a 6'4" and 190 lb walk on? this guy must have had zero foot skills or else he would have gotten some looks. my prediction is he's like john doyle, which means he won't be good enough to last more than a year or two in the league these days. but hey, "we need defense." i like the conrad move simply because he's better than who we're drafting to play in the back.
A couple of guys in front of us (not affiliated with KC) immediately said "He's a really good player" when the selection was made. It turns out that guy played against him and was obviously impressed. We've got Garcia, Talley, Conrad, and Burciaga in the middle. We're not desperate for defenders. This guy has late bloomer written all over him so give him time. He certainly has the tools. John Doyle? Don't ever compare anyone to him.
I remember this guy from the college cup, and I can honestly recall being thoroughly impressed by him. The thing that sticks out most in my mind is his work ethic on the pitch. He seemed to be everywhere. Comparable to Zavagnin's work ethic.
He is a fine player and a great organizer in back. For a long time at Stanford, Lee Morrison got all the praise even though Graham was simply better. The question now is whether he's athletic enough to succeed at the MLS level.
my point is this. to play professionally, you can't be some hack who picked up the game late in life. good soccer is not that way. MLS has had guys in the past who gave us a reputation as a mediocre league because of this, but the league is shifting to more talented players. we already have garcia in the back who can only make the wide open pass, so let's not get excited about putting another guy on the field who stifles our possession game.
Hmm...walking on at Stanford by no means says "he didn't get any looks coming out of high school". Stanford is not only an elite soccer school, it's an elite school, period. If the soccer doesn't work out, he's still at Stanford. Clearly, he could afford to go there without worrying too much about the cost of a scholarship. What it means is: "I got offers other places, but academics and lifestyle are really important to me. Bobby Clarke told me that I could walk on and maybe get a scholarship when he runs out of Kiwi U-20s to bring over." More to the point, why on earth would you think he picked it up late in life? Because he walked on? You don't walk on at Stanford without being good, let alone becoming a two-year starter. Geez.
How dare the Wizards pass up on all of those tough and cultured central defenders available in the draft!!! Sure world class defenders like Tony Adams and Sol Campbell had stone feet at his age, but this is MLS!!! You keep working on the assumption that he's: A) An absolute donkey on the ball despite never seeing him play and basing your opinions on about 5 sentences on him. B) He's starting next season. You have yet to give any reason to treat them as fact.
It's pblake... Honestly, I don't give half an ounce of credibility to anything he says, so when he says this kid is less than great, it makes me excited to see him play.
in the printed version of the star today, unfortunately not the online one also, gansler had a quote on each of the four college kids we picked up in the draft. here's his comment on mr. graham: "he's a strong central defender, extremely good in the air. he's an intelligent defender. the challenge will be to come in here and play with his feet." looks like bob and i are on the same page.
I like how you still make assumptions about this guy having never seen him play. Just because it says "the challange will be to come in here and play with his feet," doesn't mean he has "zero foot skills" like you stated earlier. He's excellent in the air, but that doesn't mean he's horrible with his feet. Case in point: Brian McBride. And nobody should ever be compared to John Doyle... geeze. Give the kid a chance before you write him off. He was a 2 year starter and captain of a College Cup team at Stanford. He's got skills. Maybe he won't be a starter, but that doesn't mean he was a horrible draft pick. How you continually rip on a guy you have yet to see play (Graham) and a guy who has been a 3 year starter in this league, rookie of the year runner-up, a youth national team player, and who recently got his first CAP (Garcia), is beyond me.
i didn't say that you would be pleased to hear that bob and i agree. also, i'm not ripping on garcia. i'm simply stating the obvious - he does not make any complicated pass. if someone is wide open, he'll hit them. if not, he gives it to another defender. you can't have more than one guy on a given back line that does this, or else the forwards will begin to pressure for easy turnovers. i'm sure you coached a team at some time that had this problem, and it's really frustrating. magnify that by 100 if you're at the mls level.
Heh... anybody else notice how pblake ignored the bulk of my post about how "the challenge will be to come in here and play with his feet," doesn't have to mean that his foot skills are horrible.