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.

The Changing of the Guard

Note - This column will appear in the 2009 edition of Gonzaga Spires.

At 5-foot-11, freshman guard Demetri “Meech” Goodson wasn’t exactly the biggest player to ever grace the basketball court for the Bulldogs. There were certainly larger players with larger-than-life personalities. But for a generation of Zag fans, it was the image of Goodson saving the day that will forever stay with them when they think of Gonzaga’s run through the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

With the Zags tied with Western Kentucky in the second round with only seven seconds left, Goodson received the inbounds pass, took it the length of the court, and put in a running jumper, giving the Bulldogs the win and sending them to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006.

It was oddly fitting: Here was a 2009 team that featured two seniors – Jeremy Pargo and Josh Heytvelt – who were on the last Zag team to reach the Sweet 16 in 2006, and yet, the moment and the glory went to a young freshman. Those seniors received a shot at redemption for the 2006 heartbreaker, but it took the efforts of someone who wasn’t there to suffer that misfortune.

Goodson’s shot made a statement: A new chapter in Gonzaga basketball had begun.

The Zags entered the 2009 NCAA Tournament as a 4-seed, and were on a roll after cruising through the West Coast Conference season. This Zag team had been hailed as one of the most talented in school history, and expectations were high as the team traveled to Portland for the first two rounds.

But it wasn’t Gonzaga’s talent that would define their Tournament run. For all the accolades, highlights, and awards, it turned out none of it mattered. As it turned out, what would define this tournament was something that belonged to the Zags of old, the immeasurable quality of teams that never had the talent of this 2009 squad.

Heart.

Almost before anyone could blink in the first round, Gonzaga found itself trailing to 13-seed Akron at halftime 38-35. Suddenly, it was obvious that talent alone would not carry the Bulldogs to victory.

Pargo wore a look of anger, frustration, and focus as his team came out for the second half. He was the senior leader, and he was determined to not let another opportunity slip away. The Zags fought back, cheered on by the thousands of Zag fans who made the trip down. In the waning moments of the second half, Pargo threw down a vicious slam, turning the tide and pushing the Bulldogs to a 77-64 win.

As a senior, it was perhaps Pargo’s final defining moment as a Bulldog, because in a poetic changing of the guard, it was a freshman who would capture glory two nights later in the second round.

Against Western Kentucky, Gonzaga trailed again at the half, but found the strength to make another comeback. They retook the lead late in the second half, but WKU refused to go quietly and staged a comeback of their own, scoring nine straight points to tie the game with only seven seconds left.

“Meech” raced up the floor as the clock ticked away. Pargo was screaming for the ball, but the freshman refused to let rank be pulled. That moment belonged to Goodson. He nailed the runner and sent the Zags into a pandemonium.

But that moment proved to be the final happy moment for the Zags in the 2009 Tournament.

They traveled to Memphis for the Sweet 16, facing possibly the best team in the country: North Carolina. There were no glorious moments in that game, only two heavyweights trading punches back and forth. In the end, though, the Tar Heels proved just how elite they were, building a big lead over the Zags and never letting up.

After all the emotion of their first two games, the Zags just didn’t have another comeback in them.

The locker room after the game was a mixture of frustration and sadness. Seniors like Heytvelt and Pargo knew they would never play another game in a Bulldog uniform; their careers were book ended by disappointing finishes in the Sweet 16.

But the loss overshadowed another successful run in the Tournament – one filled with heart and determination. Those have always been the defining characteristics of Gonzaga basketball. The Zag legacy was carried on by a team that refused to quit.

So when a freshman who had never known those past teams took the ball coast to coast and scored an unlikely game winner, it became perfectly clear:

The torch had been passed.