DeAndre Jordan will likely be a lottery pick.
But if you look at his numbers at the end of this past season, it doesn't compute.
Jordan didn't play much at the end of the season and Texas A&M still won.
In the last five games of the Aggies' season, the 7-foot freshman didn't play against Iowa State, played five minutes against Kansas State, four against Kansas (including three fouls), five in the first round of the NCAA tournament against BYU and 15 in the two-point loss to UCLA in the second round. His minutes ranged from 13 to 33 throughout the season.
And that's OK. Jordan won't be drafted based on his 7.9 points, six rebounds or 1.3 blocks a game in his only season with the Aggies.
The Aggies won't say it publicly but the reality is that they played better without him during that stretch. They only lost to Kansas in the Big 12 tournament and to UCLA in the NCAA tournament.
The Aggies' staff was concerned that he was thinking about the NBA too much toward the end of the season. The reality is that for the Aggies he was a much better prospect than he was a player.
Jordan is going to be selected on his potential. That's what has driven the NBA draft for years and it will be true for a player like Jordan. The Aggies expect him to go in the top 10-12 in the lottery.
Jordan's name consistently comes up in the lottery after discussing it with a number of NBA decision makers this week. Jordan is working out in the Philadelphia area with Michael Beasley. Once he gets in front of NBA teams they will likely salivate at his potential and raw athleticism, but may be guarded about where to select him.
At least one NBA scout said that taking Jordan will be like taking a high school senior akin to Kwame Brown or Andrew Bynum. The difference of course is that Brown was expected to play immediately and wasn't able to handle that challenge. Bynum wasn't forced to play immediately, and was able to develop at a slower pace.
"Who would you take in front of a 7-foot, 19-year old with an upside like him?" said a former NBA scout who has seen him work out in the past month. "If you draft him with the expectation that he's going to come in and help you right away then you made a mistake. He's an insane athlete with unbelievable coordination. But he's not going to play right away."
"Someone is going to ask, though, if he can't play in the Big 12 tournament then how can he play in the NBA?" said another scout. "The answer of course is that he's a talent."
Jordan was recruited by Billy Gillispie to play for the Aggies. But Gillispie left to go to Kentucky. New coach Mark Turgeon tried to give Jordan a long look. Ultimately, it didn't mesh with the current makeup of the team. But that won't have a bearing on his draft status.
Andy Katz
