FanPost

Where did Dion Waiters come from?


I will start this off by saying I don't know much about Dion Waiters. I watched Syracuse a number of times this season, and I do remember the sophomore guard's name, but his play is not something I recollect. Granted I wasn't really watching for him like I would and Anthony Davis or Jarred Sullinger.

So why is Dion Waiters shooting up many draft boards, and what does it mean for the Blazers?

Dion's #s in school improved but were not exciting at best:

SEASON TEAM MIN FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT% REB AST BLK STL PF TO PTS
2011-12 SYR 24.1 4.6-9.6 .476 1.1-3.1 .363 2.3-3.2 .729 2.3 2.5 0.3 1.8 1.9 1.3 12.6
2010-11 SYR 16.3 2.3-5.6 .411 0.8-2.5 .329 1.1-1.4 .813 1.6 1.5 0.1 1.1 1.4 0.9 6.6

Ok so why all the excitement?

Waiters has been very impressive in recent workouts. Since I was not at these workouts we will quote an NBA GM who was: "There are really only two potential superstars in this draft. One is a sure thing -- freshman Anthony Davis. The other one is Waiters. He can be an electric scorer in the NBA. There's some Dwyane Wade in him."

That is high praise indeed. Wade's college stats for comparison:

Season GP MPG PPG FG% 3FG% FT% APG RPG BPG SPG
2002-03 33 32.1 21.5 50.1 31.8 77.9 4.4 6.3 1.3 2.2
2001-02 32 29.2 17.8 48.7 34.6 69.0 3.4 6.6 1.1 2.5

They are about the same size : 6'4" and 215lbs. But Wade certainly had the more impressive two seasons on campus. So is this hype and a bust in the making or could Dion Waiters be the next great shooting guard in the NBA? (there are hardly any great one's these days) Is Waiters the Blazers answer to the hole left by Brandon Roy?

Please someone who knows about Dion tell me what is going on.