Players in the Draft - by Chad Ford, ESPN, April 9, 2009
In the draft
Players who have officially declared for the 2009 NBA draft
* To preserve eligibility, player has not hired an agent.
DeJuan Blair, PF, So., Pittsburgh
Blair is a beast in the paint. The top offensive rebounder in college hoops, he has the body of an NFL player, and his 7-foot-3 wingspan allows him to play bigger than his actual height (somewhere between 6-6 and 6-7).
While NBA teams worry about his weight, lack of explosiveness and lack of a perimeter game, his rebounding and motor should land him somewhere between 13 and 23 if he stays in the draft.
Chase Budinger, G/F, Jr., Arizona
Budinger declared for the draft last year and didn't get any first-round interest. After a better junior season, he'll try again. And since this is his second time declaring for the draft, he's in for good.
Budinger is a great shooter and an excellent athlete. However, his motor is questionable, and he has been a pretty poor defender at times. He'll most likely go in the late first round or early second round.
Nick Calathes, G, Florida*
Calathes has been terrific as a sophomore … upping his averages across the board from his freshman season. Scouts love his shooting ability, basketball IQ and floor leadership. There are questions about his ability to play point guard full-time in the pros.
Offensively he shouldn't have any major issues, but defensively he'll struggle against the quicker, smaller point guards in the league. Right now he's a late-first- to early-second-round pick. He could improve his stock a little in workouts, but with Calathes, I think scouts know what they are getting: a highly skilled guard who lacks elite athleticism.
Patrick Christopher, SG, Jr., Cal*
Christopher is a junior, so it makes sense for him to test the draft waters. But he'll most likely return for his senior season at Cal. If he stays in the draft, he's likely to go undrafted.
Earl Clark, F, Jr., Louisville
Clark hasn't made an official announcement, but NBA agent Dan Fegan confirmed to ESPN.com on Saturday that he has signed Clark as a client, ending Clark's eligibility. Clark is one of the most versatile players in the country. His skill-to-size ratio is off the charts. However, he still lacks a consistent perimeter shot. He reminds some scouts of Julian Wright. He has top-five talent, but his inconsistency and concerns about his work ethic could cause him to slide into the late lottery or mid-first round.
Brandon Costner, PF, NC State*
Costner is a bit of a tweener, and NBA scouts are skeptical about him. He put up great numbers as a freshman, had a disappointing sophomore season and bounced back a little as a junior. Still, most NBA scouts feel he doesn't have what it takes to be an NBA player. I'd expect him to return for his senior year at NC State.
DeMar DeRozan, G/F, Fr., USC
DeRozan is riding a terrific March back into the lottery. He began his career at USC as a Top 5 pick but struggled to get much going through much of the season. However, he was great for USC when it mattered most and convinced skeptical GMs that he has what it takes to be a great pro. DeRozan may be the best athlete in the draft and already has a NBA body. He needs to work on his perimeter game and ballhandling, but he has the tools to be great. He should go somewhere between 5 and 12 on draft night.
Devan Downey, G, Jr., South Carolina*
Downey's decision to declare for the draft is a head-scratcher. He is 5-foot-9 but isn't a pure point guard. If he stays in the draft, he's likely to go undrafted.
Tyreke Evans, G, Fr., Memphis
Evans is coming off an impressive freshman season and had his best performance of the year in the NCAA tournament. His ability to score the basketball is terrific. However, his lack of a jump shot and questionable shot selection hold him back a bit.
Compared to Jerry Stackhouse by a number of scouts, Evans looks like a lock for the lottery and could be a potential top-10 pick.
Roderick Flemings, SG, Jr., Hawaii*
Flemings is a long shot to get drafted right now. While he has the physical tools NBA scouts like, he lacks the skill set and maturity most NBA teams are looking for. If he stays in the draft, he'll likely go undrafted.
Blake Griffin, PF, So., Oklahoma
Griffin declared for the draft Tuesday, which came as no surprise. He was the best player in college basketball this season and is a lock for the No. 1 pick in the draft. His combination of size, explosive athleticism and toughness makes him a beast on the offensive end of the floor and an elite rebounder. His only weakness right now is on the defensive end, where he can be a bit indifferent. However, that won't prevent him from being drafted No. 1.
Daniel Hackett, PG, Jr., USC
Hackett isn't a great NBA draft prospect, but he's got an Italian passport and should be able to make a terrific living playing pro ball in Italy. And who knows, maybe an NBA team will fall in love with Hackett. He's got great size for his position and is a crafty player who knows who to get to the basket. If he was more athletic, he'd be a lock for the second round, but as it stands, most likely he falls out of the draft.
James Harden, SG, So., Arizona State
Harden is arguably the best scoring 2-guard in the country. Rock-solid strong, he has an excellent perimeter game and all the old-school tricks that make him tough to stop. However, a late-season swoon, including a terrible performance in the NCAA tournament, has done some damage to his draft stock.
