Catching Up With Jonny Flynn
8/27/2008 11:32:06 AM | Men's Basketball
Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn has had a busy offseason. In addition to taking classes at Syracuse, he's attended the LeBron James Skills Academy, watched the USA Olympic Team win the gold medal, and worked on his game.
Flynn had a stellar first year with the Orange. He was named BIG EAST Conference co-Rookie of the Year, an honor Flynn shared with DeJuan Blair of Pittsburgh. Flynn averaged 15.7 points and 5.3 assists per game for the Orange. He is one of four returning starters at Syracuse.
Here's an update on Jonny's summer:
What did you do this summer?
“I went to the LeBron James Skills Academy. That really helped me elevate my game to another level, just being mentored by LeBron and especially Chris Paul, one of the best point guards in the league. Being on the court with Chris and having him really break the pick-and-roll down to me really helped me out.”
What were the pickup games at the Academy like?
“It was great. We actually won the series, 3-2. It was me, Patrick Beverly from Arkansas, Terrence Williams, a kid from Mississippi State, and Patrick Christopher from California. The games were very competitive. LeBron was dunking on everybody and Chris Paul is just a great player I can’t say enough about. You just learned a lot from those types of players in close game situations. They know how to get their teammates to certain spots and get the shot off.”
Did you get to guard Chris Paul?
“Yes, I was actually guarding him the whole time. I really wanted to check him the whole time. I was checking him full court, thinking if he’s going to blow past me then blow past me. It was just a great experience to just play against a player I like to model my game after.”
Did you take classes at SU this summer?
“Yes. I took classes during May-mester and for the first two week summer session.”
What is different about your game now as compared to the last game of the 2007-08 season in March?
“Besides the floater, I’ve tried to slow down a little bit and started to see things better. We like to say in ‘slow motion’, or seeing everything on the court before it happens. Last year I would just go full speed all the time, but now I’m letting plays develop and not over-penetrating or over-dribbling.”
Did you watch the Olympics?
“Definitely! I was so happy we got the gold. I never thought I’d be happy for something like that if I wasn’t playing, but it was good to have the gold brought back to the USA. A lot of people are saying other countries are catching up to us, but it was just nice to get this back where it belongs.”
Who on the Olympic team surprised you the most?
“Dwayne Wade. He’s been injured so many people forgot about him. I can say I completely forgot about him. I was thinking he was going to be one of the first players to be at their highest level, but in one season he dropped out of everybody’s minds. He reinvented himself and came back into his old self this Olympic Games. He really helped the USA team win with his defensive pressure. A couple of those games without him, I don’t think they would have won.”
How was it seeing Coach Boeheim with that team?
“That was funny seeing all the guys like Kobe Bryant messing with him. I was just thinking I do the same thing and joke around with him just like we do. It was nice because he will come back with so many more things to teach us.”
On what he is going to work on between now and when official practice starts:
“We all just want to become more of a team and get more of that team camaraderie. We want to come in here, play pick up, workout with the freshmen, and teach them new things. We are just going to bond and gel.”
