Must Reid Sports: Mudiay Leads The Way

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Reid Conant, Columnist

Emmanuel Mudiay is going to be great. Period. As the Denver Nuggets season is about to start, a new era has begun for the Nuggets. This city should be excited about the new additions this offseason. They drafted a star player and have a new coach. The Nuggets got lucky at the 2015 NBA Draft when 6 other teams passed on one of the best players in this draft. In a similar fashion to the 2003 NBA Draft when the Nuggets snatched Carmelo Anthony with the 3rd. To me, Mudiay brings more talent and value to the Nuggets then Carmelo ever did. He can do it all, he can pass, score and play great defense. He is a big and athletic point guard that can run the court with ease.

Mudiay was the number one recruited player out of high school but chose not to go to college, instead he went to China and played professionally for a year in order to take care of his Mother. This shows us the kind of character Mudiay has, he wanted to take care of his loved ones before he takes care of himself. Not to mention that playing professionally for a year has allowed him to grow into a more mature man.

Mudiay is quietly having a very good preseason so far, averaging 15 points per game, 5.4 assists per game and 3 rebounds per game. He is the floor general in the Run and Gun type offense that new head coach Mike Malone likes to run. Out of the six players taken in front of Mudiay in this year’s draft, none of them come close to Mudiay’s stats so far this preseason. The only other player averaging over 10 points per game is number 1 overall pick, Karl-Anthony Towns. Mudiay was a huge steal at the number 7 pick! Nuggets fans you should be excited about the future of this team.

Coach Mike Malone has the perfect style of play here in Denver as well, he teaches play tough defense and hit the fast break all game. This style of play on offense is very strategic here in Denver because of the high altitude, teams will get tired if the Nuggets play the Run and Gun style all game. Mudiay fits perfectly in this system because he is a big and athletic defender that can cause a lot of turnovers on the opposing teams point guard. The last thing that is so striking about Mudiay is that he is a natural leader.

Ever since Carmelo Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks the Nuggets have been searching for that one leader that can step in and make a big difference. I thought that it would be Ty Lawson but in the last year he has shown his true colors. For a long time now, everyone has said that this team has needed a superstar player. In order to win championships in the NBA you need that one superstar player that can get you a win in the dying seconds of the game. Emmanuel Mudiay is that guy. Denver Nugget fans hop on the Emmanuel Mudiay bandwagon right now because I can guarantee you that it will be a ride worth taking.