In the three months since our last guess at what will happen in the 2005 NBA Draft, we expected some intrepid basketball prodigy to step up and cement his position as the lock No. 1 pick for June's NBA Draft. After a slow start, Wake Forest's Chris Paul has lived up to the expectation of being the next great NBA floor general, but can you really take a 6'0" kid No. 1 overall? Pitt's Chris Taft has 10 inches on Paul, but is dwarfed by Paul in intensity, focus and basketball IQ. Teams are always willing to gamble on size so Martynas Andriuskevicius may well go No. 1 despite his lack of game experience. That said, teams are also growing wary of having to develop such raw talent at the professional level since these prospects never get the attention nor playing time they need to get better.

Two things are clear: Greg Oden can't get here fast enough and the NBA needs a farm system to help nurture young talent before it wastes away in oblivion behind the bench. At the least, the prospect of running before 1,500 fans in Fayetteville and not 20,000 at Madison Square Garden may help curb some of the more rash decisions to leave college for the pleasures of the pros. Alright, enough preaching -- let's launch from downtown with our third shot at a 2005 NBA Mock Draft...
If you've got any info on players (college, high school or foreign) or just feel like venting on the NBA Draft, drop me an email at probasketball.guide@about.com. To stay updated every time there's a fresh version of the mock draft, sign up for About.com's Basketball Newsletter delivered every Thursday. And don't forget to vote in our Draft Polls at the bottom of every page!

Updated 2/8/05 ***Order based on current NBA standings***

1. New Orleans Hornets -- Marvin Williams, SF, North Carolina

2. Atlanta Hawks -- Andrew Bogut, C, Utah

3. Charlotte Bobcats -- Chris Paul, PG, Wake Forest

4. Golden State Warriors -- Martynas Andriuskevicius, C, Lithuania

5. Utah Jazz -- Rudy Fernandez, SG, Spain

6. Milwaukee Bucks -- Chris Taft, PF/C, Pittsburgh

7. New York Knicks -- Johan Petro, PF/C, France
(New York's pick goes to Utah via Phoenix if not in Lottery)

8. Toronto Raptors -- Gerald Green, SG/SF, High School
(Toronto's pick goes to Charlotte if not in Lottery)

9. Portland Trailblazers -- Rashad McCants, SG, North Carolina

10. New Jersey Nets -- Tiago Splitter, PF/C, Brazil

11. Denver Nuggets -- Nemanja Aleksandrov, SF, Serbia-Montenegro

12. Indiana Pacers -- Fran Vazquez, PF, Spain

13. L.A. Clippers -- Louis Williams, SG, High School
(Clippers' pick goes to New Jersey if not in Top 15)

14. Minnesota Timberwolves -- Ray Felton, PG, North Carolina

15. Toronto Raptors -- Deron Williams, PG, Illinois
(From Philadelphia via New Jersey if 76ers' pick not in Top 8)

16. Phoenix Suns -- Wayne Simien, PF, Kansas
(From Chicago if not in Top 3)

17. Boston Celtics -- Hakim Warrick, SF/PF, Syracuse

18. Orlando Magic -- Francisco Garcia, SF, Louisville

19. Boston Celtics -- John Gilchrist, PG, Maryland
(From L.A. Lakers)

20. Memphis Grizzlies -- Ronny Turiaf, SF/PF, Gonzaga

21. Houston Rockets -- Channing Frye, PF/C, Arizona

22. Denver Nuggets -- Monta Ellis, SG, High School
(From Washington via Orlando if Wizards' pick not in Lottery)

23. Charlotte Bobcats -- Antoine Wright, SG/SF, Texas A&M
(From Cleveland via Phoenix if Cavs' pick not in Lottery)

24. Detroit Pistons -- Rodney Carney, SG/SF, Memphis

25. Utah Jazz -- Predrag Samardziski, C, Macedonia
(From Dallas Mavericks)

26. Sacramento Kings -- Joey Graham, SF, Oklahoma State

27. Seattle Sonics -- Charlie Villanueva, PF, Connecticut

28. L.A. Lakers -- Jarret Jack, PG, Georgia Tech
(From Miami Heat)

29. San Antonio Spurs -- Kosta Perovic, C, Serbia-Montenegro
(From Phoenix if Suns' pick not in Top 20)

30. San Antonio Spurs -- Andray Blatche, SF/PF, High School

http://probasketball.about.com/od/nbadraft/l/bl_mockdraft_a.htm

NOw that it is evident that we are out of the playoffs, we definitely need to lose as many games as possible to get to the lottery...