=============================================================================== Name: Bobby Hurley College: Duke Height: 6-0 Weight: 165 Position: Point guard Other Positions: Off guard Strengths: Speed, stamina, defense, ability to see entire floor, ability to run the floor, creative passing, ballhandling, clutch shooting Weakness: Strength, size, streak shooting, ability to finish shots in transition Poop: Hurley went from being a whiny, turnover-plagued freshman to the NCAA assists leader and a well-known clutch shooter as a senior. He has improved every year, each year taking on new tasks and pressures. As a sophmore, he started up his rep as a clutch shooter with his big three pointer against UNLV. As a junior, he cut down on his turnovers. As a senior, he became a serious scoring threat, averaging 17 ppg and becoming the 12th leading scorer in Duke history. His assists-turnovers ratio has been 2:1 for the last two years, outstanding considering how much he handles the ball. Hurley is a player who makes the most of his physical talents. He is not strong, but he makes up for it with his incredible stamina. He's not physically imposing, but he uses his deceptive speed to get around opponents. Few guards at the college level could keep up with him (though it must be noted that the few who could had a great deal of success against him, especially if they were also stronger than he was), and he also had success at the Olympic practice sessions against the likes of Magic Johnson and John Stockton. In the pros, he would benefit by playing with a veteran point guard for a season or two, and then take over the team. His stamina would help a lot as a rookie, but the bigger, stronger and more athletic NBA players may hurt his shooting early in his career. Of course, there were many who said he would never average over 10 ppg at Duke either, so don't count out his offense altogether. A team would draft Hurley to run the team and get open players good shots, as well as put pressure on the dribble, take charges and deny the entry pass. I think he'll concentrate on these areas his first two years. He would also do well to try and bulk up at least a little; 165 is too slight even for a six-footer. Passing is what Hurley is all about, though, and he would benefit by joining an extremely athletic team that had an uptempo style. This would make the most of his speed and stamina, and he would have teammates who could handle some of his more creative passes. All in all, I expect a good team to nab him in the first round, between the 12th and 18th picks. Scout: Rob Clough==================================================================== Name: Nick Van Exel School: Cincinnati Height: 6'1" Weight: 171 Strengths: ballhandling, knows how to run offense Weaknesses: too offensive minded, not a true playmaker, inconsistent Poop: Streaky shooter will good ballhanding skills, Van Exel has all the tools necessary to be a solid NBA player. Shows no fear on the offensive end of the floor and is able to create his own shot. Very good at finishing the break. Outstanding range -- when he's hitting. Needs to work on his defense and decision-making. Nick reminds me a lot of Henry Williams from UNC-Charlotte a year ago, but Van Exel has more quickness. Ability to gain a point guard's mentality will the the key to Van Exel's success in the NBA. He's not big enough to play shooting guard in the NBA. Likely an late first or early second round selection. Scout: Curtis Hill ==================================================================== Name: Sam Crawford School: New Mexico St Height: 5'8" Position: Point Guard Other Positions: --- Strengths: Ball handling, Passing, Quickness, Defense Weaknesses: Out of control at times, Outside Shooting Poop: Crawford was one of the country's most explosive players last season. An All-Big West selection, Crawford also finished in the Top 10 nationally in both assists and steals. He is an excellent playmaker who can almost penetrate at will, and always create a defensive mismatch for the other team. He has great court vision, and finds the open man. He also is quick as lightning, and has quick hands. He is like a fly on flypaper on defense. While Crawford can shoot he is very inconsistent. And, sometimes, Crawford plays way out of control. Crawford has a checkered past -- including alcohol abuse -- but under the tutalage of Norm Nixon, he has gotten that all straightened out. Crawford has great athletic talent -- he can dunk -- but his height may prove to be a problem in the NBA. However, he is basically a taller, younger version of Muggsy Bogues, and don't be surprised if he's gone by the end of the 1st round. Scout: Jazzy J ==================================================================== Name: Adonis Jordan School: Kansas Height: 6'0" (seems shorter) Strengths: quickness, ballhandling, competitiveness Weaknesses: middling jumper, size Poop: When considering what Adonis Jordan's future in the NBA looks like, I look around to see who else is like him. The guy who comes to mind is Bobby Hurley. Much has been made about Hurley's prospects. It seems that Jordan is a step shy of Hurley in most categories. His strengths are a little weaker, and his shortcomings are a little shorter. Jordan has an excellent handle, though not quite as invulnerable as Hurley. His shot has come along this year, and he is much more confident with it. Hurley has paralleled this, though he is more streaky hot. Both of these guys have hawked college guards and done a great job defensively. It will be very important to see if the shorter Jordan can handle NBA guards. He won't have the big quickness advantage on everybody in the NBA. So, his two biggest problems will be: Can he stop anybody? Can he score well enough to keep him in the game? The answers to these questions are uncertain enough to make Adonis Jordan a 2nd round pick. Given however, that Bogues, Webb, and others have carved out niches in the NBA, it seems he does have some future. Scout: Rob Skrobola ==================================================================== Name: Lindsey Hunter School: Jackson State Height: 6-2 Position: point guard Other Possible Spots: shooting guard Strenghts: Explosive scorer, outside shot with great range, quickness Weaknesses: Not pure PG, a little streaky Poop: Hunter did not play well at the Phoenix camp and that may hurt him. However, The Hornets are *real* high on him. Dave Twardzik, the Hornets