NBA Draft Review

The 2006 NBA Draft is now officially over, so it is time for everyone to give their opinion on what took place.

Since no one really cares about the Toronto Raptors, maybe we shouldn't care about their top draft pick from Italy, Andrea Bargnani. With that said, the number one pick in the 2006 draft belonged to the Chicago Bulls. They drafted, and promptly traded, LaMarcus Aldridge to Portland for Tyrus Thomas. Although most people seem to be high on Thomas, I just don't see him being a talent worthy of his selection in the draft. He is a world class athlete and a great shot blocker, but he just doesn't have the offensive abilities necessary to be drafted that high. Crazy Adam Morrison was picked number three to the Bobcats (after seeing him act in the NCAA tournament I'm afraid to make any comments about him, as he may go psycho, find me, and chop off my fingers). At number five, the Hawks made the first real surprise pick of the draft taking Shelden Williams. Now as much as I like Duke and Williams, he is another player that is a great defender and rebounder but lacks a polished offensive game that he'll need to really accel in the NBA.

The best player in the draft was selected number six. Minnesota picked Brandon Roy, a player who is the best equpped right now to make an impact immediately. When the night was done, the Blazers ended up with the rights to Roy. He shot over 40% from the 3-point line last season even though his strength is clearly driving the ball to the hoop. Roy is my early pick for Rookie of the Year.

Randy Foye, my second favorite for Rookie of the Year, also bounced around a lot throughout the night and will start his career in a Timberwolves uniform next to KG (unless he happens to be traded).

J.J. Redick went where he was expected at 11 to the Magic despite his recent run-in with the law and herniated disc.

The last two good picks of the first round belonged to the Memphis Grizzlies at 24 and the Lakers at 26. Memphis picked up Kyle Lowry out of Villanova and L.A. selected hometown product Jordan Farmar. Both are high energy point guards and were proven winners in college. I think their winning mentalities will transcend to the professional level.

Any team that picked a former Connecticut player in the first round had an awful draft. The Nets, therefore, had a doubly bad draft taking two Huskies back-to-back. After choking in the tournament run game in and game out last season, none of them deserved to be drafted at all. Yes they made it to the Elite 8 and yes they had great players. In fact, they had more talent than any other team in recent history, which is why barely beating mediocre teams and losing to good teams is not reflective of what should have been the season for UConn. Rudy Gay is a talented loser, Marcus Williams is a talented laptop thief, Hilton Armstrong (my favorite of the bunch) needs to become more assertive, and Josh Boone needs to go back to the planet he came from, learn how to play the game, and tell Sam Cassell's parents to stop looking for him because he's safe on Earth (Boone and Cassell hail from the same galaxy, which is different from ours).

While there is much more to discuss regarding the draft, I need to sleep, so here is where you can find the rest of what I didn't mention. Also, at the end of this is an article I wrote during college basketball season. You can find out what there is to know about some of the players who were drafted and undrafted tonight.

The Best of the Rest in Men’s College Basketball

Steven Wright

March 30, 2006

As we enter the last week of March Madness, arguably the nation’s two best college basketball players this season have already made their last appearance, and cried their last tears.

J.J. Redick’s top-ranked Duke Blue Devils were upset by the Louisiana State Tigers while Gonzaga Bulldog star Adam Morrison’s season came to an end thanks to the UCLA Bruins’ relentless late-game heroics.

Not only did Redick’s team lose, he continued his typical late season inability to get open and make shots during the most crucial part of the season.

As for Morrison, tears gathered in his ‘70s ‘stache with time left on the game clock, and he essentially gave up on his team’s chances to become the first mid-major team to win a national title. Instead, No. 11 seeded George Mason has stolen their limelight and chance at greatness.

So, with the two “best” players in the nation watching the final weekend from off-campus apartments, who are some of the other players that have deserved more recognition this season?

A good place to start is with the other eight players that make up the 2005-06 Wooden Award All-American team.

Shelden Williams, Redick’s teammate, has received much attention from analysts this year. The senior forward averaged 18.8 points and 10.7 rebounds through a brutal ACC and non-conference schedule. He makes his major stand at the defensive end with 3.8 blocks a game. However, Williams was not able to carry the Devils. His offensive stats were elevated thanks to the best perimeter shooter in the history of college basketball clearing out the lane for him.

