big man guarding Callahan hedged, or doubled off the screen, then that freed up Callahan to take the shot.

Are we getting that kind of a shooter? Something less, something more, something different?
 
You shouldn't have. It almost definitely will. Not to mention all the trolls coming out of the woodwork again.

To answer your question, no. He's not Brett Blizzard. Brett Blizzard was disgusting on the court and I think should have been an NBA player. I don't know what others have said, but Gavin should step in and be one of the purest shooters in the conference next year. Blizzard was the best shooter in the CAA this decade. Don't know enough about guys before hand to say anything about them, but he was that good. Gavin is going to be very good for us, but Blizzard was a Maynor-type player that only comes in every several years. Gavin isn't the kind of player who is going to dominate the CAA like Blizzard did. That's the honest truth. Not a fair comparison for Jay.
 
districtballer said:
You shouldn't have. It almost definitely will. Not to mention all the trolls coming out of the woodwork again.
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Didn't take long at all. What input did you expect from UNCW posters who just had you compare their greatest player ever to a guy who hasn't played a minute yet in our league :?
 
I just got home, haven't been over to the Zone. That bad?

For the record, I never said he is the next Brett Blizzard, I was just wondering how he compared.

How would he compare then to say a BA Walker or a Jamal Shuler? Very good shooters in their own right, but not Brett Blizzard.
 
Pavarotti said:
I just got home, haven't been over to the Zone. That bad?

For the record, I never said he is the next Brett Blizzard, I was just wondering how he compared.

How would he compare then to say a BA Walker or a Jamal Shuler? Very good shooters in their own right, but not Brett Blizzard.
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No actually. It's not half as bad as I expected. :) I understand. I don't think he's Brett, but then again few are able to do what he did. I think he could be comparable to Jamal, but without the ability to slash inside like Jamal did. He doesn't have that kind of handle yet.
 
What made Blizz special I think was the amazingly quick release. How is Jay's? Can he catch and shoot? How long does he take to set himself?

Having a player who can hit open three's when players have drawn a double-team, and can get a shot off in the corner while the team is rotating, is valuable.

Having a player who can catch coming off a screen, and get a shot off before his man catches up to him, or the switch gets to him, is priceless (see Ray Allen last night).
 
Pavarotti said:
What made Blizz special I think was the amazingly quick release. How is Jay's? Can he catch and shoot? How long does he take to set himself?

Having a player who can hit open three's when players have drawn a double-team, and can get a shot off in the corner while the team is rotating, is valuable.

Having a player who can catch coming off a screen, and get a shot off before his man catches up to him, or the switch gets to him, is priceless (see Ray Allen last night).
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Ahh now we're talking. No one usually asks those kinds of questions. He's quick with his release, Brett quick? I dunno bout that. Quick enough to get a nice shot off in 99% of situations. His shot mechanics are very good. Textbook I'd say. He can hit from everywhere on the floor behind the 3 point-line fairly consistently. If he's open, he's going to hit it. He's going to be just as good as Joey in the department. Like Joey, his shooting percentage is much better when he sets his feet and squares himself to the basket. That said he is better shooting off the dribble than Joey was. I highly doubt you'll see him open as I think the opposing teams best perimeter defender will be on him. He may catch CAA defenses off-guard at first, but CAA coaches will figure out he needs to be covered fairly quickly. Matt Brady at JMU knows all too well about Gavin having coached him his freshman year.

I do think if we set screens for Gavin, he could be very deadly from out there. The problem is when he puts the ball on the floor. His shooting is superb, his ballhandling, less so.
 
Dan Patrick today asked Reggie Miller today the question, "If you're down by three with just a few seconds left, who in the NBA would you run the screen for?" Which got me thinking about the topic.

FWIW, Reggie went with 1)Ray Allen and 2)Kobe Bryant. DP reversed the two I think. Both said they would rather have LeBron making the pass, drawing the defense, then getting the ball to the shooter, rather than taking the shot.

Anyway, BB was the man, and devastating. It would be unfair to expect somebody to be "the next Blizzard" just like it would be unfair to ask Eblen/Theus/etc. to be "the next Maynor." Here's hoping that we can have this conversation next summer, talking about Gavin and Blizzard with some favorable comparisons.

A.B. Lehman was one of the best "pure shooters" I've ever seen, but obviously that didn't make him a great Division 1 player. It's all about either A) The quick release or B) The ability to raise up above the defender to get the shot off (or C- leaning to one side, but still straightening your upper body to get the shot off, but that's reserved for Michael Jordan).
 
Pavarotti said:
Dan Patrick today asked Reggie Miller today the question, "If you're down by three with just a few seconds left, who in the NBA would you run the screen for?" Which got me thinking about the topic.

FWIW, Reggie went with 1)Ray Allen and 2)Kobe Bryant. DP reversed the two I think. Both said they would rather have LeBron making the pass, drawing the defense, then getting the ball to the shooter, rather than taking the shot.

Anyway, BB was the man, and devastating. It would be unfair to expect somebody to be "the next Blizzard" just like it would be unfair to ask Eblen/Theus/etc. to be "the next Maynor." Here's hoping that we can have this conversation next summer, talking about Gavin and Blizzard with some favorable comparisons.

A.B. Lehman was one of the best "pure shooters" I've ever seen, but obviously that didn't make him a great Division 1 player. It's all about either A) The quick release or B) The ability to raise up above the defender to get the shot off (or C- leaning to one side, but still straightening your upper body to get the shot off, but that's reserved for Michael Jordan).
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For Gavin, it's definitely A. He gets it off pretty quick. Did you see Gavin at Ram Madness last year? I think he showed what he could do pretty well. While he was rusty then and not as well-conditioned as he is now, his shot mechanics are essentially the same. Very fluid, quick release. He doesn't take long to set himself either. I've seen him pull up off the dribble on the fast break and let it fly in one motion and hit nothing but net several times. He's a good one and I think a guy that Ram Nation will quickly come to love.
 
I look forward to it :D

Teams obviously wont double off of him leaving him open. However, being able to hit a shot coming over top of a screen will be a great addition to the offense (or Larry's man can leave him to hedge on Gavin, allowing slip to the basket then dish to Larry for the dunk).
 
Pavarotti said:
I look forward to it :D

Teams obviously wont double off of him leaving him open. However, being able to hit a shot coming over top of a screen will be a great addition to the offense (or Larry's man can leave him to hedge on Gavin, allowing slip to the basket then dish to Larry for the dunk).
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You're dead on Pav. That's not even mentioning the fact that we have the same capability with Burgess on the wing. :shock: Larry working inside out to Burgess and Gavin on the perimeter is just scary. Add Skeen's inside-out game and it gets downright nasty. 8-) We need steady point distribution from Theus and Ben and anything else they can give us on offense is gravy. Larry has to work on his passing out of the post though for that to work. While Larry wasn't a black hole in that the ball never came out after it went in, he just didn't play very much with his back to the basket. Largely because he didn't have the bulk to set up down there in the post; he would get bumped off his spot for the most part. Another offseason of weight-training should help with that. Once he can set up on the low block, he's gotta work on his passing big time. If he can, he becomes that more dangerous.
 
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