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Thursday, June 25, 2009
Happy Holiday

Not Ty Lawson.

Not Eric Maynor.

No, the 76ers' choice at No. 17 in the NBA draft is Jrue (pronounced Drew) Holiday of UCLA. He is the first Bruin ever drafted by them.

And perhaps this should not be a surprise, because word out of their front office had been interest in the Bruins' freshman shopuld he slip through the early selections.

Holiday played one season as a shooting guard, away from his natural position in deference to senior Darren Collison. He averaged just 8.5 points.

But he was the Gatorade National Player Of The Year at Campbell Hall High in Chatsworth, Ca., averaging 25.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 6.9 assistws and 4.8 steals as a senior.

The Sixers, though, made it clear that they are not anticipating him being an impact player or even a starter. They do think he's their point guard of the future.

They took Holiday despite not having had him in for a workout.

''When (his advisors) thought he'd go in the top 10, he cancelled,'' said Tony DiLeo, the Sixers senior vice-president/assistant general manager. ''We interviewed him in Chicago (at the predraft combine). We studied him. He fits our team.''

 

Posted by Phil Jasner @ 9:44 PM  Permalink | 11 comments
11
Comments   
Posted 09:57 PM, 06/25/2009
Remember Tim Kerr
Hey Phil, Learn how to use spell check..."shopuld"?
Posted 09:59 PM, 06/25/2009
Hammer859
Fire Ed.
Posted 10:15 PM, 06/25/2009
MrPhillie
If picking him should not have been a surprise, why did the writers not speak of this very realpossibility BEFORE the draft? Lord knows there has been an almost endless amount of time to cover every possible angle prior to the draft. I read many names as potential picks from the "insiders" but I do not remember much about Holiday. When the front office declares they do not expect Holiday to be much of a contributor next season, what improvements then have the team made or will they make before the season begins?
Posted 10:25 PM, 06/25/2009
ivewaitedthislong
Seriously you are a writer? The Daily News can not afford to pay a real one? My 13 year old can write in complete sentences. I assure you he will work for much less. How many grammatical errors are in the following sentence fragment: "But he was the Gatorade National Player Of The Year at Campbell Hall High in Chatsworth, Ca., averaging 25.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 6.9 assistws and 4.8 steals as a senior."
Posted 10:47 PM, 06/25/2009
Hammer859
Wish it was Matt Holiday.
Posted 11:21 PM, 06/25/2009
frenval
phil--do the sixers lead the league in having players who aren't old enough to drink in bars, rent cars or apartments? harvey pollack has t-shirts older than most of the roster. how can a team that stinks and is about to lose its only true point guard draft another project?
Posted 11:22 PM, 06/25/2009
frenval
what about judy holiday? or doc holiday? even jrewish holiday.
Posted 05:42 AM, 06/26/2009
QuintUdall
People need to stop crying. It was such a week draft. No player at 17 would make an impact now. There are some more polished players but nobody who can come in and start right away and be a difference maker. Holliday has the potential and size to be a good player both ways in a few years. Everyone else is one dimensional with less upside. I believe it was a good safe pick and give Ed a break his only other 1st round pick was Maurice Speights who looks like he can play... I was very happy to see Dante Cunningham and Ahmad Nivens get rewarded for there hard work but suprised nobody took Christmas who I thought would be drafted the highest of the three. Lets see what this kid can do.
Posted 09:00 AM, 06/26/2009
langx
Jrue Holiday. # Negatives: # Tweener? # Not an explosive athlete # Overly aggressive on defensive end # Lacks great ballhandling skills # Inconsistent jump shot A point guard with no handle, no hops, No jumpshot. Tweener means no position. Like Iggy. Sounds like the Sixers got there man.
Posted 09:52 AM, 06/26/2009
Sports4Life
Draft was weak, but when a solid Ty Lawson is there, why not take him. Fans shuold not be sujected to pay money for tickets to see "projects" Sixers need to realize Andre Miller will sign with someone else. Why do they think he wants to be part of this garbage. So whether they like or not Jrue will need to start. He has to be a better PG than Lou. Yeah. 2 High School Players of the year in the same backcourt.
Posted 02:06 PM, 06/26/2009
QuintUdall
You people are clueless. LANGX it sounds like you were describing Andre Miller. He has no shot at all. Im a better athlete then him and I can propably walk faster then he can run but the guy can just flat out play. Ty Lawson got drafted exactly where he should of. Hes a Speedy Claxton/Brevon Knight at best. Im not saying Jrue Holliday is the next Steve Nash but for where the sixers picked they could of done worse. The sixers draft is nothing to complain about thet got the best available at the position in need. No handle no hops and no jump shot? Your exagerating and by the way tweener is a word that shouldnt be in a mans vocabulary. The sixers are going nowhere fast and it has nothing to do with this draft. Your post is a tweener! Its in between negadelphia and stupidville.
About Sixerville Blog
Phil Jasner joined the staff of the Daily News in 1972. He has covered the 76ers and the NBA on a full-time basis since 1981. He won the 2004 Curt Gowdy Media Award, presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to the sport during his career; he was a finalist for the award in 2001, when he also received a lifetime achievement award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association during the NBA Finals. He is a past president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and the Philadelphia College Basketball Writers Association. Along the way, he has covered high school sports, the Big 5, the Eagles and the NFL, the World Football League, the North American Soccer League and what was then the Major Indoor Soccer League. He is a proud graduate of Temple University, and spent his early professional days at the Pottstown (Pa.) Mercury, Montgomery Newspapers (Fort Washington, Pa.), the Norristown (Pa.) Times-Herald and the Trentonian.

Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for almost 20 years, working in the sports department the past 12 years. This is his first season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he has been the La Salle beat writer for the past six seasons.

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