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Jerebko nabs a spot on Rookie All-Stars ahead of lottery picks

Rookie Royalty

by Keith Langlois
Jonas Jerebko has done a little bit of everything for the Pistons in his rookie season – including an emergency stint at point guard against Chris Paul recently – but it was the way he outperformed the many big men taken ahead of him in the 2009 draft that punched his ticket to All-Star weekend.

Jerebko, the 39th pick last June, is one of nine players from the 2009 draft class who’ll take part in the 2010 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam during All-Star Weekend in Dallas. Jerebko will suit up for the rookies against a nine-man team of NBA sophomores headlined by 2009 Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose.

Among the many big men taken ahead of him who won’t be in Dallas: lottery picks Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill, Tyler Hansbrough and Earl Clark.

Jerebko is one of only two second-rounders named to the team, the other San Antonio’s DeJuan Blair. While Jerebko has played most of his minutes at small forward for the Pistons, filling in admirably when Tayshaun Prince missed 32 games with back and knee injuries, he’ll be called on to play inside for the Rookies, whose only inside player besides the 6-foot-7 Blair is Bulls power forward Taj Gibson.

“He fits the profile of a Piston,” Joe Dumars said about Jerebko this week. “Tough, hard-nosed, plays hard every night. One of the best attributes about Jonas is that it really doesn’t matter who he’s matched up against. He plays hard and gives you the same effort and intensity no matter who it is.”

Jerebko was suspended for the first game of the year for a preseason scuffle and didn’t get off the bench in the second game, but was thrown into the starting lineup two games later when Prince was diagnosed with a ruptured disc. In 41 games, 36 as a starter, he’s averaging 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in 28 minutes.

But Jerebko’s contributions go well beyond his numbers. He’s exhibited great footwork and tenacity in defensive assignments against the spectrum of elite scoring forwards, while his hustle and energy have been consistently lauded by coach John Kuester and his teammates.

“This year, he’s guarded the absolute best players in the league and I never saw his approach change. That stands out about Jonas as much as anything. Just his approach to whoever he’s matched up against, you know he’s going to bring it. That’s great for us.”

Each NBA team cast one ballot, decided upon by the assistant coaches, and were instructed to vote for four frontcourt players, four backcourt players and a ninth player at any position. The Rookie team includes five guards taken among the top 10 picks – James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn, Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings. Jerebko, Blair and Gibson are joined in the frontcourt by Sacramento small forward Omri Casspi.

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