This is only US players, because I have not seen foreign players play. As a high schooler, scouts considered Deng the 2nd best player in the nation Luol Deng Height : 6'8" Weight : 220 pounds Duke Freshmen 2003-04 Statistics - 15.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.1 BPG Projection - Top 5 Luol does everything. He reminds man of Grant Hill. Both have similar games, went to Duke, and similar size. He can go inside and outside. Quick feet, and a good outside jump shot. Great shot selection. Good athlete. Always seems to be under control. He really understands the game. " target="_blank">http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/1004/85995.jpg"></a> Josh Smith Height : 68 Weight : 200 pounds Oak Hill Academy HS Senior 2003-04 Statistics 23.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 4.0 APG, 3.0 SPG, 5.0 BPG Projection Top 10 Rival High School Player Ranking Overall 3. Position 1. <font color="Red">(Committed to Indiana, before entering the NBA Draft)</font> Jump out of the gym player. Dunks everything. Vince Carter like. Explosive to the basket. Explosive off the ground. He is a quick leaper. Blocks a lot of shots, but that is just high schoolers. Not a bad perimeter shooter when he gets his feet set. Amazing upside to him. Consistent jump shooting and a better handle will help him. Understands the game. He is an athletic freak. Childress was the main man on Stanford's near perfect team Josh Childress Height : 6'8" Weight : 205 pounds Stanford Junior 2003-04 Statistics - 15.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.7 APG Projection - Top 10 Childress could probably play the SG and SF position. He is extremely smooth on the court. On the skinny side, but with his 6'8" frame and long arms, there is tons of room for growth. Strange mechanics on his jump shot. Needs to improve his mechanics. Could probably play the point at some times, but will thrive on the wing. Quick player, with a good first step. Best thing about him is his athleticism. He is extremely unselfish. Needs to put on muscle. Andre Iguodala Height : 6'6" Weight : 207 pounds Arizona Sophomore 2003-04 Statistics - 12.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 4.9 APG Projection - Lottery pick Extremely athletic, extremely. Quick, fast, strong, everything. Right now, he is an athletic playing basketball. Needs to work on his outside jump shot. Could definitely play all three positions, 1, 2, and 3. Earl "JR" Smith Height : 6'6" Weight : 220 pounds St. Benedict's HS HS Senior Projection- Top 20, maybe Lottery pick Rivals High School Player Ranking - Overall - 8. Position - 3. <font color="RED">(Committed to North Carolina, before entering the NBA Draft)</font> Arguably the most athletic player in the draft. Has out of the gym range with amazing jumping ability. Has a 44 inch vertical. Reminds me of a Vince Carter/Jason Richardson. Defense, needs work, but many scouts love his athletic ability. Jumps out of the gym. " target="_blank">http://nbadraft.net/profiles/headshots/luke-jackson-hd.jpg"></a> Luke Jackson Height: 67 Weight: 215 pounds Oregon Senior Projection First round 2003-04 Statistics 21.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 4.5 APG Solid all around player. Has NBA 3 point range. Guard skills with a forwards body. Always under control with the ball. He isnt a terrific defender, and isnt overly athletic. " target="_blank">http://nbadraft.net/profiles/headshots/ryan-gomes-hd.jpg"></a> Ryan Gomes Height : 67 Weight : 238 pounds Providence Junior 2003-04 Statistics 18.9 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.3 APG Projection First round Emerged onto the national level this season. Can score, and defend. Does most of his damage in the post, but will play on the perimeter in the NBA. Extremely good footwork, and decent perimeter range on his shot. Isnt very quick, but finds ways to score. Dorrell Wright Height : 6'7" Weight : 210 pounds South Kemp Prep HS Senior Projection - First round, Top 20. Rival High School Player Ranking Overall - 12. Position - 4. <font color="Red">(Committed to DePaul, before entering the NBA Draft)</font> Big time dunker. Another, athletic player, like all of these guys. Quick off the dribble. Needs improvement on his jump shot. Right now, he is a decent passer and ball handler for a wing. Still a raw player. 2003-04 Statistics - 29.4 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 3.5 APG, 4.0 SPG, 5.8 BPG " target="_blank">http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/headshots...snyder-hd.jpg"></a> Kirk Snyder Height : 66 Weight : 219 pounds Nevada Junior 2003-04 Statistics -18.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.4 APG Projection First round Emerged this season with his play in the NCAA tournament, before was not a known commodity. Scores, defends, rebounds, passes, does everything. Only weakness is his shooting. Some scouts are a little worried about his ability to shot the long ball. Romain Sato Height : 6'5" Weight : 195 pounds Xavier Senior 2003-04 Statistics - 16.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.3 APG Projection - - 2nd round Good athlete. 38-inch vertical jumper. Good outside jumper, and can get to the basket, using quickness. Very strong player. Will be a great perimeter defender in the NBA. Reminds me of a Doug Christie like player. Isn't a high flying dunker, but is a very good athlete on the perimeter. " target="_blank">http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/headshots...e-west-hd.jpg"></a> Delonte West Height : 64 Weight : 180 pounds St. Josephs Junior 2003-04 Statistics 18.