Quadzilla99
06-30-2006, 12:01 PM
Article from ESPN Insider:
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Oden, Noah are head of talented 2007 draft class
By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider
Archive
Is it too early to look ahead to the 2007 NBA Draft?
Not if you're one of the 30 teams interested in seeing Greg Oden, Kevin Durant or Joakim Noah in your uniform.
To see who else is out there, check out the Top 100 for 2007.
NBA scouts are calling next year's draft one of the most talent-laden ever.
Here's why:
AP Photo/NCAA Photos, Ryan McKee
Teams will have to wait a year for Florida's Joakim Noah.
1. The college holdovers
This year, a number of young, talented players decided to skip the draft and return to college for another year. At least three of them, Duke's Josh McRoberts and Florida's Noah and Al Horford, would have been likely lottery picks on Wednesday.
A number of others, including Kansas' Julian Wright, Florida's Corey Brewer, UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Arizona's Marcus Williams, North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough and Georgetown's Jeff Green, also would have been likely first-rounders had they decided to declare.
They'll be joined next year, assuming they enter the draft, by a few other up-and-coming college players, such as Alabama's Ronald Steele, Georgetown's Roy Hibbert, Kansas' Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers, and Colorado State's Jason Smith. That includes some underclassmen who declared for the draft but withdrew because they couldn't get first-round promises -- Colorado's Richard Roby, Pittsburgh's Aaron Gray, UCLA's Arron Afflalo and Nevada's Nick Fazekas, among others.
In short, this might be a draft class rich in college sophomore, junior and senior talent.
2. The incoming freshman
NBA scouts say that this recent high school senior class was the one of the greatest ever. As many as 10 high school players could have made the jump to the NBA if not for the NBA's new higher minimum age requirement.
At the top of the list is center Greg Oden, an Ohio State recruit and a player almost every scout agrees is the best big-man prospect since Tim Duncan.
He's closely followed by sweet-shooting, super-athletic forward Kevin Durant (Texas), forward Thaddeus Young (Georgia Tech) and power forward Brandan Wright.
It doesn't stop there. The incoming guards are pretty good, too -- Chase Budinger (Arizona), Gerald Henderson (Duke), Javaris Crittenton (Georgia Tech), Paul Harris (Syracuse), Wayne Ellington (North Carolina) and Tywon Lawson (North Carolina).
Another 20 or so prospects probably will have to wait until the 2008 draft for the competition to thin out a bit.
3. International men of mystery
Andrea Bargnani became the first Euro ever to be drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. Is it finally hip again to be seen hanging out in international gyms?
If Bargnani proves worthy of the No. 1 pick, you can bet that scouts will be out there trying to find clones.
Brazil's Tiago Splitter tops the list of international prospects. He's declared and withdrawn for three straight drafts, but he won't have that option next year: He's automatically eligible for the 2007 draft and can't withdraw. Given his progress over the past couple of seasons, he's a likely lottery pick.
He's followed by the hottest young name in Europe, Croatia's Ante Tomic, an athletic, super-skilled 7-foot-2 center who actually prefers to play in the post. He has all the tools scouts love in a big man -- but his body needs a lot of work. He'd need to add another 25 to 30 pounds to even think about playing in the post in the NBA. Scouts believe he'll continue to grow into his frame. If he stars in Croatia this year, you're going to hear his name a lot.
The most intriguing name may be China's Jianlian Yi. Yi is the best Chinese prospect since Yao Ming. He has a great deal of experience playing in international competitions and at the highest level in China, and he is an excellent athlete and a skilled offensive player. China has been reluctant to release him to the NBA, but we're hearing next year could be the year.
Other interesting prospects include Russia's Anton Ponkrashov, Lithuania's Renaldas Seibutis, Croatia's Marko Tomas, Italy's Marco Belinelli, France's Nicolas Batum, Spain's Rudy Fernandez, Serbia's Uros Tripkovic and the Ukraine's Kyrylo Fesenko.
Conclusion: Overall the 2007 draft looks loaded, especially with quality bigs. The draft also appears to be strong at the small forward position. Guard play, however, looks to be a little weaker, especially at point guard for the second straight year.
As the Nike and ABCD camps and international tournaments get underway, look for further reports, including our stock watch.
