No, he’s not trying to get out of going to Pitt. Turns out Steven Adams did not pull out of the Jordan Brand Classic and will be playing Saturday night on ESPN at 7pm down in Charlotte. Another chance to see the 6’10 to 7′-er (depending on where you get your measurements) before he comes to Pitt. He will get another matchup against the No. 1 player in the 2012 recruiting class, Kentucky-bound Nerlens Noel.
Obviously he is one of the players to watch (Insider subs):
Adams is the most physically imposing player in the game, thanks to his unique combination of strength and athleticism. He will attack the rim and score with his excellent mobility, huge hands and soft touch inside 15 feet. Defensively, he is very difficult to score over and Noel has said he is the hardest guy he’s ever tried to score on.
He’s also the subject of a feature article from ESPN.
Much of the piece talks about how unfamiliar he is with all the hype and something of an innocent.
Even among the best high school players in the country, Adams is sure to stand out on the court because of his style of play. An uncommonly well-coordinated big man, Adams runs the floor like a guard and has the skill to score in a variety of ways, but he chooses to focus on post defense and rebounding.
It’s a mentality that stems partly from being raised outside the typical American basketball system. Adams isn’t concerned with his own numbers, just with doing whatever he can to contribute.
“Steven is completely untainted by the process of being a highly regarded player in our country,” says Ryan Hurd, who coached Adams this past season at Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass.). “He just does his thing on the court, and nothing else really affects him.”
Then there is Adams’ reaction to all the excitement after he shutdown Nerlens Noel in a January game.
Adams was so new to the culture, however, that he had no idea who Noel was until after the game. The concept of player rankings was foreign to him.
“I didn’t find out until afterward,” says Adams, who was a late addition to the Jordan Brand Classic roster along with Noel. “When I did find out how highly ranked he was, it made sense. He was really friggin’ good and a real nice guy off the court.”
“He couldn’t figure out what all the excitement was about,” adds Hurd. “He was shocked by it. He had just put up huge numbers against one of the top guys in the entire country, but it never really even registered for him.”
Because of the whole bit about being unfamiliar with the hype and attention, you can expect descriptions to include “just a big kid” and “man-child” to be commonly applied.
Adams is a 6-11 man-child originally from New Zealand who has the physical build to deal with the rigors of the Big East. And the Panthers have a huge need for that kind of player after a disappointing season that included a 5-13 record in conference play.
“I kind of thought of it as more of an off-court, mental thing they were dealing with,” Adams said. “They had Khem Birch leave, and then they weren’t playing with their point guard, (Tray) Woodall, for quite a while. They probably had a bad mindset.”
They did rally in the postseason, though, winning the CBI championship to finish with a 22-17 overall record. That’s a bit of momentum Adams hopes to help build on. The mental adjustment to Pitt and the Big East might be the toughest part of the transition to the college level.
“It’s kind of scary because I need to get used to playing in front of big crowds and stuff,” Adams said. “But I’m also quite excited for it, so I can take my game to the next level.”
Here’s Steven Adams being part of a “pit crew” as part of the extra-curricular activities.
(Blank stares…)
i just don’t want him to throw his back out jacking up cars.
i missed it. anyone have any news on how Adams looked?
The game featured a lot of guys who couldn’t shoot and only passed when the defense forced it, which was rare. So he didn’t touch the ball much. He also needs to learn that even if he can handle the ball, he’ll never get away with it in the post with so many quick players in the US. I’m wondering how fast he’ll adjust to Jamie’s defense, with the big man coming out to clip (or whatever) the PG. Tough for a freshman to play D at the top of the key and still remember they need to play man-to-man.
Absolutely NBA ready though, whatever that means these days. Only reason he stays more than one year is if he loves college. If we stay healthy at the key spots next year, we should be back to form, no problem.
First, he was not placed as a starter on the west team, but he was probably the sixth man-he had a lot of playing time. His first start came early in the first half. He immediately showed a presence in the game, pulling down a quick defensive rebound. Then, within a minute or two of being in, he had an offensive rebound and a quick put-back for two.
Many of the players in last night’s game were big, probably 6’6″ and up. Adams played center, and always had his body on someone in the key. He’s not afraid to get physical. He moves up and down the court like a forward…no hulking center here. He’ll be able to play those high ball screens when called upon, and I don’t think you’ll see him getting crossed up or out of position like McGhee did at times.
He seems to have a good sense of rebounding, though maybe not quite at the level of Blair, at least not right away. His size more than makes up for it though, and he’ll be able to get the loose balls.
His size around the basket is impressive;he’s definitely a game-changed.
He was fouled on at least a couple of occasions, and went to the line. Shot about 50%. Made one free throw by banking it in, but I don’t think that was intentional! If he’s going to get fouled a lot, here’s hoping he’ll improve that part of his game, at least a little.
My DVR stopped at the two hour mark, so I didn’t see how it ended. If Pitt can build their team around this guy and make the pieces work, it will be a great season for the Panthers!
skimmed the live chat on espn. the concensuse was he’s strong as hell and neutralized Noel. Moderator said Adam’s stats may not show it from the game but he looked good, has some things to polish but sky’s the limit. I like the sound of that given the competition (ie at least a 4-5 future NBA players)
After watching (and now re-watching) the Jordan classic, I am much less cautious. The kid is more than potential, he can play right now.
Adams is a good passer. Birch never would have nor could have made that pass that Adams did on the break on Saturday. Also, Adams has better hands.
And Adams appears to be more competitive. Birch was softer than Charmin. Calling Adams soft would be a mistake.