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Spurs select Missouri's Denmon with 59th pick
With the 59th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs opted against selecting an international player as most expected and picked Missouri guard Marcus Denmon.
Denmon was a four-year player at Missouri, and while he played shooting guard in college, at 6-3 he'll have to work on becoming a point guard in the NBA.
Denmon, who has been Missouri's scoring leader the past two years, can certainly put points up on the board. He's an efficient shooter, but he can knock down shots from NBA three-point range even when not spotting up and is a capable shooter off the dribble.
In his senior season at Missouri, Denmon averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He shot 46 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arch.
For his size, Denmon appears to be an above average rebounder, likely due to his 33.5 inch standing vertical jump, which measured up as fourth best at the NBA combine.
Fellow Bloguin blogger Ed Isaacson interviewed Denmon for NBA Draft Blog.
"Great kid, I think he will eventually be a PG, uses screens really well, great in transition," Isaacson told me of Denmon following the draft. "He finds ways to get looks so not sold size is issue and he can really pressure the ball on defense."
The Spurs' focus on offense could play into Denmon's favor.
“If he goes to one of the five or six teams that play at the pace Missouri played at, his value would be higher to them,” Isaacson said. “That’s an underrated part of all this: fit.”
If the Spurs bring back Patty Mills, they could be stockpiled with undersized shooting guards/scoring point guards in Gary Neal, Mills and Denmon. There is also word that Nando De Colo could be making his way stateside next season, so Denmon's immediate NBA future is still in question.
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The more I think about Denmon the more I think it was a smart move. Neal is great, but part of that is cuz he's cheap. His next contract is not going to be as inexpensive, so we have pick #59 to take his place. The dude can shoot and from what I've read has a lot of the same hustle and determination as kawhi. So he's small, a lot of the play has gone to small ball. I'm almost thinking we don't need a lane clogging monster down low, but someone defensively minded that is athletic enough to get stops. If he can shoot decently that's a plus. I'm all in favor of denmon and hope to see him in the lineup soon!
I don't like this pick at all. I think he won't be much use to us. We'll probably send him to the D-League and call him up a few times during the season. I mean, I get the James Anderson feeling about this. I know Denmon is a terrific shooter, he's fast and quick, and he has a very low turnover rate. But we really don't NEED an undersized guard, I don't think it'll help us much. I know we had the 59th pick and there wasn't much to choose from, but we chose and I guess we'll see how it turns out. He's either going to be a big bust, be decent for a couple of years and then we'll try to ship him off like Blair, or he''ll be amazing off the bat and become a vital part of the rotation. One of those is bound to happen.
I looked at video of Denmon and he can play. He is quick, has a better handle than Neal or Joseph(maybe), a great leaper, and comparable shooter to Neal and a similar clutch shoot maker. He reminds me of Tony Douglas. Never gonna be a pure PG but has some vision and passing ability. No mcClinton, a better defender and shooter than Jerrels.
Where all these guys fit, who knows, they are assets. Mav's carry 6 guards, I guess 2 in Austin, 5 in SA will work until trades can help sort it out.
i dont understand why they didnt take good bigs that were there like kevin jones who can shoot and gets rebounds or robert sacre who plays d and i think could be like a bad tyson chandler...why make cory joseph a wasted pick last year by taking this guy cos one of them wont be needed..they better resign patty mills not just cos im from australia but cos he won games 49 and 50 pretty much by himself and can definately be a great backup..5 point gurads and if the unwanted de colo comes its 6 point guards. stupid
This dude can ball. For some reason I have a good feeling about him. He can score in so many ways. If Westbrook can be made in to a point guard I believe this guy can to. I hope he participates in summer league. By the way don't compare this guy to gary neal. They are completely different
Hmmm... Denmon sounds interesting, but we have a lot of PG "projects" with him onboard. Corey Joseph has more Spurs experience and will they try to bring back Patty mills? If De Colo comes the Spurs can have a PG party! I think Denmon is going to spend some time in Austin, unless he really impresses in training camp. Welcome to the Spurs Marcus!
