Howland on the draft
Here is what UCLA coach Ben Howland had to say about Jrue Holiday and Darren Collison being drafted:
UCLA head coach Ben Howland
on how high/low in the draft Holiday would be selected
"Seventeen is not a bad place to be. There are a lot of things that have to take place. Every team is looking for different things. He had been projected to be as high as eight down to about 15. Philadelphia is a great franchise. Ed Stefanski, the team's general manager, is really good. Eddie Jordan is a great coach, so Jrue is in a great situation in a nice town with good history for basketball. Andre Miller is an unrestricted free agent, so he may or may not be back. I think that he [Jrue] could be in a situation where he could play a lot.
on Holiday's draft selection
"The difference between 14 and 17 is probably negligible. The great thing for Jrue is that he's with a great franchise. He's in a great situation. They've got a pretty good team. They had good pieces, and they've got good young talent. For a point guard to have a lot of talent, that's a dream situation."
on how high/low in the draft Collison would be selected
"He never really knew where he was going to go. New Orleans showed great interest in him. No one in his family is surprised. Byron Scott called them multiple times today. They wanted to have a guy to come in there - they only have one point guard, obviously he is a great player, maybe the best point guard in the league. Darren is going to be in a great situation in the league, playing for an outstanding coach in Byron Scott and playing behind maybe the best point guard in the NBA. I'm really happy for both these kids and just real excited for them. It's a great situation for Darren.
on amount of playing time next season
"They are counting on him. That 82-game schedule - 48 minutes a night - I think Darren is going to end up playing a fair amount of minutes each night. They can play them [Darren Collison and Chris Paul] together . Darren is going to have a long NBA career. He's playing for a great coach. Byron Scott has been the NBA Coach of the Year at least once, maybe twice. He understands the game. It's a good system to be in. They've got great players around him - guys like [Peja] Stojakovic and [David] West. Obviously their starting point guard is a great, great player."
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About Inside UCLA
This is Brian Dohn's sixth season covering UCLA after spending 4 1/2 years covering the Dodgers for the Daily News and other Los Angeles Newspaper Group papers. He graduated from Rutgers, where the first college football game was played in 1869. Sure, the Scarlet Knights suffered for a long time, but now RU is doing what Jerseyans always thought was possible. Winning at Rutgers also proves winning is possible everywhere else in the nation, so underachieving coaches better be careful. Now, if only men's hoops can turn it around.
The diff between 14 and 17 is nothing 3, 4, 7 years down the line. But Jrue went in hoping to be a lottery, so RIGHT NOW the difference is a lot.
really, one more year would have meant millions.
two things about jrue:
1. why did he go to ucla knowing collison was going to be given the point? doubt howland told him he would start over collison. knowing how our season played out, jrue didn't really contribute to the season playing off guard, which didn't give him a good year to display his potential. he could've gone to any other school, started as point, and displayed his true potential.
2. jrue did go to ucla, so why didn't he stay another year to be ucla's point, display his true potential and get selected much higher next year? yes he would give up one year of salary, but as a top point pick in next years draft, he would have easily made up for the time value of money.
Jrue was one of the biggest busts in UCLA history we all knew if he would of stayed another year he would be a top 3 pick but was too selfish and fell to a mid round pick haha
I still don't understand how Holiday was drafted at all. He basically did very little in his one season at UCLA. I guess the big thing in the NBA is to draft a player based on their "potential", whatever that means. IMO, if Holiday would have stayed at UCLA another year, started at PG and played up to his high school hype he could have been a high lottery pick in the 2010 NBA draft. I think that the 76ers are taking a big risk by using their #1 draft pick on an unproven player like Holiday. BTW, I am a UCLA alum and fan who has a share of season tix to UCLA men's basketball games and my intent is not to bash Holiday.
I don't think Jrue came in expecting Collison to still be there. Collison was a guy who could have entered the draft after his sophomore or junior seasons. The fact that he returned for his senior season surprised a lot of people.
Also, some of you guys are way too hard on this kid. It's not like he owes UCLA some huge debt that can only be repaid by devoting four years of his life to the basketball team. He came in, played a year, (which he would have done anywhere) and contributed to the team. He started for the team and did a good job for a freshman. Not everyone is Kevin Love.
you guys are ridiculous. jrue was a total bust for UCLA. but if you deny his potential and say he didn't do anything and then turn around and say if he came back, he would be a stud, then you're nothing but sour grapes. he made his bed, let's see how he sleeps.