Q&A with Go Joe Bruin’s Mike Regalado
To help familiarize ourselves with two of the newest Pacers, we decided to bring in an expert. I asked Mike Regalado, the site expert at UCLA’s FanSided blog Go Joe Bruin, a few questions about T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu.
You can follow Mike on Twitter at @TheBigDisco, follow the blog at @GoJoeBruinUCLA and make sure to hit up gojoebruin.com for all your Lavar Ball hot takes. Let’s get right into it.
Thanks so much for doing this Mike. How do you think T.J Leaf will fit into an NBA offense?
Leaf is a very smart player and showed that he had a myriad ways of finding the basket. The best part is that he has an outside shot to go with his ability to score under the basket. Though he needs to add some weight, he should do well as a stretch four.
How about Ike Anigbogu?
Anigbogu has “potential,” which will translate well on the defensive side of the ball. Though he had flashes of offense (watch for those monster dunks), his big body allows him to be physical down low. He also likes to go after the ball, which results in blocks or Ike redirecting his opponent’s shots.
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What do you think will be each guy’s biggest challenge in becoming effective?
Leaf has to bulk up. He was often pushed around in the paint on defense, so a little muscle will help him hold his ground.
Anigbogu has to get acclimated to the speed and length of the pro game. He only averaged 13 minutes off the bench, so he did not play a whole lot last season. Now he has to quickly adjust to what the Pacers and the speed of the pro game will ask of him.
How shocked were you to see Anigbogu fall as far as he did?
It was a little shocking, especially when rumors arose mid-draft that he had an issue with his knee. I think teams were also worried about what his “potential” actually was, especially since he didn’t play a lot last season.
Even though he went significantly later. DraftExpress actually rated Anigbogu 21 spots better than Leaf in their top 100. Gun to your head, which of these guys will have a better NBA career?
Honestly, it is hard to tell because Leaf is a good offensive player and Anigbogu is a good defensive player. With that being said, in an offense-driven league, Leaf might have the better career.
Leaf has some pretty impressive rebounding stats. Do you see that translating to the pros or is there a lot of noise in those numbers?
I hope so, especially if he adds weight. Leaf is very crafty and just knows where to be, so he should continue to be a proficient rebounder.
You surely watched more college ball than I did last year. Is there a guy instead of Leaf that you would have gone with at No. 18? What did you think of the pick?
That’s a tough call because it depends on what Indiana needs, and on the flip side from you, I didn’t see much NBA (especially the Pacers). Still, there was a wealth of talented big men. After Leaf, a forward or center was taken by the next 10 teams, so Indiana couldn’t have gone wrong. Still, Leaf was the leading scorer on UCLA last season for a reason and will bring a lot of talent to Indiana.
Next: Getting to know T.J. Leaf
UCLA will have a lot of work to do replacing all these guys. How does next year’s team look? Anyone the Pacers should keep their eyes on?
It looks good. Coach Steve Alford has done well recruiting and will bring in an even better class than Leaf, Anigbogu and Lonzo Ball. If the Pacers are looking for a point guard, we have Aaron Holiday and Jaylen Hands. Need a big guy? Watch for Thomas Welsh, Kris Wilkes, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill.