JSM
Clublakers Site Manager
Joined: 28 Apr 2003
Posts: 68603
Location: Atlanta
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 Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:43 am Post subject: Chad Ford: Which prospects helped their stock in Final 4? |
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Helped themselves: Rose, Sherron Collins, Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur, Russell Westbrook, and Cole Aldrich.
Hurt themselves: Ty Lawson, Darren Collison, Kevin Love, and CDR
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ESPN: Heat Seekers
Memphis freshman guard Derrick Rose was absolutely stunning against UCLA's vaunted backcourt on Saturday. He had 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists. More importantly, he completely disrupted Darren Collison on the defensive end.
In the championship game, Rose wasn't at his best. A stomach ailment seemed to take some of the lift out of his step. He wasn't as explosive as we have seen him and often seemed content to give up the ball for much of the game.
That changed with about 12 minutes to go in regulation. Rose exploded for 15 points in an eight-minute stretch -- looking, at times, spectacular.
But a few missed 3s and a critical missed free throw down the stretch allowed Kansas to come back in the game. The lasting image of Mario Chalmers' nailing a 3 with 2.1 seconds left in regulation over the outstretched hands of Rose has to hurt.
NBA scouts and GMs say that, overall, Rose helped himself more than anyone else in the tournament. Considering he was already the consensus No. 2 pick in the draft, that's saying something. More GMs than ever are starting to say that the No. 1 pick in the draft should be Rose, not fellow freshman Michael Beasley. While Rose didn't put up Beasley's numbers this year, his leadership, position and upside all suggest to some in the NBA that he could have an impact similar to Chris Paul's in the league. That's saying something.
We'll keep monitoring this over the coming weeks. I'd estimate that about 65 percent of GMs I've spoken with still have Beasley atop their boards. But the trend is clearly tracking toward Rose.
• Kansas guards Sherron Collins and Mario Chalmers hit the two biggest shots of the tournament. With less than two minutes to go in regulation, Collins stole an inbounds pass and then nailed a 3-pointer from the corner. Chalmers sent the game into overtime with his off-balance 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left.
The play of both guards, in both the Memphis and UNC games, had scouts talking.
Teams love Collins' toughness, athleticism and explosiveness. While they believe the sophomore often plays out of control and has poor shot selection, he's also proven to be an excellent defender and a clutch player for the Jayhawks. Scouts say he'd probably be a second-round pick if he were to declare this year -- and he has a chance to crack the first round in 2009.
Teams love Chalmers' quickness, his ability to pick up steals and the way he takes control of the game in clutch situations. On the downside, Chalmers is a bit of a tweener -- the junior is not a pure playmaker, but he's undersized to play the 2-guard. Still, a number of scouts think Chalmers' play has been good enough to get him into the second round and give him a shot at the first round. He might not ever be a starting point guard in the pros, but he might make an excellent backup.
Kansas sophomore forward Darrell Arthur, for the most part, had a disappointing tournament. In almost every game he showed flashes of brilliance, especially on the offensive end. But often he disappeared for large stretches of the game. Some of that is passivity. At other times, the Kansas guards just ignored him.
In the title game, however, Arthur was Kansas' best player, scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Arthur has excellent offensive skills, with the quickness to beat bigs and the ability to shoot over smaller defenders. When he gets the ball, good things usually happen. While scouts have been concerned all season about his uneven production and lack of rebounding, there's no questioning his talent.
One scout compared him to the Hornets' David West and said he'll thrive in the NBA.
"Guards dominate college basketball," the scout said. "Especially at Kansas. I think you'll see a more productive Arthur in the pros."
Currently, we have him ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the draft. At times he was ranked as high as No. 8 this season. With great workouts, he could move himself back into the lottery.
But his best option might be to stay in school one more year and try to dominate as a junior. Next year's draft class isn't that impressive, so it might behoove him to stay at Kansas.
• UCLA's one bright spot in its Final Four loss was sophomore guard Russell Westbrook, who showed that he had the size and athleticism to score on Memphis' athletic backcourt. Westbrook was unstoppable when he put the ball on the floor and drove to the basket.
He is a less confident perimeter shooter and at times can play out of control, but his abilities on both ends of the floor make him the best NBA prospect on the Bruins. Kevin Love and Darren Collison get the most attention, but if all three enter the draft, Westbrook probably will be the first to hear his name called. Look from him to go somewhere between No. 7 and No. 15.
The other UCLA player who really helped himself was Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. He showed some of the promise we saw two years ago in the Final Four. He has probably moved himself back into the discussion for the second round.
• Kansas freshman center Cole Aldrich is the prospect who probably did the most to help his draft stock for next year. The big guy was awesome in 16 minutes against North Carolina -- blocking shots, ripping rebounds away from Tyler Hansbrough and attacking the rim. He's got size, length and an NBA body, and he looks like he has a good motor. He could be the future for Kansas inside.
I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up
• Scouts who were on the fence about North Carolina sophomore guard Ty Lawson were turned off by his poor play against Kansas. He shot poorly from the field, had as many turnovers as assists and seemed rattled for almost the entire game.
All of the UNC players, including Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington, may want to return next season after getting embarrassed by Kansas that way. But Lawson may take the biggest hit in his draft stock.
• UCLA junior guard Darren Collison didn't help himself, either. In two of the last three games for UCLA, Collison was essentially nonexistent. He scored a whopping total of six points against Memphis and Western Kentucky and fouled out of both games. He squeezed a good game against Xavier in between, but overall his play cast some doubt about his ability to lead in big games. At this point, it looks like he'd be the last to be drafted of UCLA's vaunted trio.
• UCLA's Kevin Love wasn't getting any love after being shut down by Memphis big man Joey Dorsey in the second half, when he scored two points and seemed to lack the stamina to maintain the up-tempo pace Memphis was playing. Frankly, Love looked out of gas.
We know conditioning is an issue for Love, and many scouts believe he'd be better off returning to UCLA for his sophomore season. NBA teams can help him get in shape. The question is, will he have the desire once he has an NBA contract?
• Memphis junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts put up great numbers in the tournament, but his performance fell apart in the last two minutes of the Kansas game. He missed three free throws that could have put the game away and missed several other key shots down the stretch.
No one doubts Douglas-Roberts' scoring ability, but his struggles down the stretch didn't help his stock in the NBA's eyes. |
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