Brazil's Hilario creating intrigue
Improved strength and shooting may make 6-10 forward a top-five pick
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/3288989.htm

Here are some of the main parts from the article.

Hilario will begin traveling the country next week to work out with teams. His first stop will be the Cavaliers on Monday, followed shortly thereafter by New York, Indiana and Chicago.

Coyne believes Hilario, who goes by the nickname ``Nene'' (that means ``baby'' in Portuguese -- Hilario is the youngest of three children), can be this year's Pau Gasol. A year ago, few NBA fans had even heard of Gasol. The Spaniard ended up being drafted with the No. 3 pick and was named NBA Rookie of the Year.

Since his arrival, Hilario has put on 14 pounds of muscle. He's a solid 264 pounds, with a body fat of 6.8 percent. His wingspan of 7 feet, 4 ¾ inches makes him an even more intriguing specimen.

While scouts have questioned his outside shot, during a recent workout, Hilario showed a decent midrange touch and, at one point, drilled four consecutive 3-pointers. But perhaps a bigger concern now is Hilario's contract.

Based on what they are saying i think Hilario sounds like as good or better of a prospect than Chris Wilcox and Drew Gooden. Picking him up with the 7th or 8th pick could be a steal for us. A nytimes article also said today that the Knicks have a lot of interest in him. Thoughts?

He sounds like an interesting pick. If he is truely 6'10" and 260 lbs and can jump, he could be a force upfront for the Knicks. I'd like to see him in workouts against other draftable players.

I don't think he'll trade the pick unless it's to move up. And even then, it's unlikely and he won't trade one of our big three either. With the uncertainty of how good Yao Ming will really be, i think we're best off drafting Wilcox or Hilario and staying put. I'm confident we can get into the playoffs next year with that team. I think one of those two guys could really make an impact off the bench and be our 6th man because of the way they play. We need a player like that who can mix things up in the low post. Either one would fit that description. I just like Hilario a little more right now because they have so many good things to say about him, plus he's just about the same as Wilcox only has a better post game and has about 25 to 30 pounds on Wilcox. He also has one of the biggest wingspans i've ever heard of(7-4 3/4 on a 6-10 player) which is crazy and just 6.8 percent body fat. All these aspects make him sound like the real deal.

Posted by VG:

Maybyner is high on my list of wanted players. I watched Brazil-USA from the Goodwill Games again and I forgot how good Hilario is. Extra strength and better shooting would make him a Top 5 pick IMO. He's way better than Kenyon Martin IMO...

I think it's all up to determining who is better, Wilcox or Hilario. One of those will be who we pick at #7 in my opinion.

BskBALL.com has their list of the top power forwards with Gooden #1, followed by Hilario, then Wilcox, then Tskitishvili. Apparently we're not the only ones who think Nene's going to be a special player.