Rankings Of International Players

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Chad Ford's Look at International Players
(Of course the order is likely to be scrambled, once workouts
get underway. Will the Celtics draft Sofoklis or Varejao?
And will Podkolzin get by Orlando?  If so, can the Celtics afford
not to take a chance on him?)

After returing from the Euroleague Final Four, here's Ford's latest take
on the guys teams are buzzing about:

1. Darko Milicic, PF/C, Yugoslavia
The line: 7-0, 245, 17 years old
The skinny: He struggled two weeks ago in front a packed house of NBA
talent scouts in Greece. It won't matter. Darko has the luxury of being
one of the best scouted international players ever. Most teams have a
great feel for what he can do. 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's going to be a top-three pick in this year's
draft.

2. Mickael Pietrus, SG, France
The line: 6-6, 210, 20 years old
The skinny: Pietrus has been working on his jumper since we saw him in
December. Some teams felt that was his only weakness. Actually, his
ability to shoot the 3 consistently is really one of his strengths. He's
got a great stroke. 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 superb defender. He's aggressive on both ends
of the court. He's very strong for his size. Think a mixture of Desmond
Mason and Ray Allen. The Bulls have already been making numerous
inquiries. He could go as high as No.7. I doubt he slips past the
Grizzlies at No. 13.

3. Maciej Lampe, F, Poland
The line: 7-0, 255, 18 years old
The skinny: Lampe was getting mixed reviews before we finally tracked
him down in Menorca, Spain last week. He was huge. With the team's
center and MVP, Jaime Peterson, out of the game, Lampe went off for 27
points and nine boards in just over 23 minutes. Lampe's combination of
size, shooting touch, ball-handling skills and an advanced
inside-outside games have drawn comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki. His
shooting stroke is one of the smoothest I've ever seen in a big kid.
He's got a nice body, has a very fluid game, and despite reports to the
contrary, looked very good with his back to the basket. He's needs to
become a better rebounder, defender and get stronger, but he's probably
secured a place in the lottery. Look for the Bucks and Sonics to give
him a long look.

4. Pavel Podkolzin, C, Russia
The line: 7-4, 300, 18 years old
The skinny: He's going to be the toughest kid in the draft to get an
accurate read on. I saw him practice in Verase, Italy last Monday. He'd
be the biggest guy in the NBA (height and weight) since Shaquille
O'Neal. He's just huge. His best attribute is his athleticism for
someone that size. He's not a lumbering center by any means. He runs the
floor well, has a pretty good handle and can really shoot the ball. The
problem is he's very raw. He doesn't know how to take advantage of his
size in the post, is just an adequate defender and lacks game smarts.
That's understandable because of his age and lack of experience. It will
probably take three years for him to be a contributor in the NBA. Major
buyout issues with the team (right now they're asking for a boat load of
cash) may also sink his chances at getting drafted in the lottery. But
at the end of the day, don't be shocked if a team takes the chance on
him in the late lottery. His upside is second only to LeBron, Darko and
Carmelo.

5. Boris Diaw, SG, France
The line: 6-9, 220, 21 years old
The skinny: A big-time prospect who's been overshadowed by the emergence
of Pietrus. I finally caught up with him in practice on Monday. He's
very smooth and one of the best passers I've seen in the draft. He has a
real point guard mentality and is very unselfish. He has a nice body and
is a good athlete. Diaw is more skilled than Pietrus, but Pietrus is the
better athlete and scorer. The only question with Diaw is
aggressiveness. He can be too passive at times. Some scouts believe that
will change when Diaw gets out of the system he's playing in and gets
more familiar with the NBA. The comparisons to Scottie Pippen aren't too
far off, but I doubt he'll ever average more than 12 to 15 ppg in the
league. He's probably a mid-first-rounder. Phoenix (at No. 17) and Utah
(at No. 19) both have interest.

6. Leandrinho Barbosa, PG, Brazil
The line: 6-4, 185, 21 years old
The skinny: How quickly can Barbosa learn English? That's the biggest
question in most scout's minds. One Western Conference coach told me he
loves Barbosa, but he's afraid to draft him early because of the
language barrier. Your point guard must be able to communicate with the
coach and his teammates. His agent has him in English lessons for two
hours a day; he better make it four. Barbosa is considered the best
player in Brazil. He's very long and an explosive athlete. The thing
that has scouts buzzing is the speed at which Barbosa plays for someone
his size. He's constantly attacking the basket on offense, and
aggressively harassing his man on defense. With his long arms (6-foot-10
wingspan) he gets an unusual amount of steals and blocks for a point
guard. Only a few teams have actually been to Brazil to see Barbosa
play. He averaged 29.6 ppg, 7.8 apg, 4.2 rpg, 2.6 spg and 0.8 bpg while
shooting 57 percent from the field, 47 percent from beyond the arc and
85 percent from the free-throw line. Several NBA scouts who have seen
him feel that he could move his way into the late lottery with strong
workouts.

7. Alexsandar Pavlovic, SG/SF, Yugoslavia
The line: 6-7, 210, 20 years old
The skinny: Pavlovic is a 6-foot-7 athletic swingman who some scouts are
comparing to Peja Stojakovic. While scouts say that he struggles as a
defender and doesn't have a great long-range game, other teams feel he
could be a kid who could come in and make an impact in year one. The
rumor is that he already has a promise between 14 and 19.

