So, we got us a small-town, white bread, hard working, Indian underdog. Yippie. I for one will say this. I've had my eye on Plumlee for three years now. I thought he was a nice looking big man. Strong body, decent mobility, great hops for his size. Would be a nice little sleeper backup in the late 2nd round or undrafted free agent.

Then he posted a good vertical and had a good group workout for Larry. Uh-oh.

I didn't see the Pacers workout of course, but I've seen 10-12 Duke games over the past 3 years...here's what I saw.

Physical Body:

Pros- Not a physical freak, but good athlete for his size. Not quick, but can leap. Not a quick leaper, but can get up high...if well timed. Not a dominant interior force, but has a strong body and won't get pushed around too much.

Cons- Not terribly coordinated. Slower than desired laterally. Short arms, small hands. Not great at using his body and strength.

Skills and effort:

Pros- Wants to play hard. Wants to bang. If he's a hard worker, it's either on the court only, or he just can't get "good" from practice b/c he's not GOOD.

Cons- Terrible shooting/touch. Bad from the FT line, but improving. PLEASE don't give him the ball down low and expect him to score. He can't.

Tale of the tape/stats/environment:

Pros- Played for a great college coach.

Cons- Even when this great college coach couldn't meet pre-season expectations and lacked talent and depth on his team, Miles couldn't average 19+ minutes per game in two seasons as an upper classman. He rebounded well...on a team that defended well and had NO OTHER rebounders. He averaged 0.9 blocks per game...in his best season...and we drafted him b/c he can jump high (that's it).

This was a bad pick. Tell me why on earth this was a good pick? Most agree....this was a bad pick. But, some are trying to sell me that the man who was President during the DunMurph trade, drafted Shawne Williams and Hansbrough and is "lauded" for turning a bad team around and clearing cap space in a mere FIVE years!!!!....this was his pick so it must be good.

Again, we end up drafting where there are one or two people that we didn't think would be there and passing on them (fine with me) and taking someone we could almost assuredly had WAY later. And if we couldn't, then we should've drafted for need and not the WPA (worst player available).

I was right about the Hansbrough pick and I'll be right about this one. There was better value available even if we could've traded down a few spots and picked them...if all we got was a slightly cheaper rookie deal and a future 2nd round pick it would've been worth it.

Sorry Larry. I'm not sure if you did good with Hibbert and Paul George (I give you credit for at least taking a chance on upside for once in your career) or if you were a "genius" with those picks...but otherwise, you were a bad GM.

Even the West contract (don't forget...this was signed before the lockout I think...which made it a little more daring on Bird's part...but....not really), though it worked out, it was a fairly safe move for an exec. who was going to quite in a year anyway.

Sorry Larry....from a Pacer fan with (apparently foolish) expectations higher than 2nd round of the playoffs...you won't be missed.

Welcome Pritchard. Keep Hibbert, Paul, maybe Hill, and if you think you can turn it around in less than 2 years West....otherwise, show some balls, shoot for the stars and blow up this overrated group of loveable loosers.