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Rondae is Shimmy-ing His Way to the NBA

By Shereen Rayan

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Arizona Wildcats are about to say goodbye and good luck to one of their favorite basketball players, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

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Arizona Wildcats sophomore forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is the first Wildcat to declare his eligibility for the NBA Draft according to his press conference on the Pac-12 Network.  Brandon Ashley has been rumored to also be declaring per CBS Sports, but nothing has been confirmed, just “sources” were telling them.  Brandon tweeted out that he was still deciding, so the book is out on Mr. Ashley.

It was just yesterday that Rondae was making friends with a nerdish guy on campus with whom he didn’t know.  We found out then just how great this man was on and off the court.

His coach Sean Miller feels the same way, “He leaves a legacy of on the court a great winner, off the court a great citizen”

Coach Miller also told us why the NBA will love RHJ, “He doesn’t bring one skill to the table, he brings amazing versitility..we huddled this year about 1200 times..and I think he was 1,200 for 1,200 in leading the huddle.” Well that’s something new I don’t think many of us know: he’s a leader in the huddle, gotta love it!

Mar 28, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Frank Kaminsky (44) moves the ball against Arizona Wildcats forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (23) during the second half in the finals of the west regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Rondae started with thank-you’s to the fans and the city of Tucson which “I would just like to say thank you to the city of Tucson…the love you’ve shown me is overwhelming and it’s not every day that a kid from where I grew up gets blessed with an opportunity like this.”

He continued with his declaration, “With that being said, I have decided to enter my name into the 2015 NBA Draft.”

My heart sank. Even though I knew it was coming like everyone else, hearing those words, it was hard for him to say and harder for me to hear. “Leaving this program is tough”, said Rondae. You’re not kidding Rondae! He has an active Twitter account @RondaeHJ23 so go ahead and follow him if you aren’t already.

The end of his next statement may have almost produded a tear in the corner of my eye, “I’m excited for the challenges that lie ahead..I want to thank my family, my teammates and coaches at Arizona and all of the U of A fans and everyone else who has support me along this way, this wouldn’t be possible without you, I look forward to making you all proud in the years to come.”

Being a parent, it struck me, it warms your heart when your child wants you to be proud of them, so I felt this was statement showed a genuine adoration for everyone he has touched and who has touched him.

Feb 13, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (23) dunks against the Washington Huskies during the second half at Alaska Airlines Arena. Arizona defeated Washington, 86-62. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Here are some stats from ArizonaWildcats.com for you to digest:

  • Led Arizona in rebounds (6.8) and blocks (0.8)
  • Ranked third in scoring (11.2) and steals (1.2)
  • He recorded a team-high four double-doubles, giving him six for his career
  • Led UA in blocks 15 times, rebounds 14 times and scoring seven times
  • Reached double figures in points 27 times
  • He led the Pac-12 and ranked in top 50 nationally with 205 free throw attempts on the season, making 145 of them to rank second in the conference and finish the year at 70.7 percent from the stripe.
  • Ranked among the league leaders in defensive rebounds (eighth, 4.8), total rebounds (ninth, 6.8), offensive rebounds (12th, 2.0), field goal percentage (12th, .502), steals (14th, 1.2) and scoring (27th, 11.2).
  • Showed a knack for excelling on the game’s biggest stages, averaging 14.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, while shooting 54.7 percent from the floor and 82.4 percent from the line, in eight-career NCAA Tournament games.

I will really miss his now very famous Shimmy before each free throw. Wildcat fans were enjoying his signature move before the rest of the sports broadcasters, play-by-play announcers and the media world starting describing it and telling us its history with Coach Miller at nauseam during each game. But we never tired of it and the “Rondae Shimmy” seems to have a life of its own.

Even the Pac-12 got in the mix with a lesson on the Rondae Shimmy:
As we reported last week, here is the list of draft sites and which round they projected Rondae would be drafted:

NBADraftNet.com Mock Draft: Round- 1, Pick- 30, Team- Warriors

NBADraftNet.com Mock Draft Consensus: Round- 1, Pick- 24, Team- Cavaliers

DraftExpress.com: Round- 1, Pick- 24, Team- Spurs

CBSSports.com – Sam Vicene: Round- 1, Pick- 28, Team- Grizzlies

CBSSports.com – Gary Parish: Round- 1, Pick- 26, Team- Lakers

CBSSports.com – Zach Harper: Round- 1, Pick- 25, Team- Mavericks

ESPN Chad Ford: Round- 1, Pick- 25, mid-range pick

USA Today – HoopsHype: Not in top 30 (WHAT?)

RHJ, as we call him in social media because takes less room in a tweet, will be fantastic in the NBA; he’s very exciting to watch, plays great defense, is extremely dedicated, doesn’t run out of steam and is a wonderful interviewee.

So we wished Rondae tons of good luck, he will be missed. We will all be proud of him and we will keep up with his career and his shimmy in the NBA, even if we have to hear the shimmy story over and over again.

BEARDOWN RONDAE!

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