Warrick, Blatche Take Different Roads

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Hakim Warrick and Andray Blatche represent the opposite ends of the NBA draft spectrum.

At one end, there's Warrick, the four-year Syracuse University player whose resume includes an NCAA championship ring, a Big East player of the year award and All-America honors - not to mention a degree in management and consumer studies.

At the other extreme, there's Blatche, a 6-foot-11 prodigy who will bypass college. The 18-year-old out of Syracuse's Henninger High School attended South Kent (Conn.) Prep this past year. His resume looks blank compared with Warrick's, but he has one major intangible - potential.

"Obviously, people have a little bit more familiarity with Hakim than they do with a kid like Blatche," said George David, the Detroit Pistons' director of scouting. "Hakim spent four years in a big-time program. People have questions as to his position in our league, but no one questions him.

"In watching him at Syracuse, No. 1 he's a competitor," David said. "He's a winner. He's going to be a winner at our level. He's going to be a very solid player in the NBA."

Blatche, according to David and several other NBA sources, is more of a riddle.

"You're really going on potential because most high school players aren't coming into the league ready to play," said one Eastern Conference scouting director. "It isn't easy to predict. Good high school players like him usually dominate the competition. He's a tall player, so he usually towers over high school players. There's a lot of question marks with the high school kids, and it's hard to find all the answers in a short amount of time."

But there is uncertainty surrounding Warrick, as well, despite the fact that the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 21.4 points and 8.6 rebounds as a senior and led the Orange in scoring his last two years.

Despite weighing only 215 pounds, Warrick spent most of his time near the basket as the team's best low-post player. Can he bulk up to play power forward in the NBA, or can he develop the skills necessary to play on the perimeter?

"In his case, it's hard to fit him into a position, and it's hard to project how he'll play in the NBA," said an NBA scout. "But being a four-year college player, you've seen him develop. You've seen him play at a high level over four years.
"Obviously, people have a little bit more familiarity with Hakim than they do with a kid like Blatche," said George David, the Detroit Pistons' director of scouting. "Hakim spent four years in a big-time program. People have questions as to his position in our league, but no one questions him.

"In watching him at Syracuse, No. 1 he's a competitor," David said. "He's a winner. He's going to be a winner at our level. He's going to be a very solid player in the NBA."

Blatche, according to David and several other NBA sources, is more of a riddle.

"You're really going on potential because most high school players aren't coming into the league ready to play," said one Eastern Conference scouting director. "It isn't easy to predict. Good high school players like him usually dominate the competition. He's a tall player, so he usually towers over high school players. There's a lot of question marks with the high school kids, and it's hard to find all the answers in a short amount of time." </div>

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