Gerry v. JJ: End Game
In 2002, two of the greatest three-point shooters of all time began their college careers at my two favorite college basketball programs: JJ Redick at Duke and Gerry McNamara at Syracuse. For four years, as they both wrote uniquely remarkable legacies, I couldn't help but compare them every step of the way. With a possible sweet sixteen cataclysmic confrontation awaiting, I thought it was time to explain where they stand.
Like Finny and Gene, Patton and Rommel, Disraeli and Gladstone, the best way to understand either JJ or Gerry is to understand the counterpart. As an added bonus, I think this comparison will help explain the whole "Gerry is overrated" thing.
Let's break it down by year.
2002-03
---------Pts ---Ast ---Stl ---3PM ---3P% ---FG%
Gerry --13.3 --4.4 ---2.2 ---85 -----.357 ----.401
JJ ------15.0 --2.0 ---1.2 ---95 -----.399 ----.413
Gerry: When Billy Edelin is suspended for the beginning of the season, Boeheim is forced to put Gerry into the starting lineup to begin the season. Gerry hit 4 threes in the opener and scored 14 points. The perfect complement to Melo and Hak all season, Gerry hits 6 threes in the 1st half of SU's only National Championship.
JJ: Starts the season coming off the bench. Scores 14 points with 3 threes in 19 minutes in the opener. Doesn't play less than 24 minutes for the rest of the season and ends the year in the starting lineup. 2nd lowest point output of the season (5) comes in the Devil's loss to eventual runner-ups Kansas in the NCAAs.
Edge: Gerry - SU needed a stopgap PG. Gerry responded by dishing out 4.4 assists per game, something Redick has never come close to. For that reason, the Orange wouldn't have won the title with Redick instead of Gerry. It's not like you can ask for more than those 6 threes in the first half. The significant edge in steals is nice too.
2003-04
---------Pts ---Ast ---Stl ---3PM ---3P% ---FG%
Gerry --17.2 ---3.8 ---1.7 ---105 ---.389 ----.385
JJ ------15.9 ---1.6 ---0.7 ---102 ---.395 ----.423
Gerry: Year 1 of 2 for the "Hak and Mac Show." Gerry beats Georgetown on the road late in the season with a three at the buzzer. With a thin bench, Hak and Mac take SU into the Sweet Sixteen where they are upset by Alabama. Gerry scores 43 points in the first round against BYU.
JJ: Redick leads a roster full of NBA players (Deng, Duhon, Ewing) in points and minutes. JJ is steady in the NCAAs, but not spectacular. The Blue Devils lose a classic to UConn in the Final Four.
Edge: Gerry - By this point, we've noticed that JJ is a pretty freakin awesome 3-point shooter. But we still see Gerry through the scope of the title last year, and some late game heroics this year. JJ has zero games over 30 points. Gerry has two, one in the tourney. And like last year, his edge in assists and steals really stand out. But the real kicker here is a memory I have of a conversation with my SU buddy, PhilGeorge, about who was better. For the sake of the debate, I argued a bit for JJ, but only half-heartedly. Gerry was clearly better.
2004-05
-----------Pts ---Ast ---Stl ---3PM ---3P% ---FG%
Gerry ----15.8 --4.9 ---1.9 ---107 --- .340 ---.370
JJ --------21.8 --2.6 ---1.1 ----121 ---.403 ---.408
Gerry: Gerry is again 2nd fiddle as Hak wins Big East Player of the Year. But Gerry's scoring average dips, as the sophomore class starts to contribute on the offensive side. His 3P% dips lower than either of his first two seasons and his FG% continues to drop. He does not score more than 30 in a single game this season. Scores only 11 points against Vermont in the first round loss.
JJ: This is the year JJ made the leap from very good to great. His 3P% is significantly better than Gerry's now. And he continues to shoot well in general; he has started to master the drive off the shot fake, which opponents must respect. JJ has 3 30+ point games this year. Interestingly, JJ only averages 12 points in the NCAAs. He has never really had a great game in the NCAAs.
Edge: JJ - Simply, JJ made a leap while Gerry stayed about the same, even declined in some ways. JJ is proving he can be a number 1 scoring option. Gerry...not so much.
