From Zero to Hero- Jeff Teague

Jeff Teague is only 178 lbs while standing 6’2. He most likely wears a t-shirt under his jersey while he plays so that it is harder to notice how skinny he is. Either way Teague is lethal with the ball in his hands. He wasn’t recruited heavily out of high school so when he made it to Wake Forest and into the starting lineup it was a huge surprise. He askjeff_teague2ed for the number zero on his jersey to remind himself of all the doubt that was thrown his direction.  Immediately he compared himself to Gilbert Arenas whose nickname reads, Agent Zero. Arenas was also given no chance for stardom since he was a high school baller and was even overlooked in the NBA draft until the second round. As we all know, Arenas is the franchise player for the Washington Wizards now.

Teague was drafted 19th overall in this recent 2009 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. He was the 8th point guard chosen to that point, which means 7 other point guards were considered better than him. That doesn’t bother Teague. He charged over to Atlanta for a press conference and a photo op within 24 hours of hearing his name called last Thursday. He is requesting the number zero for his jersey again and is ready to show everyone that he deserved to be the first or second point guard drafted. I understand why Teague feels overlooked. Last year in the ACC he scored 18.8 points a game, pulled down 3.3 rebounds, dished out 3.5 assist every contest, and stole the ball an average of 1.9 times a game all the while shooting an astounding 48.5 % from the field and 44% from behind the arc. He was amazing to watch. With that said. We want to be the first and we want to be remembered for saying that, Teague will be the next Gilbert Arenas and a future NBA all-star.

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Trade News

Here’s a quick update on some developing trade news.  The Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to send Mike Miller and Randy Foye to the Washington Wizards.  In return the Timberwolves receive Etan Thomas, Darius SoBangngaila, Oleksiy Pecherov (who?) and the fifth overall pick in tomorrow’s draft.  This means that Minnesota now has both the 5th and 6th picks in the NBA draft.  Will Minnesota continue to wheel and deal?  With time running out, we are bound to find out soon.  In any case, unless something happens, Thabeet, Rubio and Griffin will likely be off the board.  On another note, the Wizards are now stacked with scorers.

In Oakland, it looks like the Warriors are close to moving Jamal Crawford.  According to ESPN, the possible deal has the Atlanta Hawks sending Acie Law and Speedy Claxton to the Warriors for Crawford.  It’s not much of a surprise considering the Glut of scoring guards and forwards on the Warriors already.  More interesting however, is the possible significance that this deal would have on the Mike Bibby contract negotiations.

The next few days are bound to be fun as teams continue to scramble.  We’ll keep you updated.  Also look for a Pac10 basketball preview in the near future.