NBA Draft Prospects: Jonny Flynn, Syracuse

Stats: 17.4 ppg, 6.7 apg, 1.4 spg, 3.4 t/o's, 46% FG, 31.7% 3PT, 78.6% FT

Listed Size: 6'0", 172 lb, 2/6/1989, (20 years old)

(photo credit: Zimbio)

About Him: Jonny Flynn is an extremely talented basketball player, but before talking about anything he can do on the court, you have to talk about the intangibles Flynn brings to the table. When you are picking a point guard, maybe the most important trait you look for is if the kid is a winner and a leader. That is Flynn to a T. He is as tough of a competitor and plays with more heart than anyone at the point in recent memory. If the fact that he played damn near every minute as a freshman isn't enough, go back and watch highlights from the Big East Tournament. He carried Syracuse to a six OT win over UConn (when the Orange didn't lead until the sixth OT), then beat WVU in OT the next night.

Flynn's biggest strength as a player is his 1-on-1 ability. He has a combination of explosive athleticism and great handle that makes him so difficult to stay in front of. He is able to get to the rim just about anytime that he wants too. He is a decent finisher at the rim, but at times struggled to finish against bigger defenders inside, which could be an issue at the next level. He was great at getting to the foul line, however, drawing a foul on 16.1% of his possessions used.

As a jumpshooter, Flynn is tough to project simply because of the difficulty of the shots he took. He had good PPP numbers of his catch-and-shoot (1.24) and pull-up (.92) opportunities, but he was just a 31.7% shooter from deep (although, Synergy Sports said that less than a fifth of the threes he attempted were when he was left open and off of the catch, meaning more than 80% of he three-balls were shot off the dribble, with a hand in his face, or both). He has a good looking form and gets great elevation on his shot, so the odds are good that he can become a threat from the NBA three point line.


The biggest knock on Flynn offensively is that he is not a great decision maker. He would settle for tough shots early in the shot clock far too often, would look to get bailed out by the refs on drives to the rim, and had a tendency to try and make the pass that would get on Sportscenter's Top 10 as opposed to the smart, easy one. As a result, he made a lot of gorgeous plays, but also had a high turnover rate.

To be fair, Syracuse relied heavily on Flynn's ability to create, which probably factored a lot into how much he forced things on the offensive end.

Defensively, Flynn has the tools to be a pest. His size (5'11", but with a 6'4" wingspan) means that he will only be able to defend point guards, but he is a phenomenal athlete (40" vert was the highest in this year's class) which means that he could be a good defender at the next level. But he wasn't a great defender at Syracuse. While he did come up with some big plays, overall he looked a bit disinterested defensively at times. Some of that can be attributed to Syracuse playing a lot of zone, which Flynn was not a big fan of. If you have the athleticism, defense becomes all about effort. Will Flynn work hard enough to be a good defender at the next level?

Comparisons: Best Case: Bobby Jackson, more athletic Earl Watson; Worst Case: Omar Cook.

Bottom Line: Flynn has proven the ability to be a leader, to knock down clutch shots, and that he has the heart of a lion. Combine that with his 1-on-1 scoring ability, and Flynn is pretty high on a lot of draft boards, maybe even surpassing Brandon Jennings as the third PG (behind Rubio and Evans). Whether or not he is a starter or a spark plug off the bench (think Bobby Jackson with the Kings) will be determined by how much his all around game (jumper, defense, decision making) develops and the team he is playing for. At the very least, he projects as a high-quality reserve.

Highlights:





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Who will be next season's Public Enemy #1?

Greg Paulus graduated. So did Tyler Hansbrough. Steph Curry has entered the draft and signed with an agent.

Now comes news that Eric Devendorf, the guy that every loved to hate, has officially signed with an agent, ending his collegiate career.

Eric Devendorf has signed with an agent.
(photo credit: USA Today)

The Orange, who reached the Sweet 16 as a #3 seed after making a run to the Big East tournament finals, were an early Final Four favorite in 2010. They had everyone of significance coming back, plus they were adding wing Wesley Johnson (a transfer from Iowa State that tore up Syracuse practices this season).

But then a weird thing happened. Jim Boeheim all but ushered his top three scorers out the door. He "recommended" that Jonny Flynn enter the draft, and essentially forced Devo and Harris to leave school.

Flynn made a good decision to leave. With so many potential first rounders pulling out of the draft, Flynn has an outside chance of sneaking into the lottery, and is pretty much a first round lock.

