Insider - updated top 10 centers
2003 NBA Draft: Top 10 centers
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Updated June 12 Coming up with a Top 10 centers list is a little bit like trying to put together a list of 10 reasons to move to Bristol. After you get past one or two, you have to start making stuff up.
We've known for a long time that good centers were going the way of the dodo bird and real blondes. Blame it on global warming, a bad diet or the axis of evil, but it's easier to find an "I voted for Bush-Cheney" bumper sticker in North Korea than it is to find a decent big man in the NBA draft.
Last year we got Yao Ming, whom the media quickly anointed the second-best center in the league behind Shaq. This from a guy who averaged 13.5 ppg and 8.2 rpg.
After Yao, the next best center was Curtis Borchardt, who played zero games this season.
In 2001 we got Eddy Curry (who's coming along quite nicely), Jason Collins (he's OK) and Samuel Dalembert.
The 2000 draft gave us Joel Przybilla, Jason Collier, Jamaal Magloire, Dalibor Bagaric, Jake Tsakalidis, Mamadou N'diaye and Primoz Brezec. But hey, one for seven isn't bad.
Teams are getting desperate. This year, the top center prospect dominated at Central Michigan. The next top prospect was virtually unknown until Insider stumbled upon a scout who had stumbled upon him in Siberia. Two guys are still in high school. And then there's the 7-foot-7 guy from Yugoslavia who can't get in the game (blame the coach not Slavko).
Here's a look at the Top 10 centers expected to declare for the 2003 NBA Draft. By way of warning, it's ugly folks. . .
Also see: Top 15 PF | Top 15 SF | Top 15 SG | Top 15 PG | Top 15 International
Note: The list includes all players who have declared 2003 draft. An asterisk (*) by a player's name indicates he is either a college underclassman who has not hired an agent or an under 22 international player who can withdraw his name before the June 19th deadline.
1. Chris Kaman, Central Michigan
The line: 7-0, 252, Junior
The skinny: Kaman is no longer the "sleeper" in this year's draft. He's a legit 7-footer, has a nice frame and ranked among national leaders in rebounding (No. 3, 12.2 a game), scoring (No. 16, 22.5 ppg) and blocked shots. He's an above-average athlete for someone his size. He can shoot with both his left and his right in the post. He's got great footwork. Good free-throw shooter for a big man. Kent State coach Jim Christian had the line of the year about Kaman. "If this guy was from Slovenia, and didn't speak English, the NBA would call him a top-five pick right now," Christian said. Christian may be right. He's a definite lottery pick. He could go as high as No. 4 to the Raptors or as low as No. 9 to the Knicks.
2. Pavel Podkolzin, Russia*
The line: 7-5, 303, 18 years old
The skinny: His workout in Chicago last week blew away GMs who had him pegged as nothing more than a myth. Said one GM after the workout, "I don't believe what I just saw," another GM told Insider. "That's the most potent combination of size, strength and agility I've seen since Shaq." His best attribute is his athleticism for someone that size. He's not a lumbering center by any means. He runs the floor well, has a pretty good handle and can really shoot the ball. The problem is he's very raw. He doesn't know how to take advantage of his size in the post, is just an adequate defender and lacks game smarts. That's understandable because of his age and lack of experience. It will probably take three years for him to be a contributor in the NBA. With the buyout issues out of the way, he could go as high as No. 4 in the draft. His upside is behind only to LeBron, Darko and Carmelo.
3. Kendrick Perkins, Texas*
The line: 6-10, 270, HS Senior
The skinny: Perkins is a brick in the middle. He's big, tough and loves to play with his back to the basket. Some claim he's the best big man to come out of Texas since Shaq. But there are problems. He's undersized to play center in the pros. He's not an athlete and has developed a reputation for not playing hard. He should go to college, put Perkins is itching to get into the NBA now. He hasn't had a lot of workouts. He's a borderline first rounder if he stays in the draft.
4. Slavko Vranes, Yugoslavia*
The line: 7-7, 265, 19 years old
The skinny: He's huge. He's very raw offensively, but he isn't a stiff either. He can run the floor, block shots and has enough meat on him to defend in the league. He's not ready for the NBA but that doesn't mean that NBA teams won't take a shot on him in the late first round, early second round. He's impressed teams with his workouts, but there's still not a consensus where he'll go in the draft.
5. James Lang, Alabama*
The line: 6-9, 316, HS Senior
The skinny: Lang had a great camp in Chicago but his lack of size and weight issues are keeping him down right now. He's a talented scorer around the basket and knows how to use his body to get separation. He's also fundamentally very solid. However, Lang has even more serious conditioning issues. He dropped 50 pounds this year just to get down to 313. Scouts consider him a good athlete and love how aggressively he plays the game. He's a solid rebounder and a good shot blocker, but stamina is a major issue. He also is very foul prone. If he went to school and proved to scouts he could stay in great shape, he'd could be a lottery pick in a few years. As it stands now, he has an outside chance at the first round if he works out well and stays in shape.
