Mark Heisler Looks At The Draft

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

He left out a few players too, but not bad.....

March 23, 2003
LATimes.com


Mark Heisler:
The NBA
A More Abroad-Minded Draft

In our annual salute to the NCAA tournament, here's a mock draft of
everyone, although, after last season's horrors, we're no longer going
younger than 18.

The top six are no scoop, because everyone is in general agreement, but
after that everyone is on their own.

This will be a big draft for international players, a record six of whom
were first-round picks last spring. The colleges have been picked clean
of big men and the pros are leery of 6-foot-8 widebodies such as
Mississippi State's Mario Austin and Georgetown's Mike Sweetney. As a
general manager said, "With those guys, it's pick your poison."

Without early entry, of course, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Amare
Stoudemire, Jonathan Bender, Eddie Griffin, DeSagana Diop, Steven
Hunter, Zach Randolph, Drew Gooden, Chris Wilcox, Jared Jeffries, Chris
Borchardt, Carlos Boozer, Jamal Sampson and D'Angelo Collins would be in
college and it would be a different story.

Even with general managers now going abroad personally, after years of
trusting local bird dogs, it's hard to project foreign players, who
typically make big moves on the pre-draft circuit.

In other words, I probably didn't get it right this year either, but it
gave me something to do. Thanks to the six pro guys who helped me.

1. LeBron James, 6-7, 231, St. Vincent-St. Mary High, Akron, Ohio. His
senior year was off the hook (kid talk), but he's no hype. Athleticism,
skills, a grown man's body and poise make him the most advanced prep
ever.

2. Darko Milicic, 7-0, 245, Hemofarm Vrsac, Serbia and Montenegro.
Young, skilled, needs a year or two, but has a big upside.

3. Emeka Okafor, 6-9, 240, sophomore, Connecticut. Game-changing shot
blocker (4.7 a game) who's coming on offense (7.9 as a freshman to
15.5). Says he'll stay for his junior year, after which he'd be the top
pick in the draft.

4. Carmelo Anthony, 6-8, 220, freshman, Syracuse. If freshmen got
player-of-the-year consideration, he'd be it. Scores (23 a game),
rebounds (10, a lot in college, especially for a small forward) and
handles the ball. Could become Glenn Robinson or better.

5. Chris Bosh, 6-10, 210, freshman, Georgia Tech. Doesn't have pro body,
but he's already a standout with the one he has.

6. Chris Kaman, 7-0, 255, junior, Central Michigan. We haven't seen a
late bloomer like this in a while. Think: a faster Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

7. T.J. Ford, 5-10, 165, sophomore, Texas. Mind-blower. The pros scorn
tiny point guards who can't shoot but flat-out, to a man, love him.
Think of a playmaker version of Allen Iverson. Says a general manager:
"There are very few personalities who impact winning and losing like
T.J."

8. Mikael Pietrus 6-7, 201, Pau Orthez, France. Rangy, do-everything
wing player.

9. Pavel Podkolzin, 7-4, 300, Varese, Italy. Old enough to make himself
eligible for the draft, although he hasn't said he will. Very young
(just turned 18), very large prospect.

10. Kirk Hinrich, 6-3, 190, senior, Kansas. Efficient point guard who
shot 42% on three-pointers.

11. Travis Outlaw, 6-9, 195, Starkville (Miss.) High. Major athlete,
thought to be coming out.

12. Dwyane Wade, 6-4, 210, junior, Marquette. Came from off the radar
screen. Athlete who does everything except shoot (30% on
three-pointers), although that's worrisome for a shooting guard.

13. Luke Ridnour, 6-2, 175, junior, Oregon. Size and strength are
concerns. Admirers see a coach's-son version of Jason Williams, with
swagger, good fundamentals and range (46% on three-pointers over his
last 12 games).

14. Reece Gaines, 6-6, 205, senior, Louisville. Move to the point set up
Cardinals' season, and Coach Rick Pitino loves him. Pros are split
between those who agree and those who think he's just a nice player.

15. Jarvis Hayes, 6-7, 230, junior, Georgia. Shot 42% on three-pointers.
Limited ballhandler, which is a problem, because he'll probably be a
guard.

16. Nick Collison, 6-9, 255, senior, Kansas. Limited but had great
season. All-around game and, unlike your laid-back, Raef LaFrentz-type
Jayhawk, throws himself all over the court.

17. Brian Cook, 6-10, 240, senior, Illinois. Toughness is a question
after three deferential seasons and breakout senior year. Legit size and
skills.

18. Boris Diaw, 6-6, 200, Pau Orthez, France. That's some backcourt
because the other guard, Pietrus, is projected as a first-rounder too.
Diaw is supposed to be a Jason Richardson-level athlete.

19. Anderson Varejao, 6-10, 230, FC Barcelona. Young Brazilian power
forward. Opinions vary on skill level. Says a European scout: "When he
works out, he's going to stun people."

