A look back at the 2008 draft

Ranking the top 20 Players from the 2008 Draft

Hindsight is 20/20ish. Here's how I would rank the rookies after their first season. A few of these players have yet to see extended minutes such as Gillinari and Alexander but I'm ranking them based on my projection for their NBA future.

01 Derrick Rose

02 Russell Westbrook

03 OJ Mayo

04 Michael Beasley

05 Anthony Randolph

06 Brook Lopez

07 Eric Gordan

08 Brandon Rush

09 Marresse Speights

10 Kevin Love

11 Courtney Lee

12 Jason Thompson

13 DJ Augustine

14 Jerryd Bayless

15 Danilo Gallinari

16 Joe Alexander

17 Roy Hibbert

18 Nicolas Batum

19 Mario Chalmers

20 JaVale McGee

let me know what you think

Let's Speak about Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans is a bit of a man child. A long and well built 6,6 kid with a sick handle and decent athleticism. His basketball skills are unquestioned, except perhaps some grumblings about his outside shot but there's no doubt that he has big time ability.

The question for many GM's and Coaches is his maturity. I thought he played some heady games during March Madness, dishing the ball well, playing team basketball and providing his team with leadership, even as a Freshman but there's still questions. Will the money and the fame lead to a life of partying, staying out late and getting in trouble? Will the NBA spotlight cause him to shoot the ball whenever it's in his hands like the wayward Jamal Crawford? And what is his true position. Playing the point at Memphis he showed how he could control the offense and get to the lane but he might be tad slow to keep up with NBA lead guards.

I believe in drafting high upside players and Tyreke certainly has a lot of upside. I could see him going to the warriors and replacing Crawford there. Wherever he ends up he'll have a chance to become a big time NBA star, or a big time bust.

Words of Advice for Luke Harangody

A stout but nimble 6,7 forward, Harangody reminds me a bit of Anthony Mason but with a better jumper and a boring haircut. I think he's just testing the process and will return to school next year but if he does come out I could see him drafted near the top or middle of the second round. He's a bit of tweaner now but certainly has nice skills for a big guy and could have upside as a three pointer shooter in a few years.

but if i could offer you some advice Mr. Harangody:

Professional basketball is somewhere in your future but the future is not now. Go get your degree, get the national recognition you deserve in college ball and put off the draft until next year. Spend your entire year practicing jumpers, three pointers, NBA three pointers. If you become a deadeye three point shooter you're a first round pick. If not, probably second round. Good luck and sorry for dissing your haircut.

Hasheem Thabeet goes on.........

At 7 foot 3 inches tall it takes a lot of rhythm to perfect the art of basketball. This lengthy Tanzanian has lots of it and enough potential to warrant a top three selection in this years draft. Which ever squad gets Thabeet gets a top notch defender who will clog the lane and intimidate opponents like the recently retired Dikembe Mutombo. And he's not just a shot blocker. He has the quick feet and body control to play sound defense and has decent timing and understanding, which should only improve with time.

Offensively Thabeet is still developing but his shot is better than Odens, better than Mutombos, better than Shaqs and in a few years I see Thabeet shooting better than 70% percent from the line and stepping out to 15 feet and draining from mid range.

Now this won't happen overnight, or with lazy coaching but I think it will happen. If the decision were mine I'd take Thabeet over Rubio.

2009 Point Guard Class "DEEP"

Say your an NBA GM sitting there with the 10th pick in the draft and you need a point guard. You assume Rubio is gone, maybe do a little scouting on Jennings in case he falls on draft day but mainly your focused on a group of 3 slightly undersized college stars who should be sitting there when you pick: Ty Lawson (UNC) Jonny Flynn (Cuse) and Jeff Teague (Wake) and a small school player: Eric Maynor (VCU). Then you scout two Freshmen with true NBA bodies but questionable point guard skills: Tyreke Evans (Memphis) and Jrue Holiday (UCLA) and you're left with a tough decision.

Here's what I would do

History has shown that you go with the player with the most upside. They don't always pan out but when you look at Kobe going with the 13th pick, Al Jefferson 15th, Monta Ellis 40th and the list goes on, you see a pattern of young stars and superstars being picked later in the draft. Usually bypassed for the safer pick, the college star.

Of course you can point to the many failed "upside picks" as well so there are surely risks involved but to me it's a bigger risk letting the next Kobe Bryant slip by then it is taking an unproven player. One more obvious consideration is what situation your team is in. If they're a soon to be playoff team maybe the proven player makes sense, and visa versa. see below for more...

The Point Guard Prospects:

For a contending team Ty Lawson makes a lot of sense because he plays under control. With his speed and patience he controls the tempo. He has great strength and body control and rarely turns the ball over and he plays smart. His once questionable outside shot has improved at such a rapid rate that if jump shots could use steroids I'd be suspicious. Lawson is likely to be a starter and perhaps an all star for years to come. A safe pick.

