Very little is ever certain for an NBA draft hopeful until he finally hears his name called.
As tonight’s 2008 NBA Draft fast approaches, former LSU forward Anthony Randolph’s status is as much in question as any other prospect.
Randolph, who declared for the draft after one year at LSU, was the No. 5 prospect in the draft when he made his early entry official in April, according to ESPN.com draft analyst Chad Ford.
Randolph projected as high as a No. 7 pick in Ford’s “Mock Draft, 2.0” on May 27.
“Randolph has a great combination of size and athleticism,” Ford wrote. “He’s a proven rebounder at the college level and has a little bit of [All-Star forward] Chris Bosh in him.”
Ford has since dropped Randolph to the No. 14 prospect in his rankings and No. 16 pick in Wednesday’s “Mock Draft, 6.1.”
Ford blames a lack of strength as one of the keys for Randolph’s fall.
“Anthony Randolph is 120 pounds,” Ford joked in his “Great Draft Debate ’08” with fellow ESPN writer Bill Simmons.
NBADraft.net’s Aran Smith said he is not surprised to see Randolph projecting lower than in the past, and he said talk of Randolph going in the top 10 was probably “overkill.”
“It has most to do with the fact that he’s not ready to contribute to a team immediately,” Smith said. “I don’t think that he’s necessarily going to fall out of the lottery. I think he’s probably going to end up finding a spot at the end of the lottery.”
“The lottery” refers to the draft’s first 14 picks – the order of which is chosen by a lottery system.
Smith said scouts expect Randolph to take time to become a productive player, which scares teams because he may be a “second-team player.”
“He’s the kind of guy that is seen as a potential ‘second-team type player,'” Smith said. “In other words, he’s going to struggle with his first team. And teams worry they’re going to develop the player and then not get anything to show for it when he goes to his next team and finally figures it out and begins to play well.”
Smith said one team showing interest in Randolph is the Indiana Pacers, who hold the No. 11 pick.
While teams may worry Randolph will not produce for his first few seasons in the league, most experts seem to think he could eventually become one of the biggest stars of the 2008 draft class.
“When all is said and done, I think he’s going to be one of the best players in this draft,” ESPN’s Chris Broussard said Wednesday
Randolph, a four-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, already showed he could produce on the college level.
The 6-foot-10-inch forward was the No. 13 scorer in the SEC this past season, averaging 15.6 points per game, and his 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game each earned him No. 3 in the conference and No. 1 among SEC freshmen.
Former LSU associate head coach and interim head coach Butch Pierre, who coached Randolph this past season before accepting a job as an assistant at Oklahoma State, echoed Broussard’s idea that Randolph will prove to be one of the best of this year’s prospects down the line.
“I’m proud of Anthony and the way he handled himself throughout this whole process,” Pierre said. “Hopefully he made the right decision, and we’ll be able to see that [tonight] in the draft.”
—-Contact Jerit Roser at [email protected]