Darren Collison: NBA Draft Profile

Jeff Fox — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:55:42 -0800

Darren Collison

College: UCLA

Class: Senior

Position: PG

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 160lbs

Accolades: Third Team All-American - AP (08), Third Team All-American - CHN (08), Second Team All-Pac-10 (08), Pac-10 All-Defensive Team (08), Pac-10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player (08), Pac-10 All-Tournament Team (08), First Team All-Pac-10 (07), Fourth Team All-American - CHN (07), NCAA Tournament All-West Regional Team (07), Fourth Team Parade All-American - high school (05).

Scouting Report: The most experienced, winningest point guard in the draft.

Strengths: Very experienced. A proven winner - played in three Final Fours. Extremely quick. Very fast defender - great on-ball defense. Gets tons of steals. Great passer and floor general. Good genetics - parents were track and field athletes. Can hit shots from anywhere on the floor, both spotting up or off the dribble. Shoots for outstanding % from everywhere (FG, FT, 3pt). Good ball handler.

Weaknesses: Undersized for the NBA. Very thin - 160lbs would make him one of the lightest players in the NBA. Unorthodox shooting style. Not an outstanding athlete or explosive player. Turns the ball over too much - doesn’t have an exceptional assist to turnover ratio.

Projected 2009 Draft Range: Late first round pick.

Consensus: Darren Collison could turn out to be a solid pick for a team drafting in the lower regions of the first round. While he doesn’t project to be a standout NBA player, he should be a solid pro with his playmaking ability, knack for knocking down shots and above average defensive skills.

Stats: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=26892

NBA Draft on CollegeHoops.net

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CHN's Six-Star Ranking System w/ 2008 Equivalents

= Superstar/All-NBA Potential - Michael Beasley

= Potential NBA All-Star - Derrick Rose

= Consistent NBA Starter - Brook Lopez

= 6th Man/Fringe Starter - Russell Westbrook

= Career Reserve - Roy Hibbert

= Fringe NBA Player/12th Man - JR Giddens

0 stars = Life in the Minor Leagues - Drew Neitzel

Top 100 Players: Preseason 08-09

CHN — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:14:19 -0800

The Collegehoops.net Top 100 is the ultimate ranking of college basketball's best players. This is the first of four quarterly editions for the 2008-09 college basketball season. The next edition will be released in April once the NCAA Tournament has been completed.

CHN staffers Jeff Borzello, Jason Brubaker, Jeff Fox, Raphielle Johnson, Ed Lupien, Kevin McNeill, Matthew Ryter, Shawn Siegel, Jon Teitel, Joel Welser, and Joey Whelan voted based on the following four criteria:

A) performance/accomplishments, B) skill/talent, C) pro potential, D) impact/value to team.

This is not an NBA prospect ranking, which can be found here. Let the debates begin..

