Late Monday thoughts. Tyreke accomplishes 20, 5 & 5.

Just back from ARCO Arena where we saw Tyreke Evans score 24 points to ensure that he will have rookie season averages of 20 points, five assists, and five rebounds. The other cats that have done that are Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and Lebron James.

This would be a good time to remind anyone not paying us (which is everyone) that we had Tyreke listed only behind Blake Griffin on last year's draft board. The guy listed third on my board earned me snickers from veteran posters on some of the big-name draft site forums. I was arguing with anyone who would listen - that Steph Curry was the third best prospect in the 2009 NBA Draft.

I was wrong about Brandon Jennings. I thought he was too immature and I thought his talent was not sufficient to overcome his youthful indiscretions (i.e. - shot selection, leadership).

I rationalize my miscalculation on Jennings due to simply not being capable of seeing him enough. He was in Europe and all I had was stats, and my notes on him from watching him play in high-school all-star games. I don't have the resources that an NBA team has. I don't subscribe to any services (Synergy) that break down tape of players. But I do often wonder how much better at evaluating talent I might be if I could have access to the tools that an NBA scout has. I would LOVE to go to Portsmouth, Virginia for the P.I.T. or to the upcoming NBA Combine.

In lieu of actually attending - I scoured the box scores from Portsmouth and I will record whatever coverage of the combine that there is on ESPNU. (Can I host that show?)

Or maybe the reason I have had any success at evaluating individuals is simply because the majority of my evaluation comes from watching actual games. Meaningful ones too. By not seeing the P.I.T. or the Combine - I am affected less by what a player is "accomplishing" in basically a practice/scrimmage or workout. That is to say that I am less in love with a player's ability to be a "workout wonder" than I am in love with a player who I've seen star in a game. Who knows.

Reggie Williams is making us look smarter. The Golden State Warriors D-League call-up was a guy we had ranked 40th (or as the 10th pick in round two) in the 2008 NBA Draft. Williams was not selected by any team in that draft but through hard work and D League exposure, the NBA could not deny his talent any longer. Williams is averaging 15.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists for the Warriors through 22 games played since his call up from Sioux Falls.