Celts, ND assess Gody similarly

Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers commented on new signee Luke Harangody today. Rivers mirrored what Brey has said about his former star since Gody’s sophomore season.

Compare their reviews, starting with Rivers today:

I don't know [his role], hell he's a rookie, but he can play, I can tell you that. He can shoot the ball and stretch the floor…He's going to be a player in this league. He's quirky offensively, and he had to figure out a way of scoring by not being dominant athletically. I love players like that, because that means they play with their heads. That's the type of player that makes it in this league, so that will be good for us.

It sounds similar to Brey’s comments over the years and especially this summer. Brey cited Luke’s Boston-esque toughness on June 25 and continued with a broader evaluation in the July 23 Post-Tribune:

If he gets minutes, he will find the basket. That was one of my themes with the general managers…He can come off the bench… I think Boston is going to love him.

NBA players obviously don’t get signed based on a recommendation, and it didn’t really matter how Brey marketed Gody to the NBA. Even accounting for similarities stemming from their common coach jargon, Brey’s sales pitch probably seems so alike to the Rivers evaluation because they accentuated the same positive in Luke’s game: craftiness to subtly manufacture points.

In highlighting ‘the type of player that makes it in this league,’ Rivers rather indiscreetly predicted Luke to leverage his offensive productivity into a longer career than just two seasons, a notion that Brey shares. That’s where Rivers’ assessment is closer to Brey’s than to fellow coaches, GMs, and pundits, many of whom felt Gody wouldn’t make an NBA roster.

According to Chris Forsberg, Gody will bring in $1.3 million over a two-year guaranteed term, which means the average starting salary for 2010 Notre Dame graduates just soared. Irish Creed would like to wish Luke good luck, and we will be watching as he makes the Class of 2010 proud.

LLUUUUUUUUUKKEE!!!

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t want Luke on the floor at the end of this season. I knew that he was our best player in seasons past but after the team came together during his injury I didn’t want someone who needed to change his game for NBA scouts to interrupt the confident hot streak our team was running on.

But I forgot that Luke was Notre Dame. One of the nicest guys I had ever seen around campus, always working hard and wanting to win for the Irish. He was the most underrated All American of all time and will be remembered as a Notre Dame legend, despite not ending on the highest note.

In his first NBA summer league game, Luke Harangody was wet from behind the arc as if he was back at Freedom Hall in 2008, the site of his first collegiate three-pointers. Gody posted a respectable 23 points and 4 rebounds including 4 of 6 on threes, earning himself the number 2 spot on the NBA rookie ladder.



In his second game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Luke struggled from the field but made all 6 of his free throw attempts and added a team-high 12 boards to give himself his first double-double with the Celtics, albeit in summer league.



Was Luke’s three point percentage in the first game a fluke or will Gody be able to solidify himself as a shooter in the NBA?

Analysis so far: Luke looked a lot like he did at the end of the season on Tuesday night, missing a handful of open shots including four contested layups. He needs to show his strength in finishing those attempts. Despite his attempt at re-imaging himself as a shooter in the NBA, Luke still has his unique shooting form that Notre Dame fans have grown to know well. If he can continue to perform as he did in his first game, fans and commentators will respect his unorthodox style; if not, he is sure to encounter a lot of criticism.

Luke has shown a lot of highs and lows, from good hustle and defense, to poor boxing out and allowing an alley-oop in his face. Then again, against the Sixers he was going against 6-10 Marreese Speights, who has averaged over 16 minutes per game in his first two years in the NBA.

It will be interesting to see how Luke will emerge in the coming weeks and if he will make the regular season roster come summer’s end. Check back with Irish Creed for future Gody updates as we track his summer league play for you. We wish him the best of luck as he plays for another one of Erin’s teams, even if it happens to be in Satan’s city.