#	Overall	Team	Yr	Pos	Was	Top 50 Commentary
1	Tyler Hansbrough	North Carolina	SR	F	2	Only thing missing from resume is title
2	Stephen Curry	Davidson	JR	G	14	Quickly becoming the face of the NCAA
3	Blake Griffin	Oklahoma	SO	F	56	Super-talented PF ready to shine
4	Luke Harangody	Notre Dame	JR	F	17	Relentless competitor is reigning BE POY
5	James Harden	Arizona State	SO	G	27	Will lead ASU back to the tourney
6	Darren Collison	UCLA	SR	G	19	Looking for fourth Final Four trip
7	Tyler Smith	Tennessee	JR	F	39	Versatile SF is more valuable than his stats
8	Patrick Patterson	Kentucky	SO	F	36	Talented big man returning from injury
9	AJ Price	UCONN	SR	G	40	Finally showed what the hype was about
10	BJ Mullens	Ohio State	FR	C	*	Should continue string of one-and-done bigs
11	Tyrese Rice	Boston College	SR	G	30	Lights-out scorer despite defensive focus
12	Hasheem Thabeet	UCONN	JR	C	41	Future lottery pick is coming along each year
13	Ty Lawson	North Carolina	JR	G	20	Quick PG is a jump shot away from stardom
14	Chase Budinger	Arizona	JR	G	18	Athletic and poised, but needs consistency
15	Jon Brockman	Washington	SR	F	26	20 & 10 machine needs help from teammates
16	Sam Young	Pittsburgh	SR	F	58	Athletic forward is impossible to guard
17	Damion James	Texas	JR	F	84	Out of Durant and Augustin's shadows
18	Wayne Ellington	North Carolina	JR	G	32	Continues to expand his game each year
19	Jeremy Pargo	Gonzaga	SR	G	50	Steady senior paces the Zag's attack
20	AJ Ogilvy	Vanderbilt	SO	C	35	Big man will have increased role
21	Kyle Singler	Duke	SO	F	22	Played out of position last year
22	Patrick Mills	Saint Mary's	SO	G	49	Olympics proved he's on verge of stardom
23	Raymar Morgan	Michigan State	JR	F	48	Versatile forward is go-to guy for Spartans
24	Demar DeRozan	USC	FR	G/F	*	Superb athlete will fill in nicely for Mayo
25	Nick Calathes	Florida	SO	G	51	Emerging Gator has high basketball IQ
26	Jonny Flynn	Syracuse	SO	G	75	Thrown into the fire as a freshman
27	Eric Maynor	VCU	JR	G	34	Mid-major standout has high-major talent
28	Jack McClinton	Miami	SR	G	*	Lethal sniper leads upstart Hurricanes
29	Lester Hudson	Tenn.-Martin	SR	G	68	Dangerous stat-stuffer is NBA talent
30	Robert Vaden	UAB	SR	G	57	Pure scorer thives in UAB attack
31	Tyreke Evans	Memphis	FR	G	*	Can score easily, but is he a team-first guy?
32	Terrence Williams	Louisville	SR	F	53	High-flying forward is unselfish player
33	Robbie Hummel	Purdue	SO	F	*	Multi-talented forward on the rise
34	DeJuan Blair	Pittsburgh	SO	F	62	Immovable object is no longer unknown
35	Earl Clark	Louisville	JR	F	*	Athletic forward causes matchup problems
36	Gerald Henderson	Duke	JR	G/F	71	All indicators are pointing to a breakout season
37	Kalin Lucas	Michigan State	SO	G	*	Can he fill Drew Nietzel's shoes?
38	Jrue Holiday	UCLA	FR	G	*	Do-everything guard is perfect fit for Bruins
39	Jerel McNeal	Marquette	SR	G	65	Leader of Marquette's 3-guard attack
40	Curtis Jerrells	Baylor	SR	G	77	Overlooked guard is key to Bears' rise
41	Al-Farouq Aminu	Wake Forest	FR	F	*	Wake frosh is saddled with huge expectations
42	Lee Cummard	BYU	SR	F	82	Now his team with Plaisted in the pros
