DeCourcy says its Brown at #11

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

A little late to the game, but TSN's Mike DeCourcy adds to the 
Kedrick-at-#11 hype with a full-length article. You've got to wonder what's 
going on.

I'm trying to figure out who Arn Tellum's clients are to maybe uncover what 
possible motive Boston would have to draft a kid without even an interview 
or workout. Tellum is an agent to Nomar Garciaparra, who signed on very 
Boston friendly terms. He's got other ballplayers like Mussina and Giambi. 
In basketball its names like McDyess, McGrady, Sprewell and Orlando 2000 
Rookie of the Year Mike Miller. I don't have the full list because he 
doesn't have a Web site. If he has Kenny Anderson and could find a home for 
him (say Portland), that would clear up the picture considerably.

Maybe Wallace will take the guy at #11 for Boston, based on watching him 
play in Okaloosa and out in California. Maybe his public denial of any deal 
with the agent should be taken literally. In other words, no he didn't cut 
a deal with Tellum, but yes he intends to draft Kedrick at #11.

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Junior college star Brown the draft's mystery man
June 25, 2001
Mike DeCourcy
The Sporting News
The guy most likely to make a mockery of all the mock drafts is a player 
few fans have heard of and even fewer have seen: Kedrick Brown.
His junior-college games at Florida's Okaloosa-Walton were not televised 
nationally. He was not a McDonald's All-American in high school. He did not 
compete at the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago earlier this month. He is as 
much of a mystery as one can be just two days before the draft is held.
When his name is announced during the lottery portion of the draft -- most 
likely, he'll go to the Boston Celtics with the No. 11 pick -- many will be 
shocked. At least you've been forewarned.
A source close to the draft process told TSN that Brown will be a lottery 
choice even though many are projecting him to be a late first-rounder. The 
reason is simple: "He's the best athlete in the draft who can shoot."
The source added that "can shoot" qualifier because it's clear the draft's 
best pure athlete is Alabama forward Gerald Wallace, also a 6-7 small 
forward but burdened with a jump shot that produced only 11 3-pointers in 
63 tries.
Brown does not share this affliction. He tried 156 3-pointers as a juco 
sophomore and made 63 of them, which works out to 40.4 percent. Brown made 
61 percent of his shots from inside the 3-point line and attempted 150 free 
throws, indicating a willingness to attack the goal.
O-W coach Bruce Stewart, who coached Middle Tennessee State to three NCAA 
Tournament appearances in the 1980s, strongly believes in Brown's talent 
and expects him to be one of the first juco NBA draft successes.
Junior-college players have a horrible history with early draft entry. Many 
of those whose names appeared on the list were not serious prospects; some 
thought they were but weren't and some just placed their names on the list 
as a lark.
But just in the past three seasons, there has been a string of gifted juco 
players who've busted out as draft prospects.
Last June, Indian Hills teammates Cory Hightower and Ernest Brown were 
taken in the final seven picks of the second round. They were cut before 
the 2000-01 season began. Forward DeeAndre Hulett entered the 1999 draft 
after his freshman year at College of the Sequoias but withdrew after 
struggling at the NBA pre-draft camp. Tim Cole of Northeast Mississippi 
C.C. went undrafted after competing at the camp in 1998.
The only marginal junior-college draft success in recent years was Alek 
Radojevic, chosen No. 12 overall by Toronto in 1999, but that was an odd 
case. First, he stood 7-3. Second, he had no desire to enter the draft but 
was left with little choice by NCAA regulators who declared him a pro for 
accepting $10,000 when he played with a European club team. Radojevic, 
plagued by back problems, has played only three games in two seasons.
Stewart believes Brown will be an exception because of his astonishing 
athletic ability and the influence of Brown's agent, Arn Tellum. With 
Tellum on his side, Brown was able to avoid competing at the Chicago camp 
and still become widely exposed to NBA scouts. The Celtics appear to be 
convinced enough of his ability to hold off on the desire to draft a point 
guard until they choose at 21.
(That is not a given, either. If the Celtics have a chance at Iowa State's 
Jamaal Tinsley, Omar Cook of St. John's and North Carolina shooting guard 
Joseph Forte, they'll forget need and grab Forte).
This is an interesting case for NBA teams. Their personnel people have to 
recognize how rare it is for juco products to have a major impact as 
collegians, let alone pros. But there also have been such successes as 
Shawn Marion and Steve Francis, who were overlooked as high school players, 
blossomed in junior college and then entered the NBA after one year in the 
NCAA Division I.
Brown could have followed that path by spending a year at LSU. Instead, he 
took the chance that he didn't need Division I to become a lottery pick. 
And he didn't. Whether he needed it to become a player is tough to say at 
this point. Who's seen him enough to know for sure?
Senior writer Mike DeCourcy covers college basketball for The Sporting 
News. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.