2005-06
---------Pts ---Ast ---Stl ---3PM ---3P% ---FG%
Gerry --16.4 --6.0 ---1.9 ---103 ----.340 ---.357
JJ ------27.4 --2.6 ---1.4 ---120 ----.412 ---.477
Gerry: For one season, Gerry must be the #1 option for the Orange. But his scoring barely changes. Only his assists improve noticeably. However, he reminds everyone of his knack for clutch play by hitting late threes in four straight games to lead Syracuse from the bubble to a Big East Championship and a 5-seed in the NCAAs. Interestingly for our comparison, he did not score more than 17 points in any of those games.
JJ: Redick, meanwhile, is clearly one of the top two players in the nation with a remarkable 27.4 scoring average and brilliant shooting percentages. His FG% is particularly impressive for a gunner, and betrays a great inadequacy of Gerry's. JJ, version 2K6, is the ultimate college shooting guard. He scores over 30 14 times, including 5-straight in ACC play and 3 games over 40. Perhaps his best game comes in the Meadowlands against 2nd ranked Texas. JJ hits a personal best 9 3-pointers and finishes with 41 points in a rout, witnessed by yours truly.
Edge: JJ - Frankly, Gerry does not have the talent to match the heights reached by JJ this season. Playing again and again against the toughest defenders at the college level, Redick could not be stopped. He scored less than 20 only 6 times, four of those in the first month of the season. Before the Big East tournament, Gerry's season was fairly disappointing. His heroics must be taken into consideration, but Syracuse would have been a better team with JJ this season.
2006 NCAAs - We can only dream of a matchup for the ages in the Sweet 16. Perhaps they'd bring out the best in each other.
Summary
There is one chapter still to be written, but there are some conclusions to be made. JJ is and always was a better pure shooter. And in his Junior year, Redick made The Leap that Gerry never matched. Redick became a #1 threat for top-ranked team. Syracuse was less successful when Gerry inherited the #1 mantle.
McNamara was moved from his natural position as shooting guard to the point at the start of his career and proved to be a fine passer. Had he played with the cast Redick did, would Gerry have scored significantly more points? Doubtful. Remember: Redick didn't have a true point guard his third year, the year he made The Leap.
JJ is a better player, plain and simple. Statistically, he has had a better career. Talent-wise, Gerry is a notch below. Anyone who places him alongside Redick in terms of pure talent is, pardon my language, overrating him. But I think that's where a lot of people outside of Syracuse were putting him. Gerry's face was always on ESPN.com's ads for ESPN Full Court, right next to JJ's. The Big East is carried by ESPN and Syracuse played a lot of nationally televised games in Gerry's career. Plus, those 6 threes in the NCAA final were unforgettable. Gerry got more than his share of hype. Hyped players are often overrated by those who do not know them.
But Syracuse fans and savvy basketball fans know that Gerry is no JJ. We never expected him to roll off 30 point games. We knew what we were getting from Gerry. A bunch of threes, great hustle, and always a chance down the stretch. We didn't overrate him, but we almost forgot what made him great.
Gerry has a championship that he earned as much as anyone on that 2003 team did. JJ has yet to play in a championship. Gerry has a richer history of clutch play than JJ does. JJ has not been great in the NCAAs.
10 years from now, what will we remember? Gerry's role in the 2003 title. Occasionally, someone will roll a clip of "McNamara's Tournament" as the Big East Championship has been dubbed. For JJ, we have four years of buckets of threes, highlights of that beautiful stroke coming from the black-haired, black-sneakered gunner.
History will remember JJ as the better player. But history loves champions, and unless JJ wins a title this year with Duke, Gerry will always have the slight edge in terms of greatness because of 2003.
Like Finny and Gene, Patton and Rommel, Disraeli and Gladstone, the best way to understand either JJ or Gerry is to understand the counterpart. As an added bonus, I think this comparison will help explain the whole "Gerry is overrated" thing.
Let's break it down by year.
