NEW YORK – When Jonny Flynn announced he was leaving Syracuse and declaring for the NBA Draft, it didn’t take long for the criticism to begin. Suddenly, everybody he knew doubled as his agent. Everyone had an opinion. Many of them who didn’t hesitate to tell him they thought he was making a mistake.

The Orange was coming off a trip to the Sweet 16 and seemed poised to make a run at the national championship next season with Flynn remaining in the backcourt. That was about two months ago, when Flynn wasn’t even considered a lottery pick. At the time, it seemed like he could benefit from another year of seasoning.

But Flynn didn’t care. He never stopped believing his stock would rise, that he was ready to make the jump to the pro game. On Thursday night, he was proven right.

Flynn was selected with the No. 6 overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves here at Madison Square Garden, officially closing the door on his two-year Syracuse career. After workouts and interviews for nine NBA teams during the last several weeks, Flynn propelled up the draft board and quickly became one of the most coveted players in a draft class laden with talented point guards.

He became the first Orange player to be picked in the top 15 since Carmelo Anthony, who went No. 3 overall in 2003 to the Denver Nuggets months after leading SU to its only national championship.

Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf, teammates of Flynn at Syracuse, were also eligible but both went undrafted.

‘It’s been a crazy ride over the past two months,’ Flynn said. ‘…It was definitely a roller coaster ride from then – from people telling you that you should stay in school, and them telling you you’re making the wrong decision until now.’

Though it seemed all but certain Flynn was going to be selected somewhere in the top 10, Minnesota was perhaps the most unlikely suitor. The Timberwolves took Ricky Rubio with the No. 5 pick immediately before choosing Flynn, and it didn’t seem possible they would choose two point guards back-to-back.

Rubio, who starred in the 2008 Olympics for Spain, has been likened to all-time greats like Pete Maravich and was expected to be selected in the top three. Instead, he fell to Minnesota when the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and Sacramento Kings all passed on the 18-year-old phenom.

The sellout crowd at the Garden seemed surprised by the Timberwolves’ pick of Flynn immediately following Rubio. Nevertheless, Flynn sees it as an exciting opportunity.

‘You see the NBA going to a format with two point guards,’ Flynn said. ‘That’s what the game is shifting to. It’s good to have two facilitators that could make plays on the court. I think we can boost each other’s level of play, and I can’t wait go to play with him.’

Rubio, however, did not seem as enthusiastic as his counterpart about the prospect of having to compete for playing time next season with another rookie point guard.

‘That’s a big surprise for me they took another point guard,’ Rubio said. ‘But we are going to see what they want. I don’t know yet what exactly they want.’

Common sense suggested perhaps the Timberwolves were interested in trading one of their first two selections. That notion was made even stronger when they took a third point guard with the No. 18 overall pick, North Carolina’s Ty Lawson. They are expected to deal Lawson by the end of the night.

But Minnesota appears content with having both Rubio and Flynn on its roster together. Shortly after taking Flynn, a Wolves spokesman announced the team plans to keep both point guards and use them to build its backcourt of the future.

‘I don’t think it can be competition,’ Flynn said of his relationship with Rubio. ‘We are playing for the same goal, and that’s to win an NBA championship. I think we can go in there, and we can compromise, where he may have the ball or where I may have the ball. I think it’s going to be fun to have another player who can make plays just like you.’

As far as Flynn is concerned, all the talk of Rubio and playing with another point guard should take a back seat, at least for one day. For Flynn, Thursday was about fulfilling his lifelong dream, just like it was for everybody else selected.

Flynn said a number of teams told him that he was high on their draft boards, but he was not entirely uncomfortable until he heard his name called. Only then did he know for sure that he really belonged. That was when his journey was finally complete.

‘You’ve got to take what these teams are saying out one ear and through the other because they could be telling four, five, six different players the same thing,’ Flynn said. ‘The one time you can tell if a team is serious is when they pick you, and I guess Minnesota was really high on me.’

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on July 9, 2009 at 12:00 pm