From Deseret News archives:

Koufos' foot problems in the past, Jazz say

Utah's draftee broke foot as high school junior

Published: Saturday, June 28, 2008 12:03 a.m. MDT
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NBADraft.net's analysis: "Utah must really like what Mehmet Okur gives them because Koufos is essentially the same player. He might not be the toughest 7-footer around, but he is a lights-out perimeter shooter and a legitimate zone buster. He can play pick-and-pop with Deron Williams when Okur needs a breather or gets into foul trouble."

ESPN.com said Dragicevic was "not exactly a household name" — Ford, who is as well-versed on the draft as any in cyberspace, admitted to never having seen him — and NBADraft.net called him a "mysterious Serbian forward with good size and strong face-up ball skills."

Though he won't come to the NBA from Croatia for at least another year or two, Ford was high on Tomic, calling him "one of the most skilled bigs in this draft" but someone who "needs to get much, much stronger."

And he was especially high on Koufos, writing that if he had stayed at Ohio State, "he would have been projected as a top-10 pick in 2009, so I don't think the Jazz could have done much better at 23."

OOPS: So much for a DraftExpress.com report that the Jazz "apparently fancy Goran Dragic as a potential backup for (point) Deron Williams a few years down the road, and could take him with the No. 44 pick."

Story continues below
The Jazz instead took Tomic at 44, and the Slovenian Dragic went one pick later, taken by San Antonio for Houston.

OOPS II: ESPN.com reported that the Jazz "seriously considered drafting Tomic with the No. 23 pick," but O'Connor said Thursday he was never a consideration for them at that spot.

HE SAID IT: O'Connor, at the Jazz's practice facility after the draft: "We're sick of looking at each other, we're sick of having pizza, we're sick of being in this building. But it's turned out pretty well for us."


E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com

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