The first time I saw Zahir Porter play I could not believe that he had the athleticism and talent that he showed. After all, he came from JC and his numbers there were not anything special. Now, after 20+games at WSU it is easier to match his lackluster stats with his talent. Is he a 20 points a game player or one who can hurt the team more than help it.
First, I think Porter plays primarily athletically. I do not see him as a smart player. I see him as someone who believes in his ability to take on any situation and win. Unfortunately he is spotty in his results. Some games he looks like an all-world player and others he looks like he should be on the bench.
In the games where the defense plays good team defense, or the player on him in man-to-man is able to keep up with him, he looks out-of-control and has ugly results. Yesterday's game is a great example of this. He does not think when playing; just plays instinctively. He drives into traffic with the ball not under good dribble control and too often gets it taken away from him. This tendency to turn the ball over or take a wild shot I believe has something to do with his long arms getting him in trouble in tight situations, but it is mostly a result of his believing that he can overcome any defense and fails to deliver on that belief.
But when he hits some early three pointers it changes the defense. They have to respect his shooting ability which opens the lanes up to where his quickness and athleticism gets him to the basket under control. As a result of this enigma he looks like and all-world player some nights and like he should be screwed to the bench on other nights. He can lift the team to overpowering victories against talented teams (SUU). But more often he leads them to defeats or to games where the competition should not have been able to keep the games close (UNC) but does.
I think, if Porter doesn't start off shooting well from distance in a game he should go to the bench early in favor of playing Jones at the wing. I might even be at the place where I think Jones should be starting over him. Maybe he is just too much of an enigma from game-to-game. Maybe his hurting the team is evidenced more often than his helping them to win.
First, I think Porter plays primarily athletically. I do not see him as a smart player. I see him as someone who believes in his ability to take on any situation and win. Unfortunately he is spotty in his results. Some games he looks like an all-world player and others he looks like he should be on the bench.
In the games where the defense plays good team defense, or the player on him in man-to-man is able to keep up with him, he looks out-of-control and has ugly results. Yesterday's game is a great example of this. He does not think when playing; just plays instinctively. He drives into traffic with the ball not under good dribble control and too often gets it taken away from him. This tendency to turn the ball over or take a wild shot I believe has something to do with his long arms getting him in trouble in tight situations, but it is mostly a result of his believing that he can overcome any defense and fails to deliver on that belief.
But when he hits some early three pointers it changes the defense. They have to respect his shooting ability which opens the lanes up to where his quickness and athleticism gets him to the basket under control. As a result of this enigma he looks like and all-world player some nights and like he should be screwed to the bench on other nights. He can lift the team to overpowering victories against talented teams (SUU). But more often he leads them to defeats or to games where the competition should not have been able to keep the games close (UNC) but does.
I think, if Porter doesn't start off shooting well from distance in a game he should go to the bench early in favor of playing Jones at the wing. I might even be at the place where I think Jones should be starting over him. Maybe he is just too much of an enigma from game-to-game. Maybe his hurting the team is evidenced more often than his helping them to win.