6. Kresimir Loncar, Croatia*
The line: 6-11, 245, 19-year-old
The skinny: Loncar is one of the top young prospects in Europe. He plays on Benneton Treviso and is slowly developing his skills away from the perimeter and toward the paint. He's an excellent shooter, a good passer and has above average quickness for a big man. He's still very raw with his back to the basket and lacks the strength to guard stronger players in the post. A big 21-point, 10-rebound game against Bologna in the Euroleague recently caught scouts' attention. He'll probably withdraw his name from the draft if he doesn't get a first-round promise. Right now he's probably an early second-round pick.
7. Ezarem Lorbek, Michigan State
The line: 6-11, 240, Freshman
The skinny: Was a top prospect in Europe before a lackluster year at Michigan State. His father decided to pull him from school, throw his name in the draft before his stock sunk too badly and see what happens. He is nowhere near ready to play in the NBA, but teams will still be intriuiged. He's tall, has great fundamentals, a nice shooting touch and will earn the respect of international scouts who feel he was in the wrong system at Michigan State. He's got an outside chance at being a late-first-round pick, but it's much more likely that he'll slip into the second round or out of the draft altogether. If that happens, he'll play in Europe for a few years and come back over as a free agent when he's able to command a bigger salary.
8. Marquis Estill, Kentucky
The line: 6-10, 257, Senior
The skinny: He plays like a center, but Estill will probably have to make the move to power forward in the pros because of his size (scouts claim he's much closer to 6-foot-8). Estill knows how to score in the low post and his big 28-point game against Wisconsin in the tournament helped his stock. But he's got a tough road ahead of him. Someone will take a shot one him in the second round.
9. Jason Keep, San Diego
The line: 6-11, 270, Senior
The skinny: He looks like a skin head biker on steroids, but that's probably his biggest strength. He isn't the tallest or most athletic guy, but he manhandled everyone in Portsmouth and impressed scouts again with his aggressive play in Chicago. He's never going to put up big numbers for a team, but who wouldn't love to have this guy come in and hack the hell out of Shaq for 15 minutes a game?
10. Chris Marcus, Western Kentucky
The line: 7-1, 335, Senior
The skinny: Marcus was medically cleared to play after a physical during the Chicago pre-draft camp. Obviously, there are still major question marks about his health, conditioning (he weighed 334 pounds in Chicago) and long-term future, but it's probably a given that someone will take a chance on him in the second round.
2003 NBA Draft: Top 10 centers
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Updated June 12 Coming up with a Top 10 centers list is a little bit like trying to put together a list of 10 reasons to move to Bristol. After you get past one or two, you have to start making stuff up.
We've known for a long time that good centers were going the way of the dodo bird and real blondes. Blame it on global warming, a bad diet or the axis of evil, but it's easier to find an "I voted for Bush-Cheney" bumper sticker in North Korea than it is to find a decent big man in the NBA draft.
Last year we got Yao Ming, whom the media quickly anointed the second-best center in the league behind Shaq. This from a guy who averaged 13.5 ppg and 8.2 rpg.
After Yao, the next best center was Curtis Borchardt, who played zero games this season.
In 2001 we got Eddy Curry (who's coming along quite nicely), Jason Collins (he's OK) and Samuel Dalembert.
The 2000 draft gave us Joel Przybilla, Jason Collier, Jamaal Magloire, Dalibor Bagaric, Jake Tsakalidis, Mamadou N'diaye and Primoz Brezec. But hey, one for seven isn't bad.
Teams are getting desperate. This year, the top center prospect dominated at Central Michigan. The next top prospect was virtually unknown until Insider stumbled upon a scout who had stumbled upon him in Siberia. Two guys are still in high school. And then there's the 7-foot-7 guy from Yugoslavia who can't get in the game (blame the coach not Slavko).
Here's a look at the Top 10 centers expected to declare for the 2003 NBA Draft. By way of warning, it's ugly folks. . .
Also see: Top 15 PF | Top 15 SF | Top 15 SG | Top 15 PG | Top 15 International
Note: The list includes all players who have declared 2003 draft. An asterisk (*) by a player's name indicates he is either a college underclassman who has not hired an agent or an under 22 international player who can withdraw his name before the June 19th deadline.
1. Chris Kaman, Central Michigan
The line: 7-0, 252, Junior
The skinny: Kaman is no longer the "sleeper" in this year's draft. He's a legit 7-footer, has a nice frame and ranked among national leaders in rebounding (No. 3, 12.2 a game), scoring (No. 16, 22.5 ppg) and blocked shots. He's an above-average athlete for someone his size. He can shoot with both his left and his right in the post. He's got great footwork. Good free-throw shooter for a big man. Kent State coach Jim Christian had the line of the year about Kaman. "If this guy was from Slovenia, and didn't speak English, the NBA would call him a top-five pick right now," Christian said. Christian may be right. He's a definite lottery pick. He could go as high as No. 4 to the Raptors or as low as No. 9 to the Knicks.
