Bruins Nation has been somewhat divided over how to perceive Jrue Holiday. Did he have an impact in college? Did he perform well as a freshman? Should we root for him in the NBA? Many of those can be seen as personal opinions, and we can have respectful conversations about it.
Respect however does not seem to be in Jrue's capacity. Yours truly never connected with him, seeing him as a mentally weak and lazy player with a sense of entitlement.
Mostly, it was his behavior while trying to get drafted, and his general attitude towards UCLA after he left, that let many of us to nickname him "Jrudas".
Well...it seems we were justified:
Chris Fetters is Washington's scout.com writer. One could reasonably perceive this is as (a possibly coordinated?) recruiting attack on Ben Howland from a Washington Huskies news outlet, right when UCLA recruiting is picking up steam and right when a new narrative about Howland ("UCLA factor") has been pushed in recent weeks.
The stupidity of this lies in the fact that most UCLA fans had let this go, content with being either happy for Jrue as he is doing well in the NBA, or simply indifferent. Why stoke the fires? It is an incredibly classless comment that unfortunately reinforces our perception of Jrue as a self-absorbed ingrate.
Really, it is hard to feel sorry for him when he got to play in the most storied program in college basketball, at one of the most beautiful campuses in the world, while barely having to study. He started every game and only missed one half after being benched for getting owned on defense, at which point he started his "woe-is-me, I'm gonna get my own" attitude where he stopped caring about his team and teammates.
His brother only made matters worse when he yelled "F#ck you, Howland!" right at CBH during a game. They cannot seem to let go of their baseless hatred, even though the ingrate is making millions in the NBA and benefiting from Howland's coaching, whether he admits it or not.
Meanwhile, CBH has been nothing but classy, even supporting Jrue and talking him up during the draft without letting his personal agenda get in the way (cuing Cheat Carroll). The irony here is that Lauren Holiday, his sister, just committed to play basketball at UCLA. I sure hope she does not suffer because of her brothers' idiocy.
Finally, let's simply look at Jrue's statement in and of its own. This is the guy whose main gripe was that CBH's system is what kept him from being a lottery pick in the NBA (or at least a higher pick), that he didn't allow Jrue to play his position and showcase his skills. You mean to tell me that, had he gotten his wish in Washington, he would have stayed four years despite being a high draft pick his first year?
Jrue Holiday: You are an ungrateful liar. I would use the qualifier that rhymes with tucking, but that seems to be more your brother's style.