Contrary to the suggestion of the title, sadly I do not have these five ball-players on speed dial (pause). Instead, these are my fave five players in the 2009 draft pool, a group that I think will have immediate impact and potentially all-star futures. These players will be components of extremely entertaining if not highly successful NBA teams. After all, the NBA is a business first, a show second, a perfect venue for gambling third and a sport fourth. With no further ado, the cream of the crop of the 2009 draft (excluding Blake Griffin because that would just be boring):
1. Stephen Curry 6'3 PG/SG Davidson
Every basketball fan who hasn't been living under a rock the past two years knows this guy came out of relative basketball obscurity, with the exception of his father, Dell, serving as an effective sharpshooter in the league for about ten of his fifteen career years in the NBA. As a freshman, Curry posted outstanding numbers averaging 21.5 pts and 2.8 assists per game as mostly a scorer with few ball handling responsibilities. Playing next to one of college basketball's top assist men in point guard Jason Richards for the first two years of his career, Curry was never burdened with handling the ball. In his first year at full time point as a junior, Curry raised his already eye-popping averages to 28.6 ppg (good for first in the nation) and 5.6 apg, double his freshman mark. Those are the numbers, but what benefits Curry most are two things that are mostly out of his control.
A. As a top five talent in this draft Curry will all but definitely be playing for a team with sub-average talent level in comparison to other professional squads. Well for the leading scorer in the country whose been fighting off double and triple teams (we're looking at you Towson) his entire career, playing with teammates that are less than stellar will be all too familiar for Curry.
B. In looking at my mock draft (http://nohypenow.blogspot.com/2009/06/chads-mock.html) it would seem a foregone conclusion that Curry will end up in either Washington, Golden State or New York. All three destinations would provide Curry with a system where he would be able to run and gun and 'let it fly' as he did at Davidson and both Don Nelson and Mike D'Antoni would hand the ball over to Curry from day one. Many question Curry's body holding up in the league. I say this guy, who out-benched 6'10 Austin Daye and Earl Clark by ten reps on the 185-pound press at the combine, is a sure thing.
2. Brandon Jennings 6'3 PG Italy
Is he overly flashy at times? Yes. Is it true that in a high school game with a 40-second shot clock he once dribbled the ball without ever passing the entire 40 seconds and into a shot-clock violation? Yes. Did he wear a horrible high-top fade to the McDonald's All-American game? Yes, yes, yes. But is he the most talented "natural" point guard in this year's draft? Absolutely. Jennings' greatest flaw as a player at this point is his unwillingness to conform, even if it may benefit his best business sense at times. Jennings passed up playing for a lesser program than Arizona when his test scores didn't qualify and opted instead to play in Italy. Jennings, himself, told numerous sources it was a miserable experience but one that has made him both more mature and physically stronger to deal with the test that awaits him. What will that test be? Hopefully going up against starting NBA point guards 41 times in Blue and Orange under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden this season. He is quicker and more athletic than 85% of NBA starting point guards today and more entertaining than all of them. Say what you want about the guy but you'll all be tuning in.
3. Patty Mills 6'0 PG St. Mary's
"It's a point guard's league," they keep telling us. I concur. Since the rule changes have made it so that hand checks and body bumps in the lane are automatic fouls in an effort to make the games run more smoothly, lightning quick guards like Derrick Rose, Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo and even Aaron Brooks have taught us that speed kills. I will not stop preaching about how I watched Patty Mills fly around the court, darting in between Team USA players this past summer en route to a losing effort but nonetheless genius display of basketball. WATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5zfDNT4A8Y I watched this little mouse run circles around Chris Paul and I will not shut up about it until you all watch him do it again. If he isn't Tony Parker minus a few important inches but with a more reliable jump shot in four years then may lightning strike my blog partner Justin. And to add fuel to the fire, he's vastly underrated and will thus end up with a good team looking to add quickness and a spark off the bench at the end of the first round. That team will be rewarded with much more.
4. Jeff Teague 6'3 PG Wake Forest
WATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTfwcYgNAN8
He destroyed UNC with a 34 point outing, shot better than 50% from the field and three point line for a large part of the season as his teams best player and he'll probably end up running Eddie Jordan's offense as a shoot first point guard which has shown good results. And then he did that to Maryland senior F Dave Neal ON MARYLAND SENIOR NIGHT FOR GOODNESS SAKES! I refuse to explain any further.
5. Gerald Henderson 6'5 SG Duke
At a long 6'5, with superb athleticism and a receding hairline, Henderson was made to shave his head and play the wing at the highest level. At times, Henderson was the only player on a talented Duke roster to rise to the occasion in close games and he seemed to gain somewhat of a mean streak over the last three years. It has been all but guaranteed that the Bobcats of Charlotte will take Henderson with the 12th overall pick unless he is snatched up somewhere higher on the board. The Bobcats have a gaping hole at the shooting guard position currently manned by whoever loses the race to the inbound man between DJ Augustine and Raymond Felton on any given possession. Henderson is the prime candidate to fill the hole (pause) in Charlotte's semi-rebuilding stage (something must first be built to be rebuilt at some point, right?).
