NBA Draft: Is Jan Vesely Poised To Be the 2011 Class's Most Exciting Player?
Leading up to the NBA draft, a few guys outside of the obvious top two prospects grabbed everyone's attention—an uber athlete who apparently missed the lay up portion of basketball training, an undersized three-point specialist who will never defend his position and an exciting point guard who needs a booster seat to see over his steering wheel.
Sure, the draft may have had some nice pieces, but every team ecstatic about their haul from the draft may need to temper their expectations a bit. Well, perhaps everyone except for the Wizards. As the world learned when Jan Vesely stood up to meet David Stern at the podium, Vesely does not mess around.
Like nearly every elite player in the NBA, Vesely has a confidence about him, a cockiness that he exudes when he's both on the floor and off it. After hearing the claims that he is like the "European Blake Griffin," Vesely retorted to ESPN's Mark Jones that he thinks "Blake Griffin is the American Jan Vesely."
Ordinarily, that kind of cockiness in a young player who hasn't proven anything in the NBA would be worrisome, as selfishness in high draft picks can torpedo a player's chemistry with his team and his coaches. However, while Vesely walks and talks with confidence, he not only lacks the reputation as someone only out for himself, he in fact is apparently a great teammate.
From his ability to pump up his teammates before games to his excellent post passing, he has quietly garnered a strong reputation as a great locker room guy. On a team full of players with questionable attitudes, his focus and drive and vocal style will be welcome. At just 21 years old, nobody is expecting him to be a leader, but having strong presences like Vesely in the clubhouse is huge for every team.
Oh, and perhaps his cockiness isn't unfounded. While he lacks a consistent jumper, Vesely had one of the more diversified games in the draft. His incredible acrobatics have been well documented, but he's a highly underrated post operator who should learn how to exploit his opponents at the next level.
Simply put, he's a bad ass who knows he's a bad ass. There's nothing wrong with that, and that confidence paired with mental toughness and aggressiveness on both sides of the ball will add a lot to a fairly dysfunctional team.
Who knows? Maybe Vesely's all-out mentality will carry over to his teammates Javale McGee and Andray Blatche. Okay, that's maybe a little too much to ask from a rookie (in fact, it's a lot too much to ask from a rookie).
