More Scary Scouting Reports on Aldrich
Hampered by injuries, Cole Aldrich, KU’s lone 2007 commitment at this point, has been underachieving for some time now. His poor performance in Las Vagas this past weekend caused Dave Telep, national recruiting analyst for Scout, to write:
Cole Aldrich has had trouble performing to the level of a Top 25 prospect post high school season. Injuries certainly have hampered him but athletically he’s been a step behind what goes on around the rim. He’ll be a solid college player but the expectations of an elite impact player may need to be adjusted.
Telep is not the first to make such a comment. Jeff Goodman was reportedly told by one high level D-1 coach that “Cole Aldrich is the most overrated player in America.”
It’s possible that part of this problem might be attributed to the team he plays for. Minnesota isn’t loaded, but they’ve been doing well this summer. John Leuer, an Aldrich clone, has been a low-post force for them, actually receiving better press than Aldrich. I wonder about their guard play, however. Are the two big guys forced to put the team on their backs?
Is this underachievement on the AAU circuit cause for concern, Jayhawk fans? How troublesome are Cole’s nagging injuries, and are they the type that will linger throughout his career? I find it hard to believe that all the pundits and analysts were totally wrong when they all universally rated Aldrich as the number 1 center prospect in the 2007 high school class.
What do you think, PB readers?
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4 Responses to “More Scary Scouting Reports on Aldrich”
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July 25th, 2006 at 7:56 am
Having never seen him play and knowing nothing about him….maybe he’s just taking it easy since he’s already committed to KU. Injuries have been a problem of late so he could be coming back slowly.
He’s not under the pressure to perform like everyone else who is looking for an offer from a big time school.
But we’ll never really know until he gets here.
I pray he won’t turn out like Erica Chenowith though. She was the worst. But her line of feminine products is doing quite well.
July 25th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
Aldrich (likely) won’t be asked to contribute in any significant way until the Fall of 2008. Whether he’s overrated in the Summer of 2006 probably won’t impact Kansas basketball much one way or the other.
July 25th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
That’s a really good point, Hoopinion. I hadn’t considered that. He’ll have at least a year to mature, build his body/strength, and learn without the pressure of being the go-to guy.
He may be slacking off after committing - it’s probably easy to do once all the pressure’s off - but he’ll have plenty of time to stoke the fire within, and Allen Fieldhouse is certainly a great place to build a bonfire in a big, talented kid.
July 28th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Good news on Aldrich
Aldrich agressive: Future KU center Cole Aldrich, 6-11 from Bloomington, Minn., played at the Big Time Tournament with the Fox Valley Skillz.
“Aldrich looked much more comfortable with his new summer squad the Fox Valley Skillz on Saturday, scoring on the blocks with efficiency (8-10 from field 4-4 from stripe) and hauling down 12 boards for good measure, showing us that dominating game we hadn’t seen in a while,” said Van Coleman of Hoopmasters.com. Aldrich, who was slowed by a foot injury earlier in the summer, was reportedly aggressive in attacking the rim at the tourney.