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 4.7 APG Projection Mid 2nd Round Playing with Jameer Nelson really helped him up his stock. Many think he will play the Chicago pre-Draft camp, too see where he stands, and then head back to St. Joes. He is a sweet stroking lefty jump shooter. Also loves to penetrate. Needs to get stronger and improve his defense. Has a scorers mentality. " target="_blank">http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/headshots...martin-hd.jpg"></a> Kevin Martin Height : 67 Weight : 195 pounds Western Carolina Junior 2003-04 Statistics 24.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.9 APG Projection Early 2nd round Had some huge games this season including 44 pts on Georgia and 42 pts on Elon. In all, Martin had 8 games of 30 or more plus points, and 19 games of 20 ore more points. Flat out, he is a scorer, but doesnt force shots.. Loves to attack the basket. Scouts say he has a good basketball IQ, and is a good defender. Averaged 22.1 PPG as a freshman. Compared to Kerry Kittles because of body type, and both have similar games. Rickey Paulding Height : 6'5" Weight : 218 pounds Missouri Senior 2003-04 Statistics - 15.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.8 APG 2002-03 Statistics - 17.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.2 APG Projection - 2nd round Never really panned out to be the All-American everyone thought he would become. Emerged when he was a freshman, with Kareem Rush sitting out. Had a good sophomore year, and a great junior year. But, he never had the senior year that everyone hoped for. A very good athlete. He is a slashing guard. Good off the dribble, and finishing in the lane. Has a good jump shot, but needs improvement. For his size, he is a good rebounder. With his athleticism, he can improve his game in the next few years. Tony Allen Height : 6'4" Weight : 205 pounds Oklahoma State Senior 2003-04 Statistics - 16.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.1 APG Projection - 2nd round Emerged onto the National scene this year with Oklahoma State's run. Powerful for a guard. Streaky, inconsistent jump shooter. Very good off the dribble to the basket. Gets to the free throw line, a lot. Good passer also.
Good synopsis. 1 thing to fix though, if you don't mind: Can you attach a name to the Oregon player please?
West and Paulding were always two of my favorites during their Senior years. They always put up great shows, above all they played good smart basketball. I never really saw much of Deng to be honest, only Reddick, but he does sound very promising. It's a shame neither he or Telfair could continue to improve themselves. Smith's going to be killer, even though he did enter and also won't be building it up. With his body potential and current skills, he can pull it off. Even though they're PG's I'll mention them anyway, people I'll be looking out for are Nelson and Gordon. They seem the most NBA ready if you ask me.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It's a shame neither he or Telfair could continue to improve themselves.</div> What?! <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Smith's going to be killer, even though he did enter and also won't be building it up.</div> Building it up? Huh?
I like Deng, I think he has the biggest superstar potential, followed by Josh Smith, in Deng's prime, I can see him averaging 21 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.4 blocks, kinda like Marion but with more assists. I like Josh Childress too, but I see him as a Shane Battier guy, one of the league's best <u>*bench*</u> players, or a great guy in your starting lineup that cna do it all but never has that desire to take it to the next level and dominate. I can see Childress doing good in his first year, getting 10 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 block a game, and also having some good shooting numbers (43% FG and 34% 3PT). For his length and ability he doesn't get too many steals though. Another guy I like is Andre Iguodala, if this guy can polish his game and refine it, he can be a scary player, right now he's all natural ability, I heard he just recently started playing ball, so if this guy can put a lot of work, man we could be hearing about him a lot. JR Smith has the ability, but I don't know, I heard his basketball IQ is very very low, he doesn't understand the game and has just been depending on the natural edge he has over others to do what he does. He needs a lot of work in his gam ein my opinion.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I like Josh Childress too, but I see him as a Shane Battier guy, one of the league's best players, or a great guy in your starting lineup that cna do it all but never has that desire to take it to the next level and dominate.</div> Shane Battier is one of the leagues best players?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post"> I like Josh Childress too, but I see him as a Shane Battier guy, one of the league's best <u>*bench*</u> players, or a great guy in your starting lineup that cna do it all but never has that desire to take it to the next level and dominate. </div> I don't get what you're saying. What makes Battier's effort off the bench is his desire to take it to the next level and dominate. It's just that to him dominating means helping his team win in every way possible and not shooting all the time. However, make no mistake that he gives more effort than anyone else out on the court. He doesn't just go out there to 'play roles'. He does what is needed, and I think that's above and beyond the next level. Anyway, I also don't like the comparison because of the size. If you've ever seen Battier in person, the first thing you notice about him is how big he is. He has Malone-like arms, while Childress seems like a skeleton.
