Yo fellow Jazz fanatics,
This is officially my first post. I'm one of the St. George friends of PKM (aka MR. Kentucky Bball!). Glad to be on board.
Just wanted to add a little blurb about Hayward. I was very upset we took a white guy in the draft (yes, I'll admit at times I'm a reverse racist when it comes to Jazz bball, and I know many of you are too). At the time of the draft, however, I actually would have been fine with Cole Aldrich....so maybe I just didn't want a guy who looks like me (tall, white, skinny).
But despite any thoughts I had then, I'm cautiously optimistic, for a few key reasons.
1) Despite the poor 3pt % for his Soph season, the previous season was still high, and his % was still high all tournament (telling me he's clutch). Being clutch is really his game and his reputation, so hopefully that continues. (I hope nobody brings up the last 2 shots he missed in the tournament, because one of them almost went down and the other was from half-court).
2) He surprisingly has a 34.5 inch Max Vertical jump. To give some perspective, Derrick Favors (known as best leaper in draft...besides Wall) has a 35.5 Max vertical, and Udoh is only 33.5. Wall is 39 inches, but he's just a freak of nature. So before we start calling G-time (his nickname in college) "unathletic", I think we should look at the facts. All of his other jumping and agility measurements were really good too. If you want the link, I can provide it.
3) He can create his own shot. Who have we had in the last 10 years that can create his own shot, besides Deron Williams? I'm hard pressed to find anyone. CJ is our best case I think, and I don't think even he has the range of craftiness and moves Hayward does. Whether he translates those skills to the NBA obviously still needs to be proven, but the more I hear people talk about how special he is, the more I get excited. Now I understand why none of the experts thought this was a bad pick, only Jazz fans (including myself) who were uninformed about him.
And one thought on Evans....these are his numbers when adjusted for 40 minutes of play.
15.3 Pts
10.5 Rbs
2.7 Blks
FG 65%
I say WOW! And he's a huge leaper, with a great motor and high bball IQ. Here's for hoping the Jazz stole another "diamond" in the 2nd Round!
Go Jazz!
