"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

I was down on the pick, but I've really warmed to it. Having watched some highlights, I think the kid can play. He's not afraid to take the big shot. He has a good handle. His stroke is good. Looking at his 29% it looks like it should be better. It's not like watching Brewers shot and cringing.

The more I've though about the pick, what is to get upset with taking a kid who is 20, a hard worker, great BBIQ, better than anticipated athleticism, and has good size for his position (especially as a 2). I'm sorry but if the kid were black and didn't look like a boy scout, we'd be okay with the pick. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt, especially considering his performance in the tourney and in his workout against other top wings.

If he played like he was black, instead of playing like he is Mike Dunleavy, I'd feel better about the pick. And if the guy being vaunted as a shooter actually shot the ball well at any juncture during his sophomore season of college while playing against Horizon League competition (14th in RPI, with Butler being the only team over 80, and Wright State being the only other team over 100).

I like Hayward. I just didn't like him at 9 in that draft. And not because there were clear-cut choices to be had over him. I just would have preferred if they had taken a couple other guys or moved down.

[smokymountainrain]

If he played like he was black, instead of playing like he is Mike Dunleavy, I'd feel better about the pick. And if the guy being vaunted as a shooter actually shot the ball well at any juncture during his sophomore season of college while playing against Horizon League competition (14th in RPI, with Butler being the only team over 80, and Wright State being the only other team over 100).

I like Hayward. I just didn't like him at 9 in that draft. And not because there were clear-cut choices to be had over him. I just would have preferred if they had taken a couple other guys or moved down.

FWIW, he didn't shoot it all that well at the combine in the shooting drills either. Out of 25 PGs and wings, Hayward was 15th in overall shooting. Not good.

[Blueintheface]

The more I've though about the pick, what is to get upset with taking a kid who is 20, a hard worker, great BBIQ...

Mmmmm...Indiana-style ribs.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

SG/SF Draft Trivia

Since 2000, 35 SG/SF non-European draft prospects have been selected in the top 10.

How many of those players had a wingspan that was less than 1" greater than their height in shoes? (if that makes any sense)

How many of those drafted wings had a wingspan that was actually less than their height?

Bonus points if you can name them w/o looking it up. And FWIW, if my math was right the average wingspan increase over height in shoes for those top 10 picks was about 3.5".

[Jacob]

SG/SF Draft Trivia

Since 2000, 35 SG/SF non-European draft prospects have been selected in the top 10.

How many of those players had a wingspan that was less than 1" greater than their height in shoes? (if that makes any sense)

How many of those drafted wings had a wingspan that was actually less than their height?

Bonus points if you can name them w/o looking it up. And FWIW, if my math was right the average wingspan increase over height in shoes for those top 10 picks was about 3.5".

This should be easy.

Adam Morrison
JJ Reddick (oops think he went 11)
Mike Dunleavey
Hafa Araujo

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

SG/SF Draft Trivia

Since 2000, 35 SG/SF non-European draft prospects have been selected in the top 10.

How many of those players had a wingspan that was less than 1" greater than their height in shoes? (if that makes any sense)

How many of those drafted wings had a wingspan that was actually less than their height?

Bonus points if you can name them w/o looking it up. And FWIW, if my math was right the average wingspan increase over height in shoes for those top 10 picks was about 3.5".

I'm out for the day, so here are the results:

Of the 35 SG/SF, non-Euro, picks made in the top 10 since 2000, only 4 have had a less than 1" difference between their height in shoes and wingspan:

Joe Johnson
Mike Dunleavy
Corey Brewer
Gordon Hayward

Two of those have had a wingspan that was actually shorter than their height: Dunleavy and Hayward.

[MarkGrace]

A star will be born this summer:
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[FN Phat]

A star will be born this summer:
[YOUTUBE]
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The first clip shows that the dude shaves his legs, the second clip has him grabbing a dude's ass and he has Cock on the front of his jersey. I would be apprehensive about having him in the locker room.

[MarkGrace]

The first clip shows that the dude shaves his legs, the second clip has him grabbing a dude's ass and he has Cock on the front of his jersey. I would be apprehensive about having him in the locker room.

Meech is disappointed this guy wasn't on the team years ago.

[MarkGrace]

Every kid with a hoop in their driveway has imagined themselves in a situation similar to the one Gordon Hayward improbably found himself in just a few months ago: Down two, just a few seconds to go, the chance to be the real life Jimmy Chitwood at stake and a National Championship on the line. One shot, one miraculous shot, and everything changes. How close was Hayward to forever being etched in basketball lore? Inches.

The fact that Butler, led by the frail-framed Hayward, was just inches away from a National Championship seems crazy. But what's crazier is that Hayward was once inches away from giving up basketball altogether. Marlen Garcia of USA Today tells the story:

"The funny thing is after his freshman year of high school, Hayward nearly gave up basketball.

His parents say he prepared a speech to tell his coach he would stop playing to focus on tennis. He stood 5-11 then and figured he would be too short to play basketball in college.

