Point guards lead class of '06
By Chad Ford

The apocalypse that was supposed to be the 2006 NBA draft has yet to materialize.

Forecasts of doom and gloom were prevalent among NBA scouts upon learning that the NBA would adopt a 19-year-old age restriction this season.

While everyone would love to have Greg Oden to bolster a pretty pathetic center crop, the rest of the draft still has quite a bit of talent, especially at the point guard and power forward positions.

After discussing things with several NBA scouts and GMs, here's our first position-by-position preview of the top NBA draft prospects.



POINT GUARDS
1. Rajon Rondo 6-2, 175, Soph. Kentucky
Great athlete, defender and distributor, but needs to work on that jump shot.

2. Daniel Gibson 6-2, 190, Soph. Texas
The complete package, though some scouts see him as more of a scoring PG.

3. Marcus Williams 6-3, 205, Junior Connecticut
Has some fans, but his off-the-court problems and lack of athleticism may hurt him.

4. Mardy Collins 6-6, 205, Senior Temple
Big point guard can play two positions, but was disappointing at the Under 21s.

5. Sergio Rodriguez 6-3, 180, 19 years old Spain
A year ago, everyone was in love with him, but after an injury-filled season, he's slowly coming back to form.


Others to watch: Darius Washington Jr., Memphis; Jordan Farmar, UCLA; Gabriel Pruitt, USC; Greg Paulus, Duke; Mario Chalmers, Kansas; Terrell Everett, Oklahoma; Mustafa Shakur, Arizona; Dee Brown, Illinois; Justin Gray, Wake Forest; Ronald Steele, Alabama; Jeff Horner, Iowa; Taquan Dean, Louisville; Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh; Jose Juan Barea, Northeastern; Chris Hernandez, Stanford; Tim Smith, East Tennessee State; Churchill Odia, Xavier; Uros Tripkovic, Serbia; George Tsintsadze, Russia


SHOOTING GUARDS
1. Ronnie Brewer 6-7, 200, Junior Arkansas
Versatile combo guard could go in top 10 if team feels he can play point full-time.

2. Malik Hairston 6-6, 200, Soph. Oregon
Scouts compare him to a bigger, more versatile Quentin Richardson.

3. Marko Tomas 6-8, 210, 20 yrs. old Croatia
Another combo guard who can play three positions, his contract with Real Madrid could pose buyout problems, however.

4. Guillermo Diaz 6-3, 180, Junior Miami
Another combo guard. Amazing athlete and scorer, but can he play the point?

5. Jawann McClellan 6-5, 220, Soph. Arizona
Started coming on at the end of the season, should see more time this year.


Others to watch: Hassan Adams, Arizona; J.J. Redick, Duke; Brandon Rush, Kansas; Richard Roby, Colorado; Denham Brown, Connecticut; Shannon Brown, Michigan State; Maurice Ager, Michigan State; James White, Cincinnati; Rashad Anderson, Connecticut; Brandon Roy, Washington; Costas Vassiliadis, Greece; Marko Belinelli, Italy; Vasily Zavoruev, Russia; Viktor Keirou, Russia; Marcus Vieira de Souza, Brazil


SMALL FORWARDS
Rank Name Ht, Wt, Year College/Country
1. Rudy Gay 6-9, 220, Soph. Connecticut
An early consensus top-three pick, but scouts worry about his lack of an in-between game.

2. Adam Morrison 6-8, 200, Junior Gonzaga
The second coming of Larry Bird or Wally Szczerbiak? Tough, ****y and knows how to score, but is he athletic enough to be an NBA star?

3. Nemanja Aleksandrov 6-11, 210, 19 years old Serbia
Once tapped as a potential top pick, scouts will watch closely to see how he recovers from ACL surgery.

4. Rodney Carney 6-7, 205, Senior Memphis
Amazing athlete, but scouts all say that he's too soft.

5. Juan Palacios 6-8, 240, Soph. Louisville
Tough, powerful forward who can defend three positions. Offense is coming around.


Others to watch: Jeff Green, Georgetown; Jared Dudley, Boston College; Davon Jefferson, JUCO; Steven Smith, LaSalle; Corey Brewer, Florida; Marcus Slaughter, San Diego; Brandon Bowman, Georgetown; Nik Caner-Medley, Maryland; Mike Hall, George Washington; Lior Eliyahu, Israel; Luka Bogdanovic, Serbia; Vladimir Veremeenko, Belarus; Damir Markota, Croatia; Damjan Rudez, Croatia; Dusan Sakota, Greece

POWER FORWARDS
Rank Name Ht, Wt, Year College/Country
1. Andrea Bargnani 7-0, 225, 19 yrs old Italy
The closest thing to Dirk that Europe has produced, but aggressiveness is an issue.

2. LaMarcus Aldridge 6-11, 225, Soph Texas
Very skilled big man could be a top-10 pick if he progresses and stays healthy.

3. Tiago Splitter 7-0, 240, 20 yrs old Brazil
He's big, experienced and tough, but his offense is still a work in progress.

4. Shelden Williams 6-9, 245, Senior Duke
A rebounding and shot-blocking machine who led Team USA at the World University Games.

5. Al Horford 6-9, 235, Soph. Florida
Long, athletic big man has an NBA body. Just needs experience and strength.


Others to watch: Josh McRoberts, Duke; Julian Wright, Kansas; Taj Gray, Oklahoma State; Eric Williams, Wake Forest; Matt Haryasz, Stanford; Paul Davis, Michigan State; Nick Fazekas, Nevada; Craig Smith, Boston College; Glen Davis, LSU; Pops Mensah-Bonsu, George Washington; Kevin Pittsnogle, West Virginia; Torin Francis, Notre Dame; James Augustine, Illinois; Jason Fraser, Villanova; Paul Millsap, Louisian Tech; Ekene Ibekwe, Maryland; Oleksiy Pecherov, Ukraine; Vladimir Veremeenko, Belarus; Mirza Teletovic, Bosnia

CENTERS
Rank Name Ht, Wt, Year College/Country
1. Josh Boone 6-10, 240, Junior Connecticut
Was miserable toward the end of the season, raising questions about his heart. On size and athleticism, however, he's a lottery pick.

2. C.J. Giles 6-11, 230, Soph. Kansas
Giles is very raw, but he's long, athletic and can block shots. Needs to stay out of foul trouble.

3. David Padgett 6-11, 250, Soph. Louisville
He transferred from Kansas to Louisville. Has talent, but it's all projection at this point.

4. Kosta Perovic 7-3, 245, 21 yrs old Serbia
Had a very solid season for Partizan last year. Lack of athleticism is the only thing scaring NBA teams off.

5. Peja Samardziski 7-1, 255, 20 yrs old Serbia
Ditto for Samardziski. He's got great size and good skills, but he's not a great athlete.


Others to watch: Randolph Morris, Kentucky; Shagari Alleyne, Kentucky; Mamadou Diene, Baylor; Yemi Nicholson, Denver; Mohamed Kone, Valpo; Ante Tomic, Croatia; Mirza Begic, Croatia; Semih Erden, Turkey; Dimitri Sokolov, Russia; Pavel Mroz, Poland; Tan Zhendon