Visit Scouting Reports: Part 2 for coverage of the next 15 highest rated prospects.

Andrew Bogut

“I often wondered if Rick Majerus brought along Bogut slowly as a freshman, just so that he’d stick around for another year. Bogut could have put up 18 a game as a freshman if he was allowed, and would have scored even more points on a team with better weapons. While he still lacks the toughness you want out of an NBA center, he should be a lock to score around 16 points and 10 rebounds per game within just a couple of seasons in the NBA.”

Ike Diogu

“Diogu has nothing left to prove in college, beyond showing that he can single-handily will a team to the NCAA tournament. Even if Diogu returns, ASU won’t make the Big Dance, so I would have to imagine Diogu will eventually sign with an agent and focus on the draft. It’s hard to imagine a player like Channing Frye or Danny Granger go much higher than Diogu in the draft, and I think his stock in media mock drafts is lower because no one is sure what he will do. Diogu has the most developed offensive game of any college player in the draft outside of Andrew Bogut.”

Monta Ellis

“The only thing keeping Ellis in contention for the first round, is that this year’s prep class is inferior to last year’s, and its almost like GM's feel that there has to be a few high school guys in the 1^st round at this point. His one saving grace as opposed to Louis Williams, is that teams feel he can be molded into a workable NBA point guard. However, its hard to imagine Ellis ever getting off the bench for at least 2 seasons if he goes pro.  he doesn't have near the talent as recent high school to NBA projects such as Travis Outlaw or Dorrel Wright, who have yet to see serious playing time as pros.”

Raymond Felton

“I’ve been enamored with Felton’s speed since the first day he suited up for Carolina. The biggest question with Felton is simply his overall decision-making skills. He’s averaged over 3.4 turnovers per game in each of his three college seasons, and often makes the same mistakes he made as a freshman. One thing you have to like is his progression in the half-court offense, as he’s continually worked on his shot and has improved from a 40% shooter as a freshman, to 42% as a sophomore, and 46% last year. I’ve seen mock drafts list Felton as low as 13^th or 14^th, but it still seems likely the Knicks or Lakers will grab him before then.”

Channing Frye

“Frye’s stock really grew towards the latter part of the season, although statistically he was pretty similar to his junior season. If you’ve ever seen Frye play, you can tell in just a few seconds that he’s the classic tweener stuck between being a forward and a center. Frye’s got nice soft hands for a big guy, but he’ll really earn his bread in the NBA by proving that he can use his long arms to be a force in the zone defense. Lots of teams are looking for size in this draft, and Frye makes sense for a lot of teams like the Nets or Charlotte who are picking in the middle of the 1^st round.”

Francisco Garcia

“Remember Reece Gaines? Neither do I. The fact is that outside of Coach K, Rick Pitino is the best coach in college basketball, and he sometimes makes players seem better than they really are. No doubt Garcia has a bit of toughness and leadership qualities that Gaines didn’t have, but the question is, what does Garcia do better than other guys? The answer is, nothing really, and he should be prepared for a career on the bench or overseas."

Ryan Gomes

“It’s hard to imagine how Providence managed to lose so many games with Gomes scoring 20 points and hauling down 8 rebounds on a consistent basis. After his workouts in contemplation of last year’s draft, Gomes certainly decided to take his game in a more expanded direction. He lost some weight, and looked better than ever heading into the season, and improved his outside shot to prove to scouts he could score in other ways than just showing off his touch down low. After not hitting a single three in his first two seasons, Gomes had developed his range to the point that he shot 38% from behind the arc. He’s probably one of the most overlooked guys in the draft, and is sitting on the 1^st Round fence. For my taste, I’d take Gomes over other college players like Simien or Garcia. Gomes does not have the potential to ever be a star in the NBA, but he could be a valuable asset for a team that needs offensive help in the half-court.”

Joey Graham

“Graham is certainly a physical specimen, who impresses with his size and leaping ability. But his pure strength and athleticism will be less of an advantage against NBA forwards who all possess those qualities. Scouts like Graham’s soft touch and range out to 20 feet, where he can be a bonus stretching the defense. He’s even shot over 47% from three the last two seasons, giving GM’s some numbers to drool over. Perhaps Graham’s biggest fault is that because he’s already played a few years of college ball, and already seems to have peaked physically, it’s hard to imagine him ever getting that much better than he is now.”

