Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Nestor highlighted Jrue getting it wrong before, well it looks like he has done it again.

I have been one of the few holdouts around here that thought that Jrue would get good advice and see the light and come back to UCLA for his sophomore year. My belief was that this would not only improve his draft stock, but would allow Jrue to achieve his potential and become a good NBA player.

Alas, Nestor can finally find me solidly behind him regarding Jrue not coming back. The LA times had an article profiling Jrue today. Here is where Jrue adds to the list of getting it wrong:

"In college, it's all about defense," he said. The NBA "seems like it's more fun. You can be you."

Oh Jrue. One of the worst myths about the NBA is that they don't care about defense. The reason that players make it and have careers in the NBA is because of their DEFENSE. There is a reason that Russel and Luc got lots of playing time in their rookie years as compared to players like Luc's teammate Joe Alexander or the Lakers' Adam Morrison--they can defend at an NBA level.

The NBA isn't about "fun." It is a business where the bottom line is production. If you can't play/defend to help your team win, then you aren't going to be in the game much having "fun."

Jrue could come back to UCLA next year and develop into a top tier point guard who is ready to contribute to an NBA team from day one. Unfortunately, it appears that he will instead get drafted on "potential" and be a project where he will be left to develop and have "fun" riding the bench.

I know lots of people take their frustrations for this past season and place them on Jrue. I don't have any ill will towards Jrue, I just think he is getting terrible advice. He is working out with David Thorpe (who does the rookie rankings column for ESPN--conflict of interest much?) who seems to be under the same impression that Mr. Holiday is that Jrue will skyrocket once he does individual workouts. Whatever. Maybe I'm wrong and they are right.

But Jrue is WAY down on the list of available guards right now  behind point guards Ricky Rubio, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Jonny Flynn, Jeff Teague as well as shooting guards James Harden, Demar Derozan, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Gerald Henderson, and Terrence Williams. That is 13 guards ahead of him. Throw in players like Eric Maynor, Patty Mills, and Chase Budinger (all of whom I would draft over him), and Jrue could be even farther down the draft board. And I don't think that every team in the draft is going to be looking at guards. The reason that these players are ahead of Jrue is that either they have proven their abilities in college and can help a team or they have shown enough improvement that they are worth the risk. Plus, do you really think that these players aren't also looking to improve their draft stock in those individual workouts to or I guess they are just going to roll over and let Jrue take their draft spot and money.

Jrue, your thoughts?

Meanwhile, working out each day, watching NBA games at night, Holiday seems as if he is getting an inkling of the future.

"I think I'd fit in well," he said.

Again, I don't dislike Jrue or even care about his impact on UCLA basketball. It just makes me sad that such a good player can waste his talent by operating on bad advice and assumptions.