We profile seniors Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine and their chances of being drafted for the final part of our draft series…
Name – Kris Joseph
Height – 6’7’’
Weight – 215
Position – SF
Class – Senior
Hometown – Montreal, Quebec
2011-2012 Statistics – 13.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.4 SPG
The Canadian wonder, Kris Joseph, had an up and down career at Syracuse, but one thing is for certain. He was a winner.
syracuse.com
When Joseph played his last game with the Orange back in March, he left the program as the winningest player in program history. And that’s something pretty special when you consider he did it for school with the fifth most wins in collegiate basketball history.
Kris Jo seemed to be blossoming into the next great Cuse superstar after his sophomore year in which he was named the Big East Sixth Man of the Year, however he was never really able to make the big leap. He was productive in his final two years in Central New York, however we were often subjected to an unusual amount of costly turnovers and silly shots from him.
Now he is a borderline NBA prospect and quiet frankly he will be fortunate to be selected in Thursday’s NBA Draft. However I think Kris Jo could be a serviceable pro player if he is inserted into the right system. He is extremely athletic when he chooses to be and can be an above average shooter when he finds his stroke. His most valuable trait may in fact be his success though. He was been a winner at Syracuse for the past four years and could bring that winning culture with him to an NBA team if he is given the chance.
Draft Prediction – 52nd overall pick to the Golden State Warriors. I am being optimistic here about Kris Jo’s chances of getting drafted and he worked out for Golden State a few weeks ago so it might be a good fit.
Name – Scoop Jardine
Height – 6’3’’
Weight – 200
Position – SG
Class – Senior (Redshirt)
Hometown – Philadelphia. PA
2011-2012 Statistics – 8.9 PPG, 4.9 APG, 1.4 SPG
There has been no player in college basketball the past few years quite like Scoop Jardine. He was somehow able to frustrate Syracuse fans throughout the entire game but make one or two critical plays down the stretch that caused most to forget his earlier blunders.
Scoop was never an elite player in the Big East but his play at point guard propelled the Orange to great success over the past half decade and as a result he graduated as the second winningest player in program history behind Joseph. He was drawing considerable interest from NBA teams during predraft workouts but last Friday, during a workout with the Utah Jazz, he broke his foot, thus ending his chances of hearing his name called on Thursday at the draft in Newark.
nationoforange.com
It will take a few months for Jardine to get back into playing shape after his foot surgery and I’m sure a few NBA teams will still give him a look when he is healthy but the reality of the situation for Scoop is that his basketball future lies overseas. He can certainly be a valuable member of a professional basketball team somewhere but his lack of consistent shooting and sometimes questionable decision making will doom him in his quest to become an NBA player.
Draft Prediction – Undrafted. Before this week I thought there was an outside chance of a team taking a chance on him but with the recent broken foot it appears as though Scoop will be disappointed come the end of the NBA Draft on Thursday.
Ryan Boepple
One of the best articles regarding Cuse ever written by human beings. This kid deserves to be hired! Good luck out there kid!