To Valpo 2014

Grizz · May 09, 2014, 11:39:16 AM

I was reading an article today written by a Utah Jazz reporter on Travis Bader "stealing the show" at the Portmouth invational and I thought of you. Travis made the all tournament team so he was one of the best 5 players there yet he's not one of the best 5 in the Horizon league. Kendrick Perry was also at Portmouth but did not make the all tournament team. Word around here is that Travis has worked his way into the draft as a late second rounder. I surly don't know if that is true but I guess that is pretty good for a chucker who would have just been an average player if he played for Valpo.

a3uge · May 09, 2014, 11:43:11 AM

His hairstyle tho

StlVUFan · May 09, 2014, 12:35:25 PM

Quote from: Grizz on May 09, 2014, 11:39:16 AM
I was reading an article today written by a Utah Jazz reporter on Travis Bader "stealing the show" at the Portmouth invational and I thought of you. Travis made the all tournament team so he was one of the best 5 players there yet he's not one of the best 5 in the Horizon league. Kendrick Perry was also at Portmouth but did not make the all tournament team. Word around here is that Travis has worked his way into the draft as a late second rounder. I surly don't know if that is true but I guess that is pretty good for a chucker who would have just been an average player if he played for Valpo.

If he could get drafted and make his way into a rotation, I think it would be fun to watch him and Nate Wolters on the court at the same time.

That would get me to watch an NBA game.

LaPorteAveApostle · May 09, 2014, 03:03:37 PM

Quote from: StlVUFan on May 09, 2014, 12:35:25 PMI think it would be fun to watch him and Nate Wolters on the court at the same time.

OK, can we get Andrew Bogut and JJ Redick out there for you too, there, Donald Sterling?

WAIT A SECOND HAVE YOU EVER SEEN BADER AND WOLTERS IN THE SAME PLACE AT THE SAME TIME???

Grizz · May 09, 2014, 03:30:46 PM

Ahhhhh yes. They played against each other about 6 times including one where each scored over 30

LaPorteAveApostle · May 09, 2014, 03:39:11 PM

well sure they APPEARED to be conference rivals for a spell but they say the mind plays strange tricks on the eye at times

a3uge · May 09, 2014, 04:28:41 PM

A Wolters Bader McDermott lineup sounds pretty intruiging.

Wolters actually had a pretty good rookie year before breaking his hand. He lead all rookies in assist to turnover ratio.

Him, Wiggins, and Antetokounmpo should be fun to watch over the next few years.

valpotx · May 09, 2014, 05:08:01 PM

I don't know why you don't seem to comprehend when myself and a few others state it, but no one said that he would be an average player at Valpo, just that he is one dimensional. For this reason alone, I didn't/still don't see him as a top 5 player from the HL, as I prefer all-around players. He can shoot the 3 and FTs VERY WELL, yes, but that is the extent of his niche. He didn't average much in the way of assists, steals, blocks, rebounds, or any other category that most NBA teams look for, in addition to scoring. If he plays in the NBA, great, but it will be for a team that just needs his long distance shooting, a la Steve Novak, but shorter. That team will also have to create his shot for him through screens, as the quicker NBA players will be able to guard him even tighter than any HL teams did, and I don't see an NBA coach giving him the freedom to shoot 10 feet behind the arc in order to be open. Again, he is an excellent 3-pt and FT shooter, and would have done well at any HL school, my only beef with him is that he is not anywhere close to a complete player. I hate Ray McCallum Jr, but he is one of those guys that brings many different intangibles to a team, which is why he will probably play several seasons in the NBA (assists, rebounds, scoring, etc).

Grizz · May 09, 2014, 05:48:46 PM

And my point is you are wrong that he is one dimensional. 1 dimensional players don't score over 2200 points. They don't get to the free throw line 175 times (made 164) in a season. They arent the object of game planing by every coach we played. (why would they be if all he could do is chuck)They don't make an all star team at an nba per draft camp. They don't play in the NBA. He was a great PLAYER, one of the best to ever play at Oakland, and could become the third Oakland player to play an In an NBA game in the last 10 years.

valpotx · May 09, 2014, 06:17:27 PM

Uh, yes, you do have to game plan on defense for someone that is one dimensional, if that dimension is shooting. He is a shooter, that is it, his one dimension. How can you think that 1 dimensional players don't score 2,200 points, if that is their only dimension?? If you are a 'chucker,' as you say, you have to plan for those folks from a defensive perspective. However, if you are an opponent planning your offense, you can pretty much just discount Bader as defending you well. This is where the argument comes in of one dimension, in that he doesn't steal the ball, doesn't play much D, doesn't block shots, doesn't rebound, and doesn't pass the ball much for assists. He just shoots 3s and FTs well, making him a good shooter = one dimension. Steve Novak is a prime example of someone in the NBA that has one dimension as well, shooting 3-ptrs and FTs well. No basketball fan would count shooting 3-pt shots and FTs well, as 2 different dimensions, but just as being a good one dimensional player, a shooter...

