With their first pick the NBA Draft, the Cavaliers surprised
the masses. That’s because the Cavs selected Dion Waiters, a 6-foot-4 shooting
guard out of Syracuse.
Waiters, viewed as a top-10 pick by some scouts entering the
draft, was expected to be taken somewhere in the Nos. 8-12 range. But that may
have had more to do with the fact he came off the bench in both his freshman
and sophomore seasons with the Orange.
Some of that had to do his occasional run-ins with Syracuse
coach Jim Boeheim, as opposed to ability. Waiters
often saved some of his best performances for the biggest games — including a
career-high 28 points, and seven 3-pointers, in the Big East Tournament semifinals.
“He’s athletic and he can stroke it,” a Western Conference
general manager said of Waiters. “But I’m not certain about the intangibles.
Still, he fills a need for them because he can fill it up.”
In his sophomore season, Waiters averaged 12.6 points per game on 47 percent shooting
from the field. He was named Big East Sixth Man of the Year and to the conference All-Tournament team.
According to the NBA pre-draft guide: “(Waiters is) physically
gifted with a strong frame, has strong
instincts and is aggressive in transition.”
The Cavs also possess the No. 24 pick of the first round,
and Nos. 33 and 34 in the second.
Waiters is represented by Rob Pelinka, who also represents Kobe Bryant and Carlos Boozer.