Danny Granger

“Granger played the best ball of his whole career in this year’s MWC tournament, leading New Mexico into the Big Dance. Statistically, he does it all and has done it all for the past three seasons. He’s worked hard over the years to extend his range, as he used to score almost every one of his baskets down low. Granger usually has a knack for getting to the free-throw line, and he backs that up by being a very solid 75% free-throw shooter. Perhaps the thing that jumps off his stat sheet the most is that he averaged over 2 blocks and 2 steals per game as a senior. These numbers are not really inflated by playing against lesser talent, but he just is a very intense and focused defender. Granger is the best of the senior forwards (Warrick, Simien, Graham) and should drop no lower than 20^th.”

Gerald Green

“Green’s stock kept rising as the year went on, and peaked around the March all-star games. I might be more gung ho on Green than some other guys, but from a pure physicality standpoint, it’s hard to ask for much more. I’m also extremely intrigued by the fact that Green was a late bloomer, who only became a commodity on the national scene at the 2004 ABCD Camp. Since that time, Green has only gotten better and better, and it only seems likely that he will get better and better in the coming years. Teams who pass on Green for the likes of a Deron Williams or a big European will most likely look foolish a few years down the line.”

Sean May

“If May hadn’t gotten hurt his freshman year, Matt Doherty would probably still be the head coach at North Carolina today. Of course May had the big NCAA tournament but he really turned on his game back at the end of January. May’s lack of height shouldn’t be too much of a problem, and could really surprise people with his ability to transition into the NBA game like Carlos Boozer did. It’s hard to imagine May dropping below Indiana with the 17^th pick, and he should be gone before other college forwards like Warrick and Graham.”

Rashad McCants

“McCants’ ability to score has never been doubted, but it will much tougher for him making the transition to the NBA because of his size. He’s not really a traditional two-guard, and teams often would rather have scorers at the three, but pure shooters at the two. Much was made about McCants’ attitude adjustment this past year, but whatever problems he had in the past were generally overrated. For him to ever develop into a big-time scorer in the NBA, he’ll need to work on catching and shooting coming off curls, or shooting off the dribble. McCants seems like he'd fit best on teams like Dallas, Phoenix, or Golden State now who love to score the ball."

Chris Paul

“Charlotte would be very happy to take Paul with the 3^rd pick. In some ways, his statistics this past season look disappointing, as they were very similar across the board to his freshman season  with just a lower fg%. Don’t let the numbers fool you though, most of his low output games were in large wins against lesser teams, and he only had one or two bona fide off games all season. Even though Williams and Felton may also go in the top 10, Paul is better than those guys by a comfortable margin. One of only a few potentially special talents in this draft.”

Brandon Rush

“Brandon is easily the most overlooked high school prospect out there right now. No doubt in my mind that he will end up being a better pro than a Monta Ellis or Louis Williams. Those guys put up better scoring numbers in high school, but Rush was on a stacked Mount Zion team. Besides Gerald Green, Rush could end up being the most devastating offensive player in his class, even better than the highly touted Martell Webster. Rush’s work ethic has always been put in question, but scouts should be more worried about his youthful physique than his youthful head. If he ends up in college, he could be a legitimate 20 point scorer by his sophomore year. Doesn’t quite have the pure physicality like a Green, nor the polish of a Webster, but he has a knack for scoring the ball that simply can’t be overlooked.”

Wayne Simien

“Similar to fellow Big 12 forward Joey Graham, Simien’s greatest asset in college has always been his mature, physically developed body. The questions about Simien are the same you ask about most college to NBA forwards: when you take away the pure physical advantage, what can he really do that great? So much of Simien’s success at Kansas was about overpowering guys down low, so he’ll need to refine his post moves, and work on moving without the ball. It would also be nice if he could be an inch or two taller or be a better shot blocker. And of course, you have all the questions about his injury-prone past. Even if Simien manages to stay healthy for the rest of his career, he will never be a consistent starter in the NBA.”

