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What happened to Alabi?

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  • What happened to Alabi?

    There was so much hype for him over the summer and I haven't seem in any interviews for the Raptors and I don't believe he played this past game. What happened to him?

    Edit:



    Solomon Alabi has taken some strides since last year, but remains very much a work in progress.

    Raptors head coach Dwane Casey likes the 7-foot-1 centre’s work ethic and some of the things he brings to the table, but recognizes that what Alabi needs most of all, probably can’t be provided by the club this season.

    “Really, Solo needs to play more than anything else to learn the NBA game and adjust to the speed,” Casey said after practice on Friday.

    “A summer league would have been great for him. All the workout drills don’t really help him (as much as game situations).”

    Casey admitted that the NBA Development League could be an option for Alabi this season, though such a move likely wouldn’t come anytime soon since: “right now, we need all the healthy bodies.”

    Alabi got into only 12 games as a rookie last season, scoring six points and hauling down 14 rebounds in 59 total minutes. Alabi played 22 games for Erie of the NBDL, averaging 7.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 18.5 minutes per game.

    “He has a nose for the ball rebounding-wise, excellent athlete and is an excellent stand-still shooter,” Casey said when asked to appraise Alabi’s strengths.

    Alabi has an influential backer in his former coach at Florida State, ex-NBA head coach Leonard Hamilton, who recruited Casey to Kentucky.

    “(Hamilton) raves about him. He’s been calling me all summer promoting him and talking about him,” Casey said.

    But with Aaron Gray, Jamaal Magloire, Amir Johnson and Andrea Bargnani available to play centre in certain situations, the minutes Alabi needs to develop simply aren’t available.
    http://www.torontosun.com/2011/12/16...h-with-raptors

    I wish they would just let him play so he can develop, it's not like this year really matter. He's not going to learn a lot from the Dleague...
    Last edited by RaptorsFan4Life; Mon Dec 19, 2011, 06:15 PM.

  • #2
    He's not very good at basketball?
    Definition of Statistics: The science of producing unreliable facts from reliable figures.

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    • #3
      He will get a lot more minutes on the court if he gets sent to the D-league for some (most) of this season. As Casey points out, drills just don't compare to real game time development for a player as raw as Solo

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      • #4
        I think that is the risk of taking HoopsWorld.com word for anything - lol - lesson learned.... again.

        Although the Raps do hold a cheap option on him for next year and he is certainly going to get better coaching this year and better competition in practice with some big bangers. So maybe he is still a work in progress - or not, I'm just guessing there.

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        • #5
          Matt52 wrote: View Post
          I think that is the risk of taking HoopsWorld.com word for anything - lol - lesson learned.... again.

          Although the Raps do hold a cheap option on him for next year and he is certainly going to get better coaching this year and better competition in practice with some big bangers. So maybe he is still a work in progress - or not, I'm just guessing there.
          He will only get better with time, and he is cheap. He has some solid potential and a great work ethic, what remains to be seen is if he can get out of the slo-mo and into the speed of the NBA

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          • #6
            SandmanFan wrote: View Post
            He will get a lot more minutes on the court if he gets sent to the D-league for some (most) of this season. As Casey points out, drills just don't compare to real game time development for a player as raw as Solo

            You can't learn the NBA speed in the D league.

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            • #7
              It was only one preseason game, but if Magloire is going to consistently get 7mins, I would have preferred that this time went to Alabi instead. If game experience is what he needs, then there is no better measure then putting him out there about 7mins a game. He doesn't have to start, but a few mins in the 2nd or 3rd quarters would be nice.

              I can see Alabi being called up though if (and when) someone on the team gets injured. I have already heard of some minor injuries (Carter, Barbosa and Butler) and that was after one game and a few practices.

