McDONALD’S OPEN FOR JRUE-ISH HOLIDAY

Jrue Deserves a Break Today:  Bruin Commit Holiday scores 14 in McD All-Star Game, but “frustrated” trojan-to-be Derozan might have to grab a bucket and mop

The immense talent gap between UCLA and usc is about to be Super-Sized. 

For the second straight year, Ben Howland has landed the Gatorade National Player of the Year, and if last night’s McDonald’s All-American Game was any indication, both Howland and Gatorade know what they’re talking about.

Last year it was Kevin Love, and he has already proven to be a worthy Award Recipient.  This year, it is Jrue Holiday, from Campbell Hall, who certainly appeared worthy on ESPN Wednesday night.  Holiday was the West’s 2nd Leading Scorer, with 14 Points, but he also showed off his Passing, Rebounding, and especially, Defensive prowess.  Holiday was one of the only Players out there who was giving a solid effort on the Defensive end.  You could see right away what Howland sees in him, as he guarded tenaciously, and actually forced the East out of their Offense a few times, all by himself.

The Announcers were mostly focused on the East Coast Players, but they DID take the time to notice and flatter Holiday’s Defense, as his ball-hawking and anticipation skills led to several steals and fast breaks.  And something else that the Announcers felt needed commenting on:  The trojan Recruit Demar Derozan had a totally “frustrating” night.

Demar was the recipient of some great feeds, and scored some first half points while wide open in the paint, but whenever he tried to do something by himself, it failed.  He turned the ball over, he missed open jumpers, and he just looked less focused than everyone else.  He played a little bit out of control, and his lack of discipline led to the West’s loss.

The Bruins have one other McDonald’s All-American this year, and that is Guard Malcolm Lee.  Lee scored 3 Points and got a Board, but didn’t have that many opportunities to impress with the ball.  However, he played hard on Defense, and he got Boards over taller opponents.  Those two facts led the Announcers to compare him to Russell Westbrook, which is not bad company for the incoming Bruin to keep.

There is one other player who requires a comment or two, and that is Arizona-bound Brandon Jennings.  Jennings is #1 on ESPN’s Top 150 of the whole Country, and he WAS impressive.  The Bruins will definitely have to face him for only one season, but he will be nearly impossible to stop.  He didn’t show his reknowned shooting skill in this game — Instead, he decided to make it about Assists.  Before the game, he said that he was going to break the Assist Record, which stands at 13.

On the first possession, he made a beautiful alley-oop pass for Assist #1, and he got another in each of the next four minutes.  He was WHIPPING no-look passes through the key like Magic Johnson in his Prime.  Some of his passes were better than the games’ 27 Dunks.  He WOULD have broken the Record easily, if his teammates like Demar didn’t blow so many point-blank shots, AND, if he didn’t have to turn to his Scoring ability because of that, to try to bring his team back.  For most of the game, his shot was way off, but down the stretch, he proved that he DOES have the range.

Despite the fact that he was slightly out of control and did throw AWAY some of his fancy dishes (could he be of Greek descent?), he will be a handful for the Pac-10 next season.  If Arizona gets back Lute Olson, Chase Budinger, and Jerred Bayless, to go with Jennings, the Wildcats will be legitimate contenders to stop UCLA’s three-year Reign, and maybe live up to the billing that Tim Floyd mistakenly bestowed upon them before they lost seven straight to UCLA.

And speaking of coming back, the L.A. Times and several legitimate websites are claiming that not only is O.J. Mayo bailing on usc this year, but so are Taj Gibson and Davon Jefferson.  But there is no truth to the rumor that Derozan’s poor performance — or Jrue’s impressive one — had anything to do with the three stooges’ decision. 

NOW — Let’s just hope that Western Kentucky isn’t KLove’s last game as a Bruin.