Jordan Hamilton

[gomretat]

40% from the college 3 point line doesn't sound all that impressive to me, but I could be wrong.
What have other good SGs done?

My sentiments exactly.

 

[Fakers Luck]

40% from the college 3 point line doesn't sound all that impressive to me, but I could be wrong.
What have other good SGs done?

Jimmer's shooting 41.1% compared to Hamilton's 40.7%. Not a big difference there, but 40% is respectable for a first option in the offense.

NCAA all-time leaders:

Player, School Pct
Tony Bennett, Green Bay 49.7
Stephen Sir, San Diego St./Northern Ariz 46.9
David Olson, Eastern Ill. 46.6
Jaycee Carroll, Utah St 46.5
Ross Land, Northern Ariz. 46.4
Dan Dickau, Washington/Gonzaga 46.2
Steve Novak, Marquette 46.1
Sean Jackson, Ohio/Princeton 46
Barry Booker, Vanderbilt 46
Kevin Booth, Mt. St. Mary's 45.9
Dave Calloway, Monmouth 45.9
Tony Ross, San Diego St. 45.8
Salim Stoudamire, Arizona 45.8
Jason Matthews, Pittsburgh 45.7
Corey Reed, Radford 45.5
Jim Barton, Dartmouth 45.5
Shawn Respert, Michigan St. 45.5
Kyle Korver, Creighton 45.3
Carlton Becton, N.C. A&T 45.2
Eric Channing, New Mexico St. 45.1
Pete Campbell, IPFW/Butler 45.1
Ray Allen, Connecticut 44.8
Curtis Shelton, Southeast Mo. St. 44.8
Jeff McCool, New Mexico St. 44.7
Jason Kapono, UCLA 44.6

Ray Allen, Korver and Kapono are the only ones of consequence. I'm still not on the Hamilton bandwagon, though. I still say you're better off with a guy who has the physical tools to defend and improve offensively than some one-dimensional shooter/scorer (which is what the Jazz like to draft).

 

[7StraightIsGreat]

Sure, he is getting his looks against better competition and within the flex, but I still think he’s just the type of offensively-gifted player the Utah Jazz (KOC) have selected in the first round.

From Kouf to Hayward, Almond to Pavlovic, there is definitely a trend of selecting scorers over pure athletes/defenders. With KOC’s track record with 1st rounders, maybe he should consider breaking the pattern and looking at a Chris Singleton type (tenacious defensive athlete with a raw, but improving offensive game).

I'm not trying to overlook Utah's obvious need for the EXACT type of player you are mentioning, and I believe it is KOC's duty to go out and find players like that with a few of these extra picks, but my biggest question for next season is: Were is the scoring going to come from?

Lock down defenders are nice if you can get them, but they mean little if you cannot score points. While I believe you can be an above average team by simply playing solid D, you cannot make a legit run at a championship unless you have offensive firepower to back that up.

A quick look at our 2012 line-up shows that we need to be looking for a scorer with that NJ pick.

PG- Devin Harris: He's quicker than D-Will, a better defender and might actually turn out to be a better leader. However, one area he comes waayyyy short of D-Will is his ability to score at will. I believe when healthy D-Will has that ability. Either way you slice it, we will be losing a few PPG from teh PG spot next year.

SG- Raja and CJ: Raja's done, I think we can all agree on that. CJ can give you 25 one night, and then disappear for the next 3 weeks. Championship teams get consistent scoring from the SG position. We are currently LIGHT YEARS behind the true Western Conference contenders in this area.

SF- AK and Hayward: We don't even know if AK comes back, but if he does he's never been a go-to scorer and he never will be. I still think Hayward will turn into a very nice role player, but again not a go-to scorer.

PF- Big Al, Millsap: I'm listing Big Al as a 4 because that's where he needs to start and I think that's where he'll be in 2012. With Big Al leading the way and Millsap once again coming off the bench, Utah will be set at the PF spot offensively. I'd also like to add that Jefferson has for the most part played his *** off on D. Sometimes he is just under sized for who he's playing. If Favors can live up to his potential and starts at the 5, Jefferson looks much better defensively with Favors behind him.

C- Favors: Even if Favors maxes out as a 15 PPG type of player that's fine. He has the length and defensive tenacity the Jazz have long coveted.

Again, "pure athletes/defenders" are a need for this team, but right now they have the makings of a pretty bad offensive team going into next season. Not only that, if this pick ends up around the Top 5, you go after a star. When you have a pick that high, you have to make it count.

 

[7StraightIsGreat]

While I'm still learning about Jordan Hamilton, I find it amusing that some are quick to dismiss him as a player who may be able to play defense at the next level. So far, most of the stuff I've read on him has him listed as a SG at the next level. If he is indeed quick enough to play the 2 in the NBA, at 6'7" he's going to have a height advantage on the majority of players he lines up against. Playing defense is more about mentality, as is the willingness to hustle. Who says that Hamilton doesn't have it in him at this point?

If defense is about "want to", then it's KOC's job to go out there and find talented offense players who have the "want to" needed to play defense at the next level. I'm of the opinion that offensive prowess is really something you can't coach a kid into. That's why I'd give guys like Hamilton a long look.

