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Trojans in the NBA focuses on USC Trojans, who were drafted into the National Basketball Association this past NBA Draft, in an effort to follow the blossoming professional careers of some of your favorite players.
DeMar DeRozan (G, Toronto Raptors)
Earlier this year the Toronto Raptors decided to make the former Trojan, DeMar DeRozan, its guard of the future, selecting the freshman-phenom 9th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.
DeRozan, who showed great promise in summer league play for Toronto, has come along slowly this season and is currently averaging 6.7 ppg and 2.8 rpg.
The Raptors have already shown great faith in its young star, as DeRozan has started at shooting guard for all eighteen of Toronto's games this season.
Let's take a look at DeRozan's season to date:
Some of DeRozan's notable performances include a November 17th game against Denver, in which the guard scored a season-high 17 points and a November 11th match up against Chicago, where Demar had 9 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks enroute to a Raptors win.
Keeping in mind that DeRozan would be just a sophomore for USC this year, it is understandable that his development in the NBA is coming along somewhat slowly; however, there are enough signs of potential thus far to excite even the most tame of Raptors’ fans.
Taj Gibson (F, Chicago Bulls)
With the 26th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls took a flier on USC's rugged forward, Taj Gibson.
At USC, Gibson was a great defender and low post presence for the Trojans, qualities that are always in high demand at the NBA level.
It did not look as though Gibson would be making his way onto the court early on for Chicago with Brad Miller, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas getting the bulk of the minutes at forward and center for the Bulls.
However, due to an injury to Thomas and the emergence of Noah at center, Gibson has slid into the starting lineup for the Bulls and has been a great compliment at power forward.
Gibson has now started 11 of 14 games for the Bulls and has averaged 7.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 1.1 bpg on the season.
Let's take a look at Gibson's season to date:
Currently Gibson leads all rookies in rebounds per game (5.5), blocks per game (1.1) and is 14th among all rookies in scoring average (7.1).
I am not surprised at Gibson's immediate success in the NBA, especially since he is not being asked to do much except for rebound and defend the post, two of Gibson's specialties during his time at USC.
With both former Trojans getting big minutes early on in their pro careers, I look for Gibson and DeRozan to continue to develop at a quicker pace and make greater contributions to their teams as the season progresses.
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