I can still remember Thursday, June 28th 2012, NBA draft day. I was
excited because the guy I wanted looked like he could possibly drop to
pick 20. You see, the two drafts prior to this one, the Nuggets got my
guys (Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried), and they turned out to be great
picks. Well, the draft started with Anthony Davis being picked first
over all. Fast forward 18 picks, the Magic are on the clock, and they
need a big man, and they pick Andrew Nicholson! I'm now ecstatic, my
guy, Jered Sullinger was still available! Four minutes pass, and David
Stern walks the podium, I'm about to be 3 for 3 in my Nuggets draft
predictions! With the 20th over all pick, the Denver Nuggets select Avon
(yeah, that's how he pronounced it, psh) Fournier. At this point I'm
thinking "I've never heard of this guy, but before you throw your remote
at the TV, at least see what this guy looks like and watch his
highlights". The camera switches to Evan, and he's a 19 year old baby
faced Frenchmen, to make matters worse, his "highlights" were him
hitting a couple wimpy looking layups. At this point I'm so sick I turn
the TV off and don't watch any more of the draft. Fast forward to the
summer league, where Evan really didn't seem to be special, while guys
like Sullinger were dominating. I tell you this whole story to tell you
this, Evan has really grown on me watching him during the season, in
fact, I've come full circle on him, and now think he has a great future
for the Nuggets. Here are 5 things that have persuaded me to be a
Fournier fan.
#1. Age: Evan is only 20 years
old, born October 29, 1992. This simply means he has plenty of time to
improve and learn from NBA coaches.
#2. Height: At 6-6, Evan is extremely tall for a point guard, and even tall for a shooting guard. Evan's skill set at 6-6 is extremely rare.
#3. Speed: Now
don't get me wrong, in a 40 yard dash, he wouldn't do great, but he has
what I like to call deceptive speed. On defense, the player he's
guarding often times gets the step on him driving to the basket, but
with Evan's length, he's often able to surprise his man and cut him off.
He also has a very quick first step that allows him to get by his man
and be a play maker.
#4. Shooting: Evan
has demonstrated that he has the potential to be a really good three
point shooter. He is 13-29 from behind the three point line this year
with his limited minutes. If there's one thing that will keep you in the
NBA, it's 3 point shooting.
#5. Cool: Seriously,
if this guy has any nerves, he doesn't show it. For a rookie that gets
few minutes, when he is in he seems to be cool, calm, and collected. He
doesn't try to do too much, he doesn't try to do too little. For a 20
year old, that's impressive.
Conclusion:
While
it will take time to tell if Fournier was a better pick then Sullinger,
(who was having a solid rookie season before he injured his back) I
have a good feeling about it.
#1. Age: Evan is only 20 years
old, born October 29, 1992. This simply means he has plenty of time to
improve and learn from NBA coaches.
Conclusion: While
it will take time to tell if Fournier was a better pick then Sullinger,
(who was having a solid rookie season before he injured his back) I
have a good feeling about it.
