<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Aaron Gray and PJ Tucker to Enter NBA DraftSources told NBADraft.net on Tuesday that Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray and Texas wing PJ Tucker will declare themselves eligible for the 2006 NBA Draft. Both players are expected to make their announcements within the next week. As juniors, and without having declared for the draft before, both players will wait to sign agents, maintaining their NCAA eligibility and a possible return next season.Gray will test the process and look to get a good indication that he's a first round pick. NBA sources indicate that is likely to happen as he's projected in the 20-25 range. With the NBA's premium on bigmen, and with so few available, Gray has a shot to move up into the mid first round area.Gray averaged 13.9 points and a Big East Conference leading 10.5 rebounds.His last game of the season was a disappointing effort against Bradley sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant. But the great improvement he showed as a junior, and the strong season he had has scouts intrigued by his abilities.Tucker is considered a borderline first rounder with a legitimate shot to get in, depending on workouts and the number of underclassmen that declare. His ball handling and passing ability have shown solid improvement in the past season. Averaging 16.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, he is an intriguing player because of his incredible versatility, strength and aggressiveness.</div>LINK<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Marcus Williams to Enter NBA DraftSources told NBADraft.net Thursday that UConn Huskies point guard Marcus Williams will soon declare for the 2006 draft and sign with agent Bill Duffy, forfeiting his senior season of eligibility.Williams played well in his junior year and especially in the tournament averaging 20 points and 8.8 assists and hit a number of clutch shots. But he was unable to lift the Huskies over the Cinderella George Mason team and fell in the Elite Eight.On the year he averaged 12.3 ppg and 8.6 apg after missing the first month and a half of the season due to his (laptop theft involvement) suspension.Williams is considered a likely mid-first rounder with a chance to move into the lottery (top 14 picks) with good workouts. Scouts biggest concerns about Williams center around his lack of foot speed defensively, lack of range shooting the ball and character (due to the off court troubles).Also signing with Bill Duffy will be Rajon Rondo, another of the top point guards available for this year's draft. His decision to enter the draft and sign with an agent has been questioned by some, and though it would probably have been smart to test the process first before signing an agent, most scouts feel confident Rondo is squarely in the first round due to his off the charts quickness and athleticism.Rondo lacks a great perimeter shot, and many feel he would be best served to return to Kentucky to work on his shot and become a more complete point guard. But there have been many players who have listened to the pundits, returned to college, and had sub-par seasons and seen their once first round stock fall due to a diminished perceived level of potential. So in light of that, Rondo's decision should not be second-guessed. He has made the decision to give up his amateur status and become a professional, and he'll live with it. The notion that players damage their careers by turning pro early is not shared by everyone, and is different in every case. Rondo's shot will likely improve similarly on the college or pro level. His confidence may suffer by not being as "NBA ready" initially, however many seniors are not ready for the transition to the NBA game.The situation Rondo lands in, as with all players, will have a big effect on his success. Rondo's work habits are in his hands and after two years of college ball, he's got a solid foundation of skills to work from for the next level.Also expected to sign with Duffy is Michigan St. senior bigman Paul Davis. Davis averaged 17.5 pts and 9.1 rebs in a breakout senior season and is considered a bubble first round pick.Kansas freshman small forward Brandon Rush is thinking about testing the draft process again. Remember Rush tested the process last year and had a solid performance at the Chicago Predraft camp. He is in a unique position with the ability to test the process for a second time due to the NBA's rule, which allows high schoolers that have tested before an additional withdrawal. Rush considers himself a lottery pick right now. But NBA scouts NBADraft.net spoke to say he's a bubble first rounder at best.NBADraft.net also learned that Bradley center Patrick O'Bryant is pondering a return to school. O'Bryant is considered one of the top center prospects in the college game and due to his potential is a likely mid first rounder. But another season of college basketball, working on his body and game would be beneficial to him and he will have a shot to move into mid-lottery level for the 2007 draft.</div>LINK
