10 Things I Learned in Maui
posted: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 | Feedback

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Sixteen games of great college basketball in one of the most beautiful spots in the world was nice.
But what did NBA executives and scouts learn from their three-day trip to Maui?

Here are 10 things to chew on over the Thanksgiving weekend ...

1. Maurice Ager looks like a legit prospect for the NBA Draft's first round.

No one's stock took a bigger jump than Ager's. He was considered a marginal NBA prospect after just a so-so junior year at Michigan State, but he really shined here.

Ager proved that he could shoot the lights out in the first two games, going 11-for-22 from an extended college 3-point line (they moved the line back a foot as an experiment for the tournament), and in the Spartans' game vs. Arizona, he showed scouts he also has the quickness and hops to be an explosive driver and finisher. To top it off, he's a great kid and a hard worker.

Scouts wish he were an inch or two taller, but if he keeps playing like he did in Maui, he'll be a mid-to-late first round pick this year.

2. Rudy Gay has the potential to be an awesome NBA player.

But the key word is still potential. He's athletic, long and skilled, but his aggressiveness is a question mark, as is his ball-handling.

And if coach Jim Calhoun doesn't run plays for him and leaves him hanging out on the wing, I'm not sure we're going to see many other 28-point games like the one he produced against Arkansas.

Maybe when point guard Marcus Williams comes back, the game will open up a bit for Gay. But after such a brilliant start in Maui, his last two games left most of the NBA folks I talked to Wednesday night underwhelmed.

3. Adam Morrison may be the most exciting draft prospect on the board.

Just about everyone loves the way he plays. He loves to play the game and it shows. Morrison is very skilled, is always looking for his shot, and finds creative ways of getting it.

But his lack of defense is an issue. And even though scouts are trying to stay positive, his lack of athleticism will matter at the next level on the offensive end as well. He'll have to find a way to get separation to get his shot off against the bigger, longer and more athletic threes in the NBA.

People keep comparing him to Larry Bird because of his swagger. But he doesn't rebound or shoot the ball as well as Larry did. To quote one NBA exec who knew Larry well, "He ain't no Larry Bird."

Morrison will go high because he's so intriguing. But I wonder if Reggie Miller and maybe Wally Szczerbiak are better comparisons than Bird.

4. Ronnie Brewer is an aggressive, athletic guard with great quickness.

He proved in Maui the way he played the passing lanes that he's going to be a steals machine. And, as ugly as that jump shot is, it does go in at a decent clip.

But is he a point guard? He handed out just five assists in three games. To be a high lottery pick, Brewer needs to sell scouts on the fact that he can be a point in the pros. While he impressed in many ways in Maui, he didn't show that here.

5. Kansas has six NBA prospects, and big man C.J. Giles tops the list.

That's according to KU head coach Bill Self, who told me after Giles' 21-point, nine-rebound performance against Chaminade that the NBA people he had talked to look at Giles as the best prospect on the Jayhawks' squad.

"He's going to be a special player," Self said. "He's still learning the game, but he's progressing nicely."

The NBA scouts and executives that I talked to mostly agreed. Giles is still a major project, but scouts love the tools.

I don't think we'll be seeing a lot of dominating performances from Giles this year. The 6-10, athletic center has the talent to produce double doubles. But he's still very raw, and without a solid point guard to set him up, he isn't going to have a lot of opportunities to score. Still, the potential is there. And with such a weak center class, Giles' stock will continue to rise and you can bet that NBA scouts will be trying to lure him into the draft.

6. The rest of KU's draft prospects could use at least two years in school.

This group includes Brandon Rush, Julian Wright, Mario Chalmers, Micah Downs and Sasha Kaun, each of whom needs seasoning before he considers declaring for the draft.

Of the five, Rush's game looks the most mature right now. He is athletic, with an NBA body, and he shoots the ball really well. When all is said and done, he could turn out to be the best of the Rush brothers (though Kareem has come on of late for the Charlotte Bobcats).

Down the road, however, I think Wright could end up being the best player of this group. He has yet to find his niche at KU, but he's got all the tools.

By the way, a two-year wait to declare would do Giles some good, too.

7. Paul Davis, disappointing last season, has looked solid this season.

If he can continue averaging a double double and playing with the aggressiveness he showed in Maui, he should slip into the first round. There just aren't many good bigs in this draft and Davis has enough skills to make an NBA roster. If Jake Voshkul can make it in the NBA, Davis should be able to as well.

8. Hassan Adams looks great when he puts on his high-flying act.

But can someone at Arizona please tell him to stop shooting the long ball? It's just not his game.

Every scout and NBA executive I talked to still has him pegged as a second-rounder.

Meanwhile, the best prospect on the Wildcats team may be freshman Marcus Williams. He's getting decent minutes, and he was pretty impressive down the stretch against Michigan State on Wednesday, the key missed free throws notwithstanding.

9. I didn't see anyone on Maryland that looked like a great NBA prospect.

Some scouts are intrigued with guard D.J. Strawberry, but after a pretty good opening game against Gonzaga, he struggled.

Fans love Nik Caner-Medley, but it's tough to see how his game translates to the NBA.

Big man Ekene Ibekwe had a good game against Arkansas, but I can't imagine him sneaking into the first round based on what scouts saw here in Maui.

10. No one's stock took a harder hit this week than UConn's Josh Boone.

He started off last season great, then faltered midseason. Many scouts held out hope that he'd rebound this season and repair his stock, playing his way back up to lottery status. But after watching him play three games here, I'm not sure he's even the best big man on his own team. Senior Hilton Armstrong is bigger, and was, for the most part, more effective.

man, I would love it if we could steal Josh Boone at the end of the first round...

Posted by crzymdups:

man, I would love it if we could steal Josh Boone at the end of the first round...

he alrady told JC, if hes not a lock top 10 hes coming back for his senior year. Josh is highly intelligent, he takes education just as serious, if not more so, than basketball. Its early, like I said above Frye took all 4 years to get to where he needed to be. Boone is a good player, but more of a defensive player who does have a soft touch aroudn the basket.