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Jun 17 2009

2009 NBA Mock Draft – Arizona State’s James Harden

Posted by admin in 2009 NBA Draft, Arizona State University Sun Devils, tags: 2009 NBA Draft, 2009 nba draft lottery, Arizona State University Sun Devils, james harden, nba draft, NBA Shooting Guard Prospects, Shooting Guard Prospects

ASU's James Harden

There were high expectations when James Harden, a 6ft. 5in. shooting guard from Los Angeles, California, finally chose the Arizona State Sun Devils as his college of choice. And, quite honestly, there should have been. He led his high school team to a 33-1 record and was voted to the prestigious McDonalds All-American team. Needless to say, the young man didn’t disappoint. From the opening game to the last of his debut season, Harden responded as many though he would. He scored, rebounded and played a vital role in leading the Sun Devils to a 20 win season. With his size, work ethic and sound fundamentals, Harden will no doubt be a player that has the possibility of being

a lottery pick in the upcoming 2009 NBA Draft.

James Harden’s Collegiate Career

To put it bluntly, Harden will be leaving Arizona State as the most decorated player in Sun Devil history. After leading the Sun Devils to a 13 win turnaround, highest in the nation in his first season, he was voted Pac 10 freshman of the year. But to most observers, they knew even better things were just on the horizon. In his second season he was 25^th in the nation in scoring with a 20.1ppg. and he accomplished this with a little over 12 shots a game. But what was even more impressive was his overall game. He rebounded, averaging just over 5 a game, he made assists, just over 4 a game and he was sound defensively averaging almost 2 steals a game. He was again voted to first team All PCA -10 and helped lead the Sun Devils to their first post season NCAA tournament berth in 6 years. Due to his outstanding year in 2008-2009, Harden became the first Sun Devil in team history to earn first team All-American honors along with being voted PAC 10 player of the year. There was little doubt that after such a stellar career, that James Harden would chose to take his game to next level.

James Harden’s 2009 NBA Draft Prospects

As the rumor mill cranks up, especially after the NBA draft combine in Chicago, Harden has the potential to be selected as high as # 3 and as low as position 5. Which by the way, is good news for the Washington Wizards as they sorely need the additional scoring punch. But again, speculation does not always equal reality. What does seem to be odd, and to some just a bit arrogant, is that Harden, at least until now has stated that he will not conduct any interviews with teams that are not in the top 5 drafting positions. What has so far impressed NBA scouts the most is Hardens all around basketball skills and athleticism. Although he is still only 19, he already possesses NBA quickness to become an excellent defender and has the ball handling ability and court awareness to hit the open man. Even though he played both small forward and shooting guard in college, his best position according to most NBA experts will be that of shooting guard.

Refs:

http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article_external/646535

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=txjameshardenbio&prov=st&type=lgns&print=1

http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html