Utah Jazz: Rodney Hood Just What The Doctor Ordered

Soon enough we are going to all say “Happy NBA New Year.” A new NBA season begins, which brings a new year full of expectations and the anticipation of memorable moments to occur. In the beginning of this new NBA season the Utah Jazz have a lot of expectations and one of them is to finally turn into a competitive playoff team.

The Jazz have the potential, they have the coaching, and they have the pieces to turn into playoff contender in the Western Conference. 

One of the pieces that the Jazz have this year is their rookie Rodney Hood. Playing for Mississippi State, Hood wasn’t too recognized. In a school where football is king, Hood could never get the attention he deserved as a basketball player. It’s like trying to speak to a person who is completely inebriated, there isn’t any reasoning.

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No matter what you do to take care of them, it wont get appreciated until the next morning when they don’t wake up in a pool full of puke.

Hood decided to let fans get drunk off of his play when he decided to enroll at a powerhouse prestigious basketball school, Duke. After enrolling at Duke and dominating along with Jabari Parker, nothing was the same. 

Playing on the same roster with Parker, the second pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, Hood often times was the second-best prospect on the basketball court. The Jazz took notice and enjoyed what they saw from Hood’s lone season at Duke when he averaged 16.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and shot 42 percent from the 3-point-line.

The Jazz decided to take Hood with the 23rd pick of the 2014 NBA Draft. 

Now a part of the Jazz roster, Hood is getting ready to enjoy the same success he has had during his college career.

Early in his draft it was a surprise (to me) that Hood landed outside of the lottery. During his season at Duke he often times looked very, very, very impressive. However, the fact that Hood landed with the Jazz is a great situation, and now he can come from the bench to do what he does best, score points.

When fans got a glimpse of Hood playing against the Los Angeles Clippers in his first NBA preseason game, his success shouldn’t come as a surprise. In 33 minutes, Hood scored 12 points, totaled two assists and had two rebounds. In addition the lefty displayed that shooting stroke that many fell in love with watching him play as a Blue Devil.

Hood nailed 2-of-3 from the 3-point line.

Hood also had an intelligent possession where he broke an impending double team on the left-wing of the court. Instead of playing into the hands of the trap set by the Clippers defense, Hood took two hard two dribbles, shifted his way into the mid-range of the court and finished with a layup at the rim. 

Exum has the highest long-term ceiling, but it seems increasingly likely that Rodney Hood will be the Jazz’s best rookie in ’14-15.

Impressive move for a rookie, but Hood’s offensive skill set is up there with the best rookies within his class.

In the five NBA preseason games that Hood has played, he has scored double-digit points twice, he has made five three pointers, and has had three games with five or more rebounds. 

While playing in his first organized competition against the other professional NBA players in the Las Vegas Summer League, Hood was the most impressive player on the Jazz. He showed his ability to play with point guard Trey Burke and knew how to get to open on the floor so Burke could find him.

In addition, one of the most underrated parts of Hood’s game is his passing. During the summer league, Hood would control the basketball and become a point forward. The 6’8″ scorer has a good handle on the basketball and in the half court setting he took the opposition off of the dribble and found open opportunities for players to get high quality shots all over the hardwood.

Despite his selection as a late first round pick, Hood has looked like the better rookie this summer than his teammate Dante Exum, and it hasn’t been close.  

Dan Clayton of ESPN’s Salt Lake City Hoops said this commenting on Hood’s game this season: “Exum has the highest long-term ceiling, but it seems increasingly likely that Rodney Hood will be the Jazz’s best rookie in ’14-15.”

This season Hood is going to have one of the biggest impacts on the Jazz roster and a lot of people will realize that he going to have a successful career as a starter (eventually) in the NBA. For now, having Hood come off the bench is the perfect prescription for the Jazz since shooting guard Alec Burks now is in the starting lineup (Burks would make the perfect Sixth Man of the Year candidate).

For a man who left Mississippi State to play for a better basketball school at Duke, Hood now finds himself as a member of one of the most historic franchises in the NBA.

Welcome to the NBA, Rodney Hood.

Enjoy your time, because they say it comes and goes quicker than you think. So will those major moments you’ll have this season helping the Jazz win a bunch of games.