Meet Your Longshot NBA Draft Prospect part 2: Jeremy Pargo

Note- With the June 25 NBA draft poised to be the weakest in years, it seems like every player has a shot of being picked. With the help of some special guests, we're going to take an in-depth look at some players whose names NBA GM's might not have heard about.

We're going to jump right into things today as we discuss Gonzaga guard Jeremy Pargo. Once again, I've enlisted the aid of Kevin O'Brien of The Ex-Call Taker, who provided his perspective on the polarizing Zags point guard.

No point guard in the history of Gonzaga garnered as much hype as Jeremy Pargo did when he arrived on campus four years ago. And that’s not exactly a small measurement either, especially considering this is a program that produced Hall of Famer John Stockton and All-American Dan Dickau.

Guys like Pargo simply didn’t come to Gonzaga. Guys who come from hoop meccas such as Chicago and have NBA family pedigrees (his brother played for the New Orleans Hornets before opting to go to CSK Moscow this year for more dough), usually go for the bigger schools in the nation, but lo and behold Pargo came to Gonzaga and the talk about him was that he could be the most explosive and athletic guard the school ever produced.

In some ways, Pargo accomplished what people expected from him…somewhat. He displayed incredible feats of athleticism that many fans hadn’t seen in the McCarthey Center and brought a swagger that was not typical to your usual Mark Few-coached Gonzaga team. Pargo brought hype, Pargo brought that Chicago-flair to Spokane and Pargo brought a highlight show that made you check ESPN every night just in case you missed the game.

But in terms of substance and not style, Pargo is a disappointment. We thought we were seeing flashes of greatness his sophomore year. Sure, you could look at the stats and say he averaged 12. 1 ppg in his first season as a starter, but in reality, the hope came at MSG against North Carolina (which ironically was the stepping stone for two other guys as well: Matt Bouldin and Josh Heytvelt). Pargo showed explosiveness to the hoop. Pargo showed game savvy. And surprisingly, he outplayed a more hyped, and more lauded point guard in Ty Lawson. Check out this highlight reel and try to convince yourself to say he didn’t make you think that he was going to be something beyond special.

However, like Heytvelt, Pargo peaked sophomore year. He had less turnovers and more assists his junior year en route to being WCC Player of the Year, and put up balanced numbers his senior year, but in no way was his third or fourth year dramatically different from his sophomore year. He didn’t have any big games. He didn’t have any performances that made you say “This guy is going to be big.” Morrison had those. Dickau had those. Turiaf had those. Pargo on other hand? Nada.

And the reason why? For as much good as he did, he always followed it up with something bad…in the same game. The guy was more schizophrenic than Jim Carrey in “Me, Myself and Irene.” For every massive dunk, there was a stupid play he made where he coughed the ball up. For every big shot, there was that time when he drained the clock only to chuck up a bad shot twenty feet out with one second left. You see…Pargo may have had great performances statistically, but stats only tell so much. Just look at his stat line his senior year when they played No. 2 Uconn: 16 points 7 assists. Good huh? Until you see the other stat: five turnovers and that doesn’t count that all his turnovers seemed to come in the fourth quarter and overtime. The stupid halfcourt pass. The ridiculous drive he made at the end which got blocked. If Gonzaga had won that game, we may have said that was Pargo’s breakout performance, because statistically it looks great. But because he made bonehead play after bonehead play, fate denied him that great performance truly excellent players have.

And that is what makes him so lost in this draft. Sure he is athletic. You could argue that he is just as athletic as any guy in this draft. Jeff Teague? Pargo’s more experienced and stronger. Brandon Jennings? You think Pargo’s jump shot is bad, Jennings is worse. Ty Lawson? Great, but when you have Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Tyler Hansbrough in the lineup, even Pargo would look as good.

But the problem with Pargo is nothing physical (even though he has lost a step speed-wise since sophomore year) but all mental. He can’t play 30-plus minutes of consistent ball. He just makes too many dumb decisions, makes too many mistakes and just can’t handle it in the crunch. People will argue “Well, people make dumb mistakes all the time in the NBA,” but that’s at the NBA level. Sure, Jameer Nelson was making error after error in the Finals, but he wasn’t doing that at St. Joe’s. In fact, he was one of the most efficient guards in St. Joe’s history and he is struggling to be consistent at the NBA level. You think Pargo can be an efficient NBA player if he can’t be consistent at the collegiate level?

Pargo came back another year because scouts wanted him to improve his efficiency. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and now he may have gone from fringe first round pick to fringe pick altogether. It’s a sad story because you know Pargo, even if he makes the NBA, won’t be anything more than an eighth man-type. His brother had a good NBA career, but his brother could shoot. Pargo can’t. His brother Jannero had no hype at Arkansas and thus went under the radar. Jeremy has been in the spotlight since freshman year. Granted, this isn’t a rare thing. It happened to Keith Bogans from Kentucky, who sophomore year worked out for scouts, came back and massively underachieved the following year.

But Bogans actually got drafted in the second round. It’s hard pressed to believe that Pargo will be that lucky.

My big thanks to Kevin once again for helping me out with this series. Again, if you haven't checked out The Ex-Call Taker yet, you're missing out.

I have to add in my 2 cents before we go. Like Kevin and other Gonzaga fans, I found myself perplexed by Jeremy Pargo because of his inconsistency. On more than one occasion after a bad pass or a forced shot, I found myself saying that Pargo "was the worst point guard Gonzaga has ever had."

Obviously that was a bit much, and a total exaggeration, but you can see just how crazy he drove fans at times.

But I will say this about Pargo: the guy was a leader, and always wanted to win. Over his time at Gonzaga, we saw him evolve into the outspoken team captain; the unquestioned leader of the team. It was always Pargo who spoke on behalf of the team to the media. It was always Pargo who rallied the troops when things fell apart.

As I found out during the NCAA Tournament, Pargo took losing very hard, and put it on his own shoulders to try to carry the team when they needed him. Say what you want about his skills, but I will always respect Jeremy Pargo for his drive and determination.

But then he turns the ball over while trying to throw a jumping, cross-court pass, and it makes you realize that, sadly, desire alone won't do it for you.

Best Case Scenario: Jarrett Jack's build, Jarrett Jack's desire, none of Jarrett Jack's skills.

Special Thanks to Hanne Zak Photography for use of the photos.