More Players Declare

Brandon Bowman - Guys like this have clearly found a loophole in the system. He has no shot at being draft and knows it, but because he can go to the Chicago pre-draft camp and get an assessment, he will. Then he will be right back in school next year. Can't blame him, as other players have done it (Keith Bogans, Jameer Nelson) and become much better prospects. The problem with this is that more and more players are doing this every year, making it much harder for seniors and foreign born players to get into pre-draft camps. Don't bother remembering Bowman, he won't stay in the draft anyways.

Francisco Garcia - Solid player with few weaknesses. 6'7'' with a long lean body (think Tayshaun Prince) who handles well enough to play the point. Garcia is also a deadeye from three point range. He needs to get stronger and avoid foul trouble, but he is a no doubt first rounder. Likely in the 18-25 range. He would be a possible lottery pick next year if he went back for another year under Pitino.

Gerald Green - No surprise here. Green is a 6'8'' high school player who is pretty much a lock for the lottery. Green is an elite level athlete in the mold of Tracy McGrady, he is a much better shooter than Tmac was at this age though. Green is clearly the best prospect from this high school class. At the Roundball Classic he out jumped the vertical jump test, which max's out at 11'6''. That's ridiculous hops. Did I mention he is a good athlete?

Ersan Ilysova - Here is a guy that was supposed to be a top 5 pick next year. No one expected him to declare this year. Not sure where he will end up because I still do not know much about him other than the fact that scouts love him. He is a 6'9'' swingman with a silky smooth game. Will be interesting to see where he is projected to go. The 20 year age limit the NBA is trying to add for next year may have scared him into this years draft.


and now from the stupid file:

It looks like this years Omar Cook is upon us. A player who comes out and signs with an agent before he is ready and ends up playing in the Belgium B league the rest of his life. That player this year is Kelenna Azubuike, who most thought was just declaring to see where he stood and then he was gonna go back to Kentucky for his senior year. Instead, he signed with an agent (a shady one, from what I hear) and he is now pretty much screwed. With a great performance in Chicago, he may get picked in the 2nd round. I guess you don't have to be all that smart to play at Kentucky after all.