Every year, we say the same thing about the upcoming class of draft-eligible centers.

Coming up with a Top 10 list of centers is a little bit like trying to put together a list of 10 reasons to move to Bristol. After you get past one or two, you have to start making up stuff.

This year, we couldn't even come up with 10 centers likely to be drafted. The top center prospect in the country, Greg Oden, is a high school junior and might be barred from coming to the NBA for another three seasons if David Stern gets his age limit.

A few of the top prospects capable of playing center in the NBA – Utah's Andrew Bogut, Pittsburgh's Chris Taft and Lithuania's Martynas Andriuskvicius – are listed as power forwards in our rankings, though they clearly are capable of holding down the fort in the paint if necessary. Most of the other top prospects, including UConn's Josh Boone and Macedonia's Peja Samardziski, plan to sit this draft out.

That leaves a few unproven international and college players and one college senior struggling to shake the soft label.

Here's a look at the top five centers in the 2005 NBA draft.

Note: The list includes all players we believe might declare for the 2005 draft.



Petro is no Diesel.1. Johan Petro, France
The line: 7 feet, 260 pounds, 20 years old
The skinny: Petro is an athletic big man who has intrigued scouts for several years. Unfortunately, he has struggled to live up to his potential in France, causing his draft stock to fluctuate. Petro's biggest asset is a thick, NBA body. He has solid rebounding abilities and range out to about 10 feet, and he plays like a traditional center. Petro scores almost all of his points in the paint. Unfortunately, his great abilities don't always translate into game-time production. He's still learning to play the game. That would be fine if he had a great motor, but just about every scout agrees he doesn't always play hard. If he were more active, he'd probably average double what he does right now. Unfortunately, he might not be that type of player. As far as draft stock goes, scouts are all over the place on him. They love his size, body and potential. On potential, he's a top-10 pick. But his skills have been slow to develop, meaning he's much closer to an 18th-30th pick if he declares this year.

2. Randolph Morris, Kentucky
The line: 6-11, 270, freshman
The skinny: Morris had a very up-and-down year this season, as was evident in the tournament. Against Utah, he played just five minutes after he got in immediate foul trouble against Bogut. He followed that stinker with a career-high 20 points against Michigan State. Morris is a heady, mature big man with a great feel for the game. He has a nice array of moves around the basket and a pretty nice jumper from inside 10 feet. He has a good frame that scouts believe will become stronger when he gets in a regular NBA workout routine. However, there are a lot of scouts who are questioning his toughness right now. He has been just an average rebounder for his size and doesn't demand the ball the way a player of his skill should. With the draft so bare of big men, chances are Morris would be drafted in the mid-to-late first round if he declared. However, with his talent, he has the chance to be a lottery pick if he stays in school another year or two.

3. Channing Frye, Arizona
The line: 6-11, 250, senior
The skinny: Frye has been battling the "soft" label his whole career. His thin body, so-so rebounding numbers and tendency to disappear in big games have only perpetuated the myth. However, Frye has been quietly proving scouts wrong this year. He has had games when he has been dominant in the paint, and the last game of his college career – against Illinois in the Elite Eight – proved he can be a warrior when he needs to be. If he can continue to gain weight, he could be a nice prospect. He's long, has great athleticism, is an excellent shot blocker and shoots a high percentage from the field. Right now, Frye is on the first-round bubble. If he can get a little stronger and prove to scouts he won't shrink from the increased contact in the NBA, he could be a sleeper prospect.

4. Kosta Perovic, Serbia
The line: 7-2, 240, 20 years old
The skinny: Two years ago, Perovic was projected as a top-10 pick by most international scouts. Now he's a borderline first-rounder. Perovic has great size for his position, is pretty tough around the basket and is very skilled. However, his lack of athleticism, constant injuries and slow development, despite regular minutes at Partizan, have concerned scouts. He's averaging 9 points and 4.9 rebounds in the Euroleague – below average numbers for someone his size getting 25 minutes a night. What Perovic really needs is to spend a month training and working out in the United States for NBA teams. However, because of the critical role he plays at Partizan, he can't get away. A handful of scouts are still high on him, but most now believe he's a marginal NBA prospect.