2002-03
---------Pts ---Ast ---Stl ---3PM ---3P% ---FG%
Gerry --13.3 --4.4 ---2.2 ---85 -----.357 ----.401
JJ ------15.0 --2.0 ---1.2 ---95 -----.399 ----.413
Gerry: When Billy Edelin is suspended for the beginning of the season, Boeheim is forced to put Gerry into the starting lineup to begin the season. Gerry hit 4 threes in the opener and scored 14 points. The perfect complement to Melo and Hak all season, Gerry hits 6 threes in the 1st half of SU's only National Championship.
JJ: Starts the season coming off the bench. Scores 14 points with 3 threes in 19 minutes in the opener. Doesn't play less than 24 minutes for the rest of the season and ends the year in the starting lineup. 2nd lowest point output of the season (5) comes in the Devil's loss to eventual runner-ups Kansas in the NCAAs.
Edge: Gerry - SU needed a stopgap PG. Gerry responded by dishing out 4.4 assists per game, something Redick has never come close to. For that reason, the Orange wouldn't have won the title with Redick instead of Gerry. It's not like you can ask for more than those 6 threes in the first half. The significant edge in steals is nice too.
2003-04
---------Pts ---Ast ---Stl ---3PM ---3P% ---FG%
Gerry --17.2 ---3.8 ---1.7 ---105 ---.389 ----.385
JJ ------15.9 ---1.6 ---0.7 ---102 ---.395 ----.423
Gerry: Year 1 of 2 for the "Hak and Mac Show." Gerry beats Georgetown on the road late in the season with a three at the buzzer. With a thin bench, Hak and Mac take SU into the Sweet Sixteen where they are upset by Alabama. Gerry scores 43 points in the first round against BYU.
JJ: Redick leads a roster full of NBA players (Deng, Duhon, Ewing) in points and minutes. JJ is steady in the NCAAs, but not spectacular. The Blue Devils lose a classic to UConn in the Final Four.
Edge: Gerry - By this point, we've noticed that JJ is a pretty freakin awesome 3-point shooter. But we still see Gerry through the scope of the title last year, and some late game heroics this year. JJ has zero games over 30 points. Gerry has two, one in the tourney. And like last year, his edge in assists and steals really stand out. But the real kicker here is a memory I have of a conversation with my SU buddy, PhilGeorge, about who was better. For the sake of the debate, I argued a bit for JJ, but only half-heartedly. Gerry was clearly better.
2004-05
-----------Pts ---Ast ---Stl ---3PM ---3P% ---FG%
Gerry ----15.8 --4.9 ---1.9 ---107 --- .340 ---.370
JJ --------21.8 --2.6 ---1.1 ----121 ---.403 ---.408
Gerry: Gerry is again 2nd fiddle as Hak wins Big East Player of the Year. But Gerry's scoring average dips, as the sophomore class starts to contribute on the offensive side. His 3P% dips lower than either of his first two seasons and his FG% continues to drop. He does not score more than 30 in a single game this season. Scores only 11 points against Vermont in the first round loss.
JJ: This is the year JJ made the leap from very good to great. His 3P% is significantly better than Gerry's now. And he continues to shoot well in general; he has started to master the drive off the shot fake, which opponents must respect. JJ has 3 30+ point games this year. Interestingly, JJ only averages 12 points in the NCAAs. He has never really had a great game in the NCAAs.
Edge: JJ - Simply, JJ made a leap while Gerry stayed about the same, even declined in some ways. JJ is proving he can be a number 1 scoring option. Gerry...not so much.
2005-06
---------Pts ---Ast ---Stl ---3PM ---3P% ---FG%
Gerry --16.4 --6.0 ---1.9 ---103 ----.340 ---.357
JJ ------27.4 --2.6 ---1.4 ---120 ----.412 ---.477
Gerry: For one season, Gerry must be the #1 option for the Orange. But his scoring barely changes. Only his assists improve noticeably. However, he reminds everyone of his knack for clutch play by hitting late threes in four straight games to lead Syracuse from the bubble to a Big East Championship and a 5-seed in the NCAAs. Interestingly for our comparison, he did not score more than 17 points in any of those games.
