Pacers Spotlight: Danny Granger.

I'm about 5 hours into my newly established love for all things Pacers. And let's get this straight, Danny Granger is my Pacer idol. Sarunas Jasikevicius, although enticing, will fall in down the line of my Pacer faves.

Granger came out of New Mexico after an impressing showing in the NCAA Tournament his senior year. He was picked 17th overall, behind the likes of Martell Webster, Yaroslav Korolev and Joey Graham. This was considered by some to be a little bit of a slip, but hey, the Pacers got him and both parties are probably better off for it. Granger, the third collegiate senior taken in this draft, was a character guy and also one helluva player, which this franchise-on-life support probably needed.


During his rook campaign, Granger averaged 7.5 and 4.9 a game appearing in 78 games. His coming out party would be on January 24th where he scored 21 points on 8-11 from the floor and he knocked down 3 of 4 Three-Balls. Although Granger didn't average gaudy numbers, I think that his rookie year was a great learning experience. He got to play along side JO, who seems like one of the real quality guys in the league. Except for one misguided right hook, JO has been nothing but class and is the undisputed leader of this team. Granger seems like the kind of kid to fall in line right behind JO and this could be the year that he blossoms into a second in command type of player.

Granger will probably start now with the impending (and always present) legal troubles of S-Jax and few others. He is suited for the 3, but can definetly play the 4 in the East and has the length and speed to be a tough match-up for some 2's. Granger can finish and defend, two things that will guarentee you a spot on the floor. Also, if Carlisle wants to push it with some of his young guns this year then Granger can be trusted to handle the ball as well, as he only averaged 1.06 TO's in over 22 minutes a game last year. He already is an older guy and coming into his second year should see an explosion in his points, rebounds, and blocked shots.

We are at Charlotte on November One, which will probably match-up Granger up with Gerald Wallace, another one of the promising youngsters in the East. This will be a good test for Granger, one that he should be able to hold his own in.

So, Danny Granger is gonna take spot number one on my Pacers favorite list. The League should know Granger's name by the end of this year, which in turn could lead to a Central Division championship for the Pacers.