Less than a week to the NBA draft. Taft is all over the mock draft boards. How about the Sonics at #25?
He was never the caliber of prospect (hyped as a possible Top Five choice or better on some Internet mocks) as proclaimed by some this season. Hence, his stock really hasn’t “fallen” to the degree that some are speculating.
Maybe the Indiana Pacers at #17?
Team: Indiana Pacers Pick: 17 Player: Chris Taft (Pittsburgh) Pos: Forward Notes: Taft will give the Pacers some flexibility up front.
He’s being considered there because:
Indiana needs help up front. It could use a big man that can rebound and block shots. The Pacers will miss the leadership and the skills of the sharp- shooting Miller, but Jackson should be a suitable replacement.
With the 17th overall pick in the draft, the Pacers could have their eyes on Chris Taft of Pittsburgh, North Carolina’s Sean May and Wayne Simien of Kansas.
How about out of the 1st Round (Insider Subs.)?
Taft professes to have no idea what has happened.
Paging Hercule Poirot. Calling Sherlock Holmes. On a misty Tuesday morning, the New York Knicks worked out probably the two most mystifying players in the 2005 NBA Draft at their Madison Square Garden Training Center.
“I’m the most controversial player in the draft,” 6-11 Pitt power source Chris Taft flashes an inscrutable smile. “And I have no idea why.” That’s another mystery because the reasons appear quite apparent: after the end of his freshman season, the rock-like Taft was tagged as a surefire lottery selection as perhaps the nation’s most promising young big man. A year later…well, people just don’t know.
The article may very well sum up the Pitt fan’s view of Taft’s past season, and suggest why he will drive his future NBA team nuts.
As good as Taft was as a sophomore, when a kid this gifted and this big gives you just 13.3 points and 7.5 rebounds a game (as well as less than 2 blocked shots) it’s difficult to get rid of that pesky he-should-have-been-better feeling.
It’s not the talent — he’s as quick and agile as any big guy around and then some. It’s not the build — the sculpted 260-pound Taft owns a body from God. Still, for whatever reason, this personable and well-spoken center/forward has not been consistent as a college player at Pitt and really hasn’t developed anything resembling a go-to post-move.
“What you must understand is how much I’ve improved my offense SINCE my season ended,” says Taft, joining the ever-growing number of Knicks-workout participants (Allan Anderson of Michigan State, Northwestern’s T.J. Parker, et. al.) who feel that they were somehow held back — or at least haven’t had their chance to show their real stuff — in their college system.
Which is something of a semi-mystery in itself.
“Just check with the nine teams I’ve worked out for,” stresses Taft. “My offense is coming along real well — sky hooks, jump-shots, either hand, things like that. I’ve worked on my game so much with my trainer I don’t understand how anyone could have a doubt. He’s worked me out so much and so hard, I’m prepared for any eventuality. NBA three-s, college three-s, off dribble pull-ups, pick-and-rolls, post-moves, I feel comfortable. You name it.”
And yet he never worked any further at his game at Pitt.
