#FreeAlecBurks

The Utah Jazz continue to allow former CU hoops sensation Alec Burks languish on the bench.  Through five games this season, Burks has only been afforded a paltry 30 minutes of action, with one DNP; most of that playing time has come in 2nd half garbage time to boot.  The Jazz seem to think him only capable of playing the 11th man role on a team floundering in the early going.

The thing is, his forgotten status is not for lack of early production.  In those scant 30 minutes of court time, Alec has 24 points on 59% shooting.  In a extremely quiet coming out party last week in Denver, when Jazz Coach Tyrone Corbin threw Burks a bone with 10 minutes in his "home" city, Alec responded with 15 points and 2 steals.  (A performance that was followed up with the head coach deciding it best not to play young Alec at all two nights later against Philly) 

Where's the court?  Where's the opponent?  The Jazz are short changing their young guard.

His Hollinger PER rating is a ridiculous 31.75.  Granted in few minutes, but still, you can't say the kid hasn't made the most of his time.

What the blazing hell is going on in SLC?  Not only are the Jazz a sub-par Western Conference squad, but they're currently awash in a hardcore youth movement.  A first-round draft pick, who is being paid a hefty, guaranteed sum, for a team running a serious youth-movement should certainly figure to see the court in a rational world.  (I keep forgetting that this world is irrational)  Does the world really deserve the punishment that is 20 minutes per night from Raja Bell at Alec's expense?

Did Alec forget his P's and Q's in Mormon-land?  Was he caught drinking, *gasp*, a beer (although... he isn't 21 yet...)?  Perhaps Coach Corbin just can't get his name right, constantly telling the scorer he's putting in 'Alex,' only to realize, too late, that there is no 'Alex' on the roster? 

Whatever the reason, it's bullshit, and the Jazz need to free the wunderkind from Grandview, MO to roam the land of the NBA giants.  Tonight would be a great time to start, as the Jazz host the Milwaukee Bucks, who themselves seemed destined to draft Alec over the summer.

You spent a first round pick and millions of cash on the kid; the very least you could do is play him.

If the Jazz don't want to use him this season, I'm sure Coach Boyle would welcome him back to Boulder, where his talents are appreciated.

C'mon Corbin, sack up and #FreeAlecBurks

Quick-Post: Alec Burks ends up in Utah, where there is no music.

Predictions about former CU superstar Alec Burks slipping out of the lottery were wrong.  While clubhouse favorites Milwaukee and Charlotte indeed decided to pass on the talented wing, the Utah Jazz weren't about to let a player of his caliber slip past them.  With the 12th pick of the NBA draft, they grabbed Burks.

Nice suit, dude.  Good luck in Utah!  From: the SLC Tribune

Alec was pretty happy with the development, as the SLC Tribune quoted him as saying “I’m crazy hyped, I got so much excitement. I finally realized my dream, so it’s a great thing.”

While it's not as bad a destination as ending up in Charlotte would've been, the Jazz aren't exactly a team ready to take off.  Had this been the Jazz of 2-3 years ago, with a quality point-guard in Derron Williams and quality coach in Jerry Sloan to nurture Burks through the inevitable growing pains, then I'd be all for it.  Instead, this is a franchise definitely on a rebuilding kick.  In addition, many Jazz fans will see Burks as "not Jimmer" for the foreseeable future, as the notably Mormon SG out of BYU ended up in Sacramento of all places.  It's kind of an awkward situation all around.

But that's the point of the lottery: good players end up in bad spots.  By default good teams don't end up in the lottery, and the situation Burks found himself in this morning could've been a lot worse.  Sure, a franchise like Milwaukee, who's definitely on the rise, would've been a choice destination, but Utah will do just fine for the time being.  The cool thing is that he's in the same division as the Denver Nuggets, so at least he'll be making a decent number of stops through the Mile High in the near future. 

Either way, much congratulations go to Alec for achieving his dream.  Here's to a long and fruitful NBA career for CU's own #10!

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Notes

Utah also selected big Enes Kanter in the first round.  They grabbed the big man with the 3rd overall selection.  Kanter had attended Kentucky, but never got to play as he was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for accepting $33k from a European basketball team a few years back.  While he's talented, he's been out of competitive basketball for a year, which is never a good sign.  He'll need some time to get back his game; luckily, for Utah at least, they have some front court depth to prop him up for a while.

