2008 Woodie Awards
NBA Draft lacks international flair
Jamie Wianecki
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Sports
This year's draft class, similar to last year's draft class, is dominated with American born college players. Last year, only five of the first round picks were born internationally, and one (Yi Jianlian, China) was drafted in the top ten. Nbadraft.net only projects one international player to be drafted in the top 10, Danilo Gallinari from Italy. According to his team's website, Gallinari averaged 17.5 points per game and shot nearly 40% from beyond the three-point line. Nbadraft.net compares his game to Detlef Schrempf's; after watching some of his highlights on youtube, he has solid ball-handling skills, and good game instinct - albeit against Euroleague competition.
After watching the teams with the best point guards make the playoffs, NBA teams will be looking to follow the trend and draft point guards. The best point guard in the draft is Memphis's Derrick Rose. He's athletic, strong, quick, good size, and (except for the free-throws at the end of the National Championship game) clutch.
Everyone knows about Michael Beasley, he looks like the next coming of Karl Malone. He's physical in the post, and has the jumper to match. He won't fall out of the top two or three picks. Other notable forwards include Tyler Smith from Tennessee, LSU's Anthony Randolph, and Kansas Jayhawk Brandon Rush.
This year's class will be known for its combo guards: O.J. Mayo (USC), Eric Gordon (Indiana), Russell Westbrook (UCLA), and Jerryd Bayless (Arizona). These guys are versatile enough to play both the point guard and shooting guard positions; comparable to NBA players like Ben Gordon, Charlie Bell, and Allen Iverson. All these prospects should be picked in the top ten.
Good post players used to be tough to find, but this year's class has an abundance of potential. Despite missing the first nine games due to academic ineligibility, Brook Lopez, the Stanford Cardinal seven-footer with shorter hair, tops the list. Twin brother, Robin didn't have as good of a sophomore year season, but he should still find his way into the first round. Other first rounders should be DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M), JaVale McGee (Nevada), and Kevin Love (UCLA).
It's nice to see the players you watch in college become NBA players, but let's see how long it lasts.
After watching the teams with the best point guards make the playoffs, NBA teams will be looking to follow the trend and draft point guards. The best point guard in the draft is Memphis's Derrick Rose. He's athletic, strong, quick, good size, and (except for the free-throws at the end of the National Championship game) clutch.
Everyone knows about Michael Beasley, he looks like the next coming of Karl Malone. He's physical in the post, and has the jumper to match. He won't fall out of the top two or three picks. Other notable forwards include Tyler Smith from Tennessee, LSU's Anthony Randolph, and Kansas Jayhawk Brandon Rush.
This year's class will be known for its combo guards: O.J. Mayo (USC), Eric Gordon (Indiana), Russell Westbrook (UCLA), and Jerryd Bayless (Arizona). These guys are versatile enough to play both the point guard and shooting guard positions; comparable to NBA players like Ben Gordon, Charlie Bell, and Allen Iverson. All these prospects should be picked in the top ten.
Good post players used to be tough to find, but this year's class has an abundance of potential. Despite missing the first nine games due to academic ineligibility, Brook Lopez, the Stanford Cardinal seven-footer with shorter hair, tops the list. Twin brother, Robin didn't have as good of a sophomore year season, but he should still find his way into the first round. Other first rounders should be DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M), JaVale McGee (Nevada), and Kevin Love (UCLA).
It's nice to see the players you watch in college become NBA players, but let's see how long it lasts.
Be the first to comment on this story