<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Top 10: Draft prospects With the home stretch of the college basketball season upon us, time is running short to get a read on the NBA's next generation. So we got on the horn and spoke with an NBA Draft insider who gave us his opinion of the top 10 prospects general managers and scouts will be keeping the closest tabs on over the next few weeks. For complete draft coverage, including the best college seniors, check in with SI.com colleague Chris Ekstrand each week.10. Marcus Williams, 6-7, 205 pounds, Forward, Soph., ArizonaTyler Hansbrough, 6-9, 245 lbs., Forward, Soph., North Carolina"I'm happy he stayed in school so we didn't have two guys named Marcus Williams in last year's draft. He's a 6-6 scorer/athlete. Some people may be looking at Hansbrough, but people are worried about upside. He's really good and plays hard and brings it, but he's a little undersized."9. Chase Budinger, 6-7, 205 lbs., Forward, Fr., Arizona"He can just do everything. He's a Luke Walton-vintage passer, he can shoot the 3, he's your secondary ball handler. He just has a lot of skills. For a guy who's a freshman, you just see very few bad decisions, very few bad plays. And you also see those eye-opening passes, the 'how-did-he-see-that' kind of thing."8. Julian Wright, 6-8, 225 lbs., Forward, Soph., Kansas"He's a guy who hasn't really brought it yet but everybody knows about him. Everybody feels like he is going to be a good player, but you're going to have to wait a little bit on him. He might be a small forward or a shooting guard; he plays away from the basket mostly. At Kansas, they have so many players that in a lot of games you watch him he takes only five or six shots, and you'd like to see more. Wright is a guy who hasn't done all that much yet but there's a lot more coming."7. Yi Jianlian, 6-11, 230 lbs., Forward, Guangdong Tigers (China)"He's like an Asian Toni Kukoc: He's a perimeter player who handles the ball well. He's thin, but like Kukoc, he's going to finesse you to death. He's going to be able to pass, he's going to be a secondary ball handler and a three-point shooter. There's a lot of dispute about how old he really is. His birth certificate says that he is 19, but some people in China think he's 22 already. With the guys [from China], it doesn't matter so much about their ages; it's when the Chinese government says you can go. And with him, they've decided to say yes, this is the year. Everybody's been trying to get a look at him. I heard Danny Ainge was one his way over there to get a look. Right now it's not really clear where [in the draft] he goes. Some people are worried about his frame -- he's kind of spindly."6. Corey Brewer, 6-9, 185 lbs., Forward, Jr., Florida"He's very quick. For a wing guy, he's got great size. He's in that Grant Hill-Penny Hardaway kind of mold where he's tall but drives to the basket well. He's got a good shot -- not a great shot -- from the outside. He's somebody who can help you in a lot of ways: He passes the ball well, he's rangy as a defender. The 6-8 guys used to be a big guy back in the day, but now they are a lot more versatile. They might not be able to play center, but they have elements of all four of the other positions. Brewer has a waifish body right now, but when you look at his skill level and when you figure that he'll fill out a little more ... Scottie Pippen was a toothpick when he came in, then he got on a weight program and then he became impossible to stop. Brewer's in that kind of a mold."5. Al Horford, 6-10, 245 lbs., Jr., Forward/Center, Florida"He's not the biggest guy in the world, so there are some people who are a little concerned about his height, but he's a hell of a player and he's a brute. He might be a little shorter than you'd like, but he's going to get things done and he's active. And he's got the frame where when you look at him and add another 20 pounds, [you can see] he's going to be the guy kicking the sand in people's faces. Right now, you look at his body and he still looks like more of a college player. [But if] you look at his shoulders, there's no reason he can't put on 20 pounds and be just as quick and effective."4. Brandan Wright, 6-9, 205 lbs., Fr., Forward, North Carolina"Offensively, he has a much bigger upside than Joakim Noah. Even though he's only a freshman, and people have been able to see Noah for a couple of years, Wright is the truth. Wright is going to be a more traditional offensive player [than Noah]. He's a super athletic kid, but he needs the ball a little more to really help you. A guy like Wright is a very good player, but to get something out of him, you're going to have to be a team that can call some plays for him to get the ball. That is not true with Noah."3. Joakim Noah, 6-11, 230 lbs., Jr., Forward/Center, Florida"He's a top-flight, energy kind of guy. He'll rebound, he will affect shots around the basket and he'll block