FYI, Alec will be getting paid to the tune of $1.7 Million next year.  If you're going to have to live in Utah, you might as well be making bank to do it.

BTW, I finally got my answer as to why Burks was slipping in certain mock-drafts.  Listening to the Chauncey Billups interview on 104.3 last night, Chauncey postulated that the injured shoulder that kept Alec out of the first few workouts would end up requiring surgery.  Finally, a solid reason why Alec was moving down, not up, draft boards.  (The consternation over his shooting was horse-shit, he was always going to be a slash-first guard in the NBA).  Despite these concerns, he still ended up in the lottery, which was his goal, and will start his NBA career on a high note.

Quick Post: NBA Draft Preview

It's go day for Alec Burks.  Time to get paid; time to become a professional.  Time to take the baton from Chauncey Billups and become the new face of CU's NBA presence. 

I haven't looked forward to an NBA draft this much since the '08 draft when my Bulls drafted the great Derrick Rose.

Coach Tad Boyle is excited too; he's got a get-together planned in his house with the other CU coaches to watch the draft.  Considering what happened the last time he held a get-together to watch presumably good news about the Buffs, maybe he'd be better served by watching it alone in a darkened room.  But, CU can't get screwed by the basketball world again, right?

Most experts have the overly-talented Buff swing-man going in the lottery (top 14 picks), and the NBA seems to agree, having invited him to the Newark green room.  However, as the past week has gone on, pundits like ESPN's Chad Ford have slowly slipped the overly talented swing-man out of the top half of the first round (Ford now has Alec at # 18 to the Wizards).  While they admit he may go as high as 7th, concerns over his shooting must be forcing him down the board.  In a draft system based on upside, I find this hard to fathom; with more time to work on his game, I feel Alec will be a fine shooter, and his ability to get to the rim and the free throw line already separate him from competing talent.

The prevailing consensus had been that Burks would go to Milwaukee with the 10th pick. I mentioned a few weeks back that they really seemed to like Alec, but it now appears that they may have fallen in love with Washington State's Klay Thompson.  Two thoughts: Alec is better, and will have a better career, than Thompson.  Additionally, if Milwaukee and Golden State, who have the 11th pick, pass on Alec, then whatever team gets him in the middle-part of the first round will be getting a steal.

I think my dream scenario would be a combination of him falling and the Nuggets trading up to get him.  This would allow me to watch him on a continued basis.  However, while the "Rich and Creamy's" are apparently talking of moving up, I doubt they'd move up too high for Alec. I'll stick with my gut and say Milwaukee comes to their senses; Alec deserves to be a lottery pick, and he will be.

Prediction: Milwaukee with #10

Monday Grab Bag: Bohn gets a well deserved extension

In a light bag today we have some welcome news on the business side of CU athletics, and a slight hiccup in the Alec Burks draft express.

Click below for the bag...

Quick Post: "The Decision" from Burks UPDATED

In probably the shortest statement ever, Buffs super swing man Alec Burks announced that he'd be taking his talents to "the Association."  He's planning on signing with an agent, so the return option will not be available to him.  He's gone, and CU's immediate basketball future will surround attempts to replace his production.

Dude's about to get paiiiiiiiiiiiiiid.  From: the BDC

Alec seemed to be a little nervous at the beginning of the presser, and he struggled a little bit initially when pressed by the media.  This is probably because he mentioned that before yesterday he was coming back, but discussions with Coach Boyle and his mother turned him around.  He probably honestly did struggle with his choice, but in the end, from an outsiders prospective, I think he made the right one.  The iron's hot for his services right now, and I don't know if the same could be said next year.

I loved what Coach Boyle said about Colorado being a place where everyone can follow their dreams.  Alec came out here to pursue his hoop dreams, and now he has the opportunity to further that pursuit.

I'm honestly really happy for him.  Way to go Al!

UPDATE 4/21/11 - On 102.3 the Ticket, Alec admitted that he not only went to class but met with a tutor this morning.  Kid's going pro, about to make a ton of money, and he's still keeping up with his studies.  Dude's special, there's nothing else to it.

