Draft class for ’09 a step down — right now
The 2008 NBA Draft is over.
Obviously, it’s now time to start looking ahead.
The first thing you need to know is that next year’s draft won’t be as good at the top (or as deep) as this year’s draft, mostly because this year’s incoming freshmen stink as a whole when compared to their immediate predecessors.
Put another way, there is no incoming freshman as promising as Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley or O.J. Mayo, or at least it seems that way.
But we’d all be wise to keep in mind that at this time last year nobody thought Russell Westbrook or Joe Alexander would go in the top 10, and at this time last week it seemed doubtful that Jason Thompson would be a lottery pick.
So what I’m trying to say is that this stuff changes. All the time. And it’s hard to project.
But you know me, I’m always up for a good challenge!
So I’ve compiled a list of 30 NBA prospects who will play college basketball next season and ranked them from best to worst in terms of their NBA potential, which — as Chris Douglas-Roberts learned late Thursday — has absolutely nothing to do with their value as college players. Picking an All-American team is a totally different exercise than drafting for the NBA, which is why a guy like Tyler Hansbrough will be everybody’s Preseason National Player of the Year despite being in nobody’s projected top five of the 2009 NBA Draft.
sportsline.com
6/27/08
Magnolia Tribune
