The NBA Draft commences tonight in New York, and this year's class of rookies provides more questions than answers. The group is loaded with young, mostly unproven guards. After the first pick, it has been very difficult to speculate which direction teams are headed with their selections.
Ever since the lottery last month, where the Los Angeles Clippers had the lucky ping-pong ball that gave them the top pick, everyone penciled in Oklahoma power forward Blake Griffin as the man for that spot. The speculation will turn to reality tonight when Griffin dons the red and blue hat and shakes hands with commissioner David Stern on stage.
Griffin's unique combination of strength and athleticism should translate well to the NBA's style of play. He has a physique reminiscent of Phoenix Suns star Amare Stoudemire, a player with whom Griffin has been compared to throughout the pre-draft workout process.
The only potential stumbling block in Griffin's future in Los Angeles is that very destination. The Clippers have a history of screwing up bright young prospects.
Names like Michael Oliwikandi and Darius Miles strike up memories of players labeled with big-time potential that never developed into anywhere close to that caliber of a player. Griffin can only hope to buck that trend.
After Griffin is off the board, it is a quasi-crapshoot the rest of the way. Ricky Rubio, the top international player in the draft from Spain, has been the next most highly publicized player in the class, but even he has his noticeable flaws.
Questions on his jump shot and strength are causes for concern for the teams at the top of the draft looking at picking him. He has great vision and is an incredible passer for an 18-year old point guard. He will most likely either go to Memphis with the second pick, or Oklahoma City with the third.
Other than Griffin, the American player garnering much of the talk among NBA scouts is Davidson College prospect Stephen Curry. Curry burst onto the national scene by carrying the Wildcats to within one basket of the Final Four in 2008, with his superior marksmanship from three-point range.
He is projected as a point guard at the pro level, despite having only played the position this past season, in the less-than-prestigious Southern Conference.
Curry's build and skills bring back memories of Reggie Miller, one of the best three-point shooters of all time. Miller and Curry both have tall, lanky bodies and ultra-quick releases on their jump shots.
It has been no secret that the New York Knicks have coveted Curry for quite a long time because he fits the mold of coach Mike D'Antoni's offensive scheme perfectly as an uptempo point guard with unlimited range.
D'Antoni knows how to coach the point guard position, having turned Steve Nash into a two-time NBA MVP in his 30's.
Curry's stock was not too high only a month ago, but the Knicks well-publicized interest in him actually raised his interest among other teams selecting ahead of New York. He has been rumored to be on the short list of the Thunder at third and the Warriors at seventh.
After becoming the first four-time unanimous All-American in college basketball history, Tyler Hansbrough is having a trying time making a name for himself in the realm of NBA scouts.
The former North Carolina star and all-time leading scorer in the ACC lacks the skill set many perceive he would need to play in the NBA and be successful. Experts cite his size and lack of quickness as his biggest downfalls going into the professional league.
Hansbrough brings a lot of heart and energy every time he hits the court, and that will do nothing but help him against the opposing big men in the NBA. He will have to bring a whole lot of that heart when he goes up against players with three and four-inch advantages over him and strength that matches if not exceeds his own. On an average year, he would possibly not even find himself in the first round.
However, with the unusually weak class, he has been rumored to even go as high as 11th to the New Jersey Nets. If he does not go there, he should still go in the middle to late portion of the first round.
Leave a comment 0 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.