Over the past few years, basketball fans across the United States have commonly used the term “Pittsnogled” thanks to the inked-up unconventional West Virginia guard-in-a-forwards-body Kevin Pittsnogle. The sharp-shooting big man scored 19.3 points a game in head coach John Beilein’s shoot-it-from-anywhere offense. His scoring ability and charisma are enough to put him the running for best player, but his inability to rebound (second on the team in rebounding [5.5] to 6’4” Mike Gansey [5.7]) and zero point, 0-12 shooting performance against Pittsburgh takes him out of serious contention.

Boston College big man Craig Smith averaged just short of a double-double this season with 17.6 PPG and 9.4 RPG. Obviously, with those numbers and his team’s success (28-8), he seems deserving of his accolades. But after watching him try to be his team’s point guard in the waning seconds of their opening round game versus Pacific, and subsequently travel, his brains don’t match his talent when it comes to being an All-American.

Dee Brown certainly was remarkable all season long. Unfortunately he was unable to carry his team to the same level of last year’s squad without NBA rookies and former teammates Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) and Luther Head (Houston Rockets). If he would have hit his long range 3-point attempt at the buzzer against Washington in the second round of the tournament, he may have given himself a better chance at finishing third in the voting.

Villanova teammates Allan Ray and Randy Foye comprised two of the four guards used in Jay Wright’s offense. They scored 18.5 and 20.5 points per game respectively and harassed opposing guards with their tenacious defense. After nearly losing his eye in the Big East semi-final against Pitt, Ray made a quick recovery, only to struggle mightily, scoring just 16 PPG in the Big Dance. On the other hand, Foye stepped up and poured in 23.8 PPG during the Wildcats’ run in the tournament, improving on his season resume and NBA draft stock.

“The Big Baby” Glen Davis has his Tigers prowling in the Final Four. The nimble, ballet-dancing 300-pounder has been the key ingredient to LSU’s season and tournament successes, averaging 18.7 PPG and 9.8 RPG. His large frame eats up space on the inside, and he secured the biggest rebound for any team this season when he out-hustled four Blue Devils, after missing a free throw, to send his team to the Elite 8.

The best player on the All-American list not named Redick or Morrison has to be Washington’s Brandon Roy. While those two are the best players on their team, I don’t believe they were more important to their teams than Roy was to the Huskies. While watching UW’s progress in the tournament, it was obvious to see that Roy had his hands on the ball from various places on the court during every Husky possession. His most effective play occurred when he was driving to the basket, but if teams were capable of containing that, he could pull up from 3-point range where he shot over 40% on the season. Roy was the best and most versatile player every time he stepped on the court and should be picked higher in the NBA draft than either Redick or Morrison.

The underrated candidate list doesn’t stop with the All-Americans. The best player in the tournament this year has been the half-French, half-Swedish Florida Gator Joakim Noah. If anyone in college basketball could record a quadruple-double, it has to be the 6’11” Noah with his soft touch inside, unyielding effort on the boards, excellent defense and crisp passing. His amazing season comes one year after seeing the court only nine minutes a year ago.

Davis’s teammate at LSU, Tyrus Thomas, possesses absolutely freakish athleticism. On the season, he has recorded 3.1 blocks per game, and in the Sweet Sixteen against Duke, he totaled 21 points and 13 boards, both one shy of tying career records. Not only does he have solid numbers, his gravity-defying dunks energize the Tigers.

National freshman of the year hopeful Tyler Hansbrough led North Carolina in both points and rebounds. Hansbrough dropped 40 points and hauled in 10 rebounds against Georgia Tech. He solidified his greatness by leading the Tar Heels past their Tobacco Road rival Blue Devils with 27 points and 10 boards.

One team that you will find does not have a player on the list is Connecticut. But how can the team with the most talent in the country not have a national player of the year candidate? Well, when a team plays with no emotion when winning or losing, and the coach sweats more on the sidelines trying to pump up his team than the players running up and down the court, this creates an environment of eventual failure. After near losses in every round, the Huskies realized this the hard way when they lost to George Mason in the regional finals. A team with no quality on-court leader is a team that does not have a player of the year candidate.

In this list of players, there are undoubtedly players who have been snubbed. One could easily make a case for the UCLA backcourt duo of Jordan Farmar and Aaron Afflalo or big men from Ohio State and Texas, Terence Dials and LaMarcus Aldridge.

The talent and parity in men’s college basketball this year has made for one of the greatest overall seasons in recent memory. The equality in individual talent also portrays the overall picture, as the only 1’s we see in the Final Four are the two that are placed next to George Mason on the bracket. Quality basketball players stretch farther than Duke and Gonzaga. In fact, we may eventually look back on the 2005-06 season and realize that neither Redick nor Morrison should have received the award for the nation’s best player, which one of them will undoubtedly accept in the near future.