[McDunkin]

“The NBA wants Ivan Chiriaev. The NBA needs Ivan Chiriaev.”

With that infamous quote, the 7-foot-1, self-promoting Russian import playing at St. Thomas Aquinas in Ontario earned a spot in Canadian hoops lore.

While that was the most memorable Chiriaev quote, it wasn’t the only one: – “I like Kevin Garnett a lot, but everybody is telling me I’m like Dirk Nowitzki, that we are similar. But I think I can be better than Nowitzki . . . I think that because I can play all five positions.” – “If I’m not in the top-three, I’m going to college.” (This was in response to a question about choosing college over the pros.) – “Point guard. Definitely point guard.” (In response to a question about which position he feels most comfortable at.)

Even his handlers got in on the madness: – “They come out of the gym with looks of astonishment on their faces,” a ‘source close to Chiriaev’ said in one interview, talking about NBA and college scouts. – Said another possibly insane ‘source’ in another interview: “Ivan Chiriaev is one of the most talented high school players I’ve ever seen . . . His combination of shooting, passing and dribbling skills are very rare for a player his size. He’s a player legitimately capable of playing all five positions with amazing agility and offensive skills. When you have a 7-foot-1 kid with this kind of athleticism and skill development, scouts’ biological reflexes start kicking in: pupils dilate, eyebrows raise, hearts flutter and jaws begin to drop. What really grabs you is his body control and ability to change directions. His quickness is alarming.”

Based on the hype, the numbers (26.8 points, 17.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 52 percent shooting as a high school senior — all made up, as it would become known later; the coach conceded that the team didn’t keep official stats) and the flood of NBA scouts who flew to Canada weekly to see him, Chiriaev could have declined playing in any pre-draft camps or all-star games and he may have been taken in the 2004 NBA Draft.

With the benefit of hindsight, in fact, that would have been the best choice for him because when he played in the inaugural Adidas All-Canadian game in Mississauga, Ont., he truly showed what he had to offer the NBA. Yup, his, um, skills were on display for a nation-wide audience to see. In no particular order, Chiriaev:

– showed the ability to jump over a phone book (with a running start)

– was able to dribble the ball and chew gum at the same time

– displayed the ‘alarming quickness’ a source once talked about (and it truly was alarming the speed Chiriaev had; it was as if his Adidas were weighed down like a Russian mob’s bodybag)

– proved he could hit a lay-up (but not dunk, despite being in the 97th percentile for height)

– attempted to shoot three-pointers (scoring at roughly the same success rate as a straight guy at a GLAAD convention)

– actually seemed momentarily speechless when the crowd booed his not-so-well-deserved MVP award for his underwhelming 17 points.

The NBA scouts, more than a dozen of them, were climbing over each other to get out of the building by halftime and book the first flight out of town. In two hours, Chiriaev went from NBA lottery prospect to future member of MyGuide Amsterdam in the Dutch league. The NBA sure might not need him, but the Dutch league? Well . . . it doesn’t really need him, either.

http://communities.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/blogs/ilovelamp/archive/2009/10/27/meet-13-year-old-canadian-basketball-star-andrew-wiggins-hopefully-he-s-not-the-next-ivan-chiriaev.aspx

[torontoraptors10Participant]

LOL i remember this guy! St Thomas Aquinas is 20 minutes away from my house. He boasted a lot and then he was a bust. If I remember correctly, he wanted to go directly from high school to the NBA. Mississauga-Brampton-Pickering (all apart of the GTA-greater toronto area) have some good ballers. Cory Joseph from Pickering, Tristan Thompson from Brampton and Andrew Nicholson from Mississauga.

[kanyedabestParticipant]

lol this is one of the best posts ive seen!! what a legacy this man left haha

[RafterParticipant]

Great read, could you imagine if Chiriaev declined playing in the pre draft camps and allstar games. A team would’ve drafted him in the lottery lol.

[yadskiiParticipant]

did anybody see him play?? I been tryna find a highlight or something since they had him going number on the mocc draft

[OrangeBallParticipant]

he actually came to my high school when i was in the ninth grade and even then i could see he was nothing special. all the hype was becuase he did actually play pg in high school but the one thing these scouts should have realized is he played in halton and not the immideate gta area which had a better overall athleticism and talent here in canada. in the end like mc dunkin says he will always be a bust that many of us will never forget.

[stanford hoops]

just goes to show you not to turst mock drafts. Sometimes they havent even seen a player and just seen highlights and make the player a top 5 pick( hello mr perry jones)

[Author]

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