The Roto Studs

You know, in basketball even if you're playing a Head to Head format, you're still playing Roto style, just that your Roto game is week to week. That being said, this post relates to you too. today I'm going to highlight four players that I like to call The Roto Studs. They're the guys that are perfect to have on your team as they chip in to near every category. They are all Tier Three players, save for one that's a Tier Two, but most owners don't realize their true value. If you can convince someone to sell you a Roto Stud, you'll be happy you did so.

Gerald Wallace
GWall is an unbelievable athlete who can jump out of the gym. Ridiculously enough, he plays the 3, yet is second in the league is Rebounds per game. Read that again, second in the league to Superman. Unreal. Take a look at everything else:
CAT 2009
PTS 18.1
REB 12.1
AST 1.9
STL 1.8
BLK 0.9
3's 0.6
FT% 73.8
FG% 46.5
TO 2.9
Almost perfect. You know, he is good at everything, master at nothing. Compare his line to the sauce. This guy helps you out in 6 of 9 categories, still chips in enough 3's to not hurt you, and it's only the turnovers and assists that are low. This is a guy you get and you don't give up. I know he's injury prone, I know the rebounds are DOUBLE his career numbers, but even if he goes down for a week or two, even if the Boards come down to earth, he's still too valuable to part with. You just won't get value for him. The hallmark of a Roto stud, by the way, is the high points, high FG%, as you'll see with the rest.

Joe Johnson
Another awesome Roto stud. I feel like I spend half the season every year trying to work Joe J off of another manager. Like I said, once you get one of these guys, you don't let him go. He's a building block, almost like a Tier One player (but not as dominant).
CAT 2009
PTS 21.3
REB 5.4
AST 5.2
STL 1.1
BLK 0.0
3's 1.5
TO 2.2
FG% 45.7
FT% 85.1
Again notice the high FG%, high points. Look at your team, look at the guys averaging over 20 points a game and see what their FG% looks like. Joe J helps you in literally every category except blocks and he's a little high in Turnovers. That 20 point, 5 board and 5 assist line is fantasy gold.

Antawn Jamison
The high points, high FG% phenomenon is much easier when we're talking about a big man. Time Duncan shoots over 50% from the field, so does Dwight Howard. But Joe J and G Wall are also chipping in some treys for you, and still pulling in respectable boards. Then there's Antawn, he does it all...
CAT 2009
PTS 20.4
REB 8.3
AST 1.1
STL 1.2
BLK 0.3
TO 1.4
3's 1.5
FG% 48.3
FT% 66
Those three pointers are really the icing on the cake. Hurts you a bit in dimes and less even in blocks. The FT% is an anomaly compared to his career average, and we profiled that in our Buy Low earlier this year. But the rest of the numbers, including the low turnovers, are fantasy gold.

Jason Richardson
This last guy is a favorite of mine. You'll notice he and GWall are less well rounded than the other two, but offer the more dominant stats for a particular category. For G Wall it's the boards, for J-Rich it's the three's. And again, the key here is high fg%.
CAT 2009
PTS 15.6
REB 5.0
AST 1.9
STL 0.9
BLK 0.5
3's 2.0!!!!
TO 1.2
FG% 47.0
FT% 76.0
J-Rich's points per game are currently sitting at an 8 year low, which is the only reason you might be able to get his manager to sell him right now. Helps you in literally every category except dimes, and the low TO's is a gem. Averaging 2 treys a game while shooting 47% from the field is unreal. The nice thing about these Roto studs is their Rank (be it yahoo or ESPN) never truly show you their value.

I'm now sitting on three of these guys, and trying to work on getting Joe J on my squad too. Do the math yourself, look over the numbers for these four guys, add in a decent to good point guard and center and you'll quickly realize you have every category covered in a pretty dominating way. I'm fully aware that each of these four guys misses time to injuries regularly, and that's definitely important to know and be aware of. Also, two players who are quickly earning themselves a spot in this group, especially with this years performance, are Carmelo Anthony and Monta Ellis. Though Anthony has been so hot we like him as a Sell High.

But you'll be hard pressed to find such excellent all around contributors as The Roto Studs. Take a look yourself, look over other Tier Three players like Chauncey Billups and Josh Smith and you'll instantly see what I mean!