Re: Peter May Ranks The Draftable Players

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

Way Of The Ray wrote:

> In tomorrow's Globe, Peter May will provide you with a look at the top
> players
> who could be available in the draft. Ranked in his column, they are:
>
> 1) Yao Ming - "Everyone who has seen him raves about him."
>
> 2) Jason Williams - No one believes he's staying.
>
> 3) Chris Marcus - Player personnel guys love his upside.
>
> 4) Jason Richardson - "excellent work ethic."
>
> 5) Kwame Brown - The personnel people think he's NBA bound.
>
> 6) DeSagana Diop - Has a foot injury.
>
> 7) Tyson Chandler - May slide, but " much-coveted athleticism."
>
> 8) Eddie Griffin - Scouts think he's coming out.
>
> 9) Dajuan Wagner - May rise up via "all-star practices."
>
> 10) Frank Williams - Second point guard taken.
>
> 11) Eddy Curry - Hanging out with Jordan's fitnesds guru.
>
> 12) Joseph Forte - First NC player taken.
>
> 13) Troy Murphy - Raef LaFrentz?
>
> 14) Shane Battier - "borderline lottery pick"
>
> 15) Rodney White - Trentish pro body
>
> May's others to look for: Brendan Haywood, Zach Randolph, Kareem Rush,
> Joe Johnson.
>
> May quoting one GM: "'If 90 percent of these guys come out, it'll be a deep
> draft.
> You may not find a franchise player in there, but you will find guys who can
> score.'"

I'd be really surprised if the draft went in that order (Eddy Curry at #11,
Brendan Haywood available at #16). The other curious thing is the number of top
players Peter Mayqueen fails to mention altogether. Iowa's Reggie Evans led the
nation in rebounding out of the Big Ten, a notable feat. And if Stanford's Casey
Jacobsen stays four years in school, he'll likely be the most nationally hyped
player since Princeton's Bill Bradley by the time he's a senior. Gilbert Arenas
is a great combo guard and seems like a Joe Dumars-caliber, no-brainer pick if
he falls anywhere after the lottery round. Tayshaun Prince hits big shots and
sounds like he may have some of Mashburn's all-around game.

Here's the ESPN breakdown of some of the players that Peter Mayqueen missed,
starting with three franchise-player WB's for Way. ;-)

Joe

p.s. I hope you all had a wonderful St Patrick's Day.


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Casey Jacobsen
Guard | #23 | Sophomore | Stanford
Height: 6-6
Weight: 210 lbs.
Hometown: Glendora, CA
Heralded recruit who become Stanford's first option on offense early in his
freshman year and has stayed the first option ever since ... Might have the best
looking stroke in college basketball, owns a picture-perfect release and has
flawless mechanics conducive to maintaining accuracy as he adds range ... Arches
back, elevates, and kicks his legs out allowing for powerful drive behind the
ball ... Great arc and rotation, shoots off his fingertips ... Because he is so
gifted in his long-range scoring abilities, opponents must defend him to limit
his perimeter opportunities ... This opens things up for the dribble drive, and
he does this well ... Quick in his initial burst but lacks breakaway speed, so
he'll often have to use his size to ride defenders into the lane ... Sensational
when he reads the hole in traffic, won't elevate much to finish but converts on
one-handed swooping tosses ... Solid handle, can really lose his opponent on the
crossover ... Draws fouls with his aggressiveness ... Remarkably savvy, his
presence of mind makes him a reliably efficient player ... Former McDonald's
All-American ... Brother, Brock, played at San Diego, and Adam, at Pacific ...
Father, Von, played at San Diego St. and built a regulation halfcourt in his
backyard complete with breakaway rims, a college three-point line, and lights
for night basketball.

Jason Kapono-UCLA
Height: 6-7
Weight: 199 lbs.
Hometown: Lakewood, CA
Prolific scorer on the perimeter, a pure shooter at 6-7 ... Great range and
touch, converts very difficult three point attempts ... Hits in spot up
situations or off the dribble, which makes him particularly impressive ... Has
the size to shoot over the defense ... Sets his feet well ... Follow through on
pullups needs improvement ... Splendid ballhandler for his size, can help out
against the press ... Manufactures opportunities offensively, gets himself looks
... Moves well without the ball ... Doesn't have great hangtime, and that can
hurt him in finishing off drives in traffic ... On the box, he wheels and deals,
but can lose track of where he is in relation to the basket ... Touch obviously
makes him a factor in close vicinity to the basket though his lack of strength
can hinder his efforts to get good position and this causes him to flock towards
the perimeter ... Great passer ... Not a big rebounder ... Entered the NBA Draft
at the conclusion of a spectacular freshman season ... Concerns about his
ballhandling and ability to create his own shot fueled speculation that he could
slip into the second round, consequently causing him to withdraw his name from
the draft ... Former McDonald's All-American ... Came from the same high school
program that produced legendary Bruins Ed and Charles O'Bannon.

