Another Question for Chump-Dumper

[pad300]

Back a ways, I was hoping that the Spurs would pick up a kid call Peter-John Ramos from Puerto Rico in the draft. We did the Udrih thing instead. Ramos got drafted by Washington instead.

I thought that Ramos was a good prospect because he had been playing (and starting) in pro-ball in Puerto Rico as a 18 year old. (I tend to believe any league where people get payed to play is least equal to US university DIV II, a most leagues US DIV I).

He's now a D-league allstar. As you get to see a lot more of the D-league than the rest of us, could you give us a review of Ramos and what he is doing now?

[ChumpDumper]

I was expecting Ramos would make a big jump this season since he was going to be playing full time in the D-League, but it hasn't quite happened yet. He is huge and very strong and has a mean streak a mile wide; in fact I would have to call him a borderliine goon. He's not very quick but will really lay the lumber on someone in the paint and he's an ok shotblocker.

On offense he can be very aggressive around the basket but his footwork is really rudimentary and a good defender can figure out his moves quickly enough to start racking up charges and dislodging calls later in a game.

His lack of fundamentals is really glaring when it comes to rebounding. He can be boxed out fairly easily and in turn he doesn't box out all that well, so much so that even smaller guys with better habits often end up with many more rebounds than he gets during a game. Jamar Smith owned him on the glass in the first game in Austin, and Loren Woods owned him in the second.

He is only 21 and has upside, but I'm not sure if he's willing to learn what he needs to make the next step. His on-court temper takes him out of alot of games, and if that carries over to his practice, he could be a very tough student to teach.

[Pugglekicker_21]

sounds intriguing

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I was expecting Ramos would make a big jump this season since he was going to be playing full time in the D-League, but it hasn't quite happened yet. He is huge and very strong and has a mean streak a mile wide; in fact I would have to call him a borderliine goon. He's not very quick but will really lay the lumber on someone in the paint and he's an ok shotblocker.

On offense he can be very aggressive around the basket but his footwork is really rudimentary and a good defender can figure out his moves quickly enough to start racking up charges and dislodging calls later in a game.

His lack of fundamentals is really glaring when it comes to rebounding. He can be boxed out fairly easily and in turn he doesn't box out all that well, so much so that even smaller guys with better habits often end up with many more rebounds than he gets during a game. Jamar Smith owned him on the glass in the first game in Austin, and Loren Woods owned him in the second.

He is only 21 and has upside, but I'm not sure if he's willing to learn what he needs to make the next step. His on-court temper takes him out of alot of games, and if that carries over to his practice, he could be a very tough student to teach.


Thank you very much Chump. An interesting review. Sounds like he has potential; maybe as a Kevin Willis type. Also, clear room for improvement; huge, strong and mean, but can't rebound... It should be a resolvable issue for him.

[ChumpDumper]

http://www.nba.com/media/dleague/ramos_334_070131.jpg

[timvp]

If we are going to go after a Rican bigman, I'd rather take a look at Ricky Sanchez. He's younger and can shoot the ball. PJR, the last time I saw him, is about as mobil as Pavel Pod.

[ChumpDumper]

I was just about to say something like that. Of course Ricky weighs about 80 pounds less than Peter at 6'11" -- I'd rather call him just tall than big -- but he has alot more upside and a great stroke.

[pad300]

Sanchez vs. PJR, is that the question?!?
This Ricky Sanchez :
http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/rickysanchez.asp
http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/ricky_sanchez/index.html

It appears your comparing Apples and Oranges. PJR is a paint guy, Sanchez is 215 lbs. NBA draft net suggests he's an SF. Ramos on the other hand, is a C (7'3", 287lbs). While Sanchez might fit the long SF spot, he's not a body to put beside Duncan in the paint.

The reason I was advocating PJR at the time, was because our C situation sucked (D-rob was gone, and Rasho wasn't that impressive the previous season). Currently, with the upswing of seriously big centers in the league - Yao, D. Howard, Mbenga, Oden, Curry... As a specialist who plays against "Big" teams he might be useful. I would not pick him up for this years team, but I see a serious revision of the roster either this summer, or next. I would suggest grabbing him for the summer league. Assuming that Horry retires, and Oberto is traded, we will need to get 3 bigs next year to put alongside Duncan, Elson, and Butler. The FO will want to fill the spots on the cheap (1 year contracts likely) & PJR might come pretty cheap.

PS. if PJR has as much of mean streak as Chump Dumper suggests, well, let's just say that we could use some of that too. I don't think Pop will be calling him "soft".

[ChumpDumper]

True enough, but it is worth saying there is no young center in the D-League I would call up over Loren Woods right now. The D-League is very deep in swing and power forward talent -- there are still a few in those positions worth calling up now -- but Ramos and Sanchez are two guys who need to play out the season where they are. I'd feel fine inviting both to summer league. Sanchez would definitely fill a need if Horry and/or Bonner left, and I do agree that we have been missing that huge traditional type center that comes in proves useful against other centers in the league. We'll see if Ely does anything to play that role.