An example in my sport is when they say a player has 5 tools: hit for average, hit for power, speed, fielding ability, and throwing arm. In basketball, you can be an assist guy, get lots of steals, be a rebounder, shooter, shot blocker, man on ball defender, etc. Bader is a shooter, whereas guys like Chris Paul and Lebron James are multi-faceted, hitting on several of these areas of play (multi-dimensional)...

a3uge · May 11, 2014, 05:54:38 PM

Bader in the NBA? I haven't seen him in any mock drafts or anything. I really doubt he plays in the NBA as even most of the 2nd round guys never end up playing more than 8 total minutes in the NBA, if any. Most of the 10 day contracts are reserved for high upside athletic/big size guys, not some 3 pt specialist.

Pathfinder · May 11, 2014, 10:58:37 PM

Let's hope he gets drafted. Good for league.

wh · May 12, 2014, 12:26:16 PM

Agreed.

IndyValpo · May 16, 2014, 01:16:53 PM

I just saw a listing of the 59 participants at the NBA combine which does not include the top four projected picks nor any foreign players. Bader did not make the combine making the possibility of being drafted though not impossible, certainly harder.

valpotx · May 16, 2014, 03:37:02 PM

I don't see it happening. It has nothing to do with Oakland btw, Grizz. Rawle Marshall is an example of a great Oakland player who was able to use his talents in the NBA, due to his multi-dimensional abilities. He was actually a pretty poor shooter in his NBA career, as I was able to watch him up close when he was a Dallas Maverick, but he helped the team in rebounds/assists/defense, which kept him in the league for a few seasons.

Edit: It looks like he improved his shooting overseas in the 8 years since he played 63 total games in the NBA between the Mavs/Pacers (2 total seasons), as he has done well for himself. The other Oakland player to play in the NBA, Keith Benson, played 3 NBA games.

LaPorteAveApostle · May 16, 2014, 06:58:41 PM

Marshall's game played better in the pros than in college, whereas Bader's game plays better in college than...well we'll see.

Grizz · May 23, 2014, 12:25:52 PM

Chad ford of espn has Bader at number 75. He has Alex Brown from Green Bay at 79.http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/results/top100/_/year/2014/set/3

Knowing only 60 get picked it looks like an outside chance

LaPorteAveApostle · May 23, 2014, 05:45:35 PM

Huh...you would think they'd value height more.

Well all it takes is one team to like Bader!

wh · June 02, 2014, 11:10:51 PM

Pistons may be interested in Bader:

http://www.freep.com/article/20140602/SPORTS03/306020154/

LaPorteAveApostle · June 03, 2014, 08:04:06 AM

As a Pistons fan, well, duh we need outside shooting, but I don't think we need him at 38. If we were picking in the 50s...maybe.

I think they might try to pull the NFL draft thing and hope to sign him as a street FA if he goes undrafted.

LaPorteAveApostle · June 18, 2014, 09:02:55 AM

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/chris_dortch/06/05/draft-profile-travis-bader-oakland/index.html

Great in-depth article on Bader and his draft prospects.

Other than the assertion that Bader could beat anyone in 100 shots, seems on point. no pun intended for once.

(Stauskas, obv.)

valpotx · June 26, 2014, 11:13:18 PM

No luck, but maybe he gets picked up as a free agent. I still think he will be in Europe

LaPorteAveApostle · June 27, 2014, 06:30:22 AM

Interesting especially when reading what Stan Van Gundy had to say about the second round, something along the lines of 'you're not looking for a complete player, or someone who does a variety of things, but someone who does one thing and does it really well'

I hope he does well for himself.

LaPorteAveApostle · July 09, 2014, 10:13:10 AM

Parlez-vous "TROIS"?

http://www.freep.com/article/20140708/SPORTS08/307080162/oakland-travis-bader-france

Also:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140707/SPORTS0203/307070085/Oakland-selects-Jeffrey-Konya-athletic-director

Black and gold b-ball court can't be far behind.

valpotx · July 09, 2014, 10:28:01 AM

I had been watching the 5-6 players from the HL in that Summer League, and noticed that he probably wouldn't be making anyone's NBA roster. If you are a 3-pt specialist, you need to do better than 2/8 in your specialty, and only get a small sample size to impress. Congrats to him in getting a good contract in France!