6. Chris Whitney - Clemson
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Name: Bobby Hurley
College: Duke
Height: 6-0
Weight: 165
Position: Point guard
Other Positions: Off guard
Strengths: Speed, stamina, defense, ability to see entire floor, ability
to run the floor, creative passing, ballhandling, clutch shooting
Weakness: Strength, size, streak shooting, ability to finish shots
in transition
Poop:
Hurley went from being a whiny, turnover-plagued freshman to the
NCAA assists leader and a well-known clutch shooter as a senior.
He has improved every year, each year taking on new tasks and pressures.
As a sophmore, he started up his rep as a clutch shooter with his big
three pointer against UNLV. As a junior, he cut down on his turnovers.
As a senior, he became a serious scoring threat, averaging 17 ppg and
becoming the 12th leading scorer in Duke history. His assists-turnovers
ratio has been 2:1 for the last two years, outstanding considering how
much he handles the ball.
Hurley is a player who makes the most of his physical talents. He
is not strong, but he makes up for it with his incredible stamina.
He's not physically imposing, but he uses his deceptive speed to get
around opponents. Few guards at the college level could keep up with
him (though it must be noted that the few who could had a great deal
of success against him, especially if they were also stronger than he
was), and he also had success at the Olympic practice sessions against
the likes of Magic Johnson and John Stockton.
In the pros, he would benefit by playing with a veteran point guard
for a season or two, and then take over the team. His stamina would
help a lot as a rookie, but the bigger, stronger and more athletic NBA
players may hurt his shooting early in his career. Of course, there
were many who said he would never average over 10 ppg at Duke either,
so don't count out his offense altogether. A team would draft Hurley
to run the team and get open players good shots, as well as put
pressure on the dribble, take charges and deny the entry pass. I
think he'll concentrate on these areas his first two years. He would
also do well to try and bulk up at least a little; 165 is too slight
even for a six-footer.
Passing is what Hurley is all about, though, and he would benefit by
joining an extremely athletic team that had an uptempo style. This
would make the most of his speed and stamina, and he would have
teammates who could handle some of his more creative passes. All in
all, I expect a good team to nab him in the first round, between the
12th and 18th picks.
Scout: Rob Clough
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Name: Nick Van Exel
School: Cincinnati
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 171
Strengths: ballhandling, knows how to run offense
Weaknesses: too offensive minded, not a true playmaker, inconsistent
Poop:
Streaky shooter will good ballhanding skills, Van Exel has all the
tools necessary to be a solid NBA player. Shows no fear on the
offensive end of the floor and is able to create his own shot. Very
good at finishing the break. Outstanding range -- when he's hitting.
Needs to work on his defense and decision-making. Nick reminds me a
lot of Henry Williams from UNC-Charlotte a year ago, but Van Exel has
more quickness. Ability to gain a point guard's mentality will the
the key to Van Exel's success in the NBA. He's not big enough to play
shooting guard in the NBA. Likely an late first or early second round
selection.
Scout: Curtis Hill
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Name: Sam Crawford
School: New Mexico St
Height: 5'8"
Position: Point Guard
Other Positions: ---
Strengths: Ball handling, Passing, Quickness, Defense
Weaknesses: Out of control at times, Outside Shooting
Poop:
Crawford was one of the country's most explosive players last season.
An All-Big West selection, Crawford also finished in the Top 10
nationally in both assists and steals. He is an excellent playmaker
who can almost penetrate at will, and always create a defensive
mismatch for the other team. He has great court vision, and finds
the open man. He also is quick as lightning, and has quick hands.
He is like a fly on flypaper on defense. While Crawford can shoot
he is very inconsistent. And, sometimes, Crawford plays way out
of control. Crawford has a checkered past -- including alcohol
abuse -- but under the tutalage of Norm Nixon, he has gotten that
all straightened out. Crawford has great athletic talent -- he can
dunk -- but his height may prove to be a problem in the NBA.
However, he is basically a taller, younger version of Muggsy Bogues,
and don't be surprised if he's gone by the end of the 1st round.
Scout: Jazzy J
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Name: Adonis Jordan
School: Kansas
Height: 6'0" (seems shorter)
Strengths: quickness, ballhandling, competitiveness
Weaknesses: middling jumper, size
Poop:
When considering what Adonis Jordan's future in the NBA looks like, I
look around to see who else is like him. The guy who comes to mind is
Bobby Hurley. Much has been made about Hurley's prospects. It seems
that Jordan is a step shy of Hurley in most categories. His strengths
are a little weaker, and his shortcomings are a little shorter. Jordan
has an excellent handle, though not quite as invulnerable as Hurley.
His shot has come along this year, and he is much more confident with
it. Hurley has paralleled this, though he is more streaky hot. Both
of these guys have hawked college guards and done a great job
defensively. It will be very important to see if the shorter Jordan
can handle NBA guards. He won't have the big quickness advantage on
everybody in the NBA.
So, his two biggest problems will be: Can he stop anybody? Can he
score well enough to keep him in the game? The answers to these
questions are uncertain enough to make Adonis Jordan a 2nd round pick.
Given however, that Bogues, Webb, and others have carved out niches in
the NBA, it seems he does have some future.
Scout: Rob Skrobola
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Name: Lindsey Hunter
School: Jackson State
Height: 6-2
Position: point guard
Other Possible Spots: shooting guard
Strenghts: Explosive scorer, outside shot with great range, quickness
Weaknesses: Not pure PG, a little streaky
Poop:
Hunter did not play well at the Phoenix camp and that may hurt
him. However, The Hornets are *real* high on him. Dave Twardzik,
the Hornets director of player personnel said, "There's a tremendous
upside to his game. He can stick it with very good range." He
also said that he like Hunter better then Nick Van Exel of Cincinnati
and Adonas Jordan of Kansas. It will be interesting to see how he
does against top talent. A mid-late first rounder.