To be honest, I think Devo was gone regardless. He graduated this past year (he was a junior in basketball terms because he missed a season with a knee injury), has a kid, and couldn't seem to keep himself out of trouble. Devo is a long shot to be a first round pick, and there is a good chance that he goes undrafted on June 25th. He is not big, strong or quick enough to play in the NBA, and while he is an excellent shooter (especially in the clutch) and solid playmaker, he won't be able to defend NBA wings. But his game (if not his attitude) is perfectly suited for Europe, and I would expect him to make a nice living over there for years.

The curious one is Harris. Most people expected him to be a one-and-done guy coming out of high school, but playing in the Big East really exposed Harris's weaknesses. While he is an excellent athlete, aggressive on the glass, and a solid defender, he is only 6'5" and lacks the handle or the jumper to play the perimeter in the league and he is a terrible decision maker. He really could have used another season to hone his skills.

So why did Boeheim show these guys the door?

Well, for starters they needed the scholarship space for their incoming class (and for Johnson).

But more than that, it just seems that Boeheim never really liked this group, especially Harris. According to Andy Katz, after the season, Boeheim didn't hear from Harris, who was in the coach's doghouse for much of the second half of the season, for three weeks. Boeheim also gave this quote to Katz:

We lost three starters but I'll take Wesley Johnson over Paul Harris and Andy Rautins over Eric Devendorf. In some ways, Triche will be better for us. He's really good.

While Boeheim may be correct, I don't think I would want to stay and play for a coach that has no qualms with blasting his former players in the media like that.

The Orange should, however, still compete atop the Big East next season. They return an excellent front line with Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson and Rautins was really impressive down the stretch last season as more than just a shooter. If Triche and Johnson can come in and be as good as Boeheim is saying they are, don't be surprised if this Cuse team makes another Sweet 16 trip.
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Syracuse Orange: Without a sure-fire lottery pick on their roster, the Syracuse Orange have been one of the trendy picks for 2009-2010 NCAA champion. I mean, they made it to the finals of the Big East tournament and reached the Sweet 16 of this NCAA tournament this season.

But just because you aren't projected as a lottery pick doesn't mean you won't declare for the draft.

Earlier this week, news came out that Jonny Flynn, Jim Boeheim's stud point guard, would be declaring for the NBA Draft, although he won't be signing with an agent. This makes sense for him as most have him going somewhere in the middle of the first round. Hell, Boeheim even pushed him to leave.

(photo credit: Syracuse.com)

Thursday, reports started to trickle out that Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris would also be declaring for the draft, but they would, in fact, be signing with an agent.

As far as academics are concerned, Devo is a senior and is on track to graduate in May (for all the negative things said about him, Devo managed to graduate from Syracuse in four years - how many college hoopers can say that?), although he does have one year of eligibility remaining. With everything he has gone through in his four years at Syracuse, and given the fact that he has a daughter, can you really blame the guy for wanting to get out and start making some money? I doubt he is cut out for the NBA (simply just not athletic enough), he is a smart basketball player with a great jump shot. I'd be willing to bet he heads to Europe and makes six figures.

Paul Harris is a different story. Harris has a shot at turning himself into a first rounder. He has the body and the athleticism to be a good small forward in the NBA if he can get his jump shot and handle to NBA caliber. But Harris and Boeheim seemed to be feuding a bit at the end of the season. Harris put up some great numbers, but never was a good decision maker. It seemed like, at some point, Boeheim became fed up with it and began yanking Harris from the game early and often.

Regardless of the reasoning, Syracuse stands to lose their three best players from last season's team. You can end all that national title talk now.
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Jonny Flynn to test the Draft

Jonny Flynn has entered the NBA Draft.

Not all that much of a surprise. He was one of the best point guards in the country this past season, and has an outside shot of landing in the back end of the lottery.

What is surprising, however, is that Flynn was pushed by Boeheim to enter the draft. I know a lot of coaches say they want what is best for their players on a personal level, but does anyone really believe that? In the cutthroat coaching business, where you are only as good as your last game, it says something that a coach will not only advise, but push his best player to the draft.

Especially when odds are good that the player will not be pulling his name out.

Other early entry news:

• Dexter Pittman, the junior center from Texas, will be returning to Austin for his senior season. Pittman has shown flashes of huge potential, but the bottom line is that he is not yet in good enough shape to play in the NBA. Another year of cutting weight and adding to his offensive repertoire could put him in the first round in 2010.
• DePaul's Mac Koshwal will be entering the NBA Draft. Like Pittman, he showed flashes on promise this season, but he still has a long way to go before he is NBA ready. The smart move would be to return to school for a year, but money may be a bigger motivator for the Sudan native.
• Hawaii junior Roderick Flemings has entered his name in the NBA Draft. Flemings is an athletic, 6'7" wing, but he is not quite an NBA player just yet. More than likely will be back in school in the fall after testing the waters.
  

