I would add four players, all four of which, should be definite lottery
picks to the one's Smith cited in his article:
Steve Francis - Maryland - Pocket Jordan, first or second pick in the
draft.
Shawn Marion - UNLV - Pippen like, may actually be better than Francis.
Chris Herren - Fresno State - 7.5 assists a game, and unlike a few other
prominent point guards, actually has an
outside shot.
Tyrone Washington - Mississippi State - Another Dampier?
[Chicago Tribune] [SPORTS]
NBA Report
Pro scouts follow
Odom's every move
By Sam Smith
Tribune Pro Basketball
Writer
December 6, 1998
More than 40 NBA scouts
turned out in Rhode
Island for Lamar Odom's
first game. Double that
were in the United
Center last week for
the Great Eight
Classic.
With the NBA lockout
showing no sign of
ending, no college
class in history will
be scouted as much.
And no college class
may be as lacking in
overall talent.
A poll of a half dozen
NBA executives last
week on the top talent
in college suggested
that Duke's Elton Brand
is the most likely to
be the No. 1 pick in
next June's NBA draft.
Yet two general
managers, when asked to
project Brand as an NBA
pro, said he reminded
them most of Danny
Fortson, the undersized
Denver power forward
from Cincinnati. NBA
scouts don't look for
the best college
players. They look for
whether players can
succeed in the NBA and
for so-called
"tweeners" like Brand,
because they are too
small for power forward
and too slow for small
forward.
Of course, at this time
last year few scouts
even had Michael
Olowokandi ranked among
the top 20 players. So
changes are likely and
often dramatic. But
here's the way a
half-dozen NBA
executives project the
NBA draft if it were
being held now:
1. Lamar Odom, Rhode
Island, 6-10,
sophomore: The next in
a long line of next
Magic Johnsons. The
scouts like his
athletic ability, arm
length and potential as
a huge guard, though
not his background.
2. Wally Szczerbiak,
Miami (Ohio), 6-8,
senior: Great shooter,
all-around athletic
player. Mature from a
solid basketball
family.
3. Andre Miller, Utah,
6-2 senior: NBA teams
are starting to place a
premium on mature,
senior players. His big
question is whether he
can shoot well enough.
But he's savvy and a
good leader.
4. Elton Brand, Duke,
6-8 sophomore: A
wide-bodied type who
makes things happen,
but pro scouts wonder
whether he can handle
the bigger NBA players
at his position.
5. Richard Hamilton,
Connecticut, 6-6
junior: Would have to
play two-guard in the
NBA, but pros wonder
about his ability to
take the pounding with
a skinny frame. Hope he
projects out like Kerry
Kittles.
6. Jumaine Jones,
Georgia, 6-7 junior:
Another athletic small
forward from Georgia;
the rebirth of
Dominique Wilkins.
7. Lee Nailon, TCU, 6-9
senior: A big-time
college scorer who
could have trouble in
the pros since he
scores so much inside.
8. Brad Millard, St.
Mary's, 7-3 junior: No
one's seen him play
because of a broken
foot. But he could move
up quickly because of
the lack of size in the
draft.
9. Mateen Cleaves,
Michigan State, 6-2
junior: A solid
all-around player in a
strong class of guards.
But needs to shoot
better.
10. Trajan Langdon,
Duke, 6-3 senior:
Another guard. A mature
player and an excellent
shooter.
11. Baron Davis, UCLA,
6-2 sophomore: Had knee
problems, but if
healthy a top overall
talent who is a little
undisciplined.
12. Ed Cota, North
Carolina, 6-1, junior:
Top ballhandler who
doesn't shoot well,
like Tyus Edney.
13. Laron Profit,
Maryland, 6-5 senior: A
quick, athletic player
who needs to shoot
better and may have
trouble finding an NBA
position where he can
score.
14. Todd MacCulloch,
Washington, 7-0 senior:
A center who shoots a
high percentage and
should have a long NBA
career as a backup.
15. Quentin Richardson,
DePaul, 6-6 freshman:
One of those players
with a knack for the
ball. One scout likened
him to a young Adrian
Dantley when Dantley
was a top rebounder at
6-5.
Others who could be in
this group are Dion
Glover of Georgia Tech,
Arthur Lee of Stanford,
Scott Padgett of
Kentucky, Jason Terry
of Arizona, Vonteego
Cummings of Pittsburgh,
Kenny Thomas of New
Mexico and
Northwestern's Evan
Eschmeyer.
<snip>
Rumblings in Europe: In
a little-noticed
development last week,
the European leagues
gave preliminary
approval to remove
limits on the number of
foreigners per team.
Now teams may have only
two foreigners. To some
this may be the
precursor of the so
called Super League,
the worldwide NBA. It
may be one reason
negotiations have
stalled in the lockout.
Some in the players'
association have
contended the reason
the owners want so
called cost certainty
is because they have
some currently unknown
source of future income
coming and don't want
to share it with the
players. Like franchise
fees from a European
NBA combined with the
NBA. The league has
denied such a plan
exists, but with the
continued lack of trust
between the parties it
seems just another
obstacle to settlement.
Sam Smith covers the
NBA for the Tribune.