NBA Rookie Watch

Rookie Watch
The Per 36 Minutes stats.

1. JOHN WALL
PER 15.2 / pts 15.3 / rbs 4.2 / ast 8.2 / stl 1.5 / blk 0.4 / fg% .405 / 3p% .290

2. EVAN TURNER
PER 10.2 / pts 11.0 / rbs 6.2 / ast 2.0 / stl 0.6 / blk 0.2 / fg% .419 / 3p% .275

3. DERRICK FAVORS
PER 13.4 / pts 12.3 / rbs 9.6 / ast 0.8 / stl 0.6 / blk 1.5 / fg% .515 / 3p% ---

4. WESLEY JOHNSON
PER 10.0 / pts 12.4 / rbs 4.1 / ast 2.6 / stl 0.9 / blk 0.9 / fg% .401 / 3p% .356

5. DEMARCUS COUSINS
PER 14.3 / pts 17.9 / rbs 10.9 / ast 3.1 / stl 1.3 / blk 1.1 / fg% .428 / 3p% .176

6. EKPE UDOH
PER 9.7 / pts 8.6 / rbs 6.3 / ast 1.4 / stl 0.7 / blk 2.9 / fg% .446 / 3p% ---

7. GREG MONROE
PER 17.5 / pts 12.0 / rbs 9.6 / ast 1.5 / stl 1.5 / blk 0.7 / fg% .548 / 3p% ---

8. AL-FAROUQ AMINU
PER 9.9 / pts 11.6 / rbs 6.6 / ast 1.5 / stl 1.5 / blk 0.7 / fg% .391 / 3p% .321

9. GORDON HAYWARD
PER 9.2 / pts 10.2 / rbs 4.4 / ast 2.3 / stl 0.9 / blk 0.7 / fg% .452 / 3p% .434

10. PAUL GEORGE
PER 13.4 / pts 13.7 / rbs 6.6 / ast 1.9 / stl 1.9 / blk 0.8 / fg% .450 / 3p% .270

11. COLE ALDRICH
PER 7.1 / pts 4.6 / rbs 8.9 / ast 1.0 / stl 1.3 / blk 1.8 / fg% .533 / 3p% ---

12. XAVIER HENRY
PER 7.0 / pts 11.3 / rbs 2.5 / ast 1.2 / stl 0.8 / blk 0.2 / fg% .406 / 3p% .118

13. ED DAVIS
PER 15.7 / pts 10.8 / rbs 10.6 / ast 0.8 / stl 0.9 / blk 1.6 / fg% .576 / 3p% ---

14. PATRICK PATTERSON
PER 17.0 / pts 13.5 / rbs 8.7 / ast 1.8 / stl 0.8 / blk 1.6 / fg% .557 / 3p% ---

15. LARRY SANDERS
PER 10.9 / pts 10.8 / rbs 7.3 / ast 0.7 / stl 0.9 / blk 2.9 / fg% .427 / 3p% ---

16. LUKE BABBITT
PER -0.6 / pts 8.3 / rbs 6.5 / ast 0.7 / stl 0.7 / blk 0.4 / fg% .286 / 3p% .091

17. KEVIN SERAPHIN
PER 9.0 / pts 9.3 / rbs 8.7 / ast 0.6 / stl 0.9 / blk 1.7 / fg% .452 / 3p% ---

55. JEREMY EVANS
PER 19.6 / pts 15.2 / rbs 7.7 / ast 1.6 / stl 1.3 / blk 1.4 / fg% .673 / 3p% ---

Now I threw in Evans because I'm Jazz-centric but also to give some perspective to the Per-36 stats. Evans' numbers look great, but they don't take into account he's averaged only 8.7 minutes a game this season. When Evans does enter, he's a burst of energy and scores quickly via alley-oop dunks or mid-range jumpers, but he's often quickly yanked because he's the lightest power forward in the league. I think the most minutes he's ever played in a game was 22.

But it still brings out revealing things when comparing to each other. I remember on draft night, just about every fan in our 1320kfan.com chatroom was upset over the Jazz taking Hayward at #9. There was hope against hope that Jazz brass might be able to swing a trade up, or that Greg Monroe or Al-Farouq Aminu might slip to #9. Most on the blog wanted a big man, as Boozer was leaving, Okur was injured, and no one had any idea of an Al Jefferson trade.

To evalutate the draft, it's best to look at the guys that were drafted after him. I remember more than one guy was clamoring for Luke Babbitt, and had that been the pick, Kevin O'Connor would likely be fired this summer. But I was in the Ed Davis or Cole Aldrich camp. Davis is doing about as well as I thought he would, whereas Aldrich has had a disappointing year. One of the knocks on Patterson was that he's an undersized power forward, and after watching Pau Gasol dwarf Boozer and Millsap in the playoffs, the Jazz did not need any more undersized players.

So plusses for Hayward, he's the best shooter of the 1-2-3's. He's certainly doing better than Henry and Babbitt, whose draft stock at the time were about even with Hayward. And as the Jazz have been getting more and more injuries, Hayward's been getting more time, and his per-game numbers are improving. I think he'll have a solid sophomore year, to the point he'd have a shot making the sophomore squad during the All-Star break.