Nothing has ever stood about Arron Afflalo, short for maybe his name. As a shooting guard, he’s hard-nosed, gritty and possesses a smooth jumper—yet he never leaves you with your mouth agape the way that other players do.
He slashes to the basket like an acrobat, nails three pointers without a conscious and locks down offensive stars, yet he’s never been the center of attention.
Even being the UCLA fan that I am, Afflalo has never been my particularly favorite player: in recent years, those honors probably go to “The Prince” Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Jordan Farmar. He’s just not the kind of guy that people necessarily gravitate toward.
Sure, I recognize how important he has been in UCLA basketball’s immense success over the last few years. But for some reason, he’s still easy to ignore.
Well, screw all the haters, including me.
Barely any draft predictions had Afflalo going in the first round, and I personally thought he’d drop deep into the second round.
But the Pistons knew better. They picked up the perfect hard-nosed player for their system—there really isn’t a better fit for either party. I couldn’t be happier for Arron. I would have liked to see him return for his senior season with UCLA, teaming with Darren Collison, Josh Shipp and Kevin Love to bring home banner No. 12 to the Bruins, but he made a professional decision. He did what he had to do.
You could argue that even now, despite his first round selection, Afflalo still doesn’t stand out in any remarkable way. And you might be right.
But you know what? He’s got a guaranteed contract, a spot on the Detroit Pistons and a bright career ahead of him. Rock on, AA. You've always had the class, now you got the money to match.
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