Rajon Rondo

[edit] Biography

Rajon Pierre Rondo (born February 22, 1986 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American professional basketball player with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. He played for two years at the University of Kentucky before declaring for the 2006 NBA Draft. He was selected with the 21st overall pick by the Phoenix Suns, then traded to Boston, where he made his NBA debut.

[edit] High School

Rondo attended Louisville's Eastern High School for three years where he played basketball under head coach Doug Bibby. There, as a junior he averaged 27.6 ppg, 10.0 rpg and 7.5 apg. He also earned All-State honors and was named the 7th Region Player of the Year. He transferred to Virginia's Oak Hill Academy for his senior year where he averaged 21.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 12.0 apg.

Rondo was one of the top recruits for the class of 2004 and initially Rondo committed to Kentucky after originally intending to attend Louisville, UK's in-state rival. Coach Rick Pitino envisioned a backcourt of Rondo and Sebastian Telfair, who ended up skipping college and going straight to the NBA. However, when Tubby Smith offered Rondo a scholarship, he accepted.

[edit] College

He set the UK single-season record for steals (totaling 87) his freshman year and made at least one steal in every game. In his sophomore year he had a career high 12 assists against Ole Miss (despite playing just 23 minutes) and 25 points against Louisville. Rondo also set a UK record for most rebounds in a game by a guard, grabbing 19 rebounds in an early season loss to Iowa. He averaged 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.1 steals a game.

[edit] NBA

Following the 2005-06 NCAA season, Rondo announced he would forgo his final two seasons at Kentucky, hire an agent, and enter the NBA draft. Rondo was drafted 21st overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 NBA Draft. Phoenix then traded him to the Boston Celtics along with Brian Grant for the Cleveland Cavaliers' first-round draft pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and cash considerations. In another draft-day deal, the Celtics acquired Telfair from the Portland Trail Blazers, ironically creating the backcourt former Celtics coach Rick Pitino had envisioned at Louisville.

Rookie Season After having an impressive showing during the pre-season, when the regular season came around, Rondo found himself splitting time with Sebastian Telfair and Delonte West. Rondo averaged 23 minutes 6.4 points and 3 assists a game. He always brought much needed energy off the bench and became more vital to the offense after captain Paul Pierce went down for most of the season.

2007-2008 After Telfair and West was traded in the offseason, Rondo became a starter. He has started nearly every game this season and averaged a respectable 10.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and nearly 2 steals. On February 6, 2008, Rondo scored a career high 24 points in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Two weeks after that he had a career high 16 assists. Rondo played in 77 games during the 2007-2008 season and made his playoff debut on Sunday April 20th, 2008 against the Atlanta Hawks in Boston.

[edit] Scouting Report

• Very quick on the floor, can blow by defenders
• Not the best shooter
• Has great court vision and can get the ball to open teammates
• Tends to be overpowered because of his small stature

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