10 Sophomores to Watch this Season

The 2009 NBA Draft Class had been predicted to be quite weak, but it has so far defied all expectations, showing both star quality and incredible depth. 

On one hand, lottery point guards Evans, Curry, and Jennings have already emerged as possible franchise stars, while on the other, undrafted West Matthews has already netted an unbelievable $35m contract. And No. 1 pick Blake Griffin hasn’t even played a minute yet.

This slideshow looks at the sophomores who could have defining seasons for their teams. You won’t see any of the All-Rookie First Team here, this is about looking at players who we weren’t talking about much at the end of last season, but who we will be talking about at the end of this one.

Players who need no mention

The following players are sophomores who everybody already expects to have great seasons

Tyreke Evans – Sacramento Kings – Needs no introduction. Reigning RoY who is only the fourth every rookie to post 20-5-5. Expect him to make a serious all star push.

Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors – Was the best rookie in the second half of the season. Will have the highest ppg of any sophomore in Nelson’s up-tempo offense.

Brandon Jennings – Milwaukee Bucks – Brief taste of the playoffs will increase his maturity. Expect him to help the team push for a top 4 spot in the Eastern Conference.

Darren Collison – Indiana Pacers – Great trade for young Collison. Had a stunning season in New Orleans learning from Chris Paul and now goes into a reasonably talented Pacers team with no pressure.

Taj Gibson – Chicago Bulls – Strong rookie season; expect him to form a formidable three man rotation with Boozer and Noah.

Marcus Thornton – New Orleans Hornets – Defied all expectations and was surely the steal of the draft. The highlight was surely his 23 points in one quarter. Should be a starter this year.

Wes Matthews – Portland Trailblazers – Was a brilliant pickup for the Utah Jazz who were able to start him in the playoffs. Has signed an unprecedentedly large contract with Portland though so will be under pressure to deliver.

Blake Griffin – Los Angeles Clippers – Hasn’t played a minute yet but everyone expects the No. 1 pick to be a stud. Slots into a nicely balanced Clippers team with a gaping hole at power forward. Could assume the role of leader from day one. (NB. Griffin will be a rookie next year but I thought he was worth mentioning nonetheless)

James Harden

Oklahoma City Thunder

2009/10 - 9.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.8 apg

The Thunder had a stunning season last year, becoming the darlings of the league and racking up 27 more wins than the season before. The main reason for this is their strong young core of Durant, Westbrook and Green, who are the main players in a long list of successful draft picks by the team in the last few years.

Harden may not have garnered the same praise as some of the other guards in the 2009 Class, but he had a strong season as the 4th option for the Thunder. His coaches regularly praised his work ethic and maturity, noting that despite being a 6th man shooting guard with no pressure on himself, he was always willing to pass instead of shoot or to take on ball handling duties.

Harden seems to fit in perfectly and we could soon see him become as important as the core 3 players. He's a great shooter, good defender, and he showed that he can give you 20 points off the bench. He doesn't demand the ball, so won't disrupt Durant or Westbrook, who are the main offensive options.

The future seems incredibly bright for the Thunder and Harden looks like he could be an excellent complimentary piece. Expect him to strongly challenge Sefolosha for a starting spot this season and to average 15 ppg.

DeJuan Blair

San Antonio Spurs

2009/10 – 7.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg

Blair was instantly declared as the steal of the draft as soon as he was drafted, leading many to question how he fell so far. Of course there were health questions about his ACL’s (which have largely proved unfounded, since he played all 82 games last year) but he’d have been a lottery pick otherwise, so its amazing that he fell out of the first round and into the Spurs’ lap.

His nickname in college was ‘The Space Eater’, because he was so dominant at grabbing rebounds, and he lived up to that nickname with an impressive rookie season. Unbelievably, he produced 20-20 games twice in the season, as well as in the Rookie-Sophomore challenge, which is pretty unprecedented for a rookie, especially one who wasn’t drafted in the lottery.