1. Stephen Curry 6'3 PG/SG Davidson
Every basketball fan who hasn't been living under a rock the past two years knows this guy came out of relative basketball obscurity, with the exception of his father, Dell, serving as an effective sharpshooter in the league for about ten of his fifteen career years in the NBA. As a freshman, Curry posted outstanding numbers averaging 21.5 pts and 2.8 assists per game as mostly a scorer with few ball handling responsibilities. Playing next to one of college basketball's top assist men in point guard Jason Richards for the first two years of his career, Curry was never burdened with handling the ball. In his first year at full time point as a junior, Curry raised his already eye-popping averages to 28.6 ppg (good for first in the nation) and 5.6 apg, double his freshman mark. Those are the numbers, but what benefits Curry most are two things that are mostly out of his control.
A. As a top five talent in this draft Curry will all but definitely be playing for a team with sub-average talent level in comparison to other professional squads. Well for the leading scorer in the country whose been fighting off double and triple teams (we're looking at you Towson) his entire career, playing with teammates that are less than stellar will be all too familiar for Curry.
B. In looking at my mock draft (http://nohypenow.blogspot.com/2009/06/chads-mock.html) it would seem a foregone conclusion that Curry will end up in either Washington, Golden State or New York. All three destinations would provide Curry with a system where he would be able to run and gun and 'let it fly' as he did at Davidson and both Don Nelson and Mike D'Antoni would hand the ball over to Curry from day one. Many question Curry's body holding up in the league. I say this guy, who out-benched 6'10 Austin Daye and Earl Clark by ten reps on the 185-pound press at the combine, is a sure thing.
2. Brandon Jennings 6'3 PG Italy
Is he overly flashy at times? Yes. Is it true that in a high school game with a 40-second shot clock he once dribbled the ball without ever passing the entire 40 seconds and into a shot-clock violation? Yes. Did he wear a horrible high-top fade to the McDonald's All-American game? Yes, yes, yes. But is he the most talented "natural" point guard in this year's draft? Absolutely. Jennings' greatest flaw as a player at this point is his unwillingness to conform, even if it may benefit his best business sense at times. Jennings passed up playing for a lesser program than Arizona when his test scores didn't qualify and opted instead to play in Italy. Jennings, himself, told numerous sources it was a miserable experience but one that has made him both more mature and physically stronger to deal with the test that awaits him. What will that test be? Hopefully going up against starting NBA point guards 41 times in Blue and Orange under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden this season. He is quicker and more athletic than 85% of NBA starting point guards today and more entertaining than all of them. Say what you want about the guy but you'll all be tuning in.
3. Patty Mills 6'0 PG St. Mary's
"It's a point guard's league," they keep telling us. I concur. Since the rule changes have made it so that hand checks and body bumps in the lane are automatic fouls in an effort to make the games run more smoothly, lightning quick guards like Derrick Rose, Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo and even Aaron Brooks have taught us that speed kills. I will not stop preaching about how I watched Patty Mills fly around the court, darting in between Team USA players this past summer en route to a losing effort but nonetheless genius display of basketball. WATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5zfDNT4A8Y I watched this little mouse run circles around Chris Paul and I will not shut up about it until you all watch him do it again. If he isn't Tony Parker minus a few important inches but with a more reliable jump shot in four years then may lightning strike my blog partner Justin. And to add fuel to the fire, he's vastly underrated and will thus end up with a good team looking to add quickness and a spark off the bench at the end of the first round. That team will be rewarded with much more.
4. Jeff Teague 6'3 PG Wake Forest
WATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTfwcYgNAN8
He destroyed UNC with a 34 point outing, shot better than 50% from the field and three point line for a large part of the season as his teams best player and he'll probably end up running Eddie Jordan's offense as a shoot first point guard which has shown good results. And then he did that to Maryland senior F Dave Neal ON MARYLAND SENIOR NIGHT FOR GOODNESS SAKES! I refuse to explain any further.
5. Gerald Henderson 6'5 SG Duke
At a long 6'5, with superb athleticism and a receding hairline, Henderson was made to shave his head and play the wing at the highest level. At times, Henderson was the only player on a talented Duke roster to rise to the occasion in close games and he seemed to gain somewhat of a mean streak over the last three years. It has been all but guaranteed that the Bobcats of Charlotte will take Henderson with the 12th overall pick unless he is snatched up somewhere higher on the board. The Bobcats have a gaping hole at the shooting guard position currently manned by whoever loses the race to the inbound man between DJ Augustine and Raymond Felton on any given possession. Henderson is the prime candidate to fill the hole (pause) in Charlotte's semi-rebuilding stage (something must first be built to be rebuilt at some point, right?).
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