Evaluation of Joseph Bertrand

Joseph Bertrand is a smooth player who moves well without the ball. Sometimes it appears that he is not quick because of how smooth he is. This is not the case. He is 6-4. His stride takes up more space so it may seem as though he is not moving as fast. Don’t be fooled.

He is a strong on the ball defender and is always at the front of the Sterling pressure because of his defensive ability. He displays excellent lateral quickness. He is good at using his length as an advantage which is rare for players his age. Usually players seem to feel as if they are in some type of a foot race when guarding the man one-one. Bertrand understands that the combination of moving his feet and using the length of his body gives him an advantage on penetration.

On offense Bertrand creates well off the dribble and finishes well at the basket. While watching him play he hit nearly every type of shot from the floor. This indicates his ability to score in a variety of ways. Over time he should improve that part of his game even more. He can play either point guard or shooting guard. For his team to succeed he needs the ball in his hands any way that they can get it to him. I like to compare him to Jamal Crawford in the combo guard sense.

The biggest thing that Bertrand needs to improve upon is his assertiveness on the floor. He is an unselfish player. At the same time he is by far and away the best player on his team. Spreading the rock is great but at some point you have to understand that you need to be selfish for the greater good of the team. He seems to understand this at points in the game. In both games we watched he had scoring spurts after half time in the third quarter. When you are the best player on the team you can’t come in and out of the picture though.

I don’t think it is a major cause for concern. I find it to be a common trend among the state’s best sophomores. For some reason they have yet to completely transform into all out go-to scorers. Derrick Rose also faced the same criticism his sophomore season. I expect Bertrand to grow out of it.

Bertrand has a decent body. Better than D.J. Richardson, D’mitri Riggs, or James Kinney. With that being said he still could stand to gain some more mass. He could still be overpowered by more physical guards. Sometimes he gets knocked off the block when he is trying to establish post position. While he does have better quickness than people give him credit for he still doesn’t have an explosive first step. Nothing he can’t change over time.

Overall this a very polished sophomore. He plays on a bad team in a very average conference. Nevertheless I believe the things he does on the court, the contributions he makes, would translate to any team and conference in the state. His game is well rounded and so if he isn’t scoring his impact on the game is still felt. He is an intelligent player who is about as controlled in his actions as any player his age you will find.

It is clear to see that Bertrand is a well-coached player. Coach Peter Goff appears to be an excellent coach. I think with the right mix of players around Bertrand Goff has the coaching ability to make serious noise at Sterling in a few years. Bertrand is the real deal. Growing pains will continue but overall this is going to be an impact player at the end of the day. Bertrand may be the must-get prospect for 2009 when it is all said and done.