His mom, Jody, says she told him to give basketball more time. He shot up to 6-8 by his senior year, a surprise because both parents are 5-10. And he capped Brownsburg High's season with a buzzer-beating layup for a state championship in Class 4A."


The late growth spurt saved Hayward's career, but it also shaped his game. Hayward spent years playing guard because of his lack of height, but once he shot up, he retained all the skills he honed as a smaller player. Hayward fits the mold of the elusive point-forward, but in a more organic sense than most. He's not a tall guy with some guard skills -- he's a guard who just happens to be tall. Hayward's court vision and playmaking off the dribble help make him what he is, but he's also an underrated athlete as well.

Thanks to those days out on the tennis court, Hayward's pretty good at moving laterally and possesses a certain bounce in his jump most players don't have. In the pre-draft combine Hayward showed off that bounce with a 30.5-inch no-step vertical jump, which bested the likes of Evan Turner and John Wall.

Although he had always been a good athlete with nice skills, it was hard to predict Hayward's rise to prominence. Mark Titus, he of club trillion fame, sat down with Thayer Evans of the New York Times to talk about Hayward.

"Titus, a senior guard at Ohio State who played with Hayward at Brownsburg High, recalled being shocked when friends started to call him with tales of his former teammate dunking on opponents. Until then, he had remembered Hayward as a spot-up shooter who was too diminutive to drive to the basket.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Titus said in a telephone interview. “I still don’t believe it. Even when I watch him now, it’s just like, that can’t be the same kid out there.”'


Hayward had always dreamed of playing in the NBA, but his journey to becoming a top prospect has been filled with oddities. Usually the recruiting of a big time high school basketball player is all about how to convince them they'll be able to the League, but Hayward's recruiting had as much to do with his own career as it did with his twin sister Heather.

The inseperable siblings wanted to remain together in college, and luckily for Butler coach Brad Stevens, Butler suited the both of them the best. Heather could play tennis and receive an academic scholarship while Gordon's computer engineering classes (not your typical NBA-bound major, eh?) wouldn't interrupt with basketball practice like it would at other schools. It was a match made in heaven when the underdog school signed the local boy who basically came out of nowhere.

It's been a strange journey for Hayward, one filled with near makes and misses alike, but now he'll have his chance at fulfilling that other popular driveway fantasy: Playing in the NBA.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...gordon-hayward

[MarkGrace]

Qualifying offers have been made to Fes and Wes. Both are now RFAs.

[FN Phat]

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...gordon-hayward

Great write-up. It will be interesting to see the progression of this kid.

[MarkGrace]

Great write-up. It will be interesting to see the progression of this kid.

I find myself in the Sizzle camp right now, which puts me at stage 7: acceptance and hope. I've been watching vids of the kid and reading write ups about him, and everyone seems to think that if his shot comes back he could be a pretty nice player. And unlike others, I'm honestly not that worried about his shot. He didn't shoot if well from three, but outside of that he seemed to shoot well from others spots on the floor (DE said he hit 50% of his J's coming off screens, and that he converted pull-up J's at a solid clip), and we know that he at least has it in him to shoot it well from out there. This is what DE said about his shooting:

His smooth mechanics and sound form speak to his ability to be a more effective player at the next level when he reverts back to being a complementary option. He’ll reap the benefits of playing next to quicker guards and having more space to operate out on the perimeter.

As he continues to add strength and puts the work in through pure repetition, he should have little trouble translating his stroke to the NBA 3-point line.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/...#ixzz0sE20CjnN
http://www.draftexpress.com

I hope they are right on that one.

I was not excited the night of the draft, and I'm still not thrilled, but I'm not sure who else I would have gone with. I know most of us feel like he's at best a complementary player, but of the next handful of guys picked, they all look like complementary players at best as well. George would be the exception as he has AS talent, but I think he also has the highest bust potential. I guess maybe you say if they are all complementary players at least go with a position of need, but to be honest there was no 5 that really fit the bill and I don't really consider the 4 a position of need (Sap, AK, Memo, etc.).

We'll see what happens. I've seen a lot of Mike Dunleavy Jr. comments, but Dunleavy always had the talent to be better than he's been. For most of his career he's been a 12-14ppg scorer, but a couple years ago he finally put together a season that was worthy of his talent (19/5/4 with good percentages all over the floor). And even at 12-14ppg, I'm fine with that at #9 in the draft. For some reason people thought we were picking much higher.

[MarkGrace]

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Watch the move at :11. The day he joins the team he could very well be the only wing on the roster with a go-to move. That play right there actually looked a lot like Deron's crossover step-back. Not as tight, but something to work with.

I'm finding silver linings everywhere.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...gordon-hayward

I bet he buys a place near the Canyon Racquet Club so he can play some classy tennis during his down time.

You and I are the exact opposite on this pick, I laughed it off on draft night and figured something would work out. I get more disturbed by the pick seemingly daily.