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Monday MLS Breakdown: Unlikely Weather Sets Stage For Intriguing Conclusion To MLS Player Combine
Mother Nature exerted the biggest impact over the first two days of the MLS Player Combine by compressing the remaining two doubleheaders into the final two days of the Combine. Kyle McCarthy takes stock of the revised circumstances in the Monday MLS Breakdown.
Jan 11, 2010 3:42:10 AM
By Kyle McCarthy
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Even the best laid plans can get thrown off course by a freak cold snap in South Florida.
In the grand scheme of things, this Monday column would have served as the natural point to review the first two days of the MLS Player Combine and sort through the player evaluation process prior to the final doubleheader on Tuesday morning.
So much for that idea. Thank the chilly temperatures, the rain and the wind for turning the field into a slippery mess and forcing Combine officials to push Sunday's slate of matches to Monday.
The detailed player analysis will have to wait until later considering the lack of Combine action thus far. Here are a few tidbits to bridge the gap until the games kick off on Monday afternoon.
Fitness will sure come in handy over the next two days: The schedule shift will push these college players to the limit with games slated for Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. In other words, the temporary reprieve allotted by the cool and rainy conditions on Saturday and the unexpected break on Sunday is well and truly over.
“We've gotten through the initial shock of the first day and everything,” Akron midfielder Blair Gavin said. “We have to get ready for the next two days because those are definitely going to be two big games. It's an opportunity for most of us.”
Most players wisely prepared for the rigorous days ahead by lying low in the hotel and resting up for the continuation of their extended job interview.
Who is Danny Mwanga? That's the question on the minds of most Philadelphia supporters these days now that the Oregon State forward has emerged as the Union's overwhelmingly likely selection at the top of Thursday's SuperDraft.
Mwanga is an unknown quantity simply because he hasn't had the exposure of most other players at the top of the draft pool. The Beavers didn't make the NCAA tournament in the past two seasons and Mwanga played all 29 of his collegiate matches inside the Pacific time zone. All of those goals (18) and all of those Pac-10 awards (Freshman of the Year despite limited time on the field in 2008 and Player of the Year honors in 2009) only say so much.
In order to get a better read on what Mwanga brings to the table, former Oregon State and current Cal-State Stanislaus coach Dana Taylor provided some insight on the player he recruited and coached for one season.
“Some guys come in with all of the skill, but maybe they don't have that last piece of athleticism to get over the edge,” Taylor said. “Some people come in with the pace and the athleticism, but don't quite have the skill and you try to develop that aspect of their game. Danny came in with all of the technique and all of the athleticism, but he had one extra trait that is rare to find in the American player these days: he played with such composure.”
The Congolese forward has all of the tools – the vision, the ability to feel pressure and the change of pace – to make an impact at the next level, according to Taylor. Considering Taylor sent a quartet of forwards – Robbie Findley, Alan Gordon, Ryan Johnson and Bryan Jordan – to MLS during his decade as coach in Corvallis, he might just have the inside scoop on what it takes for a college forward to succeed as a pro.
International players impact top half of draft: Mwanga is one of three foreign players who could go in the top half of the first round with Teal Bunbury (dual Canada/U.S. citizenship) and Toni Stahl (Finland) also expected to come off the board early. Bunbury boasts the luxury of counting as a domestic player on both sides of the border, but Mwanga and Stahl will both count as foreign players in 2010.
A Twitter follower, @fshires, asked on Friday whether Stahl possessed a green card, so I queried the UConn central midfielder when I had the opportunity to chat with him on Sunday. The answer, in short, is no. Stahl is in the process of obtaining his P1 work visa in order to take the field once training camp starts.
(If that brief reader mention isn't enough to entice you to follow me on Twitter – @kylejmccarthy – for the remaining two days of the Combine, then focus on the updates during the course of Combine play and the brief insights as we progress onwards through the SuperDraft week. The incentive is there no matter how you slice it.)
Paving the way to MLS...from Akron: Akron University hasn't had to worry about this much about MLS scuttlebutt since, well, forever. Two Zips – Bunbury and Gavin – comprise one-sixth of the incoming Generation adidas class and both could go in the first round. One more Zip – head coach Caleb Porter – could have joined them if he had accepted D.C. United's overtures to make him its next head coach.
Both Bunbury and Gavin heaped praise on Akron and the job Porter has done to transform the Zips into a national title contender. As for all of the interest in Akron products from the American top flight, Bunbury said the suitors arrived as a byproduct for the type of program Porter has constructed since taking over in January 2006.
“That's what happens when you have such a successful year, such a great team and such a great university,” said Bunbury, who also collected the Hermann Trophy as the nation's top college player on Friday.
The last word: Wake Forest center back Ike Opara is expected to come off the board early, with defender-needy New York a possible destination with the second pick. The Generation adidas star pondered draft strategy – he noted each team has to weigh its needs as well as the talent available – this weekend, but said he didn't care where he will land once he hears his name called on Thursday.
