This is nuts.
I just watched the newest Prism video on the Secret Base YT channel about Jrue Holiday. In the middle of watching, I stopped the video, went to the Sports Reference website, and just... wow.
Darren Collison played four seasons at UCLA and basically cockblocked Jrue's draft stock.
In some ways, UCLA was super-stacked then and it's insane to imagine that Russell Westbrook played off-ball for him.
Yes, the video is all about Jrue Holiday, but let me list Collison's teammates during his four-year stint with the UCLA Bruins.
2005-06 | FRESHMAN YEAR
Collison played behind Jordan Farmar at the PG spot, but he also had the likes of Arron Afflalo, Luc Mbah A Moute, and Ryan Hollins. He also played with former Atlanta Hawk and former Barangay Ginebra import Cedric Bozeman.
2006-07 | SOPHOMORE YEAR
Collison is now the team's starting PG and again, Russell Westbrook is playing behind him. Afflalo and Mbah a Moute also returned to the squad.
2007-08 | JUNIOR YEAR
Collison and Westbrook are now the starting backcourt of the Bruins following Afflalo's departure. Mbah a Moute returned for his final year and he's joined by NBA double-double machine Kevin Love.
2008-09 | SENIOR YEAR
I guess Collison didn't want to leave his teammates, Josh Shipp and Alfred Aboya. Anyway, Westbrook, Love, and Mbah a Moute have left the team with Holiday entering with the likes of Malcolm Lee and Aaron Gordon's older brother Drew Gordon.
Anyway, here are their numbers.
COLLISON | 2008-09 NCAA | HOLIDAY |
|---|---|---|
14.4 | POINTS | 8.5 |
2.4 | REBOUNDS | 3.8 |
4.7 | ASSISTS | 3.7 |
1.6 | STEALS | 1.6 |
50.9% | FIELD GOAL % | 45% |
39.4% | 3-PT % | 30.7% |
1.2 | 3PM | 0.8 |
89.7% | FREE THROW % | 72.6% |
Jrue missed the era when high school players could jump straight to the NBA. In some ways, his draft stock trended downward because of this. That said, Holiday was still picked four slots higher than Collison with the former becoming the 17th pick by the Philadelphia 76ers and Collison becoming the 21st pick of the New Orleans Hornets.
I don't know if Collison would have been a first-rounder if he jumped to the pros after his freshman year, but age played a part in his selection. Collison was about to turn 22 that year. Yes, in the PBA, that age is considered raw and rare, but in the NBA, that's considered old for a rookie. Collison is one of five seniors selected in the first round after Terrence Williams and Eric Maynor. DeMarre Carroll and Toney Douglas had so-so NBA careers but Williams had it even worse. Williams played six seasons and 153 games in New Jersey, Houston, Sacramento, and Boston, and also went winless in three games as Meralco's import during the 2014 PBA Governors' Cup.
Still, Collison is the best senior in that draft class. And it's not all bad for Holiday as he was still able to accomplish a lot of things in the NBA like becoming an all-star, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and a two-time NBA champion.