all photos: zimbio.com

Other than being known as the Blake Griffin Sweepstakes, this year’s selection of up and comer’s will be synonomous down the road as the 2009 Point Guard Draft. As a matter of fact, there were five floor generals taken among the first ten picks overall.

And despite the pundits that opined about the precipitous drop off in talent after the Clippers selected the Super-Duper Griffin, I was particularly delighted with the array of options at the #1 position.

I have a deep appreciation for the skill sets of Tyreke Evans, Steph Curry, Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings. I look forward to seeing them blossom on the next level. Further down in the first round, Jrue Holliday, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, Eric Maynor and Darren Collison were all players that impressed me with their NCAA exploits.

But, in my humble opinion, there was one talent at the position that actually made my mouth watery – a young man that, over his two college seasons, has made me jump out of my seat and scream expletives on countless occasions, forcing my children to run down into an otherwise empty basement to see if I was okay.

If I had to factor in strength of mind, body and essence, along with leadership, heart, levitation, vision, an ability to set up teammates, desire to win, a love for the game and competitive spirit, defensive hunger, speed, the ability to hit the jimmy when the pressure is on, mixed in with no fear of taking it to the tin with the sole intention of ramming it with stealth on a big man, I’m taking Jonny Flynn, HANDS DOWN!

While most people associate Niagara Falls, NY with the voluminous waterfalls at the border of Ontario, Canada and New York State, there’s a rugged neighborhood on the towns’ north end that cannot be found on any postcards.

That’s the environment that produced Jonny Flynn. Garden Avenue, the street he called home for 18 years, is nestled in an area rife with guns, violence, gangs, drugs and the other ills that cripple communities of mostly hardworking, honest people who struggle to get by.

Flynn’s parents and church family guided him through the morass, as well as a plethora of community athletic programs.

“We put God first, and then family, friends and community,” his father, Reverend William Flynn, a minister at the city’s Higher Ground Christian Center, told Jim Beutel of the Niagara Falls Gazette. “We instill into Jonny, to thank God for the talent that he’s placed in his life.”

Early on, hoops was only one of Jonny’s outlets. He also excelled at baseball, soccer and football. When he wasn’t at a practice, he could be found doing difficult front and back flips on his block.

“In baseball, I was the shortstop,” Flynn told the Gazette in 2006. “In football, I was the quarterback and in basketball, I’m the point guard. I just always liked leading the team and having a lot of control over the game.”

Flynn honed his game on the asphalt at Centre Park Court on Garden Avenue during the summers. When it got cold, he could be found indoors at the Community Center and the Resource Center right up the block. When most kids went home after games and practices, Jonny would head back to the court.

And he always competed and walked with a smile.

“We like to have fun and enjoy ourselves,” his mom Diedre told the Gazette. “You should only be sad or angry for a moment in your life. Life is too short, so you should always try to smile.”

As a freshman at Niagara Falls High School, Flynn made the varsity crew, playing with his future Syracuse teammate and best friend Paul Harris. As the season progressed, the coaches could not keep the scrawny freshman on the bench. The original plan was for him to learn in practice, playing against his older and bigger peers while seeing little game action. But his talent dictated otherwise.

“Playing against bigger, stronger and better players accelerated his progress,” NFHS head coach Nick Bazzani told the Gazette. “He developed into a valuable contributor that year. He was a good fit for us.”

He helped Niagara Falls reach the state class AA championship game, where they ultimately fell to Mount Vernon High School. As the unquestioned sophomore leader, he led them to the state title.

That team put Niagara Falls on the national prep high school map, in addition to being the first team from Western New York to win the New York Federation title. Offensively, Jonny was the consummate floor general, sacrificing his scoring numbers for the benefit of the team as he averaged 16 points with 6 assists.

That summer, his dear friend and talented teammate Miguel Respress passed away while playing in a California AAU tournament. The loss shook Jonny to his core. Whenever he takes the court, Miguel’s memory is always close.

“Before every free throw, I get the ball, take a deep breath, say ‘rest in peace Miguel,’ dribble three times, spin the ball and say ‘I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me,’ before I shoot it,” Flynn told the Niagara Gazette. “It was real hard to overcome the death of Miguel because growing up he was like a sibling to me. Miguel and Paul (Harris) are close to me like that. We all (the whole team) worked day-by-day to overcome that. You just never know when it’s going to be your last day.”