 

[Bird Dog]

40% from the college 3 point line doesn't sound all that impressive to me, but I could be wrong.
What have other good SGs done?

40% is actually pretty good.... Here's the college 3P% for a few notable NBA players:

Paul Pierce (Kansas 95-98) 3P%: 35.5%
Vince Carter (NC 95-98) 3P%: 36.8%
Jason Terry (U Ariz 95-99) 3P%: 37.4%
Richard Hamilton (UConn 96-99) 3P%: 37.8%
Mitch Richmond (Kansas St 86-88) 3P%: 41.3%
Reggie Miller (UCLA 86-87) 3P%: 43.9%
Jason Kapono (UCLA 99-03) 3P%: 44.6%
Michael Jordan (NC 81-84) 3P%: 44.7%
Ray Allen (UConn 93-96) 3P%: 44.8%

 

[prodigy]

Draft Express..

Hamilton's biggest strengths as an NBA prospect clearly revolve around his terrific scoring instincts and shot-making ability. He has NBA-plus range on his jumper, being absolutely deadly with his feet set, and showing a quick, compact release that allows him to catch the ball and get it off in one swift motion. He's shooting almost six 3-pointers a game but is making 43% of his attempts, despite the fact that opposing defenses are almost always geared toward stopping him.

Hamilton is nowhere near as effective shooting off the dribble, though, as his somewhat rigid, unorthodox shooting mechanics are much better suited for catching and shooting than they are for making pull-up jumpers, where he converts just 28% of his attempts.

As a slasher, Hamilton is a mixed bag at this point, as evidenced by his somewhat underwhelming percentages scoring inside the arc over the past two seasons. An improvable ball-handler, Hamilton doesn't do a great job of creating high percentage shots for himself around the basket or in the mid-range area on a consistent basis.

Showing just an average first step, he struggles to fully beat his man off the dribble at times, instead just trying to power his way through the defense. Even when well-defended, he's liable to force a bad shot in these situations, leading to some very tough looks with a hand in his face.
.
.
.
The NBA coach whose team ends up picking him will likely need to accept that he's going to take some bad shots every night, some of which will go in.
.
.

Probably the weakest aspect of Hamilton's game right now is his defensive presence. His fundamentals are extremely poor, as he regularly bites on pump-fakes, gambles for steals, falls down mid-possession, and is very upright in his stance, making it easy for opponents to blow by him. His lateral quickness looks average at best, and his intensity level isn't very high to compensate for that, as he just isn't physical enough, and doesn't seem to take very much pride in shutting down his man.

pass

 

[Fakers Luck]

I'm not trying to overlook Utah's obvious need for the EXACT type of player you are mentioning, and I believe it is KOC's duty to go out and find players like that with a few of these extra picks, but my biggest question for next season is: Were is the scoring going to come from?

I couldn't agree more, jazzman, but the Jazz have to get a player who can actually make this team and be a player in the league. If the Jazz settle for need rather than BPA, I guarantee we’ll look back in 5 years and say “so-and-so would have been a better pick because he’s still in the league”. The Nets pick absolutely has to hit a home run because we don’t get many chances to draft that high. If the Jazz don’t make the playoffs, they still need to take someone with their own pick who’ll be in the league in 5 years, unlike many of their past selections.

If a guy proves he belongs in the league (weather he can shoot well or not), he’s at least a valuable asset (see Ronnie Brewer) who could be traded. The Jazz always draft for positional need, though, and it’s always for the guy who has a more polished offensive game (except for Brewer, but they had to take him by default because he should have been drafted much higher). My expectations are low based on past practices.

 

[prodigy]

He sounds like a slightly larger version of Mo Almond (can score, but not a defender), so yes, he's the type of player the Jazz would draft.

Actually Mo Almond was a much more efficient scorer in college than this kid is. But I get your point.

 

[NAOS]

let me make a quick case for Hayward becoming the kind of player that most of you are conjuring with your dreams for a SG. --Note, I know we need an SG in the worst way, but bear with me.

If you look at the way a PG like Harris breaks down the defense, then you'll see that there are going to be defenders collapsing and thus giving perimeter players a good look at a set 3pt shot. The dangerous combination comes when you have a player that is respected enough from deep that the defender will mad-rush to correct for his collapse, allowing the offensive player to make him pay for this correction by putting the ball on the floor and propagating the flaw in the defense. Manu Ginobili is the master of this process; Parker is Dr. Speed. I think this is exactly the role for which we drafted Hayward. HE is the second perimeter guy to catch the ball and shoot or dribble. I think he can become a 37-40% 3pt shooter if he is committed, and he damn well better be because his career depends on it.

Now, what we need is TWO more wings that can roam around and wait for Hayward's pass back out to the perimeter and shoot it with near 40% accuracy. They don't need to have driving skills immediately, IMO, so this Texas kid could work fine until he figures it out.

While I didn't watch the Nets during Harris's breakout year, it is worth noting that he was playing with Carter at the wing, who possessed a skill set similar to the one I'm describing.

 

[NAOS]

Bad shooting night for the kid last night. But, he did pull down 9 boards.