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              • #8
                labi is never going to be nothing. he's a bench warmer at best. c'mon this is foolish, an utter waste of time.
                If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

                Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

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                • #9
                  LBF wrote: View Post
                  labi is never going to be nothing. he's a bench warmer at best. c'mon this is foolish, an utter waste of time.
                  I would normally agree with this comment, if not for the fact that Alabi was projected to be a 1st round pick until his health condition was revealed. Scouts obviously saw him as a solid prospect at some point. What the hell happened?

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                  • #10
                    Nilanka wrote: View Post
                    I would normally agree with this comment, if not for the fact that Alabi was projected to be a 1st round pick until his health condition was revealed. Scouts obviously saw him as a solid prospect at some point. What the hell happened?
                    Scouts in the NBA fall in love with seven footers cause they are rare. If a guy shows any athleticism at all, he is suddenly a first round prospect. There is this persistent view among some basketball guys that they can "coach up" these guys (e.g. Hasheem Thabeet and dozens of others).

                    The reality though is that you can't learn how to play basketball when you get to the NBA. You can learn certain skills and adapt your game to the NBA game but you can't be learning how to pass, shoot, dribble, play defense, read plays, understand basic concepts, etc. You need to already have the fundamental building blocks. It's one thing to teach a guy how to play better post defense, it's a whole other endeavour to teach someone how to play post defense at all.

                    Alabi needs to learn how to play basketball by playing but it's not fair to your other players to sit them on the bench for the guy or to make your other players play with a guy who can't cut it. It hurts their development and screws up what you're trying to do on the floor.

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                    • #11
                      I have been saying this all along but the jump in production that some people (including some Toronto area "journalists") were predicting for Alabi this season was insane. This is a guy who you flat out couldn't put on the floor last year because he was so far in over his head.

                      I'd be surprised if he ever cracks the rotation in any capacity.

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                      • #12
                        i put "labi" for a reason, it was not because i accidentally forgot the "a". while i mean it was originally,but, as I was typing i noticed it and was like "no wait, it's a sign."

                        that this guy is so irrelevent that it doesn't even matter if you get his name wrong.
                        If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

                        Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Going into the 2010 NBA draft, Solomon Alabi was thought to be a late teen to early 20's pick with raw athletic ability and a high ceiling. His strengths (rebounding, shot blocking, toughness) were exactly what the Raptors were lacking. Then, before the draft, it's discovered that Alabi has hepatitis B, scarring every GM in the NBA and effectively killing his draft stock. Let's enter into the land of make believe and say that the report on Alabi's health condition never comes out, his stock remains the same, and the Raptors are on the prowl for a late first round pick because they know that Rasho and Patrick O'Bryant aren't backup center material (sorry Rasho, I always liked you, but it's true). They flip a future 1st (lottery protected) and 2nd to the Thunder (already in possession of 3 first round picks) for their 21st pick. The draft was considered top heavy to begin with; add in that the Thunder had 3 picks outside the lottery and it isn't hard to imagine. Now, the Raptors thank the wrist gods that Ed Davis falls to 13th, and grab Alabi with the 21st, giving them two young big men who provide skills no other Raptor can (other than Chris Bosh, although hindsight tells us that he's leaving and may not have been the great rebounder we thought he was). After the draft, we find out Alabi has hep. B, we panic, then breathe easy as its confirmed it won't affect him in a basketball sense at all. Since he was a first-rounder, Triano is forced to play him significant minutes, even through his mistakes, and he is given the opportunity to mature.
                          Now I'm not saying Solomon Alabi is good, or even would have become serviceable player under my hypothetical scenario, but at the very least his draft position would have allowed him the consistent opportunity to prove his true value. I've hear consistently from NBA pundits and poster's on RR that the only reason Barg's has been given so much opportunity is because he was an overall #1 pick. I truly believe that the only reason the raw, young Alabi wasn't (and still hasn't) been given a chance is because of his draft position, and it's a shame, because he could be something of real value to the raptors.
                          You'll see another young, raw, African center running around NBA courts this season, who reminds me so much of Alabi it actually hurts; someone who I genuinely wanted (as did many others on this site) the Raptors to take a run at, if only for the reason that he would be given a REAL chance at proving himself. So for all who rant about Solomon's shortcomings (and indeed, he has many), just remember that if it wasn't for a last minute medical report, Solomon Alabi could very well be Bismack Biyombo.

