An article from ESPN insider

["Jaims" <jaims@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Top 10 international prospects

NBA scouts claim that this year's crop of international players may end up
dominating the lottery and the early part of the first round of the 2003
draft.
Insider will be heading to Yugoslavia and Croatia from Dec. 12 through Dec.
20 along with NBA international scouting guru Tony Ronzone to get a
first-hand look at six of the top 10 international prospects: Darko Milicic,
Mickeal Pietrus, Zarko Carbakapa, Victor Khryapa, Zoran Planinic and Boris
Diaw. We'll also catch a few of the top young players in Yugoslavia,
including Kosta Perovic and Slavko Vranjes.
Here's a sneak peek at the guys teams are buzzing about:

1. Darko Milicic, PF/C, Yugoslavia
The line: 7-0, 245, 17 years old
The skinny: He's dominant. Like Dirk Nowitzki, he has the full complement of
skills. He can handle, shoot the 3 and play in the paint. Unlike Nowitzki,
he's tough as nails. A strong defender who gets aggressive in the post. He
has the potential, if he fills out, to be a legit center in the league. He's
the consensus No.
2 pick in the draft if the league lets him in, a question because of his
age. He'll be 18 in time for the June 26 draft, but not in time to apply for
the draft, a distinction that is causing some consternation.

2. Sofaklis Schortsianides, C, Greece
The line: 6-11, 285, 17 years old
The skinny: Nicknamed Baby Shaq by his teammates in Greece, he's very strong
and capable of playing with his back to the basket. Several teams compared
him to a more aggressive, motivated Eddy Curry. He's a likely top five pick
in the draft if the league lets him in (see Milicic, Darko).

3. Anderson Varejao, PF, Brazil
The line: 6-10, 230, 20 years old
The skinny: He's good, but there's lots of debate about exactly how good.
Teams get excited about his rebounding, shot blocking and soft shooting
touch from the outside. Others claim he's a tweener. He's not physical
enough to thrive in the post in the NBA, and his game isn't developed enough
on the offensive end to play small forward. Nevertheless, he's probably a
lock for the Top 10, and he could go higher if he gets stronger.

4. Mickael Pietrus, SG, France
The line: 6-6, 210, 20 years old
The skinny: Perhaps the most athletic player in Europe at the moment.
Pietrus has a very American game. He loves to take it to the basket and use
his athleticism and leaping ability to fly past his opponents. He's also a
pretty good defender. He's aggressive on both ends of the court. He's very
strong for his size. The only knock is his shooting touch. Teams don't think
he has NBA 3-point range. Right now, teams have him going in the late
lottery. He could move much higher once he gets into individual workouts.

5. Zarko Carbakapa, PF, Yugoslavia
The line: 6-11, 230, 20 years old
The skinny: NBA scouts are flocking to Europe right now to get a look at
Carbakapa. He's another versatile athlete who plays three positions in
Europe. Reminds some of a more polished Nikoloz Tskitishvili. He has the
ball handling skills, outside jumper, athleticism and rebounding ability. He
just needs to get stronger. He's represented by super agent Bill Duffy,
which won't hurt his stock come draft day. He's almost a lock for the
lottery.

6. Zaur Pachulia, PF/C, Georgia
The line: 6-11, 250, 19 years old
The skinny: Former teammate of Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Pachulia is more of a
classic low-post banger. He's strong, likes to mix it up down low and is an
excellent rebounder. Pachulia actually threw his name into the draft last
season and wowed several teams, including the Pacers. He was considered a
late first-round pick last year. Pachulia's agent, Mark Fleisher, felt that
he'd be better off waiting a year to get Pachulia more exposure. It's paying
off. Most scouts feel he's on the lottery bubble this season.

7. Zoran Planinic, PG/SG, Croatia
The line: 6-6, 215, 20 years old
The skinny: Gets a lot of comparisons to Jiri Welsch. He plays both guard
positions, but his NBA future is at the point. Unlike Welsch, he's more of a
one than two. He's coming off an injury, which has limited his exposure a
bit. But now that he's healthy, the scouts are flocking to Cibona, Croatia
to check him out. He's very thin, but teams will always take a risk on a 6-6
point guard. Should be a mid first-rounder.

8. Victor Khryapa, SF, Russia
The line: 6-9, 200, 20 years old
The skinny: Gets a lot of comparisons to Andrei Kirilenko. Both players are
long, athletic and mutli-dimensional. Khryapa impressed NBA scouts when he
subbed for an injured Kirilenko for Team Russia during the World
Championships. His big weakness is his perimeter shooting. It stinks. He's
not quite as polished as his European counterparts. He also has to get
stronger to compete at the next level. With all that said, most teams still
consider him a great prospect. He'll likely be a mid first-rounder.

9. Carlos Delfino, SG, Argentina
The line: 6-7, 200, 20 years old
The skinny: Like fellow Argentinan Emanuel Ginobili, Delfino already has
established himself as a big time scorer in Europe. He has a lethal
mid-range jumper, likes to drive to the basket and is considered a very
strong on-the-ball defender. Like many international players, he has to get
stronger. He's a likely mid-to-late first-rounder, but could go much higher
with strong workouts. One thing in his favor -- he's one of the few players
who won't have any contract issues come draft time. His deal is up at the
end of the season.

10. Boris Diaw, SG, France
The line: 6-7, 210, 20 years old
The skinny: A big-time prospect (the Nuggets love him) who's been
overshadowed by the emergence of Pietrus. They play on the same team, and
scouts are divided on who the better prospect is. Diaw is more skilled,
Pietrus is the better athlete. Still, the coach of Pau Orthez has decided,
and Diaw is only seeing garbage minutes this year. Couldn't get a team to
commit to drafting him in the first round last season. Will it happen this
year?

The best of the rest: Kosta Perovic, PF/C, Yugoslavia (probably the third
best prospect in Europe, but scouts don't think he'll declare for the
draft); Tiago Splitter, SG/SF, Brazil (teams love him, but again they think
he'll wait a year to declare); Slavko Vranjes, C, Yugoslavia (he's 7-foot-6
and he's leaning toward entering the draft. Could be a big-time sleeper);
Edu Hernandez, C, Spain (he's a legit center, which means his stock will be
higher than his talent); Blagota Sekulic, PF, Yugoslavia (lots of potential,
but again teams think he'll wait one more year); Kresimir Loncar, PF,
Croatia (lot of mixed reviews, probably a second-round pick); Benu Udrich,
PG, Slovenia (very explosive combo guard, but he's been nicked up this year
which may convince him to wait); Christos Taupoutos, SF, Greece (gets
compared to Toni Kukoc, but he needs more time); Sani Becirovic, PG/SG,
Slovenia (two major surgeries have killed his stock; he has the talent of a
lottery pick); Florent Pietrus, SF, France (Mickael's brother, he's a great
offensive rebounder but a bit undersized for the NBA).