Draft sleeper prospect Akindele is working out with Michael Jordan's trainer, Tim Grover.
5. Deji Akindele, Chicago State
The line: 7-0, 240, sophomore
The skinny: This year's total draft sleeper, Akindele appears on very few NBA scouts' top-anything list. However, two scouts who have followed him closely swear he has serious potential. He has played just three years and is still learning the game, but they've been impressed with the learning curve. Akindele has good hands, great athleticism and shot-blocking skills. A former soccer player from Nigeria, Akindele also possesses great footwork around the basket. He's still raw offensively, but the scouts claim he also has shown great improvement in the paint. He's aggressive defensively, maybe too much, as foul trouble has been a problem all year. In most seasons, a guy like Akindele would be a late-second-round curiosity. Still is. But with Akindele already working out with former Michael Jordan trainer Tim Grover, and sources claiming he's likely to declare for the draft, maybe he knows something we don't.

Others to watch: Mohammed Kone, Southern Idaho (juco); Jared Homan, Iowa State; Edu Hernandez-Sonseca, Spain; Luke Schenscher, Georgia Tech; Matt Nelson, Colorado State; Ioannis Bourousis, AEK (Greece); Lucas Tischer, Brazil; Moussa Badiane, East Carolina; Rob Rothbart, France; Ante Tomic, Croatia

Wait until next year: UConn's Boone; Peja Samardziski, Macedonia; Andrew Bynum, HS senior (UConn); Semih Erden, Turkey; Mile Ilic, Serbia; Martin Iti, Charlotte; Marcin Gortat, Poland; Dimitri Soklov, Russia; Pavel Mroz, Poland; Tan Zhendon, China.


Draft cards
Another week full of NBA defections saw potential first-rounders Bogut, Charlie Villanueva and Ike Diogu declare, along with likely second-round prospects such as Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Alex Acker, Tiras Wade, T.J. Parker, J.R. Morris and Dwayne Jones.
A few more big-time prospects, including UConn's Rudy Gay and Boone and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison, said they'll return to college next season.

Who's next? Insider has learned that Pittsburgh's Chris Taft definitely will test the draft waters and likely will make the announcement within the next few days.

Wake Forest's Chris Paul also is leaning toward declaring for the draft, a source close to Paul told Insider on Thursday.

Also, sources insist that despite public statements to the contrary, Miami's Guillermo Diaz still is considering putting his name in.

North Carolina's Raymond Felton also is leaning strongly toward declaring once the Tar Heels' Final Four run is over, sources tell Insider.

Another surprise entry might be Missouri's Linas Kleiza, whom sources claim is seriously contemplating putting his name in the draft. Kleiza recently told a reporter he was staying in school for two more years. However, sources claim that's very unlikely.

Internationally, it looks as though Italian big man Andrea Bargnani is going to be in the draft. But he'll have an unusual draft strategy. After watching fellow Bennetton big man Nikoloz Tskitishvili fail, his agents want to make sure Bargnani goes to a team that really will develop him and agree to keep him in Europe at least one more season.

To do that, expect Bargnani to go through only three or four private workouts with teams his agents believe are international-friendly. Teams such as the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs make a lot of sense. All three will be picking in the mid-to-late first round, meaning Bargnani might be limiting where he goes in the draft. However, it appears he already has learned that being drafted by the right team is more important than being drafted at a certain number.

Is Frye really 250?? He looked thinner than that to me. I'll be curious to see the NBA pre-draft official measurements of many players.

As far as the rest of the guys...I like Morris as a prospect down the line. I don't see him coming out this year. I think he's a lotto pick next year. Perovic's name is there every year. I'd take him at pick 30, but no earlier. Does anyone know anything about Deji Akindele of Chicago St?

Deji Akindele - what do you guys think