Jimmy thinks this guy will be the next Karl Malone in the city of Utah.

I approve.

I wish I could be as content as most Jazz fans are, but with what the Jazz actually NEEDED was defense, not a Memo 2.0. In Koufous, they get another lumbering softy center who can supposedly hit jumpers.
It's criminal the Jazz didn't pick up a athletic, DEFENSIVE-minded big. Robin Lopez, 2nd all-time in blocks at Stanford? Gone at 15, certainly coulda' been obtainable. DeAndre Jordan? People question his maturity level, but the dude can jump out of the gym and has a tremendous wingspan.
But as always, the Jazz picked three dudes, who coincidentally look identical and who we won't see for a couple years--if not ever.
Wow.

Koufos another Karl Malone? Not likely, but if he eventually develops into a player similar to Okur I won't be disappointed.

Still ... Koufos wasn't the player I hoped the Jazz would end up with.

"A red-blooded McDonald's All-American."

funny how you say that.. as if being from another nationality is somehow inferior.

if you have any sense of decency you will clarify or retract that remark.

Unfortunately, I have seen Koufos play, and he does not have the demeanor for Coach Sloan. He is slow and a bit lazy on defense, hence, the poor shot blocking.

I personally would have rather seen Plaistead than Koufos in this particular case. At least plaisted works hard.

Just my humble Ohio opinion.

especially the "Red-blooded" part.

Drafting a player you've only seen once, and whose agent would not even let come to UT to work out for the Jazz despite being invited is pretty much a leap of faith. I'm not sure I would want to pick a player who wouldn't even come to work out for the team pre-draft. I don't care that everyone thought he would be selected higher. We've all seen players slip in drafts and go to teams they never imagined (Brady Quinn). If you get invited by a perennial playoff team with three all-star caliber players and the NBA's best coach, you politely accept and work out for that team. Left unsaid is whether the agent didn't want his client going to the "black hole" of UT, like Derek Harper and others who just hate the state.

I hope this kid works hard and contributes. He has more skills than Collins and achieved more in college than COllins, so at the very least he is an improvement at that position. I suspect he will surprise us with his progress and will turn out to be a good pick. But it was a leap of faith for O'Connor.

Jimmy:
You may have put your sneakers on the wrong feet.
However, the next 'Memo' would be just fine!
Jazzaholic

Between Koufos & Tomic from this draft, and Fesenko from last year's... PLEASE one of them end up being an effective center for the Jazz, to back up Okur and maybe provide some interesting situational lineups. Koufos is probably most ready to make an impact fairly soon, but maybe Fes will surprise us with his level of progress. I reckon they would be two quite different centers, and assuming Collins will be gone after his last year under contract, maybe both will end up "sticking". As for Tomic... after he develops more overseas, who knows, but it sounds like he's done well so far for being so young. Only time will tell.

Jimmy thinks he needs to stop talking about jimmy. Cause jimmy can see jimmy soon.

So he's not a shotblocker YET. He's 7'1 and he's 19 years old. Can't he LEARN to be a shot blocker with those statistics? What are coaches for? Why can't he turn out to be a shotblocker AND a scorer? Lets look at the glass as half full.

They try to tell me that people born in America are Americans. What is this dual Greek and American citizenship stuff? I hope this player lays off of the body adornments and grifitti. And what's up with all the drafting of alphabet players from across the pond? Why don't we call this league the International Basketball Association instead of the National Basketball Association? There are enough players (not skilled) but enough to have at least 50 teams worldwide. Let's do it now and have them play year round. For pete's sake, for all intents and purposes we have nearly year round play now. Let's just continue the playoffs and play right up to training camp. Then there is the Olympics; that's just a great concept for playing more basketball and burning out all the NBA players before the next season.

And how about cleaning up the, what do they call it? officiating in the league. It is atrosious. Many of the games smell to me....as in Las Vegas.

This will be another year of one or two rounds in the playoffs for the Jazz...no question. Too many games, too many injuries, and lack of focus. How about Jazz conditioning?

Jimmy thinks that the Jazz need to take a lesson in drafting from Portland and learn how to move up and down in order to get the player you truly covet.

Jimmy likens this selection to the Curtis Borchardt pick a few picks back. While Doufus may not have the injury problems that Borchardt did, the fact remains that several teams passed on him for other big men, for a reason. Jimmy thinks that Doufus will be hard pressed to earn a second contract in Utah and will be angling to return home to Greece after year 2 in a Jazz uniform.

Jimmy would also like to add that Jimmy is really tired of writing in the third person. Jimmy also recognizes that everyone else it tired of this third person smelly shoe speaking act.

