DeJuan Blair was a first-round pick. There was no doubt about this from anyone — be it draft experts, coaches, fans, the Canadian Prime Minister or your Uncle Ronny. He was even slotted as a lottery pick by some.Here’s a quote from the man himself two months ago, courtesy of Will Leitch:

I’m an Internet freak and I go on all the draft boards, and nobody’s got me going second round. That’s almost guaranteed to me.

But as we saw last night, DeJuan Blair did not go in the first round. He went seventh in the second round to the Spurs, the No. 37 pick overall. Over at the Dagger today, E chimes in with this:

Yes, DeJuan Blair was that good. Playing in the best conference in the country — the tournament settled that, didn’t it? — against some of the best big men in the country, week-in, week-out, DeJuan Blair didn’t just rebound well. He rebounded at a level unseen in the past 10 years, and maybe longer. We’re not sure, because the relevant statistics don’t date accordingly. DeJuan Blair could be the best offensive rebounder of the last 20 years. He’s certainly in the conversation.

Blair was without question the best offensive rebounder in college basketball last season. Demonstrably so. And yet, despite apparently impressive pre-draft interviews and his sudden, impressive weight loss, Blair was snubbed. And snubbed. And snubbed.

All true. Which just makes his free fall all the more strange. From the Bulls perspective, I have absolutely no idea why they didn’t select him with their No. 26 pick. If they wanted James Johnson at No. 16. OK. Fine. DeJuan Blair is probably the better selection, but if they’re set on a guy, so be it.

Keep reading →