The only thing that has held him back so far is the lack of minutes he’s been given due to the Spurs’ depth. But he seems to have always stepped up when given the chance so far, and so with one year under his belt, expect him to start more games this year and to be come a full role player, getting 30 minutes per game.

If given this chance, it’s hard to see him not pulling down at least 10 rebounds per game, and if he can add a little more polish to his offense, he could become a formidable double-double threat.

Terrence Williams

New Jersey Nets

2009/10 – 8.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.9 apg

T-Will was an enigma after being drafted by the Nets. He could become a triple double threat every night with his freakish athleticism and diverse skill set. Or he could be an ineffective role player who struggled to adapt to the NBA game.

In the first half of the season, he struggled to make an impact and had off-court maturity & conditioning issues which hampered his progress. That said, it must have been hard for a rookie to be playing on a team which set the record for most games lost at the start of the season.

But by the end of the season, he was becoming more consistent, making much better decisions, and he recorded his first ever triple double against the Bulls. With the Nets in rebuilding mode, Williams should get a lot more chance to shine and may be moved from small forward to be the starting shooting guard now that Lee has been traded away.

Williams may end up frustrating fans next year showing only glimpses of the talent he has, or he could start living up to his promise and become part of the exciting young core of the team with Favors and Lopez.

Rodrigue Beaubois

Dallas Mavericks

2009/10 – 7.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.3 apg

Beaubois, the lightning quick French point guard, proved to be an excellent pick for Dallas last year. He first impressed in Summer League and proved to be a great impact player off the bench. But his highlight of the season was undoubtedly the 40 points he scored against the Warriors, raining down 9 three pointers in the game.

In the games that followed however, his shooting was wayward and he was anonymous in some games, which is perhaps why he only averaged 12 minutes per game. Mark Cuban has nonetheless stressed how important he is to the future of the team and he looks set to take over point guard duties once Jason Kidd leaves the team.

Expect more of the same from Beaubois next season, except with more opportunities and more minutes. He could become a legitimate sixth man of the year contender, especially if he improves his shot selection.

Jrue Holiday

Philaelphia 76ers

2009/10 - 8 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.6 rpg

Holiday was the last rookie drafted out of the green room, slipping from an expected 10^th pick by the Bucks to 17^th pick by the 76ers. The quick guard, who was last season’s youngest player, started the season slowly, although he was able to show glimpses of his ability when he became a starter ahead of Lou Williams.

He was one of the top performers in this year’s summer league, showing good team leadership and added maturity. The young 76ers aren’t built to make the playoffs this year so he should be given a lot of time to form a solid backcourt relationship with Evan Turner.

This could be a make or break season for Holiday, defining whether he establishes himself as the starting point guard, or ends up being benched in favour of the returning Lou Williams.

Ty Lawson

Denver Nuggets

2009/10 – 8.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.1 apg

Like many of the other point guards from the 2009 draft, Lawson is small and lightning quick. He was traded to the Nuggets on draft day to backup Chauncey Billups but was given a lot of opportunities to impress throughout the season.

Despite his size, he showed surprising dominance when driving to the rim, using his speed and athleticism to produce highlight reel plays. He was unlucky not to sneak into the All Rookie Second Team and though he won’t usurp Billups as a starter, expect him to be given more minutes and more chances to score lots of impact points.

Chase Budinger

Houston Rockets

2009/10 – 8.9 ppg, 3 rpg, 1.2 apg

Despite being co-MVP of the McDonalds All American game (with Kevin Durant) after High School, and having a solid college career (averaging 18 ppg & 6 rpg in his final season), Budinger was the 44^th pick in the draft. It was amazing that a player who would at the very least be a solid role player in the NBA could fall so far in the draft.

Expect Budinger to continue where he left off last season as a solid bench player in a deep Rockets squad. He scored 24 points in two different games towards the end of the season and saw his minutes steadily increase as he was played at both shooting guard and small forward.