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Wednesday Morning Shootaround

Two great games were played on Tuesday: Texas-Notre Dame in the Maui semi's and Syracuse-Kansas in the CBE finals.

Notre Dame 81, Texas 80: The Fighting Irish won the first match-up of top 10 teams this season. Notre Dame was up for the entire second half, pushing the lead to 79-71 with just over a minute left. But in the last 48 seconds, Notre Dame went 2-8 from the foul line and Texas hit three three's to cut the lead to 81-80. After Luke Harangody missed two free throws with 3.5 seconds left, AJ Abrams fired up a prayer from 60 feet that hit the front of the rim.

Texas did not play all that well last night. AJ Abrams shot 8-27 (5-17 from deep) for 23 points, but those numbers looked even worse before he hit two three's down the stretch. He was getting some decent looks but just missing them. Dexter Pittman had 4 fouls in 5 minutes. Damion James had a double-double, but does not understand what he can and can't do offensively and does not understand what a good shot is. For example, midway through the second half Notre Dame was starting to pull away and had built up a 57-50 lead, but two Justin Mason drives had cut the lead to three, and Texas had the ball. After one pass on that possession, Damion James got the ball on the wing, took two dribbles that went nowhere, and forced up a long, contested two point jumper and missed. James needs to realize that he is a slasher, rebounder, and energy guy that can knock down open jumpers and not a pure shooter. When he does, Texas will be a lot better.

Justin Mason bounced back from a rough one against St. Joe's. He had 16 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, just one turnover, and this:



Luke Harangody led Notre Dame with 29 and 13. Everytime I watch the big man play, I am more and more impressed with his agility. He is a big guy, but he makes some very nimble moves around the basket. The one that sticks out in my mind came in the second half against Connor Atchley. Harangody got the ball on the right block about 12 feet from the rim. He made a quick spin move and took a dribble to the rim. It looked like he was going to try to dunk on the help side defender, but instead hung in the air and spun in a lay-up on the other side of the rim. Tory Jackson finished with 16, 7 dimes, 5 boards, and 3 steals while McAlarney added 19 points on 5-9 shooting from deep.

Other Maui scores:

• St. Joseph's 80, Indiana 54
• Alabama 78, Chaminade 56
• UNC 98, Oregon 69: Hansbrough ended up playing, but logged limited minutes as the Heels smacked the Duck

Syracuse 89, Kansas 81 OT: Jonny Flynn needs to be in the conversation as to who is the best point guard in the country. Flynn finished with 25 points and 5 assists last night, but more importantly he hit a three pointer off the dribble with six seconds left that forced overtime.



He was also the main reason Syracuse was able to climb back into a game that Kansas had seemingly taken control of. A Tyshawn Taylor three pushed the lead to 51-38, but Jonny Flynn picked up back-to-back steals leading to two breakaway dunks, sparking a 19-5 run that was capped by an Andy Rautins three-pointer that gave Syracuse the lead. Arinze Onuaku played great for the Orange, finishing with 19, 12, and 4 blocks while Paul Harris finished with 14 and 14 and saved the game with this block.



In the consolation game, Florida hung on to beat Washington 86-84.

Other scores of note:

• Davidson 78, Loyola MD 48: Loyola held Stephen Curry scoreless, as in without a single point, in 32 minutes of play. How did they do it, they ran a triangle-and-two, with both of the two guarding Curry. Andrew Lovedale led the Wildcats with his third straight double double, going for 20 and 10. 
• Pitt 74, Belmont 60: DeJuan Blair didn't play (knee swelling), the Panthers got outrebounded by 11, but Sam Young had 33 points in the win.
• Villanova 71, Monmouth 48
• Marquette 85, Texas Southern 68
• Arizona 69, Santa Clara 66: You know about St. Mary's and Gonzaga in the WCC, and you should know about San Diego by now. Well, add Santa Clara to that list. The Broncos have lost to UAB, Arizona, and Georgia by a combined 12 points.
• Liberty 86, Virginia 82: After seeing what Stephen Curry is doing at Davidson, how did Seth Curry end up at Liberty? He had 26 against the Cavs and is now averaging 22.3 ppg and shooting 38% from deep.
• Dayton 71, Mercer 53: This may be the end of the Bears run.

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