VITALS: 6-1, 180, Ohio State OVERVIEW: Known as a high school teammate of probable No. 1 pick Greg Oden at Ohio State, Conley showed he had plenty of game in his only season with the Buckeyes. Finished third on the team in scoring at 11.3 points while leading Ohio State in assists (6.1) and steals (2.2). Shot 52 percent from the field but only 30 percent on 3-pointers. Recorded at least 10 assists six times and at least five steals on three occasions. Excelled in the spotlight, averaging 16.0 points, 4.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds in the NCAA Tournament, including 20 points, six assists and four steals in the national title game to Florida. LIKELY DRAFT POSITION: 3-8. COMPARATIVE UPSIDE: Rod Strickland COMPARATIVE DOWNSIDE: Damon Stoudamire. ROLE PROJECTION: Eventual starting point guard. POSITIVES: Conley has the feet of an accomplished bantamweight fighter, able to sidestep any defender once he gets into the lane and find the daylight for a pass to an open teammate. You can teach a lot of parts of basketball, but exploiting small openings in close quarters among huge bodies in the NBA paint isn't one of them, and Conley can do this. On the other end, he uses his quickness to pester opposing point guards, playing the passing lanes and flicking away their passes. He has the unshakable demeanor a lead point guard has to have.