Koufos will be a highly skilled center. His problem will be going inside. He has highly developed offensive skills, weak defense(by NBA standards). He is a fairly bright guy from what I've seen. Should be coachable. Needs to hit the weight room.
Probably won't get arrested.

I think you got a good player at 23 in draft. Good luck.

Buck Fan

More of the same in the Jazz picks. It won't lift them out of their current defensive funk. Look for the Jazz to excell in mediocrity. Oh and BTW, Jimmy's comments are a welcome change from the smash mouth dribble of most bloggers.

Jimmy realizes the Jimmy is moron. Jimmy finally realizes that there are only players with holes in their games at pick 23. Jimmy and his stinky shoes also finally have realized that it takes someone to trade with to make a trade.

The Jazz needed to get quicker and tougher in the middle, but these picks make us even slower and weaker (at least for the next 3 years).

I hope we'll be more aggresive about filling this need through free agency or some kind of trade, because clearly we didn't address it in the draft.

I want to bid farewell to Jimmy's Sneakers, who has done very little to advance the intellect of the sport of basketball.

Wow, a Ute (although Buckeye) that would prefer a cougar...

Kuofos has a nice perimeter game for a big man. The reason why he has developed that game is that he has no heart or guts to go inside and get banged around. Sloan will eat him up.

An ESPN wag said Koufus is a reincarnation of Osterbag, sent especially for coach Sloan. Why they
passed up hard working great talent D.J.White for
this stick figure is beyond imagination. If we make
the playoff next year we need a designated player
to replace boozer in the lineup.

We can keep winning and sit with one of the final 7 picks in the 1st round, or we can loose to get good draft picks. What do you prefer??? If he pans out he pans out if not you do what you can

The Jazz have enough options now that they can trade for a shot blocker when the right opportunity opens up. They have 4 young bigs developing. One (or more)of them should develop into value.

for all of you who think kosta can't block, he can. He averages 1.8 blocks as a freshman at ohio state a large school in a big conference!

Just what the Jazz need: another soft European center. We already have two of those, so the the Jazz draft two more? What the hell?

Okur is a better than average shooter for a big guy, but his interior defense is terrible. He let Lamar Odom walk all over him in the playoffs. Koufos is the reincarnation of Okur. It reminds me of that Seinfeld episode when Elaine has "bizarro" friends that are just like her regular friends. When they meet each other, George wants to go with the new group and Elaine says, "sorry, we already have a George". Well the Jazz already have an Okur, in fact they have two. So, another Okur isn't going to get the job done. The Jazz need a Hibbert.

Most entertaining thread in weeks....!

To phatT

Get a freakin life man! wah wah wah somebody said something that hurt my feelings wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah what did they mean "red blooded" wah wah wah wah wah

Tell Jimmy to shut and give other people a chance!!!! dawg

No we didn't break the bank in the draft, but what do you expect with a 23? There are and will be many trades in the near futre so don't cry yet. We only need one player to make a big difference anyway. So keep the faith Jazz fans, we will be just fine. Most of you seem to feel like we were in the lottery. No we actually have a very good team and had the best home record in the NBA this past season. Lots of youth to work with in fact. I could accept another competitive finish like this year again, maybe higher if we get some decent referees.

yeah, stop with this third person crap. you are freakin annoying

It is too bad the NBA just doesn't allow you to pass on your pick. I would love to see David Stern arrive at the podium and say "with the 23rd pick the Utah Jazz have opted not to pick due to poor player selection". It doesn't make sense to force a team to pay 1-4 million dollars in guaranteed money and use a roster spot for someone that isn't going to contribute. I hope this kid starts programming the points of interest of Orem into his Garmin GPS now. At least the other 2 picks will be buried in Eastern Europe for years to come. We need to trade now! What happened to the Boozer, our pick for Marion and Beasley deal? It is hard to fathom that our best first round picks were Ostertag, Kirelenko, and Williams. 11 years and 3 players one of which is now retired. The rest are some where else or not even on the league Shame on you Kevin! YOU SHOULD BE FIRED!

I agree with Jazz Fan. If you don't like Jimmy, than don't read Jimmy.

It depends on how hard this 19 year old wants to work. Slone is truly a genius as a coach however his luck with big men we have drafted is spotty at best. Jose Ortize, Walter Palmer, Luther Write, Brochard, any others I may have forgot? These guys didn't even stay for a cup of coffee. Is Fez the answer, probably not or the Jazz may have gone a different route. Lots of big men don't love the game and won't work hard.

why the Jazz have not been more involved in trades. Who have they got to trade? Lets see Boozer who fades when things get tough. Oh! I know those great players C.J. Miles, Jarron Collins, and Jason Hart. I imagine most teams would really be excited to make a trade for these "All Stars."