Chris Taft

“By this point, I truly thought Taft would have a more developed game. 13 points and 8 boards per game is nice and all, but at 6-10 260, Taft had the body to dominate college forwards. But he never seemed to find a go-to move, or really even any moves period, in the post. Plus, Taft doesn’t seem to play with any semblance of emotion or passion. Even back in high school, he looked like the Clippers’ Chris Wilcox, but he hasn’t shown you anything at this point to think that he’s anything but a slightly worse version of Wilcox.  I often wonder why a team would take Taft over an Ike Diogu.”

Ronny Turiaf

“As good as Turiaf was at Gonzaga, it always seemed like he never lived up to his potential. Constant injuries played a big part, as did foul trouble in big games. Turiaf simply has more natural talent than a fellow big man like Wayne Simien, but if he can’t make it through a college season, how can he make it through an 82 game NBA season? Regardless of the injury risk, he’s too good of a talent, and big man who can bang down low are too high of a priority, for him to drop into the 2^nd round.”

Charlie Villanueva

“Villanueva considered coming straight to the NBA, but he made the smart decision to go to college because scouts saw too many weaknesses in his game at the time. No doubt Villanueva has improved some, but the fact is that he should simply be better than a guy who averages 13 ppg, and only shows up two out of every three games. When Villanueva was in high school, I used to think he was just really lazy, but over time I realized that he simply is not that quick. Unlike a guy his size like Chhanning Frye, Villanueva does not run the floor well, and will make his living down in the post. Villanueva should be picked between the 12^th and 18 picks, and projects to be a Corliss Williamson type player statistically with a few more rebounds thrown in for good measure.”

Martell Webster

“Outside of Gerald Green, Webster is really the only other can’t miss high school prospect in the draft. At 6-7 230, Webster has a perfect body for playing shooting guard in the NBA. He’s got a smooth stroke and a better mid-range game than you’d expect from a high school prospect. The biggest adjustment he’ll need to make heading to the NBA is that he’ll need to prove to defenders that he can beat them off the dribble, or he’ll find it very hard to create space for open shots. Webster’s prep career peaked exactly when you want it to, right at the end, and it’s amazing how often the guys who look the best in the post-season all-star games end up being the guys who have success in the NBA.”

Deron Williams

“The NBA is no doubt a man’s game, and its still hard to picture Williams being that successful with the body he has. If you consider that Jameer Nelson is just about good enough to be a 6^th man, its hard to imagine Williams being anything greater than a 6^th man or a fringe starter. You have to love the fact that he really took control of his team in March, averaging over 8 assists per game during Illinois’ finals run. However Williams’ game still offers as many questions as answers. Can he shoot above 42% in the NBA? Can he hit his free throws consistently? Does he have consistent NBA range?”

Louis Williams

“It’s hard to figure that Williams will go in the first round, but he might be an underrated commodity at this point. Williams can score with the best of them, but he didn’t have a particularly strong showing in the all-star game “sweeps” period, and at 6-2 teams want him to play the point. His best bet at success in the NBA is going to college and proving to scouts that he can become a Ben Gordon-like offensive spark."

Marvin Williams

“I’ve had Marvin as the top ranked prospect in this draft since early in the season, even ahead of Bogut. If he’d been on a team other than Carolina, which had so many top dogs, he probably could have averaged 18 and 9. He showed late in the NCAA tournament that he’s still a bit raw, and needs to work on his shot selection and developing a go-to move. But he’s simply the best athlete in this draft, and he’ll become more polished over time.”

Kennedy Winston

“Winston was pretty much a lock for 18 to 20 points on a given night, but for whatever reasons, no one pays attention to SEC teams outside of Kentucky or Florida. He’ll go in the first round because of his solid size and ability to score the ball, but he won’t go in the top 20 because he doesn’t really have much star potential. You’d like to see Winston work harder off the ball, or focus more on being able to handle the ball better to spell the point guard. More likely though, you’ll see Winston start spending an inordinate amount of time working on his three-point shot to develop his range like a Joe Johnson or Quentin Richardson has.”

Antoine Wright

“Wright is a lock for the 1^st round, and some even project this Texas A&M swingman to move into the top 15. He’s got a great basketball body, and seems best suited to end up on a Western Conference team that loves to push the ball. Playing on Texas A&M, he doesn’t have the name recognition as most of the other non-European players in the draft, and very few fans have ever seen him play. But unlike most players in the draft, Wright just simply doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses.”