Pitarresi: Hasbrouck could make it, too

 

Jonny Flynn is a first round draft choice.

 

Kenny Hasbrouck is a free agent.

 

Now I’m going to write something really heretical:

 

I think Hasbrouck might be as good as Flynn, and might have as much pro potential.

 

However, he won’t likely get to show it. Flynn was a huge star at Syracuse, a national power. Hasbrouck was a pretty big star at Siena, which had a very good team but is a “mid major,” a term I really despise. That might have some influence on how their futures develop.

 

Don’t get me wrong. Flynn is a great player. He’s strong, fast, quick, powerful and a great competitor. Hasbrouck is all those things, too, maybe not to as great a degree, but he’s three or four inches taller. Flynn played against top flight competition, but so did Hasbrouck on many occasions. I think he is a great player, and I don’t think there is a lot of difference between him and most of the guards in the Big East that Flynn played against. In fact, I think Hasbrouck can play with any of them.

 

The biggest difference between the Big East and, say, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference that Siena, Niagara, Iona and other small schools play in is good big men. I’m not saying the guards are interchangeable, but there are a lot of MAAC guards who can play in the Big East. This stands to reason. There are a lot more good basketball players 5-feet-9 to 6-feet-6 than there are 6-feet-7 and taller. There just are a lot more people across the world shorter than 6-7 than taller than 6-7. It makes sense to me that there would be a lot more competition for guard positions in major conferences, so if a guy is a late bloomer, he might end up at LaSalle or Detroit of Siena and still be a great player. I think that is what happened with Hasbrouck.

 

The fact that Flynn is a first-round draft choice of the Minnesota Timberwolves helps him. Teams aren’t going to make that investment and not put everything they have into it. I’m not sure Flynn can be an outstanding pro. I just don’t know. I do know he’ll get every chance. Kenny Hasbrouck will not. He’ll have to do something special to make the Miami Heat, because he’ll have to bump a draft choice or an established player that the team has an investment in. That can be done.

 

Anyway, keep an eye on Hasbrouck. He might end up in the NBA.