<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">With the conclusion of the college basketball season comes the usual glut of reports that this high school player and that college underclassman intends to test the NBA Draft waters. It usually goes like this: If they think they're going to be selected in the first round, they will come out. If not, they say they will stay in school. League rules allow players to change their minds, as long as they have not hired an agent. Some players look for assurance they will go in the Top 10 in the draft, or in the lottery level, meaning the top 14. The big questions at the moment: Will NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Sean May come out, even with another season of eligibility at North Carolina? And how about Tar Heels freshman sensation Marvin Williams? How does the draft shape up, based on the number of players most pro personnel experts expect to declare themselves eligible? "We think it's going to be a really solid draft," one Eastern Conference talent evaluator said. "There aren't any Tim Duncans in this draft, but there are going to be an awful lot of solid players. We think the better players are going to go later in the draft. "The teams at the top are going to gamble on the high school players coming out. You look at a guy like (North Carolina's) Jawad Williams and you're looking at a guy who's going to be a solid player in the NBA for a long time. But he's probably going to go later in the draft, maybe the second round." There is a mitigating factor in the "Should I Stay, or Should I Go?" dynamic this year: The specter of an increase in the minimum age to play in the league, from 18 to 20. High school seniors and college freshmen ? anyone who won't be 20 by the time the 2006 draft rolls around ? are apt to be more willing to take a shot at going in the first round if they think they will have no shot at all of being drafted next season. </div> Source