For most of the year, he looked like a lock for a top-five pick. Now there are bigger question marks as teams take a closer look at his athleticism and size. Still, it's hard to see him slipping out of the lottery. Look for him to land anywhere between 5 and 13 on draft night.
Jordan Hill, PF, Jr., Arizona
Hill was one of the most improved players in the country this summer and worked himself from a late-first-round pick into the lottery. He's always been a terrific rebounder with a great motor, but he began to improve his offense this year. Hill is still raw and needs to add strength but he seems like a lock for the lottery ... and should go somewhere between 3 and 11 on draft night.
Brandon Jennings, PG, Italy
Jennings has had a tough year. After failing to qualify academically at Arizona, he jumped to Italy, where he averaged about 6 ppg and 2.2 apg in 18 mpg. Those numbers won't blow anyone away. But given the uniqueness of his situation, scouts are cutting him a lot of slack: He's still a super-athletic point guard with great size for his position. If he can prove to scouts in workouts that he can shoot the basketball (he shot just 19 percent from 3 in Europe) he'll be a top-10 pick.
(Jennings is automatically eligible for the NBA draft thanks to a collective bargaining rule that states that players who sign a professional contract to play basketball automatically become eligible for the draft.)
James Johnson, F, So., Wake Forest
Johnson told his hometown paper, the (Cheyenne) Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, that he's entering the draft and hiring an agent, ending his college eligibility. Johnson is a very intriguing prospect. He's a great athlete, has a NBA body and he's very skilled. He can play multiple positions on the floor and does a bit of everything on the offensive end. But Johnson has some flaws. His basketball IQ is still fairly raw, and he can get out of control at times. But declaring is probably a good decision. He's already 22 years old and was really impressive in the second half of the season. He'll likely go somewhere between 10 and 20 on draft night.
Mac Koshwal, C, So., DePaul*
Koshwal is a long, athletic big man who is a bit of a tweener. He's a good rebounder and shot-blocker, but he lacks the strength to be a force in the paint. He needs to improve his perimeter skills and/or gain strength. A bubble second-rounder right now, he should return to school for his junior season.
Jodie Meeks, SG, Jr., Kentucky*
Meeks was a scoring machine at Kentucky this season. His speed and shooting ability really stood out. So did that 54-point performance against Tennessee. However, his lack of great size or explosive athleticism hurts his stock a bit. He's a second-rounder if he stays in the draft. More likely, he returns to Kentucky for his senior season and lets John Calipari work his magic.
Tasmin Mitchell, F, Jr., LSU*
Mitchell was considered a potential first-round draft prospect as a freshmen, but really fell out of favor after injuries and non-descript performances at LSU. However, he really started coming on as a junior, improving his numbers across the board. He reminds some NBA scouts of a James Posey-type player in the league. While it looks like he has no shot at a first-round pick, he could be an intriguing second-round pickup.
B.J. Mullens, C, Fr., Ohio State
Mullens was projected as a top-five pick at the start of the season but spent the year coming off the bench, limiting his production. While no one in the league feels Mullens is ready for the NBA, he is leaving school because of financial hardship.
He's still a potential lottery pick -- he's got a lethal combination of size and athleticism -- but he's got a long way to go before he'll be a productive NBA player. And that could cause him to fall into the mid-to-late first round.
DaJuan Summers, F, Georgetown
Summers got off to a sizzling start this season and there was talk that he might be a mid-first-round pick. He has great size for his position, NBA athleticism and a terrific body and he can shoot from deep range. He's in many ways the prototypical NBA small forward.
However, his production really dropped off after Georgetown went into the tank. His shooting percentage went down, his turnovers went up and the team seemed to crumble around him. Based on physical talent and abilities, Summers is a surefire late-lottery to mid-first-round pick. However, his inability to put together one great college season has given teams pause and put him squarely on the first-round bubble.
Jeff Teague, G, So., Wake Forest*
Teague got off to a terrific start this season and a number of scouts saw him as a potential Top 10 pick in the draft. However, he struggled a bit toward the end of the season and had a horrible game in the NCAA tournament, raising questions about his readiness to play the point in the pros.
If Teague can convince NBA GMs he's a point guard, a la Devin Harris, he'll be a lottery pick. However, right now he's projected as a mid-first-round pick. Don't be surprised if Teague returns to school for his junior year and tries to play his way into the Top 10 again.
Greivis Vasquez, G, Jr., Maryland*
Vasquez had an excellent junior season, but scouts wonder how he would fit in the NBA. Is he a point guard or a 2-guard? Does he have the athleticism to excel in the league? What about his poor shooting numbers this season and his tendency to run his mouth? He definitely has talent, but he's on the first-round bubble.
...
International players in the draft
International players younger than 22 years old who have declared or who are likely to declare for the draft
Omri Casspi, F, Israel
Vladimir Dasic, PF, Serbia
Vyacheslav Kravtsov, C, Ukraine
Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain
. A definite Top 5 pick
But there has been some discussion about him in the Portuguese league thread.