Jonny Flynn is much the same as Lawson but more explosive to the rim and still developing his jump shot. A younger player with a decent amount of college experience. He could turn out to be a special player, maybe even Chris Paul (blush) but then again, we all had expectations for Eric Barkley as well....

Jeff Teague is another dynamic guard who can control a game. His scoring ability and explosiveness at the point guard position combined with a team first mentality are special. Is he the next Ben Gordan or the next Rajon Rondo?

Eric Maynor is a 6,3 point with great ball handling, decision making and flat out ability. He's harder to get a read on since he played against weaker competition most of his days but he's shown big play ability in big games. He reminds me of Sam Cassell; a constant thorn in the side of his opponents, just waiting to get that crucial steal or hit a big shot (2009 tourney aside)

Tyreke "the freak" Evans is a man child swooping by opponents with his length and sick handle. He's got an attitude the size of Bryant Reeves but he's also got the game to match his swagger. At 6,6 Evans handles the ball so deftly you'd think he was a ten year vet. His length, along with legitimate passing skills make him a potential star or even superstar in the NBA. Evans has a whole lot to learn but with his whole lot of ability I think he'll get picked early by a bad team that has a lot of learning time to go through. And I think he'll emerge as an All Star.

I have similar hopes for Jrue Holiday, a 6,4 combo guard. He played so poorly as a freshman that it's tough to even say but I think in 5 years Holiday will be a lead guard with more muscle, athleticism and height than most guards in the league. A taller Rajon Rondo or a poor mans Russell Westbrook. I think teams will pass on Jrue Holiday and look back years later and kick themselves.

There you have a slew of fine lead guard prospects (not to mention Stephon Curry, Darren Collison and Patrick Mills) all of whom are likely to play serious NBA ball. In a word, this point guard class is deep!

Can't wait to look back at this article in five years and see where I look stupid :)

High School Junior going Pro in Europe

Top Rated High School Junior Jeremy Tyler and his family have announced his decision to play professional ball in Europe next season. Rather than throw down dunks on 6,3 power forwards in San Diego, the 6,10 Tyler has opted to take his game to the next level where he'll face grown and grizzled men competing professionally.

By by-passing the usual routes (and ruffling many feathers in the process) Tyler, along with Brandon Jennings last year, has truly ushered in a new era of amateur basketball. The times when teenage basketball phenoms went unpaid are quickly ending and college basketball as we know it may be in jeopardy. Pressure is mounting on NBA decision makers to lift the ban on 18yr olds and on the NCAA to consider sharing revenue with the players and end the back room dealings.

Jeremy Tyler will not make a whole lot of money when he signs a pro contract in Europe but he will be able to sign endorsement deals including a likely shoe contract from one of the big companies. And he'll get to face real competition, improve his game and learn a ton about basketball, business and life.

In 2009 the annual questions about professional eligibility resurface, this time with a potentially game changing twist.

Stephon Curry upside?

We all know about the shooting prowess of Davidsons 6,1 guard Stephon Curry. The question is: can he get his shot off against NBA defenses? Some mocks i've seen have Curry going in the top 10 while others have him barely sneaking into the first round. In my mock I have him dropping into the twenties. Of course we are still waiting to hear official word that he's coming out this year.

I question his athleticism and also whether he is a true point guard. Seeing the failure of JJ Reddick gives me further reason to doubt the NBA potential of Curry.

With that said, I'm a big fan of Curry and hope he develops into an NBA star. It has been a joy to watch him on the college level and i hope for more highlights to come in the NBA. Please post your comments below and let me know what you think.

Ricky Rubio Declares

Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio has reportedly declared for the 2009 NBA draft. Rubio is the most hyped European player in years and the 18 year old is likely to be picked in the top three picks.

While I've never seen Rubio in person i've watched plenty of game tape and i'm not yet convinced. I like his pass first mentality and his ability to get a team into their offense but his athleticism seems to be lacking. Personally, I can't wait to see Rubio in the league to see if he can hang with Chris Paul and some of the other top guards.

Another question i have is Rubio vs. Brandon Jennings. Jennings has the top notch speed that great NBA points are made of but lacks the headiness of Rubio. Tell me your opinions of these two.

I currently have Rubio going three and Jennings going five in my mock which is

www.nbadraftroom.com

2009 NBA Draft

Less than a week left for underclassmen to declare for the draft. It was announced today that Scottie Reynalds of Villanova is declaring for the draft. My feeling is that he'll be back at Nova for his senior year. I'm a little bit torn on where to place him in this draft. At times he reminds me of Deron Williams and i could see him being a lottery pick. But much of the time he looks like a nice college player with limited NBA potential.