2. Pavel Podkolzin, Russia*
The line: 7-5, 303, 18 years old
The skinny: His workout in Chicago last week blew away GMs who had him pegged as nothing more than a myth. Said one GM after the workout, "I don't believe what I just saw," another GM told Insider. "That's the most potent combination of size, strength and agility I've seen since Shaq." His best attribute is his athleticism for someone that size. He's not a lumbering center by any means. He runs the floor well, has a pretty good handle and can really shoot the ball. The problem is he's very raw. He doesn't know how to take advantage of his size in the post, is just an adequate defender and lacks game smarts. That's understandable because of his age and lack of experience. It will probably take three years for him to be a contributor in the NBA. With the buyout issues out of the way, he could go as high as No. 4 in the draft. His upside is behind only to LeBron, Darko and Carmelo.
3. Kendrick Perkins, Texas*
The line: 6-10, 270, HS Senior
The skinny: Perkins is a brick in the middle. He's big, tough and loves to play with his back to the basket. Some claim he's the best big man to come out of Texas since Shaq. But there are problems. He's undersized to play center in the pros. He's not an athlete and has developed a reputation for not playing hard. He should go to college, put Perkins is itching to get into the NBA now. He hasn't had a lot of workouts. He's a borderline first rounder if he stays in the draft.
4. Slavko Vranes, Yugoslavia*
The line: 7-7, 265, 19 years old
The skinny: He's huge. He's very raw offensively, but he isn't a stiff either. He can run the floor, block shots and has enough meat on him to defend in the league. He's not ready for the NBA but that doesn't mean that NBA teams won't take a shot on him in the late first round, early second round. He's impressed teams with his workouts, but there's still not a consensus where he'll go in the draft.
5. James Lang, Alabama*
The line: 6-9, 316, HS Senior
The skinny: Lang had a great camp in Chicago but his lack of size and weight issues are keeping him down right now. He's a talented scorer around the basket and knows how to use his body to get separation. He's also fundamentally very solid. However, Lang has even more serious conditioning issues. He dropped 50 pounds this year just to get down to 313. Scouts consider him a good athlete and love how aggressively he plays the game. He's a solid rebounder and a good shot blocker, but stamina is a major issue. He also is very foul prone. If he went to school and proved to scouts he could stay in great shape, he'd could be a lottery pick in a few years. As it stands now, he has an outside chance at the first round if he works out well and stays in shape.
6. Kresimir Loncar, Croatia*
The line: 6-11, 245, 19-year-old
The skinny: Loncar is one of the top young prospects in Europe. He plays on Benneton Treviso and is slowly developing his skills away from the perimeter and toward the paint. He's an excellent shooter, a good passer and has above average quickness for a big man. He's still very raw with his back to the basket and lacks the strength to guard stronger players in the post. A big 21-point, 10-rebound game against Bologna in the Euroleague recently caught scouts' attention. He'll probably withdraw his name from the draft if he doesn't get a first-round promise. Right now he's probably an early second-round pick.
7. Ezarem Lorbek, Michigan State
The line: 6-11, 240, Freshman
The skinny: Was a top prospect in Europe before a lackluster year at Michigan State. His father decided to pull him from school, throw his name in the draft before his stock sunk too badly and see what happens. He is nowhere near ready to play in the NBA, but teams will still be intriuiged. He's tall, has great fundamentals, a nice shooting touch and will earn the respect of international scouts who feel he was in the wrong system at Michigan State. He's got an outside chance at being a late-first-round pick, but it's much more likely that he'll slip into the second round or out of the draft altogether. If that happens, he'll play in Europe for a few years and come back over as a free agent when he's able to command a bigger salary.
8. Marquis Estill, Kentucky
The line: 6-10, 257, Senior
The skinny: He plays like a center, but Estill will probably have to make the move to power forward in the pros because of his size (scouts claim he's much closer to 6-foot-8). Estill knows how to score in the low post and his big 28-point game against Wisconsin in the tournament helped his stock. But he's got a tough road ahead of him. Someone will take a shot one him in the second round.
9. Jason Keep, San Diego
The line: 6-11, 270, Senior
The skinny: He looks like a skin head biker on steroids, but that's probably his biggest strength. He isn't the tallest or most athletic guy, but he manhandled everyone in Portsmouth and impressed scouts again with his aggressive play in Chicago. He's never going to put up big numbers for a team, but who wouldn't love to have this guy come in and hack the hell out of Shaq for 15 minutes a game?
10. Chris Marcus, Western Kentucky
The line: 7-1, 335, Senior
The skinny: Marcus was medically cleared to play after a physical during the Chicago pre-draft camp. Obviously, there are still major question marks about his health, conditioning (he weighed 334 pounds in Chicago) and long-term future, but it's probably a given that someone will take a chance on him in the second round.
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