The Jazz have one player, Deron Williams beyond that nothing. Odds to win it all with this group 1000 to 1.

Ahh, the ignorance displayed here makes me laugh. My prediction: After two seasons of grooming (the kid is 19, come on) Kosta Koufos will emerge as a mildy inconsistent offensive threat, good for at least 16 points and 8 boards a game. With a 23rd pick, I'll be more than happy to take that kind of output.

How many other high school All-Americans do the Jazz have, or have ever had? When you look at the top players in the league, the Lebron James types, they were all McDonald's All-Americans. That says something. Koufos also averaged 15 points a game as a true freshman playing against some of best college teams in the country. Add three points to his average every season, and by the time he was a senior, he would have been a 24 ppg, 10 rebounds per game college All-American who would have gone in the top five of the lottery.

The Jazz got a steal here. Koufos was ranked at number 13 overall on ESPN's board. Getting him at 23 is a freaking bargain. Trust me. This guy will be a cornerstone for the Jazz in a few years.

He's not European. US born and raised. Don't let the greek name fool you.

hey guys i am an osu fan and koufus is a good shot blocker(much better late in the year)the kid is a good shooter and has a good low post game.

his biggest weakness is his passing ability(he is a black hole down low)

bottom line if he came back to osu probably is a top 5 pick next year

sheesh, it's dark in here! GO JAZZ!!!

Its amazing how many jazz fans don't have a clue how lucky they are to have an ownership that gives them high quality ball all year and gets them into the playoffs almost every year... get a clue all, I think if all those "better players" than who we got were available O'Conner would have done what he could..pull your heads out and enjoy what you have. There are alot of teams and fans out there that would love to trade you places. ;)

If it's defense you're worried about, then trading for someone or picking up a free agent is probably the best way to go. I don't think there is a 19 or 20-year old in the world who could be a significant post defender. And besides, if a better post defender was available, O'Connor would have taken him. Like it's been said, his game is not set in stone yet, he's only 19, and he's going to have Jerry's size 11 1/2 lodged up his behind in the next few years. He's a developing player with upside, typical of a late first round pick.

Come now everyone. Aren't the Jazz famous for picking slow, unathletic big men in the draft? Luther Wright says "hi" by the way. I do agree that the Jazz are not far off from being in the NBA finals...they need an athletic center that can block a few shots.

Dwill can score, as can Boozer when he shows up. I believe that we are close...

Interesting how critical people are about the draft picks even though O'Conner has rapidly rebuilt the Jazz into a contender. Drafting at 23 isn't like drafting at the top 5 and look at Williams, he was a top five pick and still took two seasons to take off.

The boys know what they are doing and I think Jazz fans will be happy and surprised with what the Jazz got at 23.

First off: posting on a message board doesn't make you a "blogger" as JazzFan previously stated; it makes you a poster on a message board.

Secondly, who was the last Jazz draftee that ended up being a game changer? Yes, D. Williams. What pick was he? Yes, he went number three. You're not getting exactly what you need at 23. Especially if that need is strong, defensive-minded big.

Someone mentioned DeAndre Jordan. If there are questions about his work ethic and effort in college, what makes you think he'll suddenly be motivated in the NBA when he has millions guaranteed?

Robin Lopez was probably the one "defense first" center in the draft. He went 15th. Say all you want about moving up, but it takes TWO teams to make a trade. Who exactly do the Jazz have, other than Williams and Boozer, that other teams are excited about?

Next year is the Jazz's best hope for a decent pick is in two years. The Knicks owe the Jazz a pick which is protected through the 22nd pick next year and unprotected in 2010.

Here's to hoping the Knicks bomb for two more years!

Jimmy is sick and tired of people claiming to be Jimmy. The one and only Jimmy will not stand for this. Jimmy's draft opinions are much more insightful than this mindless "dribble".

I read a scouting report that stated his offensive game needed work but he was a decent defender, rebounder, and shot blocker. I wonder who we beleive?

at first i was skeptical, but it will work out, get rid of collins and hart maybee pick up another guard. see how fesenko and almond mature and we should have a couple of euro players start playing for us in a couple of years when memo and ak are getting older. i just hope we dont end up with anymore giras,

maybe add damon stodamire, sam casell for leadership and maybee someone like earl boykins or chris duhon.

As a life-long Buckeye fan, I can tell you guys that Koufos will be a better NBA player than a college player. He was playing out of position all year. Koufos is naturally a "4", but Matta had him playing "5" all year long. Koufos can shoot the three and has a great perimeter shot. HE is better facing the basket and the guy can run the court. On defense, he will match up well against other "4"s.

He really matured as the year went on and played his best basketball in the Big Ten tourney and the NIT.