20. Kendrick Perkins, 6-10, 285, Beaumont (Texas) Ozen High. Pros are
flocking to next week's McDonald's All-Star game to see how all the
"Baby Shaqs" compare.

21. Josh Howard, 6-6, 203, senior, Wake Forest. Made a big move as a
senior.

22. Zarko Cabarkapa, 6-11, 220, Buducnost, Serbia and Montenegro.
Compared to Denver's Nikoloz Tskitishvili, last season's No. 5 pick who
wasn't ready.

23. Wayne Simien, 6-9, 255, sophomore, Kansas. Despite all his injuries,
a general manager says: "He's a major talent. If he came out, you'd have
to check him out, but if he was OK, he'd go in the first round."

24. Ronny Turiaf, 6-9, 228, sophomore, Gonzaga. Played in France with
Tony Parker, regarded as comer in his own right.

25. Sofoklis Schortsianitis, 6-9, 253, Iraklis Salonica, Greece. He was
"the Greek Baby Shaq," until scouts saw he wasn't 6-11. Now they want to
know if he's 6-9.

26. David West, 6-9, 232, senior, Xavier. Sentimental favorite who
stayed and was productive. Will play at the next level, just not as
productively.

27. Ricky Paulding, 6-5, 212, junior, Missouri. Big, athletic guard who
broke out last spring, had so-so season and went off again in this
tournament.

28. Chris Thomas, 6-1, 180, sophomore, Notre Dame. Averaged 19 during
the season, 22 in the first two games of tournament.

29. J.J. Redick, 6-4, 200, freshman, Duke. This is fast company for a
spot-up shooter, but what a shooter! One scout compares him to '60s hoop
icon Rick Mount.

Right There

Aleksandar Pavlovic, 6-7, 207, Buducnost, Serbia and Montenegro. Plays
alongside Cabarkapa so that's some frontcourt.

James Lang, 6-11, 305, Birmingham (Ala.) Central Park Christian High.
See: Perkins.

Jerome Beasley, 6-10, 240, senior, North Dakota State. Late bloomer.

Steve Blake, 6-3, 190, Maryland, senior. Hard-nosed, can shoot.

Robert Whaley, 6-9, 270, Barton County (Kan.) College. Trying to
overcome troubled past.

Zaur Pachulia, 6-11, 240, Ulker Spor, Istanbul. A Georgian who moved up
on last spring's pre-draft circuit before pulling out.

Victor Khryapa, 6-9, 210, Red Army Moscow. Compared to countryman Andrei
Kirilenko (notice a pattern?) but may not be quite that good.

Matt Bonner, 6-10, 237, senior, Florida. Finesse guy but good. Shot 49%
on three-pointers.

Mike Sweetney, 6-8, 260, junior, Georgetown. Has wide body, but is he
tall enough?

Hollis Price, 6-1, 170, senior, Oklahoma. B.J. Armstrong clone. A waif
with a big heart and jumper, he's behind the Sooner resurgence.

Troy Bell, 6-1, 183, senior, Boston College. Point guard who climbed
back into picture, averaging an attention-grabbing 26.

Luke Walton, 6-8, 245, senior, Arizona. Marginal prospect except for his
exceptional floor game.

Jason Kapono, 6-7, 200, senior, UCLA. Shooting ability and feel for the
game may still make him a good fit for the right team, like the Lakers.

Comers

Channing Fry, 6-10, 235, sophomore, Arizona. Young project who's working
out.

Shelden Williams, 6-9, 255, freshman, Duke. Athletic and young enough to
grow. Averaged 12 and 8 over his last nine games.

Rick Rickert, 6-11, 216, sophomore, Minnesota. Has skills, needs weight.

Josh Childress, 6-8, 200, sophomore, Stanford. Led Pacific 10 in
rebounding with that reedy body and has some perimeter game too.

Ike Diogu, 6-8, 242, freshman, Arizona State. Strong, high-energy,
athletic post player who might grow, or develop enough game to step out
and face the basket.

Rashad McCants, 6-4, 201, freshman, North Carolina. Athletic guard who
averaged 17, made 42% of his threes.

Romain Sato, 6-4, 195, junior, Xavier. Central African Republic native.
Major athlete who can shoot.

Jameer Nelson, 6-0, 190, junior, St. Joseph's. Powerhouse little point
guard who exploded late.

Goers

Chris Marcus, 7-0, 270, senior, Western Kentucky. Two years ago he
looked like a lottery pick before foot injuries hit. Played 38 minutes
this season.

James White, 6-3, 180, sophomore, Cincinnati. He was No. 27 on this list
last season on sheer athleticism, mused about going pro, left Florida
and sat out the season.

Chris Duhon, 6-1, 190, junior, Duke. Right there last year, but there
were questions about how he'd shoot after Jay Williams moved on. Answer:
25% on threes.

Antwain Barbour, 6-5, 180, junior, Kentucky. Hot ticket coming out of
junior college but played 13 minutes a game. Still, that was five more
minutes than freshman teammate Kelenna Azubuike, who mused about
entering the draft a year ago.