I'll disagree in that I don't think Jrue Holliday amounts to anything. Too much is said of athleticism and potential and not enough about heart, leadership, production, and character.
Jrue has tons of heart, leadership and character. As much as any PG in this draft, actually. Very hard worker and very high bball IQ. Unselfish to a fault. And his athleticism's very underrated. He's not the top-level run-jump athlete, he's not going to dunk over top of people, but he's very quick with a good first step and moves well laterally. Of players drafted in the top 30, he had the second best time in the agility portion of the pre-draft combine.
Combine that with being 6'4", an 8.45" standing reach, and a 6'7" wingspan, and you have one heck of an overall athlete.
Had Jrue played:
1) at a system better suited for him
2) His natural PG position
his production would have been worlds better, and he would have been a top-8 pick guaranteed.
Jrue is a true pg. he's not a combo guard. he has a pass-first mentality, he is most productive playing point guard, he wants to play point guard, and he's always played point guard. he played off the ball this year not because it best suited him, but because that's what he was asked to do for the team. There's a reason he was the #2 rated point guard in the entire nation after high school.
he's also the 2nd youngest player in the draft, having turned 19 literally like 2 weeks before the draft.
8.5 ppg playing out of position all year, playing at 18 years old the entire year, isn't poor in the production department. Take a look at what Deron Williams averaged as a freshman (playing his natural position).
I just don't believe he will be a big time player. It seems to me that much of the evaluation of him comes as a result of the 6 OT game. I have heard that reference over and over. He may have been otherworldly in that game, but one game doesn't make a star.
Disagree. Flynn's the closest thing to a complete point guard in this draft. Getting in the paint, setting up his teammates, playing the pick and roll, midrange shot, defense, leadership, athlete, hard working. His height's the only thing that doesn't make him a lock. It's just very hard for a 6 foot nothing pg to transfer his defense over to the NBA, regardless of how good he is laterally or technique wise.