Brett Nelson
Guard | #10 | Sophomore | Florida
Height: 6-3
Weight: 185 lbs.
Hometown: St Albans, WV
Already a legend in his hometown ... Comparisons to fellow West Virginian Jerry
West are inevitable, but also reminds of John Havlicek ... Has uncanny vision
and passing creativity ... Display flair in the open court ... Will score in
spurts ... Elevates extremely well on his long-range jumper, allowing him space
to shoot over defensive pressure with amazing accuracy ... Proficient scorer off
the dribble ... Paralyzing crossover into a pullup ... Nifty handle ...
Hesitation dribble to attack the gap ... Composed finisher, settling into one
handers off the glass ... Loves the runner from the wing or in the lane,
seemingly measuring his shot as he elevates ... Also converts on dipsy-do
finishes ... Diversity of his offensive game makes him tough to defend, though
he thinks pass before shot ... Sharp distributor, finds passing lanes that
aren't supposed to exist ... Great instincts, on defense he shows a nose for the
ball on steals ... Turnovers and fouls are both something that he significantly
needs to cut down on ... McDonald's All- American ... First prep sophomore to
lead the state of West Virginia in scoring.

Reggie Evans
Forward | #32 | Junior | Iowa
Height: 6-8
Weight: 245 lbs.
Hometown: Pensacola, FL
Big-time junior college recruit ... Has worked hard in the weight room and owns
considerable physical ability ... Not as polished as he could be with his back
to the basket, but often compensates for that weakness with his strength and
agility ... Far from one-dimensional, he's extremely proficient from the
perimeter to the point of rarity for a 6-8, 245 pound specimen ... Outstanding
rebounder and highly effective at setting screens ... Has improved his entire
game, especially his offensive footwork.

Gilbert Arenas
Guard | #0 | Sophomore | Roster
Height: 6-3
Weight: 188 lbs.
Hometown: North Hollywood, CA
Easily one of the most talented young guards in the country ... Prolific
mid-range scorer ... Brilliant first step ... Hard to defend in one-on-one
situations because he has such good change of direction speed ... Good stutter
step, crossover to shake his opponent ... Gets himself clean looks off the
dribble ... Elevates well into his shot, releasing at the highest point ...
Smooth and consistent follow through ... Mechanics become more erratic when he
has to add range on his shot ... Finishes well, double clutch reverse, floater
... Flair in the open court ... Good rebounder at his size ... Can play some
point guard if need be ... Surprisingly advanced shot selection that rarely
comes from players as young as he ... Despite sensational high school career he
was snubbed from many of the more reputed all-star games and all-American lists,
proving to many that he was overlooked during his high school days ... Just 17
years of age during the first half season of his career ... Father, Gilbert,
played football at the University of Miami with future NFL stars Jim Kelly and
Otis Anderson.

Tayshaun Prince
Guard | #21 | Junior | Roster
Height: 6-9
Weight: 215 lbs.
Hometown: Compton, CA
Lithe lefty is a one-time McDonald's All-American ... His lankiness makes for a
Gervinesque quality, but also reminds of former ABA superstar Connie Hawkins ...
Comes complete with a tremendous wingspan of seven feet ... Solid first step and
foot speed, though he is not explosive and utilizes his size ... Takes long
strides on silky smooth attacks at the seam, keeping his man on his shoulder and
shielding him from getting in front of his shot ... An excellent finisher off
drives, he uses his rangy frame to go over the top of the defense by extending
on his follow through or using his long wingspan to swoop shots off to the side
of traffic ... Gets his shot off against most defenders in one-on-one situations
... Doesn't always exploit his size well enough though ... Tends to sag outside
and settle for long-range jump shots, an area of his game that he has
fortunately improved upon ... A hot-cold shooter ... Has a feathery touch ...
Gets under the ball and pushes it out on his release with the palm of his
shooting hand ... This gives his shot a lot of arc, but virtually no rotation
... With his hands as big as they are it is very difficult for him to get good
rotation on his shot because it is tougher to release the ball off the
fingertips with an oversize hand ... Really measures up on his jumper and this
slows down his entire shooting rotation ... Has continued to add considerable
weight and must keep doing so in order to improve his ability to score and
rebound in the paint ... Not enough of a threat in the post ... Does have a spin
move to the basket followed by an up and under in which he uses a little
floating one-hander to complete ... Great tracking ability as a rebounder ...
Decision making needs work ... Has the physical skills to be a potential
defensive stopper ... Brother of Pepperdine forward Tommy Prince ... Starred in
his prep days at national powerhouse Dominguez High School, in Compton,
California where he played with one-time Georgetown guard Kenny Brunner and
current USC Trojans football
player Jason Thomas.

---------------

Others who are getting good pro scouting hype: Omar Cook, Kenny Satterfield,
Udonis Haslem, Dan "Dutch Boy in the Paint" Gadzuric plus guys like Sean
Lampley, Michael Bradley, Joe Crispin, Juan Dixon, Kirk Hasten, Jason and Jaron
Collins, Michael Wright, Terence Morris. It's a longer list than that, with a
lot of names I've neglected to mention.