Scout: Craig Simpson
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Name: Chuck Evans
School: Mississippi State
Height: 5'11"
Position: Point guard
Other Positions: ---
Strengths: Playmaking, Defense, Anticipation
Weaknesses: Shooting, Size
Poop:
Evans is a big-time prospect this year in a weak year for point guards.
He is an excellent penetrator, and easily finds the open man. He
finished among the nation's leaders in assists. He also is a
spectacular defender, with a penchant for steals. Evans compares
very favorably with Avery Johnson, as they are very similar.
Offensively, Evans ranks about the same as Johnson, perhaps with a
better outside shot. 5'11" also might be an exaggeration of his
height, but he is well-built at that size. Evans is a smart player
who doesn't make many mistakes. He's probably a good bet to be
selected in the 2nd round.
Scout: Jazzy J
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Name: Alphonso Ford
School: Mississippi Valley St
Height: 6'4"
Position: Shooting Guard
Other Positions: Point Guard
Strengths: Scoring!!
Weaknesses: Defense, Shot Selection
Poop:
Alphonso Ford is a big-time scorer who averaged about 28ppg over his
collegiate career. He can score inside or out, and definitely is not
shy about shooting. He was an off guard in college, but is projected
as a point guard in the pros, so that will require some transition.
Ford has good size, at 6'4" he is an excellent rebounder. Defensively,
he is at best average. His small college reputation may hurt as well,
but in camps, he has impressed scouts with his overall ability.
Probably a reach in the 1st round, but definitely worth a look in the
2nd.
Scout: Jazzy J
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Name: Bennie Seltzer
School: Washington State
Height: 6-2
Position: point guard
Other Possible Spots: shooting guard
Strengths: outside shooting, defense, dribble penetration, quickness
Weaknesses: passing, stamina.
Poop:
Seltzer was the man who made it all happen for Washington State
this last year. He is deadly from outside the three point arc
and can create his own shot as well. He played point guard as
a senior but may be more suited to being a two guard. He has
a reasonable turnover to assist ratio, but really is not the
best person to set up someone in the low post. He is a bit of
a streak shooter and can absolutely dominate a game for stretches
of 10-15 minutes. He is reasonably good defensively, as witnessed
by his holding down of several of the better point guards in the
Pac Ten (Jason Kidd, Damon Stoudamire). The biggest question
about moving to the next level is how well he will play against
some of the better defensive guards in the NBA. Likely a 2nd
round draft choice or a free agent.
Scout: Cliff Slaughterbeck
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Name: Chris Whitney
School: Clemson
Height: 6-0
Weight: 160
Position: Off guard
Other Position: Point guard
Strengths: Range on shot, passing, speed, hand-quickness
Weaknesses: Ballhandling, size
Poop:
Chris Whitney was one of the most underrated and underappreciated
players in the ACC the past two seasons. He made the best of playing
on a patchwork Clemson squad the last two seasons, a program with
players constantly transferring or dropping out, NCAA violations
constantly looming, and a coach who is always in the hot seat.
Whitney added some stability and maturity to the team and the program
in general, on and off the court, and he deserved his 3rd team all-ACC
selection.
He has been one of the ACC's best three point shooters the last two
years, clocking in at over 41%. This is amazing considering that he's
Clemson's only consistent long-range threat, and the fact that he
often takes them from near-NBA ranges. Moreover, his shooting opened
up the inside for developing young frontcourt talents Sharone Wright
and Devin Gray. His performance in the Tigers' upset of FSU in the
ACC tournament showed his grit and clutch ability. His passing is
good, leading the Tigers in assists both years with decent turnover
numbers, and his quickness is borne out in his high number of steals.
The bad news? Whitney is a classic 'tweener guard. At 6-0, he's far
too short to effectively play the off guard position in the NBA, which
is the position he would be best suited for. Although he has great
range, he's mostly a standstill shooter and at 6-0 this spells doom in
the pros, especially for someone even skinnier than Bobby Hurley. He
probably doesn't have the instincts to play point either, but this is
the spot he'd have to take. He may be able to sign as a free agent
somewhere, because he might have a future as a back-up point. His
maturity and work habits alone may snag him a roster spot somewhere;
if not, he is the type of player that could dominate the CBA and
perhaps move up the pro ladder that way. [RC]
Scout: Rob Clough
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Name: Kevin McLinton
College: U of Maryland
Height: 6-4
Weight: 208
Position: Combo guard
Strengths: Strength, scoring, passing
Weaknesses: Consistency of shot, turnovers
Poop:
McLinton is a player who has improved steadily every year at
Maryland. He is steady but not spectacular; a very good passer who is
sometimes error prone. His biggest asset is his strength; he was able
to muscle a lot of guards for layups. His biggest weakness is his
shot; he's been erratic for most of his career, shooting under 30%
from the three point line. He is the proverbial "scorer, not a
shooter". He has had to carry the bulk of the perimeter load since
lotto pick Walt Williams left; even when Williams was at UM McClinton
had to pick up a lot of the ballhandling chores when Williams proved
to be very turnover-prone.
His biggest problem is that he's a forward in a guard's body; he
likes to post people up and muscle them out. In the pros, this could
hurt him greatly. He doesn't have the skills to play at the three
spot either; he's not a great athlete. Still, he has good size for a
guard and is a decent defender, and might make it as a free agent
somewhere or in the CBA.
Scout: Rob Clough
Craig Simpson - Usenet Draft Commissioner