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.
__________________________________________________ ______
Oden, Noah are head of talented 2007 draft class
By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider
Archive
Is it too early to look ahead to the 2007 NBA Draft?
Not if you're one of the 30 teams interested in seeing Greg Oden, Kevin Durant or Joakim Noah in your uniform.
To see who else is out there, check out the Top 100 for 2007.
NBA scouts are calling next year's draft one of the most talent-laden ever.
Here's why:
AP Photo/NCAA Photos, Ryan McKee
Teams will have to wait a year for Florida's Joakim Noah.
1. The college holdovers
This year, a number of young, talented players decided to skip the draft and return to college for another year. At least three of them, Duke's Josh McRoberts and Florida's Noah and Al Horford, would have been likely lottery picks on Wednesday.
A number of others, including Kansas' Julian Wright, Florida's Corey Brewer, UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Arizona's Marcus Williams, North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough and Georgetown's Jeff Green, also would have been likely first-rounders had they decided to declare.
They'll be joined next year, assuming they enter the draft, by a few other up-and-coming college players, such as Alabama's Ronald Steele, Georgetown's Roy Hibbert, Kansas' Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers, and Colorado State's Jason Smith. That includes some underclassmen who declared for the draft but withdrew because they couldn't get first-round promises -- Colorado's Richard Roby, Pittsburgh's Aaron Gray, UCLA's Arron Afflalo and Nevada's Nick Fazekas, among others.
In short, this might be a draft class rich in college sophomore, junior and senior talent.
2. The incoming freshman
NBA scouts say that this recent high school senior class was the one of the greatest ever. As many as 10 high school players could have made the jump to the NBA if not for the NBA's new higher minimum age requirement.
At the top of the list is center Greg Oden, an Ohio State recruit and a player almost every scout agrees is the best big-man prospect since Tim Duncan.
He's closely followed by sweet-shooting, super-athletic forward Kevin Durant (Texas), forward Thaddeus Young (Georgia Tech) and power forward Brandan Wright.
It doesn't stop there. The incoming guards are pretty good, too -- Chase Budinger (Arizona), Gerald Henderson (Duke), Javaris Crittenton (Georgia Tech), Paul Harris (Syracuse), Wayne Ellington (North Carolina) and Tywon Lawson (North Carolina).
Another 20 or so prospects probably will have to wait until the 2008 draft for the competition to thin out a bit.
3. International men of mystery
Andrea Bargnani became the first Euro ever to be drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. Is it finally hip again to be seen hanging out in international gyms?
If Bargnani proves worthy of the No. 1 pick, you can bet that scouts will be out there trying to find clones.
Brazil's Tiago Splitter tops the list of international prospects. He's declared and withdrawn for three straight drafts, but he won't have that option next year: He's automatically eligible for the 2007 draft and can't withdraw. Given his progress over the past couple of seasons, he's a likely lottery pick.
He's followed by the hottest young name in Europe, Croatia's Ante Tomic, an athletic, super-skilled 7-foot-2 center who actually prefers to play in the post. He has all the tools scouts love in a big man -- but his body needs a lot of work. He'd need to add another 25 to 30 pounds to even think about playing in the post in the NBA. Scouts believe he'll continue to grow into his frame. If he stars in Croatia this year, you're going to hear his name a lot.
The most intriguing name may be China's Jianlian Yi. Yi is the best Chinese prospect since Yao Ming. He has a great deal of experience playing in international competitions and at the highest level in China, and he is an excellent athlete and a skilled offensive player. China has been reluctant to release him to the NBA, but we're hearing next year could be the year.
Other interesting prospects include Russia's Anton Ponkrashov, Lithuania's Renaldas Seibutis, Croatia's Marko Tomas, Italy's Marco Belinelli, France's Nicolas Batum, Spain's Rudy Fernandez, Serbia's Uros Tripkovic and the Ukraine's Kyrylo Fesenko.
Conclusion: Overall the 2007 draft looks loaded, especially with quality bigs. The draft also appears to be strong at the small forward position. Guard play, however, looks to be a little weaker, especially at point guard for the second straight year.
As the Nike and ABCD camps and international tournaments get underway, look for further reports, including our stock watch.
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.