shots. He's a mobile big man who can get end-to-end. The thing about Noah is that he really can't shoot, but he can do just about everything else you want. Noah could play in the NBA today, [and he's] nice because if you don't call any plays for him he still helps you. [He's similar to] how Tyson Chandler has played since he was traded to New Orleans; he's going to get 11 or 12 rebounds, and he might get you eight or 10 points, but even if he gets you six points, he's not really in there for the scoring. He rebounds, he patrols the lane, he makes it hard for you to get stuff going toward the basket -- that's where I think Noah is."2. Kevin Durant, 6-9, 225 lbs., Fr., Guard/Forward, Texas"He's both a shooter and a scorer. Most people have said he has Kevin Garnett-type abilities except he's a much better outside shooter than Garnett was coming out. This guy has a pure stroke already, he's 19 and he's [tall], so what in the hell are you going to do about it? There's no way the people who are guarding him in the NBA are going to get a hand in his face."1. Greg Oden, Freshman, 7-0, 280 lbs., Fr., Center, Ohio St."[NBA scouting guru] Marty Blake always says there's one center every 20 years. And this is it. What he brings is obvious. He's become what every college coach hopes for, which is a one-man zone. He has games where he has four or five blocks and he changes five or six more shots. And he's been a big factor playing one-handed all year. He's influenced a lot of games in which he's scored 10 points. But not being able to grip the basketball has something to do with that. I have a funny feeling that in the back of his mind he'd really like one year in college to show what he can do [when healthy]. [But] if he comes out, then 20-some-odd teams would take him first."</div>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...rs.notes/3.html
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (playaofthegame @ Feb 9 2007, 02:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Noah over Wrightdon't agree..</div>would you care to go into more detail?
I just don't understand the logic in having Joakim Noah ahead of Brandan Wright. Wright is better in just about every aspect of the game and is two years younger. That guy is way too high on Corey Brewer.
Other sites have Wright(3) going over Noah (4). But I see Wright going first. As for Yi JianLian is actually around the age of somewhere in the 19-20s. I'm not to sure how his career is going to turn out in the NBA. He's very scrawny but tall as well. He's quick too and can do lots of stuff that a big man won't do. He's actually suppose to be at the PF spot instead of the C. But he is supposedly to be better then Yao Ming from what I hear.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SunnyD @ Feb 9 2007, 10:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I didn't think Budinger was going to go into the draft.</div>I didn't think he was coming out this year either. But he probably would be drafted pretty high if he did.
From what I've heard, there's a great chance that Oden won't be coming out either. I saw an outside the lines report on ESPN that was all about it. Oden said he doesn't want to be the type of player who's just 'there' in the NBA, he wants to be a perennial all-star with MVP's and Championships.
That must suck, for some high lottery teams. They're looking forward in drafting him. But he can be an all star depending on how quickly he adapts to the game. But I suppose one more year in college can give him more experience and he can get better as well.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (dkm1986 @ Feb 12 2007, 01:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>From what I've heard, there's a great chance that Oden won't be coming out either. I saw an outside the lines report on ESPN that was all about it. Oden said he doesn't want to be the type of player who's just 'there' in the NBA, he wants to be a perennial all-star with MVP's and Championships.</div> What a bunch of who-ha. Staying in college another year won't help Oden become a future NBA champion. He's better off getting coached from great NBA people and practising against NBA-athletes in my opinion. There is no way Oden turns on this chance to be the #1 pick and make a boatload of money. If he does turn it down (very unlikely) he gets respect from me, thats for sure. People don't understand the pressure he's under to come back, leading a top 5 team, being the biggest prospect in a long time, those fans want him back badly and it's all on him. The only thing this article did correctly was leave that dipshit Hasheem Thabeet out of the top 10.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The only thing this article did correctly was leave that dipshit Hasheem Thabeet out of the top 10.</div>Haha yeah I completely agree. Why some mock drafts have him in the top 10 is beyond. There is no way he should be drafted top 10.
