UAAP Schtick- Snipe N' Hype.

by Migs

The Ateneo Blue Eagles have finished the elimination round of the 71st UAAP campaign with a near-spotless 13-1 win-loss record. The mark, however, has not been free of blemishes beyond their lone loss to Far Eastern University.

Kirk Long's been off all year, and there are concerns over Ateneo's shooting and poise beyond its first five. Eric Salamat's been turnover-prone, and Bacon Austria's underachieved.

Enter Ryan Buenafe- arguably the most-heralded of all of Ateneo's rookies this season, getting his name up on the proverbial marquee ahead of fellow freshmen Vincent Burke, Justin Chua, and Nico Salva. In high school, Buenafe averaged points in the 30's. In his first year in the Seniors, let's admit- his 7.4 ppg, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists don't jump out and grab you by the scruff, but then, there have been times this year than Ryan's on-court demeanor, his poise under duress, and his ball sense have overshadowed otherwise normal numbers with a picture of unlimited potential just waiting to explode.

His pet move? A crossover drive off of an isolation play into a pirouet for a layup or a leaner for a power bank shot. The problem? RB's become a tad bit predictable, as evidenced, in part, by the 2.6 turnovers per contest he commits.

The solution? Variation. Ryan professes to be a Kobe Bryant fan, and what does Kobe have that Ryan doesn't?

A reliable jumper. Ah, the jumper. Who needs a jump shot if you can barrel your way through anything?

All basketball players, if they want to make it big, need a consistent outside stroke. Remember when Shaquille O'Neal was all power and no finesse? Olajuwon killed him for years with moves that paralleled those of a ballet dancer and a jump shot so soft you could hardly hear the ball swish through the net each time he'd do a Dream Shake topped off with a fadeaway J. What about Dwyane Wade? If he didn't have any kind of outside game, he'd be retired by now due to injuries. If you want to fall seven times, and get up at eight, without diminishing your overall offensive value, you need to know how to "stroke it". Plain and simple.

In the UAAP, big men- and shooters, come at a premium price. Former amateur snipers Jeff Chan (of FEU) and Ren Ren Ritualo (of La Salle) are now both in the PBA. Big men Carlo Sharma, Enrico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez, and Paolo Bugia have all made it to the next level, with reigning UAAP MVP Jervy Cruz being on the cusp of taking his bruising paint game and reliable medium range shot to the pros.

Just a year ago, Ryan Buenafe was a San Sebastian Stag, and the Season and Finals MVP of the NCAA Juniors Division. If Ateneo wants to survive beyond this year, and the next (in short, once Rabeh and Tiu pack it up), Ryan's got to be poised to take the mantle of King Eagle. I believe that this kid's got enough moxy to do it, but does he have enough willingness to put work in towards expanding his offensive game?

His high arching, crank back and pull jump shot release tends to cover his line of sight, which is a no-no. His first instinct, as of the moment, is to toss in a few pump fakes when behind the arc, before eventually doing a spin move or a UTEP-Two Step (yes, I'm old; this is a reference to the pet crossover move of former Golden State Warrior Tim Hardaway who happened to be aquite the prolific scorer in his younger years). That's fine and all, but throw in a step back jumper, or a fadeway jumper from 15 feet and you've got yourself some gold.

This post isn't a knock on Ryan Buenafe for the sake of publishing a knock on somebody. Rather, this is a critique. It wasn't until Michael Jordan was dubbed as a "selfish" player that he became the epitome of the word, "leader". Number 13 has a shot to be, in my opinion, the leader of a champion team someday, until then, he can stay an 18 year old wunderkind who, hopefully, as Casey Kasem would often say, "keeps his feet on the ground and keeps reaching for the stars".

Remind the kid about a disciplined approach to training. Teach the kid to snipe, and the rest will follow.

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