I’m not going to sit here and bullshit you all. The people v.s. Larry Flynt is an entirely different animal than the people v.s. Jonny Flynn.Both situations, however, are similar.
They require clamping down on a dominant male figure who seems to take a pure aspect of their lives (in Larry’s case, pornography and in Jonny’s case, hoops) and prevent them from taking the world by storm with it.
Flynn has been an integral part of Syracuse’s unpredictable run to the Big East championship game. His ability to scrape opponents off the dribble, lose defenders in traffic and take the ball to the tin at a relentless pace his vaulted him into a different zip code.
He’s playing like there’s no tomorrow, emerging into the little engine that could and leaving jaws littered all over the Madison Square Garden floor in the process.Jonny Flynn scored 34 points, handed out 12 assists and never stopped curling to the cup during the Orange’s thrilling, 6OT signature victory over UConn.
Flynn penetrated the teeth of the UConn defense, absorbing fouls, and enough hard contact to make the pint-size point guard look like a human pinball. In the end of the dramatic, historic, epic 3-hour and 42+ minute game, the neophyte from Niagara Falls, N.Y. was the last man standing.
Wake Flynn up at 4AM, challenge him to a free throw shootout. He’ll be ready.He proved that he was born ready tonight, sinking all of his free throws as the Orange shot a uncharacteristic 25-for-29 from the charity stripe in the six overtimes (one night after going 6-20 from the line in a win over SHU). Flynn was the definition of clutch, forcing his dead arms to follow through on each and every shot.
“First and foremost, I want to thank God,” Flynn said after the tiresome, early morning miracle that saw the Orange take a thin margin and jack it up in the sixth overtime, en route to a 127-117 classic.
So, he may not be that much like Larry Flynt after all.
Flynt certainly can’t deliver the pinpoint passes that Flynn can, permeating the teeth of defenses and locating the open man with on-point precision. He’s got options on the perimeter with Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins (both of whom have been sublime under pressure this post-season) and a trio of inside presences with Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson, and Kristof Ongenaet.
KO, who typically shoulders the role of the junkyard dog and simply does what he’s asked to do (putting the hardhat on and taking the lunchpail to the Garden in the process) has finally emerged into a scoring threat.
Flynn’s numbers put him in elite company this Big East tournament. He’s averaging 10.3 assists in three games.
He’s labored through dead legs, seven overtimes in the last two games, and morphed into Mr. Clutch at the free throw line.After pouring in 34 against UConn, Flynn scored 15 and handed out nine dimes against West Virginia last night.
Now the Orange will be put to the test tonight against an ultra-athletic, ultra-long, and much bigger Louisville squad. Louisville flexed their muscles against Villanova last night, riding the hot hand of NBA-bound Earl Clark and Terrence Williams, who’s come into his own this season. Both players can stuff the stat sheet and provide relative balance in the scorebook.
The Ville also has the advantage with augmented bench depth, something Cuse lacks almost as much as UConn.Still, Syracuse’s patented zone defense could create problems for the Cardinals. Jerry Smith, Andre McGee and New York City native Edgar Sosa can all dial in from downtown, but none of these players can really take over a game.
Their zone-busting prowess is nowhere near the level of Syracuse’s. Rautins and Tivo Devo will need to continue scorching the nets and bagging timely 3-pointers as they have been all tournament long. Still, resonating Mr. Parmelee’s words, it will come down to the People vs Jonny Flynn.
NBADRAFT.NET:
The website http://www.nbadraft.net has Jonny Flynn going with 27th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Are they kidding? Obviously the scouts/writers at this site have not been watching Jonny come lately. Flynn has put together three dominant performances in the 2009 Big East Championship.
So what is their gripe with Flynn?
Here is why Jonny Flynn might only worthy be worth the 27th pick:
“While he is fairly strong, he could still put on some more muscle at 511 or under, is undersized for the next level, and could be a mismatch waiting to happen for bigger guards, luckily he is a very good athlete which helps to overcome his lack of ideal size … Playing strictly in a zone focused program will hurt his development defensively due to lack of experience and knowledge of man to man principles … Can get in trouble by trying to do too much and over-dribbling … Tends to play out of the offense and is known to take some ill-advised shots.” From Jonny Flynn’s NBA Draft profile.