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                          • #14
                            deevad wrote: View Post
                            Going into the 2010 NBA draft, Solomon Alabi was thought to be a late teen to early 20's pick with raw athletic ability and a high ceiling. His strengths (rebounding, shot blocking, toughness) were exactly what the Raptors were lacking. Then, before the draft, it's discovered that Alabi has hepatitis B, scarring every GM in the NBA and effectively killing his draft stock. Let's enter into the land of make believe and say that the report on Alabi's health condition never comes out, his stock remains the same, and the Raptors are on the prowl for a late first round pick because they know that Rasho and Patrick O'Bryant aren't backup center material (sorry Rasho, I always liked you, but it's true). They flip a future 1st (lottery protected) and 2nd to the Thunder (already in possession of 3 first round picks) for their 21st pick. The draft was considered top heavy to begin with; add in that the Thunder had 3 picks outside the lottery and it isn't hard to imagine. Now, the Raptors thank the wrist gods that Ed Davis falls to 13th, and grab Alabi with the 21st, giving them two young big men who provide skills no other Raptor can (other than Chris Bosh, although hindsight tells us that he's leaving and may not have been the great rebounder we thought he was). After the draft, we find out Alabi has hep. B, we panic, then breathe easy as its confirmed it won't affect him in a basketball sense at all. Since he was a first-rounder, Triano is forced to play him significant minutes, even through his mistakes, and he is given the opportunity to mature.
                            Now I'm not saying Solomon Alabi is good, or even would have become serviceable player under my hypothetical scenario, but at the very least his draft position would have allowed him the consistent opportunity to prove his true value. I've hear consistently from NBA pundits and poster's on RR that the only reason Barg's has been given so much opportunity is because he was an overall #1 pick. I truly believe that the only reason the raw, young Alabi wasn't (and still hasn't) been given a chance is because of his draft position, and it's a shame, because he could be something of real value to the raptors.
                            You'll see another young, raw, African center running around NBA courts this season, who reminds me so much of Alabi it actually hurts; someone who I genuinely wanted (as did many others on this site) the Raptors to take a run at, if only for the reason that he would be given a REAL chance at proving himself. So for all who rant about Solomon's shortcomings (and indeed, he has many), just remember that if it wasn't for a last minute medical report, Solomon Alabi could very well be Bismack Biyombo.

                            I somewhat agree with this but you can't compare Bismack to Alabi. Basmack is FAR FAR FAR more athletically gifted, better explosiveness, better rebounder, better defender, better blocker. I do wish Alabi is given an opportunity though, especially in this season where it doesn't really matter if we lose.

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                            • #15
                              It's easy to say that Bismack is far superior to Alabi in those categories after seeing Alabi (albeit briefly) last year, but heading into thier respective drafts, they were very similarly rated. I would argue that the only major difference between the two pre-draft was that Alabi's stock plumeted because of health concerns, whereas Bismack's stock went absolutely insane (with actual talk of him being a top 5 pick) due to the fact that he was a relative unknown with intriguing qualities in a talent deprived draft. In the end they were (and are) raw athletic centers, only Bismack will be given plenty of time in Charlotte, while Alabi will almost certainly be throw down into the D league.
                              In my opinion, the Raptors have never been good at talent evaluation, and this is a perfect example. In a season where the only goal is to figure out what pieces work, and to lose as many games as humanly possible, the Raptors seem set on starting Magloires rotting corpse rather than figuring out if they have anything of value in a young, althletic 7-footer. There are teams in the NBA that cannot justify giving an inexperienced player like Alabi significant minutes. The Raptors aren't one of them.

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