8. Anderson Varejao, PF, Brazil
The line: 6-10, 230, 20 years old
The skinny: He's slipping. Few teams have a good handle on him and his
play at the Euroleague Final 4 didn't help him. If you're an optimist,
you say that the fact that he got playing time in two key games is
evidence that he's a legit player. If you're a pessimist, you look at
the stat line and ask, what's the big deal? Teams get excited about his
rebounding, shot blocking and aggressive play. 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. If he could work out with teams, he'd probably move back into
the lottery. But because of Barcelona's playoff schedule, he won't be
able to go through private workouts. That's likely to push him out of
the lottery and into the mid-to-late first round.

9. Zaur Pachulia, PF/C, Georgia
The line: 6-11, 250, 19 years old
The skinny: A 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 felt that
he'd be better off waiting a year to get Pachulia more exposure. After a
slow season in Turkey playing behind the Euroleague MVP, Joe Blair,
Pachulia finally got his chance a month ago when Blair went down with an
injury. He responded with 26 points on 10 of 13 shooting and added eight
rebounds, three assists and three steals in a huge win over defending
Euroleague champ Panathinaikos. The game wasn't a fluke. He followed it
up with a 13-point, 17-rebound performance against Skipper Bologna. He's
probably a late-first-rounder.

10. Sofaklis Schortsianides, C, Greece
The line: 6-10, 287, 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. His stock has
dropped lately as teams question his size. His agent, Marc Fleisher,
claims that he was recently measured at 6-10, 287 with shoes. Will that
stop the slippage? It's tough to call. The international field is
getting more crowded by the day and Sofaklis' skills aren't that unique.
He's a big bruiser in the paint. But after watching some tape on him,
I'm not sure what he does that Michael Sweetney and Mario Austin don't
do better. There's only so much demand for physical, undersized power
forwards in the league. Workouts will be big for him. If he projects to
be like Elton Brand, he'll move way up this chart. If he's closer to
Danny Fortson, then the mid-to-late first round is just about right.

11. Victor Khryapa, SF, Russia
The line: 6-9, 200, 20 years old
The skinny: Helped himself tremendously at the Euroleague Final 4. His
defense on Dejan Bodiroga (the Euroleague Final 4 MVP) was impressive.
He's very long and an excellent rebounder and shot blocker. Khryapa gets
a lot of comparisons to Andrei Kirilenko. Both players are long and
mutli-dimensional. Khryapa's a good shooter with NBA 3 range. However,
he's not quite the athlete that Kirilenko is nor is he quite as polished
as his European counterparts. He also has to get stronger to compete at
the next level and won't be able to come to the NBA this year because of
contract issues. That's a minus for some teams and a big plus for
others. With all that said, most teams still consider him a great
prospect. He'll likely be a late-first-rounder.

12. Carlos Delfino, SG/SF, Argentina
The line: 6-7, 215, 21 years old
The skinny: Several teams like Delfino, but a serious ankle injury a
month ago really hurt his stock. I had planned to go to Bologna to see
Delfino play, but his ankle still was still hurting. His agent, David
Bauman, claims that there was no ligament damage and plans to bring him
to the U.S. for private workouts. He'll have to prove that there isn't
any reoccurring problems with the ankle. Teams love his toughness,
shooting ability and how he can get to the basket. Can he slip into the
first round? He has the talent, but his workouts will be key.

13. Zarko Carbakapa, PF, Yugoslavia
The line: 6-11, 230, 22 years old
The skinny: NBA scouts were out in force last week to get a better look
at Carbakapa. He's another versatile athlete who plays three positions
in Europe. He's an excellent outside shooter. He just needs to get
stronger. Teams are also concerned that he's a little one dimensional.
He's not nearly as comfortable putting the ball on the floor and taking
it to the hole. He's represented by super agent Bill Duffy, which won't
hurt his stock come draft day. Given a string of recent strong
performances, it's not out of the question that Carbakapa could be the
13th international player selected in the first round this year.

14. 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. An early season injury really wrecked his
season. He never really rebounded and his stock has really dropped. But,
remember, teams will always take a risk on a 6-6 point guard. Should be
an early second rounder.

15. Malick Badiane, PF/C, Senegal
The line: 6-11, 225, 19 years old
The skinny: Badiane, a native of Senegal, has long arms (7-foot-4 wing
span) and a solid NBA body. He already has the shot blocking and
rebounding down, but scouts say he's very raw (think Olumide Oyedeji) on
the offensive end. But unlike Oyedeji, he's bigger, stronger, more
athletic and has decent pro instincts. NBA scouts think he's probably a
second-rounder, but don't be surprised if Dallas takes a look at him
with the last pick of the first round.

Others to watch: Slavko Vranes, C, Yugoslavia; Kristaps Voltars, PG,
Latvia; Paccelis Morlende, PG, France; Alexsandar Vujacic, PG/SG,
Slovenia; Boyko Mladenov, PF, Bulgaria; Szymon Szewczyk, PF, Poland;
Blagota Sekulic, SF, Yugoslavia; Florent Pietrus, SF/PF, France; Mican
Nikabase, PG, Germany