director of player personnel said, "There's a tremendous upside to his game. He can stick it with very good range." He also said that he like Hunter better then Nick Van Exel of Cincinnati and Adonas Jordan of Kansas. It will be interesting to see how he does against top talent. A mid-late first rounder. Scout: Craig Simpson ==================================================================== Name: Chuck Evans School: Mississippi State Height: 5'11" Position: Point guard Other Positions: --- Strengths: Playmaking, Defense, Anticipation Weaknesses: Shooting, Size Poop: Evans is a big-time prospect this year in a weak year for point guards. He is an excellent penetrator, and easily finds the open man. He finished among the nation's leaders in assists. He also is a spectacular defender, with a penchant for steals. Evans compares very favorably with Avery Johnson, as they are very similar. Offensively, Evans ranks about the same as Johnson, perhaps with a better outside shot. 5'11" also might be an exaggeration of his height, but he is well-built at that size. Evans is a smart player who doesn't make many mistakes. He's probably a good bet to be selected in the 2nd round. Scout: Jazzy J ===================================================================== Name: Alphonso Ford School: Mississippi Valley St Height: 6'4" Position: Shooting Guard Other Positions: Point Guard Strengths: Scoring!! Weaknesses: Defense, Shot Selection Poop: Alphonso Ford is a big-time scorer who averaged about 28ppg over his collegiate career. He can score inside or out, and definitely is not shy about shooting. He was an off guard in college, but is projected as a point guard in the pros, so that will require some transition. Ford has good size, at 6'4" he is an excellent rebounder. Defensively, he is at best average. His small college reputation may hurt as well, but in camps, he has impressed scouts with his overall ability. Probably a reach in the 1st round, but definitely worth a look in the 2nd. Scout: Jazzy J ======================================================================= Name: Bennie Seltzer School: Washington State Height: 6-2 Position: point guard Other Possible Spots: shooting guard Strengths: outside shooting, defense, dribble penetration, quickness Weaknesses: passing, stamina. Poop: Seltzer was the man who made it all happen for Washington State this last year. He is deadly from outside the three point arc and can create his own shot as well. He played point guard as a senior but may be more suited to being a two guard. He has a reasonable turnover to assist ratio, but really is not the best person to set up someone in the low post. He is a bit of a streak shooter and can absolutely dominate a game for stretches of 10-15 minutes. He is reasonably good defensively, as witnessed by his holding down of several of the better point guards in the Pac Ten (Jason Kidd, Damon Stoudamire). The biggest question about moving to the next level is how well he will play against some of the better defensive guards in the NBA. Likely a 2nd round draft choice or a free agent. Scout: Cliff Slaughterbeck ======================================================================= Name: Chris Whitney School: Clemson Height: 6-0 Weight: 160 Position: Off guard Other Position: Point guard Strengths: Range on shot, passing, speed, hand-quickness Weaknesses: Ballhandling, size Poop: Chris Whitney was one of the most underrated and underappreciated players in the ACC the past two seasons. He made the best of playing on a patchwork Clemson squad the last two seasons, a program with players constantly transferring or dropping out, NCAA violations constantly looming, and a coach who is always in the hot seat. Whitney added some stability and maturity to the team and the program in general, on and off the court, and he deserved his 3rd team all-ACC selection. He has been one of the ACC's best three point shooters the last two years, clocking in at over 41%. This is amazing considering that he's Clemson's only consistent long-range threat, and the fact that he often takes them from near-NBA ranges. Moreover, his shooting opened up the inside for developing young frontcourt talents Sharone Wright and Devin Gray. His performance in the Tigers' upset of FSU in the ACC tournament showed his grit and clutch ability. His passing is good, leading the Tigers in assists both years with decent turnover numbers, and his quickness is borne out in his high number of steals. The bad news? Whitney is a classic 'tweener guard. At 6-0, he's far too short to effectively play the off guard position in the NBA, which is the position he would be best suited for. Although he has great range, he's mostly a standstill shooter and at 6-0 this spells doom in the pros, especially for someone even skinnier than Bobby Hurley. He probably doesn't have the instincts to play point either, but this is the spot he'd have to take. He may be able to sign as a free agent somewhere, because he might have a future as a back-up point. His maturity and work habits alone may snag him a roster spot somewhere; if not, he is the type of player that could dominate the CBA and perhaps move up the pro ladder that way. [RC] Scout: Rob Clough ==================================================================== Name: Kevin McLinton College: U of Maryland Height: 6-4 Weight: 208 Position: Combo guard Strengths: Strength, scoring, passing Weaknesses: Consistency of shot, turnovers Poop: McLinton is a player who has improved steadily every year at Maryland. He is steady but not spectacular; a very good passer who is sometimes error prone. His biggest asset is his strength; he was able to muscle a lot of guards for layups. His biggest weakness is his shot; he's been erratic for most of his career, shooting under 30% from the three point line. He is the proverbial "scorer, not a shooter". He has had to carry the bulk of the perimeter load since lotto pick Walt Williams left; even when Williams was at UM McClinton had to pick up a lot of the ballhandling chores when Williams proved to be very turnover-prone. His biggest problem is that he's a forward in a guard's body; he likes to post people up and muscle them out. In the pros, this could hurt him greatly. He doesn't have the skills to play at the three spot either; he's not a great athlete. Still, he has good size for a guard and is a decent defender, and might make it as a free agent somewhere or in the CBA. Scout: Rob Clough