Quick Post: Decision day for Burks

Not to overemphasize the point or anything, but today we find out if the Buffs will compete for the inaugural Pac-12 crown.  At 2pm this afternoon Alec Burks will make his NBA decision known, ending weeks of speculation throughout Buff Nation.  CUBuffs.com will carry his press conference live, and I'm sure the whole of Buff-related interwebs will explode with the result if you can't stream at work.

For the record, I can't believe that Alec's decision will be anything other than to declare himself for the draft.  With the recent rash of high profile players deciding to stay in school, and if the impending NBA lockout truly doesn't play into his decision, then there's no basketball-related reason for Alec to stay off of a draft board that he will invariably shoot up.  As the best SG prospect in a quickly shrinking draft, the kid should go pro.

The allure of another year in college, with friends, girls, and Boulder to entertain, may be strong, but I continue to maintain that the best CU basketball star of the past 14 years needs to make the jump.  I'll be blown off my chair if he hasn't reached the same conclusion.

Quick Post: Burks NBA decision chatter

There was a bunch of chatter both in the papers and on the twitter yesterday about Alec Burks setting a deadline of April 20th to make his NBA draft decision, and that there will be no "declare, but don't hire an agent" route.  He continues to state that his mind isn't made up and that it is a tough decision.  It's always hard to take that next step in life, to leave what's familiar, but I continue to feel that the realistic chance that he decides to stay at CU is close to 0%.

He also mentioned what I've been assuming for months, that the impending NBA lockout won't affect his decision.  That makes total sense to me; even with the lockout, first round contracts are slotted and guaranteed  (I don't think that slotting system will change during CBA negotiations) so there is relatively low risk even if the season gets washed out; it'll just be a delay on the eventual payday.  On the flip side, should Burks stay an extra year, he'd be contending with an enlarged draft pool next season. (ESPN's Chad Ford has a great evolving in/out list) Considering that he's one of the few viable NBA talents at his position, it may in fact be slightly advantageous for him to jump early, get a higher draft spot, and wait a few months for the cash to flow.

From my perspective he should go, take the eventual payday, and rep CU.  I'm not going to argue if he wants to stay another year, as I'd love 15+ more opportunities to see him play, but I think it would cost him lottery pick status.

Quick Post: Burks writeup on NBA.com

While super-sophmore Alec Burks hasn't officially declared himself for the NBA draft, most everyone else is going about things as if he has.  NBA.com included him in their writeup of the SG position for the upcoming NBA draft.  There's nothing too shocking in the piece (GM's love his athleticism, rebounding, and potential; are worried about his shot and defense) but they do list him as their best option in a soft SG class.

Money quote: "But we draft on talent, and he's very talented. He'll have the ball and he'll break you down. In space, he's (tough) ... great upside if he's willing to work. Something tells me (the work ethic) is not off the charts because he hasn't worked on his body at all. But the holes in his game are fixable."

Monday Grab Bag: The greatest comeback since Lazarus (UPDATED)

(UPDATE - 2/28/11) - Tom Kensler of the Denver Post is reporting that GA tickets for the Nebraska game are sold out... if you want on the bandwagon, you'd better hop on quick 'cause it's about to leave the station.

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What a massive weekend.  Not only did CU pull the comeback of the century out of their asses on Saturday, but there was also plenty of NFL combine news, the first spring training games, the (painful) beginning of softball season, and the Oscars to keep me occupied.  Today in the bag I'll mostly talk about the big win over Texas, but I'll also touch on the record breaking career of Cory Higgins, the weird character questions surrounding Jimmy Smith and the Oscars.

The celebrating begins inside this week's bag.  From: the BDC

Click below for the bag...

The limitless future of Alec Burks

Because of the increased NBA scout presence this season, especially at the Kansas game Saturday afternoon, there has been a plenty of speculation over the last few days about the future of Alec Burks.  Will he go pro?  Will he stay?  Is he good enough to go pro early?  If you read the tea leaves there are a few answers, but needless to say his future seems to be paved with gold no matter what his draft decision is after the season concludes.  Today I'll be taking a close look at his skill set, how it translates to the next level, and what realistic expectations should be for draft day.  The answers might surprise you.

Click below for my lengthy evaluation