That same year, his homie Paul Harris took off for prep school. Forced to run the team and score in bunches as a junior, Flynn did just that.

Against Williamsville North in a second round state tourney game, Flynn scored 38 while displaying a dizzying array of long distance, high-degree-of-difficulty step back jumpers. For the season, he put up 29 points per game, to go with 9 dimes and 6 boards.

While dominating on the court, as well as on the football field and baseball diamond, Flynn was a member of the National Honor Society in the classroom.

In the summer of 2006, he ran the show for USA Basketball’s 18-Under team that took the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.

He then carried Niagara Falls to yet another state title game, where they lost again to Mount Vernon. Syracuse University was the only school he truly ever considered, though many big time programs came knocking. Ever since he was a little kid hoisting jumpers at Centre Park Court, the only place he envisioned himself getting busy down the road was in the Carrier Dome.

On the AAU summer circuit, he held his own against 2007 guard classmates like OJ Mayo, Nick Calathes, Derrick Rose, Corey Fisher, Kalin Lucas, Malcolm Delaney, Jeff Teague and others.

photo: rivals.com

At the ABCD camp before his final high school season, he was named MVP of the All Star game – ahead of Mayo and big man Kevin Love – with a 23 point, 7 assist outing.

“He plays the game as well and as hard as anyone playing his position,” said Sonny Vaccaro, ABCD’s former head honcho. “Jonny doesn’t pretend to be anything but a point guard.”

As a senior, he again led his NFHS to the state title game, where they lost a 2-point heart breaker. Jonny copped the prestigious McDonald’s All American nod at season’s end.

The summer before he hit Syracuse, he started for the USA Basketball squad that won a silver medal at the 19 & Under World Championship.

photo: streetball.com

In his first game at Syracuse, he knocked Carmelo Anthony’s freshman record for an Orangeman debut out the bizzox. Flynn dropped 28. During his prolific debut season in college, he swiped the Big East’s Rookie of the Year award, sharing the honor with Pitt’s man-child beast on the low post DeJuan Blair. The ‘Cuse’s other freshman sensation, Donte Green, got most of the ink during his one and done while Jonny put up 16 points and 5 assists per game.

This past season, he came out the gate with 27 against Richmond. A few days later, he lit up Sherron Collins and Kansas with 25, knocking down a trey with six seconds left to take out Kansas in the title game of the CBE Classic tourney in which he was named MVP. For real though, all you need to now about Jonny’s game can be encapsulated in the six overtime thriller against UCONN in the Big East Tourney.

Under MSG’s bright lights, he played 67 minutes and dropped 34 points with 11 assists. Flynn was eventually named the Big East Tournament’s MVP, even though Syracuse lost to Louisville in the title game. He became only the fourth player from a losing team, along with the ‘Cuse’s dazzling Pearl Washington in ‘86 and Georgetown’s Alonzo Mourning in ‘92 and Victor Page in ‘96, to earn that esteemed distinction.

He led the Orangemen to the Sweet Sixteen. In their loss to Griffin’s Oklahoma crew in his final college game, he gutted out a gritty performance while playing injured, scoring 22. His greatest highlight of the night was a missed dunk attempt where he drove the lane and exploded toward the rim against Oklahoma’s big men.

Although barely 6″, Jonny’s explosiveness, exceptional first step and quickness neutralize any height disadvantage he may have. The young fella can finish with either hand and is fearless. He can push it up tempo, run a disciplined half-court set and excels at the drive and dish game. He can pull up off the dribble as well as catching and releasing from long range. Flynn delivers crisp passes with either hand and can run a pick and roll that’s money in the bank.

Bottom line: the Timberwolves got the goods when they selected Flynn with the #6 pick. He’s a proven winner whose been unstoppable at every level. And I don’t expect that to change now.

From the playgrounds in the ‘hood of Niagara Falls, Jonny Flynn proved that waterfalls are not the only things in the area to appreciate.

THE PLAYGROUND IS NOT THE PROBLEM. IT IS THE SOLUTION!