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From Yoni Cohen, this on Jack as one of the "losers" of the draft:
Jarrett Jack. The as of yet undiscussed Steal of the Draft, Jack fell all the way to No. 22, behind not only Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Raymond Felton, but also Nate Robinson. Had he returned to Georgia Tech for his senior season, Jack would have gone in the 2006 lottery. As it stands, he'll have the pleasure of playing in front of, behind or alongside Brooklyn's own, Sebastian Telfair
The AJC reported that the ATL Hawks tried to trade up to get Jack, but couldn't get a deal done.................. Evidently Jack will be gauranteed a 3 year deal worth $2.7million........... Jack becomes Tech's 14th overall 1st round pick........ Here's a story on the 6 SEC underclassman chosen in the draft, but didn't include Randolph Morris...... Evidently Morris could return to Kentucky, under these circumstances.......... Here's an interesting article stating the case that had Marvin Williams played on virtually any other college team, he would NEVER had been the #2 overall pick in the draft........ This article has some interesting observations about other guys who didn't get drafted like Matt Walsh and Kennedy Winston, among others. He also thinks Portland was a winner for trading to get Jack............... Did you know that Utah became the first school EVER to have the #1 pick in both the NFL and NBA draft? It's true......... Here's an article sticking up for Deron Williams with a small jab at Jack:
Remember, he wasn't even considered the best player on his high school team; his passing and team-first attitude helped Bracey Wright become a star. Williams went to Illinois only because his first choice, Georgia Tech, chose Jarrett Jack over him.
Guess what? Williams was drafted 19 spots ahead of Jack, and Wright wasn't even a first-round pick.
ACC players put on a good show last night, with 7 taken in the 1st round...... Here's a story on the Blazer's picks, but it's all about Martell Webster........ However, from the sounds of this article, they had their sites on Jack all along:
"Jack was the guy we wanted," general manager John Nash said. "We were kind of targeting those teams in the 20s, recognizing that Jack was still on the board."
The acquisition of the 6-foot-3, 202-pound junior from Georgia Tech addresses a need for the Blazers. The team wanted to acquire a backup point guard to spell Sebastian Telfair.
Jack also will push Telfair in practice and in games, even though the Blazers have said Telfair will be their starting point guard in 2005-06.
"I'm not so sure (Telfair) is so happy about the competition he's gonna get from Jarrett," Nash said. "He will come in and give Sebastian Telfair a run for the money."
Jack posted career highs in points (15.5), free throw shooting (86.6 percent) and three-point shooting (44.2 percent) as a junior with the Yellow Jackets in 2004-05. He was the sixth player in school history to record at least 1,000 points and 500 assists.
"Jarrett Jack had a tremendous career against ACC competition," Nash said. "Jack was a guy in the equation. Jack was somebody we talked about internally."
Jack's three seasons of college play improved his decision-making skills as a point guard. His size also is seen as a plus -- he has the look of a young Chauncey Billups -- and he has developed a reputation of being a tough defender.
As to the Celtics passing on Jack (to take Gerald Green - hard to argue), here's a mention of Jack's workout for Boston, against Ryan Gomes, who ended up with the #50 pick by Boston:
Ainge said that like Gomes, the team considered Orien Greene as a potential first-round pick. The Celtics, who were expected to take a point guard in the second round last night, had worked out Greene twice, including sessions against Croatian point guard Roco Ukic and Georgia Tech's Jarrett Jack.
"He was a terrific high school player, and I saw him in the NCAA tournament last year and liked what I saw,'' Ainge said of Greene. "He held his own against Ukic and Jarrett Jack. He's long and athletic, just a different kind of point guard.''
Here's a story on the Point Guards in the draft.......... More on the ACC players, including the fact that Duke had a player drafted for the 8th straight season..........
Guess what, Blazer's GM Nash says he rated Jack ahead of Raymond Felton:
Nash said the Blazers rated Jack ahead of Felton.
"We talked to Toronto about trading for their picks (7 and 16) and would have seriously considered Jack at 16," Nash said. "We talked to Charlotte (about trading for 5 and 13), and even at 13, Jack was in the equation. I like his size. He's a physical point guard. He'll be able to defend some of the bigger points in the league. He gives us a defensive alternative to Sebastian. He'll give Sebastian a run for his money (for playing time) next season. We think Jack will have a long, productive NBA career."