What will scouts be watching next?
Now that the NCAA tourney is over, scouts are gearing up for the PIT and draft combine
By Chad Ford

Now that the NCAA tournament is over, what's next for scouts and executives focused on the NBA draft?

• Expect the trickle of underclassmen declaring for the draft to turn into a flood. We've been documenting who's in and who's out of the 2009 NBA draft for the past few weeks.

So far, the headliners have been Tyreke Evans, James Johnson and Earl Clark. However, many more underclassmen should voice their intent within the next week or so. Among the best players who sources say likely will declare for the draft:

Blake Griffin, PF, So., Oklahoma
Hasheem Thabeet, C, Jr., UConn
Jordan Hill, PF, Jr., Arizona
Al-Farouq Aminu, F, Fr., Wake Forest
DeJuan Blair, PF, So., Pittsburgh
Craig Brackins, PF, So., Iowa State
Jonny Flynn, PG, So., Syracuse
Jrue Holiday, PG, Fr., UCLA
Gerald Henderson, SG, Jr., Duke
Brandon Jennings, PG, Italy
Ty Lawson, PG, Jr., North Carolina
Patrick Mills, PG, So., Saint Mary's

A few of those players are no-brainers. Griffin and Thabeet will be top-five picks. Hill looks like a lock to be selected among the top 10. Lawson has proven just about everything he can. Henderson is a junior, and it can't hurt for him to test the waters.

A few of the others on the list are questionable, however. Many scouts love Aminu, but most feel he should return to school. Scouts also admire Holiday, but they are torn because of his mediocre freshman season at UCLA.

The two sleepers on the list are Brackins and Mills. A number of NBA executives think Brackins may crack the lottery, and one NBA GM referred to him as a young Danny Granger. Mills also is intriguing. He had an up-and-down season, but his play for Team Australia in the 2008 Olympics combined with his terrific speed could land him in the first round.

A few other top underclassmen look as though they are leaning toward returning for another year of school: North Carolina's Ed Davis, Georgetown's Greg Monroe, Oklahoma's Willie Warren and Kansas' Cole Aldrich. Things obviously can change as agents and families get in the ears of prospects, but although all four could be lottery picks this year, they would be well served with another year of school.

• NBA scouts are heading to Portsmouth, Va., for the annual seniors-only Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which begins Wednesday. The tournament has really lost its luster during the past few years. The last first-round pick to play in the PIT was Jason Maxiell in 2005.

However, with the NBA's canceling the Orlando, Fla., pre-draft camp this year, this is the only place for college seniors to play five-on-five ball in front of NBA scouts without their college teams. Better players than usual will attend this time around.

Sam Young is the best player expected to be there. Also slated to play are a few potential second-round picks: Central Florida's Jermaine Taylor, Arizona State's Jeff Pendergraph, BYU's Lee Cummard and UConn's A.J. Price.

But, once again, most of the top seniors have declined to play. VCU's Eric Maynor, UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, UCLA's Darren Collison, Louisville's Terrence Williams, LSU's Marcus Thornton, Marquette's Jerel McNeal, Gonzaga's Josh Heytvelt, UNC's Danny Green, Temple's Dionte Christmas, Miami's Jack McClinton, Gonzaga's Jeremy Pargo, Villanova's Dante Cunningham and Utah's Luke Nevill all turned down invitations. Considering just two seniors are projected as first-round picks, I think you see the problem.

• Most scouts will skip out of Portsmouth on Thursday night and head to Portland, Ore., for this weekend's Nike Hoop Summit, where the high school players on Team USA will be the main attraction.

Three potential lottery picks will play in the Hoop Summit. Scouts say John Wall, a potential No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA draft who is still deciding which college to attend, is a Derrick Rose clone. Big man DeMarcus Cousins, who also is still deciding where to go to school, already has an NBA body and is very skilled. And Xavier Henry, another uncommitted player (who pulled his commitment to Memphis when John Calipari left to coach Kentucky), is the best swingman in the country.

Another player to watch is John Henson, a skinny forward committed to North Carolina who may be the most talented player in the high school Class of 2009.

Finally, watch out for one big name on the international side: Lithuania's Donatas Motiejunas. He is supposed to be the next great international stud after Ricky Rubio, and a number of scouts say he's the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki.

Said one NBA GM, "After you see this kid in this game, he's moving way up the Big Board." We'll see. Sometimes you can't do as much as you want in All-Star Games like this.

• Finally, because the Orlando pre-draft camp won't take place, NBA GMs already are looking forward to going to Chicago for the first NBA draft combine. The combine will be held in Tim Grover's Attack Athletics gym from May 27-31.

The NBA expects the top 55 prospects to attend the combine. Team interviews, measurements, performance testing and workouts will be conducted on May 27-29. Medical testing will be the last two days. There will be no scrimmages.

As someone who has been fairly critical of draft camps, I think the combine is a great move. The executives in attendance don't pay close attention to the scrimmages. In fact, on the last day, most of them bail to watch the top prospects go through light skills drills. Plus, Orlando doesn't have Gibsons Steakhouse.

Finally, watch out for one big name on the international side: Lithuania's Donatas Motiejunas. He is supposed to be the next great international stud after Ricky Rubio, and a number of scouts say he's the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki.

how stiff are his legs tho?

Posted by TMS:

Finally, watch out for one big name on the international side: Lithuania's Donatas Motiejunas. He is supposed to be the next great international stud after Ricky Rubio, and a number of scouts say he's the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki.

how stiff are his legs tho?

The better question is how come the next Dirk Nowitski doesnt come from the uSA?--They always seem to come from abroad

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by TMS:

Finally, watch out for one big name on the international side: Lithuania's Donatas Motiejunas. He is supposed to be the next great international stud after Ricky Rubio, and a number of scouts say he's the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki.

how stiff are his legs tho?

The better question is how come the next Dirk Nowitski doesnt come from the uSA?--They always seem to come from abroad

US players don't have stiff legs... duh.

Poor Tskitishvili. He was suppose to be the next Dirk and Pau but better.

who will be the next Elton Brand tho?

Posted by Pharzeone:

Posted by TMS:

who will be the next Elton Brand tho?

Sweetney!

Mays?

Posted by TMS:

who will be the next Elton Brand tho?

I'm not going to tell you what I said, because you know what I said

Posted by TMS:

Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by TMS:

who will be the next Elton Brand tho?

I'm not going to tell you what I said, because you know what I said

i believe u told me Sweetney would be the next Wilt Chamberlain.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Bip said that Sweetney was like Bill RUSSEL, in terms of being identical. He said Sweetney is THE NEXT Bill Russel. He said mark his words.

In terms of STYLE OF PLAY, Sweetney is like Wilt Chamberlain. We all know Bip had a mancrush on him. He still does.

Sweetney was the next Elton Brand plus size and Frye was the next Tim Duncan ultra-lite but with the action pack kung fu kick.

Posted by Pharzeone:

Sweetney was the next Elton Brand plus size and Frye was the next Tim Duncan ultra-lite but with the action pack kung fu kick.

I admit to being high on Sweetney and still think he could have been good if not for his obvious eating disorder. As for Frye, I don't know if that is a reference to me, but I never thought Frye was much of a player.