Monday, October 27, 2008

The Year of the Point Guard

As big of a Jazz fan as I am, I might enjoy watching college hoops more so than the pros (Am I able to admit that on my own Jazz blog?). It’s a beautiful time of year when the NBA season tips off and the annual Midnight (October) Madness pops off on college campuses.

In light of the excitement and anticipation of the season starting, I wanted to introduce to you my thoughts regarding the theme for this coming season… “The Emergence of the Elite Point Guard”. The reasoning behind my theme comes from a few schools of thought:


1. I believe Deron Williams will have a breakout, All-Star caliber season for the Jazz.
2. Chris Paul will also emerge as an elite PG, if he hasn’t already (And…Yes, Deron Williams matches up favorably with CP3 on many levels, regardless of what the Sports Geek says).
3. It’s never too early to embrace the enjoyment of college hoops and being able to scout future NBA talent.
4. Point guards run the show and win championships.
5. And finally… the Utah Jazz will have a backup problem. The Jazz's backup point guards are both in the final year of their respective contracts. So, we’ll soon need a new backup PG next year. Right?


Without further ado…next year’s crop and a primer for the college hoop season.


From Overseas:

Ricky Rubio, Spain: The next big rage has some real razzle-dazzle to his game. He loves the no-look pass and the circus-like, ball handling show. Rubio has already made a big name for himself, playing for the Spanish Olympic team.

Brandon Jennings, Italy: The fresh American high-schooler took his game across the pond to make some bucks overseas. He’s quite flashy himself, reminding many of the left-handed showmanship of Georgia Tech’s finest, Kenny Anderson.

Patty Mills, from Australia to St. Mary’s of California: Once was then unknown, is now beknownst to us. Huh?! Mills surprised many observers with his cat-like quickness and speed (while playing for the Boomers in the Olympics). He even gave Deron and CP3 some Olympic trouble.

Points-A-Plenty:

Stephen Curry, Davidson: Who can forget Curry’s shooting barrage during last spring’s March Madness? Three-point binges resulting in 40, 30, 30, and 25 points became common place to him. How awesome would Curry look in a Jazz uni (just like Pops once was)?
Tyrese Rice, Boston College: Rice put up 46 points against North Carolina last season. Against NC! That’s impressive.

Jonny Flynn, Syracuse: Averaged over 15 ppg as a freshman for the ‘Cuse. Flynn’s an excellent outside bomber and tenacious defender. I believe he’s ready to explode this season.

The Vets:

Darren Collison, UCLA: It seems like he’s been on campus for decades. Collison has been on 3 Final Four teams over the course of his career.

Ty Lawson, North Carolina: He’s the floor general, leading the best, most talented team in the country. Will he win them a championship?


Eric Maynor, VCU: Who can forget the buzzer-beating jumper by Maynor to upset Duke in the ’07 NCAA tournament? A day when Duke loses is always a happy day for me.


Say Hello To:

Jrue Holiday, UCLA: Holiday will quickly show the country how talented he is by filling in for Russell Westbrook. The similarities to the 2008, #3 pick are readily apparent.

Tyreke Evans, Memphis: Has amazing hoop skills and opposition breakdown ability. He’ll be the new star to lead the Memphis revival.


Others: AJ Price, Jeremy Pargo, Curtis Jerrells, Nick Calathes, Greivis Vasquez, Lester Hudson, Jerel McNeal, Scottie Reynolds, Nando De Colo, Rodrique Beaubois… the list goes on.


Here’s to the beloved point guards that make our teams run. Let the Madness begin!… both college and pro.

6 comments:

Pasty Gangsta said...

I want the Aussie named Patty 'cause I love me a foreign point guard with a woman's name.

Orlando said...

I have to agree with Pasty. What the Jazz need is a little lightning off the bench to Deron's thunder.

Anonymous said...

This is totally off topic, but I was reading an article on who may be traded this year, of course Boozer was on the list. Another name on the list was Darko Millicic. I know that this is out there but what about a Darko for Boozer deal? (and maybe they could throw in Greg Buckner and we could throw in Harpring) We would finally get some interior defense and a big man rotation of Darko, Okur, and Millsap wouldn't be that bad. If we are going to lose Boozer anyways.

I think we should have a good discussion on some of the trade options for Booze.

Pasty Gangsta said...

I'm not big on Darko. I think we can get a little something better than him for the Booze, but if he really is going to leave we can't be afraid to pull the trigger. And given the current cap situation, I think he's going to leave.

Orlando said...

No Darko. The guy is a softer interior defender than Pasty. Plus, he is overpaid. We can't have two highly overpaid bench players.

I'd love to trade Boozer, but I'd let him walk over trading him for Darko.

Tucker McCann said...

We need to bring back Delaney Rudd.