The NBA draft combine began today in Chicago, and 53 players were invited to participate in the workouts. Logic dictates that most of these players will be among the 60 drafted June 24 and many will make NBA rosters in the fall. However, there will be a few prospects that, uninvited to Chicago, will surprise people and make teams next season, as well. Keep in mind that the combine may be the least important part of the entire 12-month evaluation process for NBA teams that have done their homework. It now, simply, consists of agility and shooting drills, medical evaluations and player interviews, but no competitive drills or games. There's little for a player to do to impress NBA teams at the combine. Wesley Matthews and Garrett Temple were excellent college players at Marquette and LSU, respectively, who were not invited to Chicago in May 2009. Undaunted, they both made NBA rosters and, particularly Matthews, contributed significantly to their teams this past season, proving once again that evaluating pro prospects is not an exact science. Matthews earned a starting position for the Utah Jazz, going from an undrafted free agent to guarding Kobe Bryant in the playoffs. Temple also went undrafted, but after call-ups from the D-League by the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings, he finally stuck at the end of the season with the San Antonio Spurs. Here are five seniors not invited to this year's combine that could be on NBA rosters at some point next season: Jerome Randle, 5-foot-10, California Randle can only hope that he reminds teams of two former Pac-10 standout guards, Aaron Brooks and Darren Collison. Brooks was the NBA's Most Improved Player this year, while Collison filled in admirably for the injured Chris Paul for much of the season. While Randle's size is an obvious detriment, he possesses the same speed and quickness the other two have. Randle, the Pac-10's Player of the Year as a senior at Cal, averaged 18.6 points a game and shot over 40 percent from the 3-point line. He has NBA range from deep and in 2008-09 shot a scorching 46 percent from behind the arc. Despite the reputation of being a "shoot-first" point guard, he ranks as the school's second all-time assists leader, as well. Randle is akin to a punt returner in football in that his quickness is a commodity. With most NBA teams carrying three point guards on their rosters, he is the ideal tempo-changer to keep around despite his size. Brian Zoubek, 7-foot-1, Duke Zoubek battled a rash of injuries during his Blue Devils career, but regrouped well enough to be a huge factor in Duke's 2010 NCAA championship run. Because of his massive size, he proved to be a very proficient offensive rebounder, screener and lane clogger for Mike Krzyzewski's 35-5 team. In fact, Zoubek had the country's best offensive rebounding rate of 21.4 percent, extending one of every five Duke possessions. Zoubek, if he makes an NBA roster and can stay healthy, is very likely to be a career backup. But his great size will make him valuable on many nights over the course of an 82-game schedule. Arinze Onuaku, 6-foot-10, Syracuse This selection is a reach, but only because Onuaku is in the midst of rehabilitating a right quad tendon that was injured in the Big East tournament. Because Onuaku is out until the middle of next season and his health is in question, he'll likely go undrafted and end up as a free agent. What gives Onuaku a chance of playing in the league is his massive frame. He weighs about 280 pounds and doesn't mind physical play, so he will be able to hold his own in the paint. While not a skilled offensive player -- he's also an atrocious free throw shooter -- he did end up as Syracuse's all-time leader in field goal percentage, finishing his career just over 65 percent. If Onuaku can get completely healthy -- and that is a big if, given his history at Syracuse -- he has enough size and athleticism to be a banger and a role player on an NBA roster. Matt Bouldin, 6-foot-5, Gonzaga The conventional wisdom is that Bouldin doesn't have the athleticism to play in the NBA. Despite being this year's West Coast Conference Player of the Year, his backcourt versatility is perceived to hurt him because he doesn't seem to have an NBA position. For much of Bouldin's career at Gonzaga, he was the team's best playmaker because of his outstanding court sense and passing ability. However, playing point guard in the NBA would be problematic as his lack of lateral quickness would be exposed by smaller guards. And while he is a career 38 percent shooter from behind the college 3-point line, Bouldin was an inconsistent shooter as a Zag. Ultimately, Bouldin may find himself making a team that values a young player with a good basketball IQ, who is versatile on offense and whose athletic liabilities could be hidden in a good defensive system. Scottie Reynolds, 6-foot-2, Villanova There are some similarities between Reynolds and Matthews. Both started for four years in a high-profile conference and were well known to NBA scouts. While Reynolds doesn't have the positional size that the 6-5 Matthews has, in many ways, he enjoyed a more prolific college career. Reynolds is a classic combo guard. He lacks the size to be a shooting guard and the quickness to be a full-time point guard, but he has attributes that could land him on an NBA roster next fall. He is strong, has outstanding pick-and-roll acumen, is an excellent shooter and has proved to be a very clutch player at a high college level. If one's heart is a factor, Reynolds will be hard to cut.
