NBA draft preview: Power forwards

[NaboCane]

Three of the top 5 are 6'9" or under...small class. Also, some background on Charlie Villanueva; Wetxel compares him to fellow Queens native Lamar Odom.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=dw-powerforwards062105&prov=yhoo&type=lgns




TOP FIVE POWER FORWARD PROSPECTS

1. Fran Vazquez, 6-10, Spain – He has a bangers game and is a good shot blocker, but he needs to add bulk (he's only 228 pounds).

2. Charlie Villanueva, 6-10, Connecticut, Sophomore.

3. Sean May, 6-8, North Carolina, Sophomore – The wide-body hero of the NCAA champs will have to get his mean streak going to thrive in the NBA.

4. Chris Taft, 6-9, Pittsburgh, Sophomore – Classic power forward needs to prove he wants to play hard every possession.

5. Ike Diogu, 6-8, Arizona, Jr. – Dominant player in the Pac 10 the last few years despite limited support. Space eater with great scoring ability down low.

Dan Wetzel is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

 

[wazzy]

NICE read again! question for you though who do you think Toronto is going to take at #7 if your strong basketball follower and you think you might have a good answer to the question leave your opinion

 

[phunwin]

NICE read again! question for you though who do you think Toronto is going to take at #7 if your strong basketball follower and you think you might have a good answer to the question leave your opinion

Buddwalk's been doing a lot of mock drafts, check out one of those threads for some input.

IMHO, Toronto's biggest need is a point. Paul and Williams are gone by 7, as is Gerald Green, a player they're in love with. Raymond Felton is one good possibility. Channing Frye doesn't help their sorry backcourt, but he would make for a very intriguing frontcourt with Chris Bosh.

 

[ChambersWI]

Diogu is too low.

 

[Buddwalk]

Nice but this is how i'd rank them

1. Charlie Villanueva
2. Fran Vazquez
3. Ike Diogu
4. Sean May
5. Wayne Simien

[Personally Sean May is only on this list cause of his national title status...Thats why his stock his higher than it should be. He really just a slower short center now moving to power forward. I would love to put Ronny Turiaf on the list from gonzaga...the guys a monster!]

 

[byroan]

Personally Sean May is only on this list cause of his national title status...Thats why his stock his higher than it should be.

Um...no. May was dominate all season.

 

[Buddwalk]

Um...no. May was dominate all season.

He doesnt translate into the nba quite as well as the other guys...Like i've said hes slow

 

[ChambersWI]

Um...no. May was dominate all season.

He might have dominated guys in college, but what's he gonna do against KG and Tim Duncan? IMO May will be a solid player, but he will be a Tractor Traylor like player, but a little bit better.

 

[byroan]

He might have dominated guys in college, but what's he gonna do against KG and Tim Duncan? IMO May will be a solid player, but he will be a Tractor Traylor like player, but a little bit better.

I'm just saying that May's stock wasn't just because of his great finals performance. He carried UNC all season. His success in the NBA will depend on what team drafts him.

 

[phunwin]

It may not be just the tourney that put May into round 1; his full season performance probably would have gotten him into the first round. However, there's no way teams are looking at him in the lottery without his NCAA tournament performance.

 

[nyjunc]

Charlie Villanueva is highly overrated, UConn is much better off w/o him. He is going to be a bust in the NBA.

 

[phunwin]

Charlie Villanueva is highly overrated, UConn is much better off w/o him. He is going to be a bust in the NBA.

Really? I disagree with that. No doubt that UConn's still going to field a very good team, but Villanueva, for all his issues, was a very talented player who took over plenty of games for them. I'm a Syracuse fan, and believe me, this guy gave the Orange hell for the last two years.

 

[nyjunc]

Really? I disagree with that. No doubt that UConn's still going to field a very good team, but Villanueva, for all his issues, was a very talented player who took over plenty of games for them. I'm a Syracuse fan, and believe me, this guy gave the Orange hell for the last two years.

He has talent but he is a selfish player who disappears way too much for his talent level. I heard alot about him coming out of HS and I was very disappointed w/ what I saw at UConn.