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Thursday, January 24, 2008

2008 Supplemental Draft In The Books....

Here are the selections in the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft. How do you grade this one?

Chicago Fire : M – Kai Kasiguran (Messiah College), F – Adrian Bumbut (Liberty University), M – Zach Pope (Duke University), D – Steve Bode (Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), M – Timothy Conway (Nyack College), GK - Melford James Jr. (University of Montevallo)

Chivas USA: F – Kraig Chiles (San Diego State University), F – Javier Ayala-Hill (California State), M – El Hadj-Cisse (North Carolina State University), D – Andre Sherard (University of North Carolina)

Colorado Rapids: F – Kevin Forrest (University of Washington), M – Cesar Zambrano (Univ. of Illinois-Chicago), GK – Mike Graczyk (University of New Mexico), M – Daniel Antunez (University of Hartford),

Columbus Crew: GK – Billy Chiles (Towson State), M – Corey Elenio (Evansville), F – Lukasz Tumicz (University of Rhode Island), F/D – Zola Short (University of Virginia)

D.C. United: D – Brandon Owens (UCLA), M – Dan Stratford (West Virginia University), GK – James Thorpe (Franklin Pierce)

FC Dallas: F – Yannick Reyering (University of Virginia), M/D – Ben Shuleva (Southern Methodist University)

Houston Dynamo: M – Johnny Alcaraz (Westmont College), F – Craig Thompson (Colorado School of Mines), M – Kieran Hall (Fort Lewis College), F – James Georgeff (University of Central Florida)

Kansas City Wizards: M – Pat Healey (Towson University), M – Vicente Arze (Mercer University), M – Tom Gray (Monmouth University), GK – Andrew Kartunen (Stanford University)

Los Angeles Galaxy: D – Michael Gavin (Portland University), GK – Charles Alamo (Univ. of California-Riverside), D – Greg Folk (UCLA), F/M – Daniel De Geer (University of San Francisco)

New England Revolution: F – Mkokheli Dube (Coastal Carolina University), D – Chris Tierney (University of Virginia), M – Kyle Altman (Trinity University), F – Saidi Isaac (Winthrop University),

New York Red Bulls: M – Danleigh Borman (University of Rhode Island), M – Michael Palacio (Stonybrook University), D – John Gilkerson (Winthrop University), D/M – Manuel Laurent (Brown University)

Real Salt Lake: F – Tino Nunez (Univ. of California-Santa Barbara), M – Kevin Reiman (Michigan State University), F – Kenny Anaba (Cincinnati University),

San Jose Earthquakes: F – Adam Smarte (Univ. of California-Santa Cruz), F – Tim Bohnenkamp (Creighton University), D – Greg Curry (Univ. of California-Santa Barbara), D – Tim Jepsen (Duke University)

Toronto FC: F – Xavier Balc (Ohio State University)

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posted by Bonji at 4:05 PM

6 Comments:

  • I think my bro should have been picked... but thats me haha

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:34 PM  

  • Was there anything that made Jeff Larentowicz, Jason Hernandez, or Abe Thompson stand out among selections in the inaugural 2005 Supplemental Draft? What about Devon McTavish, Dasan Robinson, Joe Vide, and Lawson Vaughn in 2006?

    With most of these guys, the payoff is so delayed and uncertain that it's practically impossible to pick out good value on draft day. Even three years later, Chris Wondolowski is still a question mark. He has torn up the reserve league, but it's unclear whether he's well-rounded enough for the first team.

    There's a natural tendency to give credit to the guys who get immediate minutes, but I think that's a mistake. Playing time is usually more a function of circumstances than quality. As a rookie, Larentowicz saw the field for exactly 1 minute.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:02 AM  

  • All of the guys you mentioned, including Wondolowski, were extremely productive college players. All of them except Wondo played at a very high collegiate level.

    Getting acclimatized to pro soccer is hard for any college player, regardless of where they went to school. But the productive players from good teams at least have as a base the confidence and ability to have succeeded already at a high level.

    I agree that success comes from a combination of pure talent, opportunity, and a persistent desire to overcome the odds. High-level success at the college level is a minimum indicator of two of those qualities, IMO.

    Several MLS teams ignored that this year, and I think this supplemental draft was a disaster for them. It is somewhat of a crap shoot to find guys who are willing to battle through a few years of low pay and career roadblocks and have the talent to eventually be able to contribute. But in order to find those secret successes, you have to start out with the best inputs, not indulge yourself with fantastical picks gleaned from a day or two of training.

    By Blogger thursdayshootings, at 9:25 AM  

  • So is there going to be a grading on this draft or not? The opening lines suggested there would be, and I'd love to get a sense of who made good picks and who did not. I like that my team (DC) went after players with solid credentials, but I have no idea of any of the other teams' picks.

    By Blogger Jason1551, at 9:21 PM  

  • Emile,
    I don't think your argument has enough evidence to support it (at least, not yet). Prior to this year, I count only 10 Supplemental draftees who came from outside Division I. With Kpene and Wondolowski among them, I think they're at least as good on balance as other players who were drafted in a similar position.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:57 AM  

  • did balc get cut?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:44 PM  

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