Early Look: 2009 NBA Draft part 2

1. Blake Griffin

2. Demar DeRozan

3. Hasheem Thabeet

4. James Harden

5. BJ Mullens

6. Earl Clark - has great length for a SF and has could really have an NBA body once he puts on more weight; extremely athletic and very high potential; could move into the top 5 if he shows a consistent outside game

7. Damion James - great rebounder for his position; ranking depends on how he responds to Texas' new lead guard AJ Abrams taking the reigns from DJ Augustin

8. Chase Budinger (pictured) - probably the most athletic player in the Pac-10 and also has terrific size for a SG; aggressive on offense but still plays in control; could have gone higher he had a year with Brandon Jennings

9. Brandon Jennings - made the smart move to go to Europe for the stiffer competition and money, especially if you compare it to sitting out a year, he would have contended with Darren Collison for First Team All Pac-10 if he had played in the NCAA's

10. Patrick Patterson - makes up for his 6-8 height with a 7-1 wingspan, has yet to show the ability to handle the ball or shoot from beyond 17 feet, has a tremendous motor and great hands, could go higher if he proves himself to be a legitimate threat around the perimeter

Who's your point guard?... Villanova

  Maalik Wayns

- 6'1" guard out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

-Committed to Villanova

- Plays on Philadelphia-based AAU team Team Philly. 

- Currently ranked 19th in his class by Rivals, 25th by Scout, and #12 by ESPN.

- Very effective at getting in the paint and dishing the ball from that point. Often relies to heavily on his left hand, but is a very solid dribbler.  Surprised me with his strength of rebounding from his position.  needs to work on consistency from behind the arc. 

Abdul Gaddy's travel coach: "there’s no validity to the story"

Garry Ward, the travel team coach for Abdul Gaddy, says Gaddy is still considering Memphis despite the recent news that Memphis self-reported a recruiting violation related to the Bellarmine (Wash.) Prep point guard.

“Since there’s no validity to the story, then I would say, ‘Yes, he’s still considering Memphis,’” Ward said by phone from Orlando.

ZagsBlog

John Wall to Baylor

We had posted a few weeks ago that we thought John Wall would end up in the Big 12. We expected Oklahoma State to land the #1 prospect in the 2009 class, instead he will verbal to Baylor University. Expect an announcement as early as next week, although he could decide to hold off on going public. Wall's list included Oklahoma State Kentucky, NC State and Oregon before his commitment. The 6-4 point guard plans to stay in college no longer than two years and he more than likely will be one and done.