What is PJ doing? he'll be a mid-2nd rd. pick if he's lucky. He had a good thing going a t Texas. :no3:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (nba dogmatist @ Apr 8 2006, 04:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>What is PJ doing? he'll be a mid-2nd rd. pick if he's lucky. He had a good thing going a t Texas. :no3:</div>Ha when i first read this i thought you were talking about me until i go back up and realize you are talking about PJ Tucker. I was thinking "what did i do wrong?" <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Afflalo, Farmar don't plan to hire agentsUCLA guards Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar both declared for the NBA draft Thursday, but neither will sign with an agent, giving them the option to return to the Bruins for their junior seasons.Afflalo and Farmar plan to hold individual workouts for specific teams that ask, with each player paying his own way to the workout sites."My goal as a basketball player is to play in the NBA," Farmar said. "I can always come back with a great team. It's a good situation for me to test it and see what people think about me and where I am."UCLA coach Ben Howland said he talked to 17 or 18 NBA general managers, who projected Afflalo and Farmar would be selected late in the first round or early in the second round of the June 28 draft."Whether they both go this year or come out at the end of next year, they're both going to be in the NBA. That's a given," Howland said at a campus news conference. "I am totally 100 percent behind them, as is our whole UCLA basketball family in their decision to test the waters."Like Farmar, Afflalo said he would return to school if he wasn't assured of being a first-round pick."If it's not the smartest situation possible, I'm coming back to a great team," he said.Farmar added, "A lot of guys don't have UCLA and the success we had to come back to."The players have until June 18 to withdraw their names from the draft.Afflalo's and Farmar's individual workouts won't begin before May 20, when they will be required to drop one of the three classes they're taking during the spring quarter and become part-time students. The quarter ends in mid-June.At that point, the players will no longer participate in individual workouts with the UCLA team.The duo said they wouldn't participate in the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando, Fla., because it doesn't allow players to showcase their individual skills as much as solo workouts do.Afflalo and Farmar were the first two recruits Howland signed when he took over in Westwood three seasons ago. The sophomores led the Bruins to a runner-up finish to Florida in the national championship game April 3 after helping them win the Pac-10 regular-season and tournament titles."I'm indebted to them forever," Howland said. "They have helped start something we think is very special."Both players said their families and Howland were helping shield them from agent inquiries.Afflalo and Farmar, the Bruins' co-captains, shared the John Wooden Award as the team's most valuable players this season. UCLA finished 32-7, tying a school record for most wins.Losing them would rob the Bruins of their offensive punch. Afflalo was the leading scorer at 15.8 points and Farmar was second at 13.5. He also led the Pac-10 in assists."If they come back, God bless them, I'll be so happy," Howland said. "If they elect to stay in the NBA and they go in the first round, that'll be great, too."</div>
lol, ok sure you some draft nerd that likes to argue with people online, and no I was smart enough to figure that out for myself unlike your unintelligent dumbcrap , and since when is Rajon Rondo gonna be a top five pick in the draft
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Williams to enter draft, plans announcement this weekArizona freshman Marcus Williams will declare for the 2006 NBA draft, two sources close to the situation told ESPN.com's Chad Ford.Williams has been seriously exploring the possibility of declaring for several weeks. On Monday, sources said Williams had decided to enter and would schedule a press conference later this week.Williams is currently ranked as the 23rd best prospect on ESPN Insider's Top 100.Junior point guard Mustafa Shakur has also declared for the draft.Underclassmen have until April 29 to declare for the draft.</div>LINK
Williams shouldn't enter, his stock has fallen a bunch, and he is too young, he needs to still raise his game, also Darius Washington is going in too [which I completly don't understand].
Because Shawne Williams put his name in...and this is the draft buzz thread which was updated with Shawne's annoucement in the Buzz article on NBADraft.net
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Lowry won't sign with agent as he tests watersVILLANOVA, Pa. -- Villanova point guard Kyle Lowry will make himself eligible for the NBA draft, but will retain the option of returning to school by not hiring an agent. Lowry, a sophomore, had until Saturday to declare for the June 28 draft. The deadline to withdraw is June 18. "It was a very difficult situation," Lowry said Thursday. "I thought long and hard about it, and I felt really good with the decision I just made." The speedy 6-foot guard was third on the Wildcats in scoring (11 points per game) and rebounding (4.3) this season, and first in assists (3.7). His 2.3 steals per game led the Big East.</div>LINK<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Gray enters draft without an agentPITTSBURGH -- Pitt's Aaron Gray, a 7-footer chosen All-Big East in his first season as a starter, plans to skip his senior year and enter the NBA draft.The center has not signed with an agent, allowing him to withdraw from the June 28 draft and return for another season. Pitt point guard Carl Krauser also planned to turn pro last season, but went back to school after sensing little NBA interest."The draft process will provide me a great learning experience and will help me become a better player," Gray said in a statement released by the school. "Academically, I am well on my way to graduating and earning a degree and that is a priority for me."Gray talked with coach Jamie Dixon before making up his mind."We've been counseling him each step of the way and will continue to do so over the next two months," Dixon said. "This is a logical step for Aaron to take and we will support him wholeheartedly."After backing up Chris Taft the previous two seasons, Gray averaged 13.9 points and led the conference in rebounding with a 10.5 average, helping Pitt (25-8) reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Gray was the first Pitt player since Jerome Lane in 1987-88 to average double figures in scoring and rebounding.</div>LINK