Sato tried out for Phoenix and apparently did well defending Jameer Nelson. Maybe it'd be good for people to update when these guys try out for their teams since we all don't follow every team (at least I'd be amazed if everyone did).
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Wave:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't get what you're saying. What makes Battier's effort off the bench is his desire to take it to the next level and dominate. It's just that to him dominating means helping his team win in every way possible and not shooting all the time. However, make no mistake that he gives more effort than anyone else out on the court. He doesn't just go out there to 'play roles'. He does what is needed, and I think that's above and beyond the next level. Anyway, I also don't like the comparison because of the size. If you've ever seen Battier in person, the first thing you notice about him is how big he is. He has Malone-like arms, while Childress seems like a skeleton.</div> Well my comparison wasn't neccesarily a player on player comparison, I meant he's like Battier in that he's not trying to bring the spotlight on himself, but just doing what is needed to be done. I wasn't comparing their games or their body or anything like that. Battier played PF in College, Childress can play the 1, 2 and 3 but definately not PF.
Here is the top 5 wings in my opinion 1.Josh Smith 2.Loul Deng 3.Andre Igoudala 4.Josh Childress 5.Luke Jackson
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Here is the top 5 wings in my opinion 1.Josh Smith 2.Loul Deng 3.Andre Igoudala 4.Josh Childress 5.Luke Jackson </div> I hope that list is based on upside, and not talent right now.
Me too.... <u>Right now I'd say:</u> Luol Deng Josh Childress Luke Jackson Josh Smith Andre Igoudala <u>Based on Upside <font size="1">(Basically how I think they will rank later down the road)</font></u> Luol Deng Josh Smith Andre Igoudala Josh Childress JR Smith
I'm going to shake things up a bit: <u>Right Now</u> 1. Childress 2. Deng 3. Iguodala 4. Monya 5. Jackson <u>Potential</u> 1. Iguodala 2. Deng 3. J.R. Smith 4. Josh Smith 5. Childress <u>Best Player in 5 years</u> 1. Iguodala 2. Deng 3. J.R. Smith 4. Childress 5. Monya Here's what I'm hearing now for various players: Iguodala is challenging Deng for the #3 pick and won't last past Philly at #9. Deng is dropping, but that may be due in large part to his initial refusal to hire an agent or workout against other players. However, scouts are still saying that Deng doesn't have the upside Iguodala has. Whether that is 1) gamesmanship by the scouts, 2) scouts prodding Deng to start working out, or 3) the simple truth will probably remain a mystery until draft night. Childress is having stellar workouts and has probably replaced Josh Smith as Atlanta's choice. Josh Smith is dropping like a stone. He's got Darius Miles-type athletic ability and he's got a jumper as well. The problem is his attitude. He dogged it in a recent workout in Charlotte and now has to pick it up big time to even stay in the lottery. I used to think he was a lock to Atlanta at #6, but now I'm thinking he may be a lock to Atlanta at #17. Good for Atlanta...bad for Smith... Jackson has been tearing it up in workouts, but while I love him, I think most lottery teams will pick another guy's potential over Jackson's production. My guess is that he ultimately ends up being somewhere between Brent Barry and Casey Jacobsen (but closer to Barry). J.R. Smith has performed better than the other Smith in his private workouts, but he's not blowing teams away like he did in the all-star games. Questions about his work ethic will keep him out of the lottery and may be the reason why he never fulfills his enormous potential. Teams like Monya. While I expect him to go to Utah at #14 or #16, I wouldn't be surprised to see him go to Portland at #13. Note: og15, would you clean out your pm box so I can send you some messages.
