...so let's not dilly-dally.
The key to Jonny Flynn's success? Well, you could point to a lot of things I suppose. His work ethic. His upbringing. Jim Boeheim and the SU staff. His experience leading the Orange. But don't forget about his time at Niagara Falls High School. That's where he first learned to play good defense, something folks have wondered whether or not he can do after his time in the zone.
Eric Musselman at ProBasketballNews rates the available point guards in the draft and concludes Flynn is still the fifth-best.
Don't tell that to the Sacramento Kings who hold the fifth pick overall and just invited Flynn back for a second workout. Unfortunately for Jonny his performance seemed "steady if unspectacular" to one writer.
"No one is credited with being more of a competitor and leader than Syracuse's Jonny Flynn." So says Ronald Tillery at the Memphis Commercial-Appeal in his article about the wealth of point guards in this year's NBA draft. Flynn also gets a nice photo in the piece.
Leave it to a Connecticut writer to make the "Why aren't folks more interested in A.J. Price than Jonny Flynn?" argument.
Price’s Huskies won two of the three games [against Flynn's Orange]. Flynn’s only win was the historic, six-overtime battle at this year’s Big East tournament.
Guess which one of those three games is the only one people will remember a year from now? Five years from now? Fifty years from now?
The mock drafts seem to have officially slotted Jonny as a top ten pick from here on out.DraftExpress has Jonny going #8 to the Knicks (dream come true) while NBADraft.net thinks he'll go #7 to the Warriors (nightmare come true). Of course, there's a chance he could go to the Raptors at #9 and if he does, he's already got a nickname ready to go. Jonny "I'm Basically Canadian" Flynn.
One team he almost certainly won't be drafted by is the Charlotte Bobcats. Since the 'Cats are all set at point guard, most of the top prospects refused to even try out for the team, including Flynn. Time is money and why waste the effort?
Regardless of where he goes, Jonny will officially be on-hand at MSG on draft night when he does get selected. The list is 16 players though a couple of them will decline. Now that we know Jonny will be there, he REALLY better go top ten. You don't want to be the last guy in the green room.
Jonny is peppered throughout this NBAdraft.net Top Five collection that finds the best five players in each category or intangible. Jonny is #5 in Athleticism, #2 in Explosiveness, #5 in Ball-Handling and #3 in Competitiveness. Of note, three of the point guards normally rated above Flynn (Jrue Holliday, Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans) make the Overrated List.
Also worth noting that Paul Harris shows up a couple times in those lists as well, #5 in Strength and #3 in Defenders. Speaking of Paul, he's officially a hot prospect according to Jazzbots. They're wondering if he's Jazz material in the 2nd round (50th picks). DraftExpress seems to think Paul is officially good enough to go in the 2nd round but to the Spurs with the 51st pick.
But what of Eric Devendorf? The tattooed-one is spending his time in Atlanta where he and some fellow Michigan-men are preparing for the chance to be drafted. Chris Luchey, who is representing Devo, DePaul's Dar Tucker and Michigan State's Marquise Gray, is based there. Devo recently worked out for the T'Wolves where he modestly felt he was "the best there" and he's hoping to hear his name on draft day.
Ryan Blake, the Assistant Director of NBA Scouting, said that while Devendorf's high-energy style of play is helpful, he is caught between a shooting guard and a point guard, which could hinder him in some teams' minds. He's not listed on any mock drafts, nor is he on most top-100 prospect lists.
"He's taken a chance by coming out," Blake said. "He can play two positions, but I don't know if he can play two positions at the next level."
Big H/T to Syracuse.com, Ryan and Alex for the tips.