Are you ready for this? :) 2005 NBA Draft top 5's

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I had some problems with the formatting on this post, hope it reads ok.
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2005 NBA Draft Top 5s

By Chad Ford
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The dust barely has settled on the 2004 NBA draft, and still you want more. Twelve months before the 2005 NBA draft, NBA Insider Chad Ford already is making lists for next year.
After a record eight high school players went in the first round this year, there's a chance no preps reach that level next year. Scouts are saying 2005 will be the worst high school class in recent history. Of course, one or two prep stars likely will distinguish themselves this summer and start some buzz. However, the chances of more than one or two high school players going in the first round are slim.
So what will be the theme of next year's draft? Call it the Revenge of the Euros. A stunning 28 international underclassmen pulled out of the draft last week, fearing the high school crop would push them out of the first round. That left a gaping hole in this year's draft but also brought a promise that next year's crop could look pretty good.
While there will be three dominant 18-year-olds looking for promises, the strength of next year's international class is with the 19- and 20-year-olds. Familiar names like Martynas Andriuskevicius, Kosta Perovic, Peja Samardziski, Johan Petro and Tiago Splitter likely will be in again next year. They'll be joined by new and highly touted prospects like Yi Jianlin, Nemanja Aleksandrov and Rudy Fernandez.
The college crop is just so-so. There are a few top prospects like Chris Paul (Wake Forest), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Hakim Warrick (Syracuse), Marvin Williams (North Carolina) and Rudy Gay (UConn). But like this year, only a handful of the best prospects will be college seniors.
The consensus top five? Chris Paul, Marvin Williams, Nemanja Aleksandrov, Martynas Andriuskevicus and Yi Jian Lian.
Today Insider unveils it's first ranking of 2005 NBA draft prospects by position.


TOP 5 POINT GUARDS
Rank
Name
Ht, Wt - Age
School/Country
1.
Chris Paul
6-1, 195 lbs - 19 yrs
Wake Forest
2.
Raymond Felton
6-0, 180 lbs - 20 yrs
North Carolina
3.
Jarrett Jack
6-3, 185 lbs - 20 yrs
Georgia Tech
4.
Roko Leni Ukic
6-5, 185 lbs - 20 yrs
Croatia
5.
Uros Tripkovic
6-5, 200 lbs - 19 yrs
Serbia
Others to watch: John Gilchrist, Maryland; Darius Washington, Memphis; George Tsintsadze, Russia; Chris Thomas, Notre Dame; Bracey Wright, Indiana; Anthony Roberson, Florida; Mustafa Shakur, Arizona; Dee Brown, Illinois; Shannon Brown, Michigan State; Cedric Bozeman, UCLA; Sergio Rodriguez, Spain; Marcelo Huertas, Brazil.

TOP 5 SHOOTING GUARDS
Rank
Name
Ht, Wt - Age
School/Country
1.
Rudy Fernandez
6-5, 200 lbs - 19 yrs
Spain
2.
Rashad McCants
6-4, 212 lbs - 21 yrs
North Carolina
3.
Julius Hodge
6-5, 195 lbs - 21 yrs
North Carolina State
4.
J.R. Giddens
6-5, 200 lbs - 19 yrs
Kansas
5.
Antoine Wright
6-6, 227 lbs - 21 yrs
Texas A&M
Others to watch: Francisco Garcia, Louisville; Marko Belinelli, Italy; Hassan Adams, Arizona; Manuchar Markoishvili, Benetton (Italy); Rashad Anderson, UConn; Kelenna Azubuike, Kentucky; James White, Cincinnati; Nate Robinson, Washington;Matt Walsh, Florida; Marcus Vieira de Souza, Brazil.

TOP 5 SMALL FORWARDS
Rank
Name
Ht, Wt - Age
School/Country
1.
Yi Jian Lian
7-0, 220 lbs - 18 yrs
China
2.
Marvin Williams
6-9, 230 lbs - 18 yrs
North Carolina
3.
Rudy Gay
6-8, 218 lbs - 18 yrs
UConn
4.
Sean Banks
6-8, 212 lbs - 19 yrs
Memphis
5.
Ersan Ilyasova
6-9, 210 lbs - 19 yrs
Turkey
Others to watch: Luka Bodganovic, Serbia; Damir Omerhodzic, Croatia; Ryan Gomes, Providence; Charlie Villanueva, UConn; Kennedy Winston, Alabama; Vladimir Veremeenko, Belarus; Ivan Chiriaev, Russia; Jawad Williams, North Carolina; Regis Koundjia, LSU; Danny Granger, New Mexico; Zhu Fangyu, China; Juan Diego Tello Palacios, Our Savior High (New York); Dusan Sakota, Greece.

TOP 5 POWER FORWARDS
Rank
Name
Ht, Wt - Age
School/Country
1.
Nemanja Aleksandrov
6-11, 215 lbs - 18 yrs
Serbia
2.
Martynas Andriuskevicius
7-3, 230 lbs - 19 yrs
Lithuania
3.
Hakim Warrick
6-9, 212 lbs - 21 yrs
Syracuse
4.
LaMarcus Aldridge
6-11, 220 lbs - 18 yrs
Texas
5.
Wayne Simien
6-9, 250 lbs - 21 yrs
Kansas
Others to watch: Tiago Splitter, Brazil; Chris Taft, Pittsburgh; Paul Davis, Michigan State; Ronny Turiaf, Gonzaga; Uros Slokar, Slovenia; Torin Francis, Notre Dame; David Lee, Florida; Miguel Marriaga, Venezula; Diego Brezzo, Argentina; Andrew Bogut, Utah; Linuys Kleiza, Missouri; Erazem Lorbek, Skipper Bologna (Italy); Leon Powe, Cal; Ike Diogu, Arizona State; Andrea Bargnani, Italy; Craig Smith, Boston College; Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont.

