2011 Draft Prospecting - Our Pick for #25 - Jeremy Tyler

Overview:
Jimmy Butler out of Marquette, Jeremy Tyler the High Schooler/turned pro in Japan/Israel and Norris Cole out of Cleveland State seem to be the primary targets for the C's. There have been murmurs of moving up to get USC's Vucevic, but for a guy who's upside is basically Nenad Krstic, it just doesn't seem likely, particularly if it involves the very valuable 2012 Clippers pick. JaJuan Johnson is another name that seems to be mentioned, but my guess is that Ainge is hoping he drops into the second round as he needs bulk, he's so skinny he makes Tayshaun Prince look obese.

Our Pick:
Jeremy Tyler, San Diego, CA
The risk/reward factor is there with Tyler, but quite simply the Celtics need to swing for the fences and get someone who can immediately help the Big 3 on the run for #18. While Butler is the safest bet, he is another Swing Forward and, provided Green comes back and Marquis returns for 3.0, the C's are stocked right now. The depth at the 5 is Jermaine O'Neal. Delonte West (hopefully back as well) and Avery Bradley (expecting huge year out of him), make Cole's a Lobsterclaw almost by default. I like Johnson, but moving the 55th pick and the 2013 2nd rounder to get a pick in the 40's seems a better approach to nabbing him. Which brings us back to Tyler, whom seems like the best fit for the C's at #25.

After initially committing to the Rickator & Louisville, Tyler went straight from High School to the Israeli Super League's Maccabi Haifa, but was labeled a "bust" after playing in just 10 games. Somewhat ridiculous considering he was just 18, should have been a High School Senior and instead was living in a tumultuous Foreign Land. Tyler quit and moved home after just under a year with Haifa.

"Was he ready to accept the responsibility of going to a foreign country? Probably not. It's quite different from Brandon Jennings," his advisor Sonny Vaccaro said. "It's more embarrassing than detrimental."

Moreover when you look at the comments from Tyler, even more questions arise as to what type of environment it was in Israel:

"If he just gave me a little confidence, said something to me in practice, it would make a big difference," Tyler said of then-coach Avi Ashkenazi. "But he doesn't. He just ignores me."


Tyler then went to Japan to play for pro ball for the Tokyo Apache, while seeing 33 games of action the performance was still underwhelming, but once again it is skewed due to lack of playing time. In 15.4 minutes per game he averaged 9.9 points on 51.7% shooting and 6.4 rebounds, not exactly horrific numbers, particularly when looking at other foreign prospects like Enes Kanter or Bismack Biyombo. For a team desperate for offense, like the Celtics, 10 points in 15 minutes of play is exactly what this team needs. Combine that with the tutelage of Kevin Garnett, whom had a few off years coming straight out of highschool, and its an ideal scenario for Tyler to come to the Celtics.

This is the pick that is not the safest bet, but with the C's desperate need to contend now, the necessity to hit a home run with this pick is huge, not so much is the need to find someone to ride the pine.

The NY Times did a very interesting Bio of Tyler a few years back and its worth reviewing to get a better idea of why Tyler might have been motivated to take $140,000 to go to Israel rather than the privilage of a few years with the Ricktator. Here's a quote on his current motivation, in case you're envisioning the second coming of Andrew Bynum:

“I have a vision, and my vision is to make the pros and have a successful life,” Tyler said. “Partying and all that stuff isn’t in my arsenal.”

Obviously crazy things will happen on draft night and who knows if Tyler's stock will rise/fall in the coming hours. It would not surprise me if Bishop Ainge traded all of his assets for the BYU savior Jimmer, but I'm pretty sure Doc and Wyc would not be attending the Draft "Party" if he did!

Notes
As previously mentioned, we've been using the tremendous Draft Profiles put together by Chris Forsberg/Grag Payne @ ESPN's Boston Celtics Blog, here's an overview of all of their hard work:

THE BIGS
Nikola Vucevic, 7-0, 260 lbs., USC
Jeremy Tyler, 6-11, 263 lbs., Tokyo Apache
Kenneth Faried, 6-8, 225 lbs., Morehead State
Justin Harper, 6-9, 228 lbs., Richmond
JaJuan Johnson, 6-10, 220 lbs., Purdue
Jon Leuer, 7-0, 223 lbs., Wisconsin
Jordan Williams, 6-9, 247 lbs., Maryland
Trey Thompkins, 6-10, 239 lbs., Georgia
Malcolm Thomas, 6-9, 223 lbs., San Diego State
Greg Smith, 6-10, 253 lbs., Fresno State
Keith Benson, 6-11, 217 lbs., Oakland

THE OTHERS  
PG Malcolm Lee, 6-6, 198 lbs., UCLA
PG Norris Cole, 6-2, 175 lbs., Cleveland State
PG Reggie Jackson, 6-3, 208 lbs., Boston College
SG Marshon Brooks, 6-5, 195 lbs., Providence
SF Jimmy Butler, 6-8, 222 lbs., Marquette
SF Kyle Singler, 6-9, 228 lbs., Duke