Now that Trevor Ariza has been traded away, the starting small forward spot is up for grabs so expect Budinger to step up his production.

Omri Casspi

Sacramento Kings

2009/10 – 10.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg

Israeli small forward Omri Casspi got a lot of publicity when the Sacramento Kings drafted him, especially after he emerged as one of the best rookies in the first half of the season. He became starting small forward and was a legitimate threat to score 20 points on a night.

But all of the media attention about him being the first Israeli to play in the league contributed to his decline as the season went on, with him losing his starting spot as his scoring average decreased. It’s not surprising that the rookie burned out after such a promising start but he’ll certainly look to start this season as he started the last one.

Expect him to start at small forward again, bringing his trademark aggressiveness and hustle play. He could have a great season, nailing down the starting spot, or he could slip into anonymity again and struggle to crack the rotation.

Serge Ibaka

Oklahoma City Thunder

2009/10 – 6.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg

Air Congo came to Oklahoma City at the start of last season and barely spoke any English. He was an incredible athletic specimen but had a raw skill set and it was questionable how much production the Thunder could get out of him.

Ibaka however played to his strengths, bringing excellent energy and intensity to his defense and rebounding. He led rookies with 1.3 blocks per game and got 7 blocks in game 2 of the playoffs against the LA Lakers.

Ibaka is in a brilliant position to develop playing for the Thunder, and could prove to be one of their most astute draft picks. He’ll come off the bench to backup both power forward and center, and his excellent defensive traits will ensure that he gets lots of minutes.

At the very least, he’ll be part of the rotation but, if he can improve his offense and continue to gel with the team, he could soon threaten Jeff Green’s starting spot. Expect his points, rebounds & blocks per game averages to increase as he starts to become a double-double threat.

Reggie Williams

Golden State Warriors

2009/10 – 15.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg

Reggie Williams is the most speculative inclusion into this list, but like Wes Matthews, he could go on to become an undrafted star. After starting the season in the D-League, he was called up by the Warriors and was extended to the end of the season.

His averages speak for themself. He may have only played in the latter third of the season but Williams had multiple 20 point games and gelled well with the backcourt of Ellis & Curry. His averages obviously look good after playing in Nelson’s up-tempo offense but they are also a reflection of his excellent work rate and determination.

It’s hard to predict what will happen next season. He could be a starter for the Warriors, particularly with both Morrow & Maggette gone, or he could slip back into being a bench player and not see many minutes. But he still has a lot to prove if he’s to get a big contract so expect to play with his heart on his sleeve when given the chance.

Players who didn't make the list

Jonny Flynn – Minnesota Timberwolves – Made it into the All Rookie Second Team but struggled on a weak Timberwolves team with Rambis’ triangle offence. Being injured doesn’t help for the start of the season and he may struggle to take the starter role from Luke Ridnour, while also looking over his shoulder at next seasons arrival of Rubio.

Jonas Jerekbo – Detroit Pistons – Had a good solid season, also making the All Rookie Second Team and drawing plaudits around the league for his dedication. But it is questionable how much star quality he has and how much he will improve this year.

Hasheem Thabeet – Memphis Grizzlies - May not be the utter disaster he appeared to be in the first half of the season but still looks likely to be a drat bust.

Jordan Hill – Showed glimpses of quality after his trade to the Rockets but will struggle to see playing time next season behind a stacked frontcourt.

DeMar DeRozan – Toronto Raptors – Had a good summer league but was ineffective last season, relying too much on his athleticism. Doubtful whether he can ever be a go to guy on the team.

Tyler Hansbrough – Indiana Pacers – They have a glaring space for him to fill at Power Forward, but his publicised problems with vertigo are a huge limiting factor.

Byron Mullens – Oklahoma City Thunder – After an anonymous rookie season, he had a good summer league but he’ll struggle to get minutes next season.

Toney Douglas – New York Knicks – Had some eye-catching games and will have little pressure on him this season. Could emerge as a useful role player in the Knicks’ rebuilding efforts.