TOP 5 CENTERS
Rank
Name
Ht, Wt - Age
School/Country
1.
Peja Samardziski
7-0, 250 lbs - 19 yrs
Serbia
2.
Kosta Perovic
7-2, 240 lbs - 20 yrs
Serbia
3.
Randolph Morris
7-0, 266 lbs - 18 yrs
Kentucky
4.
Johan Petro
7-1, 250lbs - 19 yrs
France
5.
Luke Schenscher
7-0, 230 lbs - 21 yrs
Georgia Tech
Others to watch: Marcin Gortat, Poland; Josh Boone, UConn; Mile Ilic, Serbia; Channing Frye, Arizona; Matt Nelson, Colorado State; Tan Zhendon, China; Edu Hernandez, Real Madrid (Spain); Ioannis Bourousis, AEK (Greece); Dimitri Soklov, Russia.

 

[slinslin]

I know many people thought Marvin Williams would have been the best highschooler in this draft if he stayed in.

I also though Chris Paul was far better than any PG in this draft.

The centers don't look too promising right now. In 1 year Randolph Morris is probably on top of that list. He played very well against Dwight Howard. I am certainly not high on Perovic or Schenscher.

 

[elindholm]

With any luck, the Suns should have two lottery picks (their own and Chicago's), so that's something to look forward to.

 

[coloradosun]

If we can get Martynas and Jarrett Jack out of next year's draft it would be a great draft then trade Vujanic.

Sign Brent Barry, Jon Barry and McDyess this year and see what happens then add those two rookies in 2005 and we could be in great shape.

 

[scotsman13]

With any luck, the Suns should have two lottery picks (their own and Chicago's), so that's something to look forward to.

2 lottery pick? no way. the suns will get chicago's pick in the lottery i would think around 4. but the suns will be back in the playoffs next year. houston is going to fall and so is denver, seattle really hasnt done anything to fix there problems, the clippers wouldnt make the playoffs if they had a team full of allstars. heck dont forget about golden states and portland both falling. i believe that utah will also drop down in the lottery to.

my crystial ball tells me that the suns will be in the playoffs next year. while the rockets with yoa and tmac drop into the lottery agian.

 

[Joe Mama]

2 lottery pick? no way. the suns will get chicago's pick in the lottery i would think around 4. but the suns will be back in the playoffs next year. houston is going to fall and so is denver, seattle really hasnt done anything to fix there problems, the clippers wouldnt make the playoffs if they had a team full of allstars. heck dont forget about golden states and portland both falling. i believe that utah will also drop down in the lottery to.

my crystial ball tells me that the suns will be in the playoffs next year. while the rockets with yoa and tmac drop into the lottery agian.

if Denver re-signs Marcus Camby I don't think there's any chance of them dropping out of the playoffs. The Western Conference is going to be very competitive this season. Of course we don't know what happened of these teams are going to look like next season. It's entirely possible that the Lakers look horrible next year. I would hardly call the Phoenix Suns locks to make the playoffs even if they do make some nice moves in free agency.

BTW at Chicago draft pick is top three protected. That means the chance of them getting the #4 draft pick is very slim because it's the only pick they could possibly get in the top four.

Joe Mama

 

[slinslin]

The #4 pick is guaranteed to go to Charlotte again in 2005.

I would say that makes the odds go down to 0 to get a top 4 next year.

 

[scotsman13]

i maybe wrong but i thought i read that 2005 was top 2 protected, and the next year was #1 protected. and in 2007 no protection what so ever.

 

[elindholm]

I would say that makes the odds go down to 0 to get a top 4 next year.

Whoops! I wonder whether the Suns remembered that?

 

[JerkFace]

The #4 pick is guaranteed to go to Charlotte again in 2005.

I would say that makes the odds go down to 0 to get a top 4 next year.

does that mean charlotte has no shot at a top 3 pick or they get the #4 if they don't end up with a top three pick?

 

[slinslin]

It is just like this year. They have the #4 pick guaranteed, can't be higher or lower.

The Bobcats could win 82 games and sweep the playoffs. They would still get #4.

 

[Bada0Bing]

I would say that makes the odds go down to 0 to get a top 4 next year.

Whoops! I wonder whether the Suns remembered that?

Don't forget, the Suns own their own pick next year. Anything is possible.

 

[devilalum]

does that mean charlotte has no shot at a top 3 pick or they get the #4 if they don't end up with a top three pick?

What if Charlotte miraculously ends up with say the 6th or 7th worst record.

They wouldn't still get the #4. They just can't have any higher than the #4.

They can also have the 3rd or 4th worst record and still get the 5th or 6th pick if teams with better records win the top 2 spots.

 

[JerkFace]

It is just like this year. They have the #4 pick guaranteed, can't be higher or lower.

The Bobcats could win 82 games and sweep the playoffs. They would still get #4.

that sucks for the bobcats...because they are going to stink this year and probably would have had a good shot at the #1 pick.

 

[George O'Brien]

that sucks for the bobcats...because they are going to stink this year and probably would have had a good shot at the #1 pick.

But they have Jahidi.