Now that the NBA lockout is over its time to remember the players we have been dying to see play at the next level.

SHANE SMITH

With the completion of the NBA lockout it is FINALLY time for professional basketball again. Everyone will be excited to see an intensified version of free agency, ala: the NFL lockout, and the ESPN rumor mill should expect a barrage of trade speculation up until Christmas Day. One piece of hype that may get overlooked as the new season approaches due to the intensified free agency window will be the inaugural season of some big-time rookies.

The country fell in love with a few of the most important draft products during last year’s collegiate season and it will be exciting to see how the stories continue to unfold for the likes of Kemba Walker and Jimmer Fredette. The potential rise or fall of Kemba and Jimmer as they begin their professional careers should have the attention of every serious basketball fan in the country.

Will Jimmer continue to shoot lights out at the NBA level? Will Kemba continue to demand control of the court when his competition has doubled in size and skill? Will they both grow from the impending speed bumps or will those bumps be a complete shot to their confidence and skill? These two guards excited the nation last year and  both landed in situations where they will be looked upon to contribute right away: Kemba with the Bobcats and Jimmer with the Kings.

Kemba and Jimmer went back to back in last season’s draft and it would be fitting to expect them to pop up in conversation together for the rest of their careers. They both excelled at the collegiate level and both have a certain expectation level of excellence to meet, hearing their names alone. Kemba should be primed for a starting role in Charlotte and will most likely be expected to carry more of a load than Jimmer in Sacramento. With the levels of responsibility likely to lay on Kemba it is going to be expected that the Bobcats will see a lot of difficulties and a lot of losses. Kemba’s growth will directly correlate with the growth of the Bobcats as an organization and it is probable to suspect that ownership will cope well with the growing pains if the inevitable outcome resembles anything like that of Kemba’s UConn collegiate career.

Kemba may have a longer leash for growing pains than Jimmer. It will be interesting to see if fans, and coaches, will stick with the former BYU standout if he has a string of games where his shooting percentage is low, or if they will give up on hopes of him being a prolific scorer early. Jimmer will likely come off the bench for most of the 2011-2012 season and his sampling of play will be a lot more complicated to understand while playing alongside guys who are also high volume shooters like Tyreke Evans.

Regardless of the outcome, good or bad, the story of Jimmer and Kemba will be one that should not be under-looked as fans reacquaint themselves with the NBA as a whole. These two men captivated the nation for an entire season and it is very likely they will do it again for their rookie campaign. Hopefully these guys have been able to work with their teams despite the lockout and can come out guns blazing Christmas Day.

Maybe they’ll even experience the type of success in the pros that they had in college.

Photo: Getty

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