BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: DON DRAPER on August 04, 2003, 08:29:48 AM
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bob, since you have bowled side-by-side with some of the greats of the game this question is for you. can the current cream of the crop from the amateur ranks join the pba and dominate them ? there seems to be many people who think that amatuers like tim mack, david haynes, bill hoffman, etc. would dominate the pba tour if only they joined. my opinion is no they wouldn't. chris barnes, robert smith, patrick healey, jr., brian kretzer, brad angelo, etc., all had their ups and downs with only barnes being a consistently dominating player. bob, please give us your thoughts !
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OOOOOOOOOK- Patrick Allen, better than WRWjr-Pete Weber-
Norm Duke-Jason Couch-Parker Bohn3-
Chris Barnes and the list can go on for awhile. While Allen is a great bowler, he is far from the top on the PBA tour, atleast in my opinion and ofcourse those ever nagging statistics.
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I am not saying Mr Allen will not reach the level of those bowlers. Qualifying is the biggest part of the game. If you do not qualify, you are not bowling on the telecast. It is just hard to say he is the best, especially if it is followed by saying he needs to work on his qualifying.
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Back on topic.... Greg I know you were not asking me but I'll chime in anyway.
I think many would do well (some will win multiple tournaments) but to dominate I don't know. Everyone is different but even Barnes took a year to start making a lot of telecasts so I believe there would be an adjustment period for them. An while Barnes almost always cashes he still has trouble winning so I would hesitate to say that he is dominate. It took Healey several years to win, Kretzer and Rudy has yet to win.
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The current crop of amateurs will be no better than any other group coming out in the last 4-5 years. The year that many came out only two have really done anything and they are Pat Healy and Chris Barnes with recent Kudos going to Lonnie Walichek. I think Brad Angelo suprised a lot of people but we will see if he has staying power or just an awesome year. Names like Swanson,Gaines and Rudy Revs and quite a few others who were dominant amateurs have either dropped off the PBA or are drowning in qualifying. I believe the the talent pool is just that good in the PBA with barely a few that can distinguish themselves from the field week in and week out.
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thanks for everyones comments. i will reserve a final opinion until i hear from bob but i'll state right now that i don't think there is an amateur who is ready to dethrone walter ray williams, jr., norm duke, chris barnes, parker bohn III, brian voss, etc. from the upper crust of the pba.