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Draft night re-runs
by Tim O'Sullivan / June 28, 2002

Eight of the last ten No. 1 picks have been centers or power forwards, a mountainous streak ranging from Shaquille O'Neal in 1992 to Yao Ming on Wednesday. Just days before the draft, the Houston Rockets managed to iron out a deal with everyone in China who has ever seen a basketball game, opening the NBA door for Ming's 7-5 frame. They like everything big in Texas, or so the joke goes.

If you want to give the Clippers the benefit of the doubt, and I don't know why you would, you assume they're going to make a trade. Please let them make a trade. It seemed like the Clippers had overcome their draft day yips last year when they astutely traded the No. 2 pick for Elton Brand. Brand stabilized the Clips' young lineup from his power forward spot and made them respectable in the toughest division in basketball. So what does Los Angeles GM Elgin Baylor do? He drafts two power forwards, Chris Wilcox and Melvin Ely. I guess you can never have too many power forwards? Please let them make a trade.

Apparently winning basketball games doesn't account for much when it comes to getting drafted. Players are much better off with a pterodactyl's wing span or a cheetah's first step than with All-American status or a national
championship. Drafting potential is nothing new, but it still leaves a bitter taste.

A player like Nikoloz Tskitishvili who only played less than ten minutes per game in Italy was drafted No. 5. Five. While a player like Juan Dixon, who won all the big games, who carried his team to a national title, who was the best bottom line player in college basketball, was drafted at No. 17. And almost every expert thought that No. 17 was much too high of a pick to "waste" on Dixon.

Starting with Ming and Tskitishvili, the top 10 was loaded with projects. Memphis freshman Dajuan Wagner was the No. 6 pick and he is an obvious talent, but scoring 100 points in a high school game and leading your team to the NIT shouldn't be that impressive on an NBA resume. No. 7 Maybyner "Nene" Hilario looks like a gift from the basketball Gods, but what kind of competition has he faced in South America? Is anyone even allowed to play basketball during World Cup years in Brazil? Wilcox, the eighth pick, is another impressive physical specimen, but he was the fourth option on his college team. Amare Stoudemire, the No. 9 pick, is such a dominating athlete that he simply dunked on everyone and anyone in high school and wouldn't know a jump shot if it hit him in the head.

With so many GM's eager to prove their handyman status, many of the pre-assembled players slipped, most notably Caron Butler. At 6-7, Butler is lacking the en vogue height of a small forward, but his strength and leaping ability will more than make up for it. This is a player who knows how to get off his shot and has proven
himself capable of carrying a team. The point has already been made, but Butler's slide to Miami at No. 10 and his game are eerily similar to Paul Pierce's draft day fortunes and skill. Both are players with a medium range
offensive game who can also finish strong, both are very strong for their size, both want and will make the big shot and both inexplicably fell to the No. 10 spot where they were snatched up by an Atlantic Division team. Let's hope Pat Riley remembers what to do with an offensively talented player.

Fifteen years ago, a senior All-American point guard from a top-flight program would have been a first round lock, and almost an automatic to go in the top 10. Not now. Cincinnati's Steve Logan, a senior first team All-American, was pick No. 29. Sam Clancy, a second-team All-American, was the No. 45 pick. Granted, Clancy had a recent knee injury and Logan is diminutive, but does that really negate everything they did in college? Apparently so.

Sure, the international flavor of the draft was something new and different. But overall, it's just the same old crap shoot where the big guys get all the lucky rolls and the Clippers are the yokels who look like they're still learning the rules of the game.

Tim O'Sullivan is a staff writer at the Concord (NH) Monitor and a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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