“Ideally, staying on the East Coast would be nice for me, but beggars can't be choosers,” Opara said. “For a professional career, you're just happy to get started. It could be in the middle of Montana.”
Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week forGoal.com . He also covers the New
England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him
with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
For more onMajor League Soccer , visit Goal.com 's MLS page.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Even the best laid plans can get thrown off course by a freak cold snap in South Florida.
In the grand scheme of things, this Monday column would have served as the natural point to review the first two days of the MLS Player Combine and sort through the player evaluation process prior to the final doubleheader on Tuesday morning.
So much for that idea. Thank the chilly temperatures, the rain and the wind for turning the field into a slippery mess and forcing Combine officials to push Sunday's slate of matches to Monday.
The detailed player analysis will have to wait until later considering the lack of Combine action thus far. Here are a few tidbits to bridge the gap until the games kick off on Monday afternoon.
Fitness will sure come in handy over the next two days: The schedule shift will push these college players to the limit with games slated for Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. In other words, the temporary reprieve allotted by the cool and rainy conditions on Saturday and the unexpected break on Sunday is well and truly over.
“We've gotten through the initial shock of the first day and everything,” Akron midfielder Blair Gavin said. “We have to get ready for the next two days because those are definitely going to be two big games. It's an opportunity for most of us.”
Most players wisely prepared for the rigorous days ahead by lying low in the hotel and resting up for the continuation of their extended job interview.
Who is Danny Mwanga? That's the question on the minds of most Philadelphia supporters these days now that the Oregon State forward has emerged as the Union's overwhelmingly likely selection at the top of Thursday's SuperDraft.
Mwanga is an unknown quantity simply because he hasn't had the exposure of most other players at the top of the draft pool. The Beavers didn't make the NCAA tournament in the past two seasons and Mwanga played all 29 of his collegiate matches inside the Pacific time zone. All of those goals (18) and all of those Pac-10 awards (Freshman of the Year despite limited time on the field in 2008 and Player of the Year honors in 2009) only say so much.
In order to get a better read on what Mwanga brings to the table, former Oregon State and current Cal-State Stanislaus coach Dana Taylor provided some insight on the player he recruited and coached for one season.
“Some guys come in with all of the skill, but maybe they don't have that last piece of athleticism to get over the edge,” Taylor said. “Some people come in with the pace and the athleticism, but don't quite have the skill and you try to develop that aspect of their game. Danny came in with all of the technique and all of the athleticism, but he had one extra trait that is rare to find in the American player these days: he played with such composure.”
The Congolese forward has all of the tools – the vision, the ability to feel pressure and the change of pace – to make an impact at the next level, according to Taylor. Considering Taylor sent a quartet of forwards – Robbie Findley, Alan Gordon, Ryan Johnson and Bryan Jordan – to MLS during his decade as coach in Corvallis, he might just have the inside scoop on what it takes for a college forward to succeed as a pro.
International players impact top half of draft: Mwanga is one of three foreign players who could go in the top half of the first round with Teal Bunbury (dual Canada/U.S. citizenship) and Toni Stahl (Finland) also expected to come off the board early. Bunbury boasts the luxury of counting as a domestic player on both sides of the border, but Mwanga and Stahl will both count as foreign players in 2010.
A Twitter follower, @fshires, asked on Friday whether Stahl possessed a green card, so I queried the UConn central midfielder when I had the opportunity to chat with him on Sunday. The answer, in short, is no. Stahl is in the process of obtaining his P1 work visa in order to take the field once training camp starts.
(If that brief reader mention isn't enough to entice you to follow me on Twitter – @kylejmccarthy – for the remaining two days of the Combine, then focus on the updates during the course of Combine play and the brief insights as we progress onwards through the SuperDraft week. The incentive is there no matter how you slice it.)
Paving the way to MLS...from Akron: Akron University hasn't had to worry about this much about MLS scuttlebutt since, well, forever. Two Zips – Bunbury and Gavin – comprise one-sixth of the incoming Generation adidas class and both could go in the first round. One more Zip – head coach Caleb Porter – could have joined them if he had accepted D.C. United's overtures to make him its next head coach.
Both Bunbury and Gavin heaped praise on Akron and the job Porter has done to transform the Zips into a national title contender. As for all of the interest in Akron products from the American top flight, Bunbury said the suitors arrived as a byproduct for the type of program Porter has constructed since taking over in January 2006.
“That's what happens when you have such a successful year, such a great team and such a great university,” said Bunbury, who also collected the Hermann Trophy as the nation's top college player on Friday.
The last word: Wake Forest center back Ike Opara is expected to come off the board early, with defender-needy New York a possible destination with the second pick. The Generation adidas star pondered draft strategy – he noted each team has to weigh its needs as well as the talent available – this weekend, but said he didn't care where he will land once he hears his name called on Thursday.
“Ideally, staying on the East Coast would be nice for me, but beggars can't be choosers,” Opara said. “For a professional career, you're just happy to get started. It could be in the middle of Montana.”
Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for
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