The lone Hokie entered in the draft this year is A.D.Vassallo. Most mock drafts on the Internet do not mention Vassallo in their predictions, but he has been on the radar of a few squads. It is unlikely he will be selected before the last eight to 10 picks, if at all.
If he does get selected, he will be the second Hokie drafted during coach Seth Greenberg's tenure, along with Deron Washington, who was taken with the final pick of the 2008 draft by the Detroit Pistons.
Even if he is selected, late second round picks very seldom make the final squad for the regular season. Vassallo's best bet will be to play overseas in the European leagues and he could resurface in the near future back in the NBA. His sweet shooting stroke and great length as a defender are his biggest assets, but his questionable ball handling and below average quickness are his biggest hindrances.
Jonny Flynn captivated the heart of college basketball fans with his legendary performance in Syracuse's epic six-overtime win over Connecticut in the Big East semifinals in April.
His gutsy effort from there on out into the NCAA tournament proved to be his coming-out party, and propelled him to enter the draft.
Had he returned to school, he would have easily been the top point guard in the country, but in a draft loaded with players at that spot, he could go anywhere from the third to 15th slot.
Whichever team takes him will be getting an ultra-quick floor general with a sweet jump shot and unsurpassed maturity. Flynn should turn into a great NBA point guard.
This 2009 rookie class is hardly the 2003 class of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and many other stars, or the 2005 class with Deron Williams and Chris Paul.
But in every draft, no matter how strong the top, there always seems to be a couple players who nobody mentions on draft day that find their way onto NBA rosters and turn into great players for a long time.
With this year's class being as wide open as ever in terms of who could go where and when, there is no telling who we will look back on in this draft as the best catch.
Continue Reading: « Previous12
Leave a comment 0 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.