43	Greivis Vasquez	Maryland	SO	G	33	One-man show needs to cut down TO's
44	Dionte Christmas	Temple	SR	G	*	Can score with the best of them
45	AJ Abrams	Texas	SR	G	*	Top shooter must assume PG duties
46	Austin Daye	Gonzaga	SO	F	91	Only showed flashes of huge upside last year
47	Samardo Samuels	Louisville	FR	C	*	Talent big could push Louisville to the Final Four
48	Devan Downey	South Carolina	JR	G	*	Speedy leader continues to go unnoticed
49	Jeff Adrien	UCONN	SR	F	79	Fiery forward is Huskies emotional leader
50	Scottie Reynolds	Villanova	JR	G	46	Does it all for Jay Wright's Wildcats
51	Jeff Pendergraph	Arizona State	SR	F	76
52	James Johnson	Wake Forest	SO	F	*
53	Sherron Collins	Kansas	JR	G	*
54	Dominic James	Marquette	SR	G	52
55	Wink Adams	UNLV	SR	G	*
56	Marcus Thornton	LSU	SR	G	*
57	Greg Monroe	Georgetown	FR	C	*
58	Derrick Brown	Xavier	JR	F	*
59	Willie Warren	Oklahoma	FR	G	*
60	Jordan Hill	Arizona	JR	C	*
61	DaJuan Summers	Georgetown	JR	F	*
62	Stefon Jackson	UTEP	SR	G	*
63	E'Twaun Moore	Purdue	SO	G	*
64	K.C. Rivers	Clemson	SR	G	97
65	Taj Gibson	USC	JR	C	*
66	Levance Fields	Pittsburgh	SR	G	*
67	Chris Wright	Dayton	SO	F	*
68	John Bryant	Santa Clara	SR	C	*
69	Paul Harris	Syracuse	JR	G/F	96
70	Geoff McDermott	Providence	SR	F	*
71	James Anderson	Oklahoma St	SO	G	*
72	Marcus Landry	Wisconsin	SR	F	*
73	Josh Young	Drake	JR	G	59
74	JaMychal Green	Alabama	FR	F	*
75	Scotty Hopson	Tennessee	FR	G	*
76	Luke Nevill	Utah	SR	C	*
77	Jeff Allen	Virginia Tech	SO	F	*
78	Manny Harris	Michigan	SO	G	*
79	Devin Ebanks	West Virginia	FR	F	*
80	Diamon Simpson	Saint Mary's	SR	F	*
81	Alonzo Gee	Alabama	SR	F	*
82	Ronald Steele	Alabama	SR	G	*
83	Kemba Walker	UCONN	FR	G	*
84	Marqus Blakely	Vermont	JR	F	*
85	Kyle McAlarney	Notre Dame	SR	G	*
86	LaceDarius Dunn	Baylor	SO	G	*
87	Chris Warren	Ole Miss	SO	G	*
88	Danny Green	North Carolina	SR	F	*
89	Kenny Hasbrouck	Siena	SR	G	*
90	Josh Shipp	UCLA	SR	G/F	*
91	Josh Akognon	Fullerton	SR	G	*
92	Jonathan Rodriguez	Campbell	JR	F	*
93	Jerome Jordan	Tulsa	JR	C	*
94	Robert Dozier	Memphis	SR	F	*
95	Tasmin Mitchell	LSU	JR	F	*
96	Mike Rosario	Rutgers	FR	G	*
97	Cole Aldrich	Kansas	SO	C	*
98	Chris Singleton	Florida State	FR	F	*
99	AD Vassallo	Virginia Tech	SR	G	*
100	Eugene Harvey	Seton Hall	JR	G	87

*Was signifies prior March 2008 ranking.

First in Line - (alphabetical order):

Connor Atchley, Korvortney Barber, Aron Baynes, Josh Carter, Patrick Christopher, Toney Douglas, Brandon Ewing, Daniel Hackett, Josh Heytvelt, Matt Howard, Ahmad Nivins

Next in Line

Trevor Booker, Matt Bouldin, J'Nathan Bullock, Garrison Carr, Louis Dale, Eric Devendorf, Byron Eaton, Chris Lowe, Kevin Rogers, Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, P'Allen Stinnett, Evan Turner

Further in Line

Antonio Anderson, Luke Babbitt, Jamelle Cornley, Osiris Eldridge, Al Fisher, Ricky Harris, Terrell Harris, Trevon Hughes, Chris Johnson, Alex Legion, Delvon Roe, Goran Suton, Jermaine Taylor, Deonta Vaughn, Ryan Wittman

Check back around New Year's for the next updated Top 100!

How would you rank college basketball's top stars? Post your thoughts below:

darren collison

Darren Collison: NBA Draft Profile

Top 100 Players: Preseason 08-09