Utah Jazz: Why Grayson Allen will win over the hearts of Jazz fans

The Utah Jazz knew there would be backlash when selecting a player with the background of Grayson Allen, but they also know he will win over fans quickly.

We knew the 2018 NBA Draft was going to be one of the most fascinating to watch in recent years, simply because anything could happen with picks 16-40. Players like Michael Porter Jr., Lonnie Walker IV, Robert Williams III and Keita Bates-Diop dropped dramatically. While others like Jerome Robinson, Troy Brown Jr. and Anfernee Simons heard their names called earlier than expected.

In the middle of all that was the Utah Jazz selecting No.  21 overall. After weeks of scouting, speculation and reporting the Jazz selected Grayson Allen out of Duke University.

Instant reaction by the casual fan wasn’t necessarily positive. Any team drafting Allen likely knew that this could be the case, as Allen has quite the history, and it is not all positive. Throughout his career at Duke, he was involved in multiple incidents of on-court altercations with opponents. Most notably, at least three instances of appearing to purposefully trip opposing players.

Allen has never had any off the court issues or altercations, but his antics on the court have largely led to him being cast as a Duke villain and a bit of a sore loser.

Oh, and did I mention he went to Duke?

Duke has always seemed to be one of those schools that you either love or you hate, and many people here seemingly hate them. Players that go there are always going to be in the spotlight, which means their actions and their game gets picked apart. As Allen was a four-year senior, that’s a lot of time for your game to be picked apart.

All that said, it seems as though many Jazz fans are unsure about the selection of Grayson Allen.

The Jazz knew all of this going in though, and they were sure that Allen would be able to overcome his failures in the past, while also winning over the hearts of Jazz fans.

I’ll provide you with two reasons why Jazz fans will quickly be swooning over the 21st pick out of Duke.

Production on the Court

If you looked past the distractions of some of his antics on the court, you were able to see one of the top players in college basketball, who played with an intense passion and love for the game.

His being a starter for one of the most prestigious basketball colleges alone should tell you something about his abilities. However, when you look at the numbers Allen was able to put up over the past three seasons at Duke, you instantly become intrigued.

The year that jumped out more than any other, has to be his sophomore season, where Allen averaged 21.6 points and was a Wooden Award finalist. If Allen had chosen to enter the draft that season, he likely would have been a lottery pick, right along with his teammate Brandon Ingram.

Instead, Allen chose to return to Duke, hoping to help the team win another National Championship. To that end, he accepted a completely different role and played more off-ball than he had in the past. On a team with Luke Kennard and Jayson Tatum, he simply wasn’t asked to carry the same type of scoring load.

Allen had the ability to be one of the top scorers in college basketball, but he was willing to sacrifice that role in and effort to help his team win a national championship. Doesn’t that sound like the type of player we want on the Utah Jazz?

Despite the lower scoring average, Allen clearly still has the potential to score are at a high level. In just the third game of his senior season, Duke played a pivotal game versus Michigan State. Allen would score 37 points, including seven 3-pointers, to help lead the Blue Devils to a dominant victory.

Allen can score in a variety of ways and at every level. He has the athleticism to get to the basket, can create separation and score in the mid-range, and obviously is a confident 3-point shooter. He attempted nearly eight long balls per game.

Allen is going to be given the rock and asked to run the show during the Utah and Vegas Summer Leagues. Don’t be surprised if he averages nearly 20 per game along the way.

Plays with Passion

You will be hard-pressed to find any player in the entire NBA who is going to play with the same level of passion and energy as Grayson Allen.

There are some intangibles that just cannot be measured during the combine, and cannot be seen in the final box score.

Just watch the videos and read the tweets below, and tell me that you do not want that player on your team.

Allen is tough as nails, and he lays it all out there on the court. Literally.

If one of the biggest concerns about a prospect is that he tripped a few players, I can overlook that. Especially because those outlier actions only exemplify the fact that he has a strong desire to win than almost anyone out there.

This guys hates to lose.

During his sophomore and junior years, he and Donovan Mitchell actually crossed paths a few times. While they were some heated matchups, it appears that there is a mutual respect between the two. Mitchell certainly showed his enthusiasm and approval of the pick when he interrupted Allen’s interview to give him a bear hug.

When asked about Allen by Dennis Lindsey during a pre-draft workout, Mitchell stated that “he hated to play against him, but would love to play with.”

I fully expect that to be the thought process of Jazz fans this year. As a fan watching the game, Allen is the type of player that you hate on the other team, but when he is on your team, you absolutely love everything about him.

If you are one of the fans who felt like this pick was terrible, give it time. It is only a matter of time until Allen wins you over with his ability to score the ball, and his intense passion for the game.

I give it five minutes before he dives on the floor for a loose ball.

• Published on 06/22/2018 at 11:28 PM MDT
• Last updated on 06/22/2018 at 11:28 PM MDT