Ford on where he thinks bynum fits.. pre-workout.

"On Friday, high school big man Andrew Bynum reportedly declared for the draft.

No one is exactly sure how a 7-foot, 300-pound kid got lost in the shuffle this year. But when he showed up on the first day of practice for the McDonald's All-American game last month, NBA scouts were watching him more than any other player on the floor. While most of this high school class is either way too skinny or too undersized for the NBA (or both), Bynum is neither. He's big, strong and not afraid to mix things up in the paint. While he could stand to lose about 25 pounds, he's still a very mobile, athletic big man.

Bynum has been leaning toward going to UConn next season. He hasn't hired an agent and I think going to college is a great decision for him. He's still very raw on both ends of the floor and playing for Jim Calhoun for two years should boost his stock into the lottery.

Still, right now, teams seriously would consider drafting him in the second half of the first round. There just aren't many big-man prospects in the draft and Bynum has as much upside as any of them.

For a look at our top eight centers, click here.

The deadline for underclassmen to declare is Saturday, May 14th."
posted: May 14, 2005 10:23:13 AM PDT | Feedback

Let me be the first to say that I think bynum will either be a huge disappointment, or will take several years to develop. I am a native NJer and haven't heard the best of things about him.

and there's always a chance Bynum will fall to 30 if he really stinks it up and is so raw. I'll gladly take the risk at 30

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by teslawlo:

Let me be the first to say that I think bynum will either be a huge disappointment, or will take several years to develop. I am a native NJer and haven't heard the best of things about him.

the best thing is for him to go to school

If I were a top player, I'd skip college or leave college early as soon as I thought I would be a 1st round pick. The opportinity to get a multi-million dollar guaranteed contract is too appealing to pass up on just to stay in school, "personally mature," and possibly have a career-altering injury. Even if you don't get injured, you're still living in poverty (at least many of these guys would be) every year that you stay in school. If the degree is that meaningful to you, you can work on your degree in the offseason or after you retire. I know it's not the same growing experience as you get in college and you won't get the chance to work on your game at the college level before jumping to the pros, but it's a cost-benefits decision. The benefit of getting millions right away is too much to pass up on.