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For you old timers, whatever happened to Ron Mercer ?

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#1 cat fan

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May 7, 2009
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mjj_2K said:
I think things came too easily for him. He was a supreme physical specimen, 6'6", 210, tremendous leaper, tremendous straight-line speed. Not far off Vince Carter, who was in the same HS class (and most rated Mercer ahead of him at that time).

Mercer turned into a mid-range guy, because he could always elevate and get that shot off (and he was really good at it), and I don't think he particularly liked contact (low FT rates) When he got to the NBA he entered bad situations (bad Pitino Celtics and post-Jordan Bulls), put up some decent numbers, but never really developed a game off the dribble (unlike Derek Anderson) or NBA 3 point range. Then he started getting leg injuries that sapped his athleticism, so his career was fairly short.
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He wasn't the best ball handler. He was a 2 ft jumper and rarely ever drove the ball, those guys usually don't make it far. Meeks was this way as well. Almost like they had to gather themselves before leaping
Mercer was an unbelievable college player though
 
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mjj_2K

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#1 cat fan said:
He wasn't the best ball handler. He was a 2 ft jumper and rarely ever drove the ball, those guys usually don't make it far. Meeks was this way as well. Almost like they had to gather themselves before leaping
Mercer was an unbelievable college player though
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Probably right.

The problem for Mercer was that he was a perimeter-oriented player but he didn't really develop perimeter skills beyond that sweet 15-20 foot jumper (and being pretty fearsome running down the court on a fastbreak). He didn't get a lot of rebounds and didn't handle it all that well so never had a lot of assists.

He was ahead of Vince Carter when he left UK, but Carter quickly surpassed him in the NBA. I'd cite 3 reasons: Carter had a burst at all times that Mercer mainly had in a straight line, Carter was willing and able to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim, contact or not, and Carter developed more range on his jumper.
 
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KyKevin

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MichaelGray said:
One of them i made forget when we got back to my house in Louisville, the other one a few months later lol. Both at once would've been way better.
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I've been married 44 yrs, I can't even remember when I was running wild and crazy, and chasing girls in Central city Ky 😁

We use to go out to Paradise power plant, down by the Green river 😊, and drag race, after we played our basketball games. Great old memory's for sure.
 
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P. Fanning

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TheDude73 said:
I met him, Walter McCarty and Nazr (and maybe one other but I can't recall) in the stands at the first round of the NCAAs in Anaheim way back when Tubby and his team was sent there to get beaten by Marquette (I believe this was ~2008). They came in and sat in the row in front of me. Nazr was the only one of them that was willing to sign my program. Ron said he can't sign autographs without getting paid. McCarty just flapped his hand at me in a "naw thanks" fashion. Ron didn't seem to care that he was sitting with a bunch of UK fans. I guess at least he was there "supporting" the beating.
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Billy Gillispie's first and last NCAA Tournament game at Kentucky.
 
Wayne Dougan

Wayne Dougan

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#1 cat fan said:
He was a 2 ft jumper and rarely ever drove the ball
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Interesting perspective that I never thought about.

It brings me back to playing basketball as a kid. I always went off 1 foot, but I remember guys who always did the 2 foot thing. It's almost like you were born one way or the other. And there were benefits of doing the 2-foot thing as well.
 
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