John Jenkins is turning heads with his performance at the 2012 Vegas Summer League and has landed on A.J. Mitnick's list of breakout candidates. . John Jenkins, G, Atlanta: The Hawks plan on replacing one JJ for another at under 10 percent of the cost. Jenkins may not be able to fill Joe Johnson's shoes as a leader or all-around player, but he is a better and more consistent shooter. This rookie has a knack not only for making crunch time 3-pointers, but also always seems to make shots at key momentum points. Whenever teams go on runs against the Hawks, Jenkins will knock down a bucket to keep Atlanta in the game. He can't carry an offense like Johnson, but he is an outstanding weapon to have in your arsenal.
Its interesting to point out that the three players in front of Jenkins, Golden State's Klay Thompson, Minnesota's Derrick Williams and Los Angeles' Eric Bledsoe are all from the 2011 Draft class. The bar was initially set pretty low for Jenkins as people new he could shoot but weren't positive that he could do the other things necessary to succeed in the NBA.
Jenkins has shown the same poise in summer league that he showed at Vanderbilt. He seems to always be under control and that shooting stroke helps to cover up a lot of his shortcomings.
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