Point Guard Derrick Rose was the number one draft pick this year and is making a strong case at Rookie of the Year by averaging 17/4/5 in a supposedly crowded Chicago backcourt. Behind him came point guards Russell Westbrook and Jerryd Bayless, who both dominated their respective summer leagues. Even D.J. Augustin has started to contribute while sharing the 1-spot with Raymond Felton. Yet next summer's draft could be the most stacked class of point guards since 2005, when Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Felton went 3-4-5 and Monta Ellis and Louis Williams got snagged in the second round.
At the top of 2009's point guard mountain stand the Euroleaguers, Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings. The December 11 meeting of Rubio's DKV Joventut and Jenning's Virtus Roma should be epic, if only for the sheer number of NBA scouts who'll be present (what'll also be epic is the the dump I'll be taking into the paper bag I send my local Comcast office for not allowing me access to ESPN360 to watch the game). Yet Jennings is still struggling to make an impact in the nascent Italian League season, while Rubio hasn't played at all yet after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his wrist.
Meanwhile the NCAA season is tipping off here on the other side of the pond, and a whole new crop of point guards are setting out to make their cases for the NBA. One to keep an eye on is Patrick Mills, the lightning backfielder from Australia via Saint Mary's. He led Saint Mary's last year with 14.8 points and 3.5 assists, carrying the Gaels to the first round of the NCAA tournament. However, this summer in Beijing was when Mills really padded his resume, leading the Australian Olympic basketball team with 14.2 points in 23.5 minutes. Not only did he score efficiently (47% FG, 36% 3PT, 83% FT), he also took care of the ball, averaging only one turnover to two assists and two steals per game.
\n
\n\n","tags":[{"name":"NCAA","ancestors":[],"permalink":"ncaa","taggings_count":25659,"type":"Sport","id":10,"synonyms":"","parent_id":null,"newsletter_enabled":false},{"name":"NBA","ancestors":[{"start_date":null,"permalink":"basketball","name":"Basketball","cached_public_filename":null,"default":true,"with_tag2_id":null,"pa_id":null,"loc_tag_id":null,"in_tag1_id":null,"with_tag1_id":null,"taggings_count":15997,"parent_name":"","lft":4125,"autotaggable":false,"id":7,"admin_only":false,"short_name":null,"children_count":6,"rgt":5468,"position":6,"parent_id":null,"redirect":null,"created_at":null,"active":true}],"permalink":"nba","taggings_count":35139,"type":"League","id":19,"synonyms":"","parent_id":7,"newsletter_enabled":true},{"name":"Patrick Mills","ancestors":[],"permalink":"patrick-mills","taggings_count":15,"type":"Person","id":4840,"synonyms":"","parent_id":null,"newsletter_enabled":false}],"author":{"cached_public_filename":"http://cdn.bleacherreport.com/images_root/user_pictures/0002/9706/chenstache.jpg","permalink":"23014-chendaddy","is_campus_voice":false,"is_a_bozo":false,"on_probation":null,"is_facebook_user":false,"id":23014,"first_name":"Chendaddy","last_name":"","is_columnist":false},"priority":3,"feed_article_url":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2072493308878571144&postID=6641032835468210294","has_been_star_rated":false,"user_approval":2,"id":80416,"show_full":false,"render_strategy":"article","hit_count":101,"author_id":23014,"comments_count":0,"teaser":"Point Guard Derrick Rose was the number one draft pick this year and is making a strong case at Rookie of the Year by averaging 17/4/5 in a supposedly crowded Chicago backcourt...","created_at":"2008/11/11 13:02:00 -0500"});
\n\n","tags":[{"name":"NCAA","ancestors":[],"permalink":"ncaa","taggings_count":25659,"type":"Sport","id":10,"synonyms":"","parent_id":null,"newsletter_enabled":false},{"name":"NBA","ancestors":[{"start_date":null,"permalink":"basketball","name":"Basketball","cached_public_filename":null,"default":true,"with_tag2_id":null,"pa_id":null,"loc_tag_id":null,"in_tag1_id":null,"with_tag1_id":null,"taggings_count":15997,"parent_name":"","lft":4125,"autotaggable":false,"id":7,"admin_only":false,"short_name":null,"children_count":6,"rgt":5468,"position":6,"parent_id":null,"redirect":null,"created_at":null,"active":true}],"permalink":"nba","taggings_count":35139,"type":"League","id":19,"synonyms":"","parent_id":7,"newsletter_enabled":true},{"name":"Patrick Mills","ancestors":[],"permalink":"patrick-mills","taggings_count":15,"type":"Person","id":4840,"synonyms":"","parent_id":null,"newsletter_enabled":false}],"author":{"cached_public_filename":"http://cdn.bleacherreport.com/images_root/user_pictures/0002/9706/chenstache.jpg","permalink":"23014-chendaddy","is_campus_voice":false,"is_a_bozo":false,"on_probation":null,"is_facebook_user":false,"id":23014,"first_name":"Chendaddy","last_name":"","is_columnist":false},"priority":3,"feed_article_url":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2072493308878571144&postID=6641032835468210294","has_been_star_rated":false,"user_approval":2,"id":80416,"show_full":false,"render_strategy":"article","hit_count":101,"author_id":23014,"comments_count":0,"teaser":"Point Guard Derrick Rose was the number one draft pick this year and is making a strong case at Rookie of the Year by averaging 17/4/5 in a supposedly crowded Chicago backcourt...","created_at":"2008/11/11 13:02:00 -0500"});
Happy St. Patty's Day: Saint Mary's Patrick Mills
This article is also featured on
The NBA from the Cheap Seats
We're going to send you the most entertaining NBA articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
(0)
101
reads
0
comments
0
likes
written on November 11, 2008 Sports
0 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete