Gilbert Arenas has his fingerprints all over Free Darko’s new book, so it only seems fitting that a site that focuses on Gilbert Arenas should focus on the parts where his influence is felt the most in the book.  Previously, we took a look at the foreword and now we’re going to focus on MONGA.

At the end of the book, Free Darko focuses on the “Myth of the Next.”  Throughout the history of the NBA, players have been labeled as the reincarnations of great players that have come before them.  Of course, Michael Jordan is the player that’s drawn the most comparison.  Everyone from Kobe Bryant to Harold Miner has been labeled as the “Next Michael Jordan” with varying results.

The thing is, no comparison is ever and more times than not they create a standard that can never be lived up to which inevitably leads to disappointment.  Still, the comparisons continue to be used because it’s easier than writing a scouting report.

In the Myth of Next section, several players who have served as the model for future players have been examined as well as the players who had to follow in their shadow.  When it comes to Gilbert Arenas, five players were identified as players who fit the Myth of the Next Gilbert Arenas (MONGA) mold.

The first and most obvious player to fit the mold would be Monta Ellis, who like Gilbert was drafted in the second round by the Warriors and ended up winning the Most Improved Player of the Year Award in his second year.  FD also identifies Luther Head, Troy Bell, C.J. Miles, and Lou Williams as players who have been stuck with the MONGA tag and it’s hard to disagree with any of those choices.  Certainly, not all of those players have lived up to that hype, but the comparison was used with all of them at different times leading up to the draft.

Since it doesn’t look like these comparisons will end any time soon, we might as well take a look at the next crop of players that will get the MONGA tag.

Jerryd Bayless – Like Monta Ellis, he’s the easy pick.  When you’re a combo guard coming out of the University of Arizona wearing #0, the comparisons are hard to ignore.  However, with a Summer League MVP under his belt and some nasty highlights to call his own, it doesn’t look like it will be long until he creates his own myth:

Jeff Teague – I mentioned him a few days ago but with his team currently at #1 in the nation, it seems like a good team to bring him up again.  Aside from wearing 0 like Arenas, Teague also possesses blazing speed, a strong crossover, a penchant for getting his hand on the ball (2.1 steals per game) and he’s shooting over 52% from 3 point land.  He’s currently 13th on NBADraft.net’s 2009 mock draft.  Plus, the kid can get up:

Lester Hudson – Playing at Tennessee-Martin, Hudson doesn’t get the same kind of pub that a guy like Jeff Teague gets, but once you see his numbers, they’re hard to ignore.  The 6-3 guard is currently averaging 27.4 points per game on 46% shooting and 34% from downtown, 7.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.7 steals per game.  Right now, it looks like he’ll be a second round pick, if he’s drafted at all, but he’s certainly someone worth keeping an eye on in the future.