VITALS: 6-8, 215, senior, UCLA OVERVIEW: Kapono played four seasons at UCLA and averaged 16.5 points and shot 45 percent on 3-pointers in his career. Kapono earned first team All-Pac-10 honors all four years and was the only player to lead the Bruins in scoring each of his four years. Kapono averaged a career-high 17.2 points per game as a sophomore. His 3-point shooting percentage dipped every year, falling from 47 percent as a freshman to just under 40 percent last season. Kapono played on the gold medal United States team at the 2001 World Championship for Young Men. Kapono shot a career-high 88 percent from the line last year. LIKELY DRAFT POSITION: Second round. Cleveland (31), Denver (46), Detroit (25, 58), Golden State (40), Houston (44), LA Clippers (34), LA Lakers (24, 32), Memphis (27), Minnesota (26, 55), San Antonio (28), Toronto (52) and Utah (19, 47) all worked out Kapono. COMPARATIVE UPSIDE: Eric Piatkowski COMPARATIVE DOWNSIDE: Brian Evans ROLE PROJECTION: Reserve POSITIVES: Kapono is a pure shooter with excellent size at the off guard position. He can be used to extend the defense, spotting up for the catch-and-shoot 3-pointer off feeds from double-teams. In addition, Kapono has underrated quickness. He has a beautiful spin dribble in which he squares himself perfectly to the goal as he elevates to score, and he releases soft floaters high in the lane to finish without going into traffic. SHORTCOMINGS: The major concerns with Kapono are (a) he will be a liability on defense because of his perceived lack of strength and lateral quickness and ( he will have trouble creating his own shot at the next level. Those weaknesses will prevent him from being as successful in the NBA as he was in college, but there is no reason why he cannot be used in specific situations. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "Jason Kapono has a chance to make our league because he is a specialist. He was one of the best, if not the best, shooter in college basketball last season." Detroit Pistons director of scouting George David
