Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 10:38 am  |  22 responses

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Jeremy Pargo: Sleeper or Bust?

Is he worth a gamble in the first round?

by Jeff Fox

In keeping with the mid-major theme of our last column, we present the case of Jeremy Pargo. Pargo, the star of the Gonzaga Bulldogs (if you claim they have a star), is one of the big enigmas of this year’s draft. He has all the makings of a solid NBA player, yet he currently finds himself projected as a second-round pick. Pargo could very well turn out to be a sleeper or a bust. So we’ll let Bill Shakespeare help us sort out whether Pargo is a sleeper pick or not. To be or not to be, that is the question.

To be:
Pargo is a muscular 220 pounds and knows how to use it, bullying smaller guards.

Not to be:
Measuring in at 6-2, Pargo will be undersized for the NBA.

To be:
Pargo has excellent genes and an insider knowledge of the NBA game from his brother, NBA veteran Jannero.

Not to be:
Pargo will already be 23 years old by draft day, making him the same age as Rajon Rondo, who already has over 200 NBA games under his belt.

To be:
Pargo possesses NBA speed, strength and ups.

Not to be:
Pargo sometimes uses that speed to play out of control and erratically.

To be:
Pargo is a fantastic playmaker, good for 6+ apg and only half that amount of turnovers.

Not to be:
Many question whether he’s a true point guard. He spent a lot of his collegiate career playing off the ball.

To be:
Pargo is great in the open court and very good at blowing by his man and getting to the hoop. He also can knock down the occasional 3-pointer.

Not to be:
He is averaging less than 10 ppg this year and his inconsistent outside jumper will allow NBA defenders to lay off him.

So is Pargo worth a second round, or even first-round pick? A first-round pick, with the guaranteed contract that comes with it, might be a bit of a risk for a NBA team, but a team selecting in the second round would be wise to snatch him up. He may need some time in the D-League to work on his game, but if he can put all the pieces together he could be a very good NBA player. Whoever drafts him is surely hoping the Jeremy Pargo story has a happier ending than Hamlet.

*****

Introducing…

A regular feature to the Draft 365 space, Introducing… brings you the goods on off-the-radar NBA prospects worthy of being a blip on your GPS.

Jordan Hill – Arizona – Junior

Maybe it is a bit of a stretch to call a potential top-5 pick “off-the-radar”, but it is probably true in regards to Arizona’s junior big man Jordan Hill. Just ask a casual college basketball fan who the Wildcats’ top player and NBA draft prospect is. The most common answer you will get is Chase Budinger. Well, that might have been the case last year, but things done changed.

A big, long, athletic 6-10, 235 pound power forward, Hill is proving the rule of thumb that it takes big men longer to develop. All his main stats are up by leaps and bounds this season, as he is averaging a solid line of 18 points, 12 boards and 2 swats a night.

What once seemed unthinkable may now actually come to pass, as Hill will probably hear his name called by David Stern before such luminaries as Brandon Jennings, B.J. Mullens, Demar DeRozan and Hasheem Thabeet. While one-and-done might be the trendy thing to do, Hill proves that patience is indeed a virtue.

Jeff Fox also writes about college hoops and the NBA Draft at College Hoops Net.