JJ: Redick, meanwhile, is clearly one of the top two players in the nation with a remarkable 27.4 scoring average and brilliant shooting percentages. His FG% is particularly impressive for a gunner, and betrays a great inadequacy of Gerry's. JJ, version 2K6, is the ultimate college shooting guard. He scores over 30 14 times, including 5-straight in ACC play and 3 games over 40. Perhaps his best game comes in the Meadowlands against 2nd ranked Texas. JJ hits a personal best 9 3-pointers and finishes with 41 points in a rout, witnessed by yours truly.
Edge: JJ - Frankly, Gerry does not have the talent to match the heights reached by JJ this season. Playing again and again against the toughest defenders at the college level, Redick could not be stopped. He scored less than 20 only 6 times, four of those in the first month of the season. Before the Big East tournament, Gerry's season was fairly disappointing. His heroics must be taken into consideration, but Syracuse would have been a better team with JJ this season.
2006 NCAAs - We can only dream of a matchup for the ages in the Sweet 16. Perhaps they'd bring out the best in each other.
Summary
There is one chapter still to be written, but there are some conclusions to be made. JJ is and always was a better pure shooter. And in his Junior year, Redick made The Leap that Gerry never matched. Redick became a #1 threat for top-ranked team. Syracuse was less successful when Gerry inherited the #1 mantle.
McNamara was moved from his natural position as shooting guard to the point at the start of his career and proved to be a fine passer. Had he played with the cast Redick did, would Gerry have scored significantly more points? Doubtful. Remember: Redick didn't have a true point guard his third year, the year he made The Leap.
JJ is a better player, plain and simple. Statistically, he has had a better career. Talent-wise, Gerry is a notch below. Anyone who places him alongside Redick in terms of pure talent is, pardon my language, overrating him. But I think that's where a lot of people outside of Syracuse were putting him. Gerry's face was always on ESPN.com's ads for ESPN Full Court, right next to JJ's. The Big East is carried by ESPN and Syracuse played a lot of nationally televised games in Gerry's career. Plus, those 6 threes in the NCAA final were unforgettable. Gerry got more than his share of hype. Hyped players are often overrated by those who do not know them.
But Syracuse fans and savvy basketball fans know that Gerry is no JJ. We never expected him to roll off 30 point games. We knew what we were getting from Gerry. A bunch of threes, great hustle, and always a chance down the stretch. We didn't overrate him, but we almost forgot what made him great.
Gerry has a championship that he earned as much as anyone on that 2003 team did. JJ has yet to play in a championship. Gerry has a richer history of clutch play than JJ does. JJ has not been great in the NCAAs.
10 years from now, what will we remember? Gerry's role in the 2003 title. Occasionally, someone will roll a clip of "McNamara's Tournament" as the Big East Championship has been dubbed. For JJ, we have four years of buckets of threes, highlights of that beautiful stroke coming from the black-haired, black-sneakered gunner.
History will remember JJ as the better player. But history loves champions, and unless JJ wins a title this year with Duke, Gerry will always have the slight edge in terms of greatness because of 2003.
posted by Prof. A at 1:32 AM
2 Comments:
Nice reference to the Louie and Bouie show. References geared to lifelong fans really make articles great. It separates the wheat from the chaff, the PhilGeorges from the Steve-os, the great writers from the mediocre.
Well put Paul. I remember very vividly our conversation about who is better, JJ or Gerry. I even think that day I answered it the same way I'll answer it now. They are two different players, but because of their knack of hitting the three, they will forever be linked. The point is JJ always was the better pure shooter, taller, stronger, and possesing more talent. That is why JJ has blossumed into a star. Gerry came in as a freshman already near the peak of his potential, which was truly incredible for a freshman. The stats don't lie, Gerry has basically been the same player each year, the major improvement being in the assist category due to our lack of a true point guard over the years. The one thing about Gerry that I've always felt separated him from JJ is that he is Mr. Clutch. With a chance to win the game, there is no one else you'd rather take the shot. He simply wants it more than anyone else. We all knew from the first day we saw Gerry that he would go down in history as one of the great all-time COLLEGE players. A guy who won a lot of games and got the national title. We'll see if he adds to his legacy here in the next few days, but one thing for sure is that I'll miss him once his days are over wearing the orange.
Post a Comment
<< Home