From The Dining Hall To The Penthouse

The 2009 NBA Draft was supposed to be more top heavy than Mariah Carey. The highlight for those who were attendance was Brandon Jennnigs crip walking onto the stage 20 minutes after he was selected. Blake Griffin was a sure thing, Rubio was the next Steve Nash and Stephen Curry was Reggie Miller with handle. But, outside of the top 7 or so, the draft was viewed as weak.

Fifty plus games into the 2009/2010 NBA season the bottom half of the draft class has proven the draft experts wrong. Darren Collison (21st overall), has stepped in for an injured Chris Paul and kept the Hornets in the playoff race. As a starter Collison has averaged 18 / 4 / 8 while still shooting 45% from the field. The speedy former Tar Heel, Ty Lawson (18th overall) was though to be too small to receive big time minutes at the NBA level. Similar to Collison, Lawson stepped in while Chauncey Billups was injured and averaged 17 / 3 / 6 to go along with an astounding 57% from the field.

Kings forward Omri Casspi (23rd overall) became the first Israeli to be selected in the first round. Casspi has shown a well developed skill set and will be a part of the Young Kings rebuilding project. To further his stardom he should take on a better nickname at some point, my vote would be for “The Israel-ity Show”, which is leaps and bounds better then his current “O.C” nickname.

Brandon Jennings (10th overall) captivated the league in the first half. Jennings exploded for a 55 point game in his first month but has tailed off of late. However, he did sport the sickest high top fade since the Fresh Prince. So, that clearly counts for something. Other rookies that have contributed thus far include PF Taj Gibson (26th overall) for the Chicago Bulls, PF DaJuan Blair (37th overall) for the San Antonio Spurs, F Jonas Jerebko (39th overall) for the Detroit Pistons and SG Marcus Thornton (43rd overall) for the New Orleans Hornets. There were some solid players waiting awhile for their name to be called.

As for the top half of the draft, Blake Griffin will miss the entire season due to the injury, Haseem Thabeet has found himself in the D-League and Ricky Rubio will never ever play for the Minnesota T-Wolves. But, dont worry! There are two potential all stars atop this rather deep draft class.

Tyreke Evans (4th overall) has consistently been good to great this season. So far this season he is averaging 20/ 5 / 6. He doesn’t seem to be a true point guard but has a similar game to Dwayne Wade. Tyreke plays well with the ball in his hands and can create shots for others, but also can score the basketball at a high level. At this point he seems to have Rookie of the Year honors all but locked up.

Nellie’s pet project Stephen Curry has emerged as the second best player in the 2009 draft class. Curry started slow while getting accustomed to the NBA game. But, Curry flourished while Monta Ellis was out of the lineup and has not looked back. Since the All Star break Curry has averaged 21/ 7 / 9 while shooting nearly 50% from the field. Stephen has shown that he can be a primary ball handler at the elite level.

This class will be judged on how Blake Griffin returns from injury and how Rubio’s game translates to wherever he lands in the NBA. There are always draft busts and its a bit too early to proclaim any player a bust, Thabeet cough cough. But, there are numerous players in this draft class that will be very successful NBA players for many years to come.