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If C.J. Went to the NCAA…
Posted by: Lee on August 17th, 2010
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.What if C.J. Miles had gone to college instead of putting his name into the draft?
An interesting fact that I picked up was that C.J. had committed to the University of Texas. He stated that if he saw(in mock drafts) that he wasn’t going to be drafted in the 1st round, he would have withdrawn his name and gone to play for the Longhorns instead.
But as most of us know, he was drafted 34th overall meaning he got picked in the 2nd round by the Utah Jazz. He was signed to a two year guaranteed contract.
During his first two years with the Jazz, he got very little minutes playing in the NBA. In his first season, he only played 23 games(8.8 mpg) while during the rest of the season, he played down in the D’League with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. In his 2nd season, he played 37 games(10.1 mpg) in the NBA and then the rest down with the Idaho Stampede. And then even though he played 60 games in his 3rd season, he only played 11.5 minutes a game.
I think if he had played with the Longhorns instead, he would have gotten more experienced than playing in the D’League. He would be even more talented, bigger from lifting weights, and have a higher basketball I.Q.
He would have been drafted 1st round(maybe even a lottery pick), but sucks that it most likely wouldn’t be the Jazz that pick him up. He would be a definite starter unlike today where people ask, “CJ or AK?”, and also the #2 option on any team. He would be a high-flying, lights out three point shooter.
In my opinion, he could be as talented as players like; Andre Igoudala, Jason Richardson, Vince Carter, Rudy Gay, Trevor Ariza, Kevin Martin. And stretching it; Gerald Wallace, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony.
I am very curious what you guys think. Would he be dramatically better, or the same? Could he be All-Star material?
Replies: 10
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10 Responses
If he would’ve gone to Texas the Jazz wouldn’t have been able to draft him. He’s still got a lot of potential. He still can develop quite a bit and become that SF we need so badly.
That 2005 Longhorns team went something like 24-10 and made a splash in the NCAA Tourney. LaMarcus Aldridge, and Daniel Gibson were the leads on the team; CJ would’ve had to have battled out a Sr to get on the starting squad.
I don’t know if we would have heard from him until his Junior year because in 2006 DJ Augustine, Damion James (just drafted this year), and Kevin Durant were heading the squad.
For his career, I think he did the right thing.
Its unfortunate that he didn’t go to college however I think that came as a blessing to the Jazz. Its not very often that the Jazz get a high draft pick but in a way that’s what they got with CJ, just a few years in the future.
I believe the Jazz are one all-star (or close to) wing player away from being a true contender. Don’t get me wrong, I love D-will and think he is the best PG in the league. I also love Al Jefferson, but really how much better did the Jazz get? They got Bell, Hayward, and Jefferson, but lost Mathews, Korver, and Boozer. Its almost as if we just replaced lost players. You could even argue that we’ve been downgraded. Sorry to go off on a different topic here, but my point is that the Jazz are not a true title contender at the moment. However if CJ matures into the player that we know he can be (the one that would have gone to college and come to the NBA a potential all-star) then the Jazz will finally be able to match up with the Lakers and any other NBA team.
Hate to be a pessimist but this is just the way I see it. I love the Jazz and always have, but until CJ becomes at least a border line all-star or the jazz get some more star power on the wing then I don’t see a title in our future.
I like this article, it reminds me of the old comic book series “What if?…” – in fact the more I think about it, I bet if he went to Texas, he would’ve teamed up with Durant to win a title.
Yes, I know that the Jazz would most likely have not draft Miles, but it’s just fun to think about it.
Another question is, “does being coached by Jerry Sloan have the same impact as going to college?”
And I know that he is still so young, only 23 years old, that he can still develop into an amazing player that could be the #2 option on any team.
And a duo of Durant-Miles at Texas would be tight.
They could have played together in OKC if the Jazz had not matched their offer.
Seriously people need to get off this guys potential, hes 23 and hasn’t made much noise in the Nba. His consistency is horrible. People claim hes a 3pt shooter, but the thing is he has range but no consistency.. By the time he matures it may be too late to improve.. Hes got to be more aggressive taking it to the rim, and get a better stroke from 3pt range. He will never be a force on defense, but he can be good enough to not be a major liability..
@Alex- people are currently talking about what could’ve happened to CJ if he went to Texas instead of the NBA draft. Read the title of the blog, please.
And yes, I think you are psychic Jaycee. You must’ve read my mind to come up with this
. This very point is what I have been preaching ever since CJ got drafted by the Jazz. College would’ve helped him so much. Him and Durant would’ve been a scary combo at Texas. They would’ve won the tournament. This is why I’m glad the rule was made that you have to go to at least a year of college before going to the draft. Saying that CJ shouldn’t have gone to Texas because the Jazz wouldn’t have been able to draft him is just plain selfish.
oo this IS an interesting point to bring up, but IMO, i think CJ is still a very good player and he probably should have been drafted in the first round. I really don’t think playing in college would have helped his game that dramatically. It would have given him more playing time, but i like the fact that the Jazz got a guy at 18 years old who can produce for about 15 years or seasons if they keep him that long. What is even more interesting however, is that the Jazz see something in him that some of us fans dont, and they have decided to keep him for a long time.
@Eric
i don’t believe we have downgraded at all! i think we are going to be a better team than we were last year. Paul is going to be a better PF than Boozer ever was. Paul would come off the the bench last season and drop 15 and 9 then remember when he started for Boozer when he hurt his calf Milsap scored a career high of 32 points and something like 10 rebound and 7 assists. Milsap plays great defensive,has great scoring and is a rebounding monster. al Jefferson is not playing Power Forward so milsap is going to be the starting Pf. I honestly think if Milsap stays on top of his game with the blocks he gets he could be in the top 3 for defensive player of the year.
Al Jefferson is a big. A double double guy and actually has great shooting range. He plays GREAT in the post and can nail the ball from out side the paint as well. little off on defensive but blocks better than Memo.
Raja-What can I say,believe it or not a better 3 point shooter than Korver and one of the best defensive players out there. AK is playing for a contract, not only that playing for a contract with the Jazz. If AK steps his game up from Andrei Kirelenko to AK-47 it will be killer. He can block,shoot,steal and pass.
Gordan Hayward is a stud. He shoots from anywhere and adjusts his game to almost any position. If he isn’t finding the shot he gets the rebounds and finds players with open looks.
I think we have an AMAZING team this season.
As a person who has spent the bulk of his adult life in academia, first as a student & for several years now as a professor of history & geography, it kind of saddens me that the only thing that most of you think that CJ missed out on by not going to university was the further development of his basketball skills.