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 NBA Draft WiretapDraft PreviewMarch Madness is the unofficial kickoff for the pro scouting madness that includes so-called predraft camps leading up to Chicago's in June and subsequent individual workouts. Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune takes a close look at it and ranks the players. He sees three Duke players in the 1st round and believes that Jason Williams is the consensus No. 1 pick. Other top 4 players are Mike Dunleavy Jr, Yao Ming, Drew Gooden, and Dajuan Wagner, respectively. The Chicago Bulls may end the season as the worst team and have a no lower than No. 4 pick. Either one of those mentioned players may join the Bulls next season. According to Sam Smith, the sleepers of the draft might be David West, Casey Jacobsen and Luke Walton who may all be selected on the 1st round. The surprise of the draft might be Dan Dickau being selected as high as a lottery selection and international prospect Nikoloz Tskitishvili who few have heard of or seen play. Chicago Bulls may be fortnate on the second round as Vincent Yarbrough and Tayshaun Prince might be available. Chicago Bulls, NBA Draft, General Basketball Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets To China we will go....Could the Knicks be headed to China? No, they have not been extradited, but if they are lucky enough to land Chinese big man Yao Ming that may just be the compensation the Shanghai Sharks are looking for if Marc Berman's article in today's New York Post is anything to go by. An exhibition game against Ming's Shanghai Sharks would be part of the compensation the Knicks or any other team lucky enough to choose Ming would have to give Shanghai for allowing Ming to play next season. Layden was told by Chinese basketball officials during a recent trip that while Ming will definitely be allowed to play in the NBA next season, there would be conditions. Rumors are Shanghai would require just money, but Layden was also told about an exhibition game and sponsoring coaching clinics in its Chinese city. One of the Shanghai owners was quoted last week, saying, "Under the right circumstances, with the right club, at the right time, he'll play." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Nelson considers NBAUniversity of Florida junior guard Brett Nelson suffered through a miserable NCAA Tournament. Tuesday, he was punched in the face by teammate LaDarius Halton and had surgery that night at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Thursday, he answered repeated questions from the media about his fractured right cheekbone. Then the Gators were eliminated in the first round of the tournament in a 83-82 loss to Creighton on Friday afternoon. Nelson made just 4 of 19 shots from the field, including 2 of 10 from 3-point range. He misfired on a runner at the buzzer in regulation, which could have won the game for the Gators. Nice week. Actually, it was a nightmare. And Nelson admitted afterwards that he's considering leaving Florida for the NBA, rather than coming back for one more year. "I don't know what I'm going to do yet," he said. "I'm going to take the next couple of months and see what happens. I'm going to talk to my parents and talk to coaches and stuff like that and see what happens. There's no doubt, though, that all of this has left a very bad taste in my mouth." Nelson briefly considered turning pro after last season. If he does try to turn professional, it's doubtful he'd warrant a first-round draft selection. Several publications have quoted NBA scouts as saying Nelson won't even be drafted if declares for the draft. Part of Nelson's frustration, in addition to having a swollen face, was the team's up and down season that was once filled with so many expectations. Ironically, the season ended with Nelson's hand in the face of Bluejays' guard Terrell Taylor, who made the game-winning shot with 0.2 seconds left. "We made some mistakes and they made some mistakes but in the end he hit a tough shot," Nelson said of Taylor. "You've got to give that kid credit. I was right up in his face, he jumped over me and knocked down a shot. You can't do anything about that." Florida lost all five of its games determined by three points or less this year. "It's the kind of thing that happened all season long," Nelson said. "We could never close games out and I think down the stretch we never really got control of the game and that's been a trend this whole season." If he does decide to return, it could be because of next season's potential. As a freshman, Nelson made the All-Regional team when the Gators won the East to advance to the Final Four. He'd like to leave college ball with a better final showing in the NCAAs. "I'm a winner and we didn't win anything this year," he said. "It kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth going into next year, whatever you intend to do." While no one's sure what Nelson will do -- including himself -- one player who has NBA scouts very interested but isn't leaving is freshman James White. White said he plans to be back next year. "I'm definitely going to stay," White said. "I've got a lot to do. I've got a lot to work on. Hopefully, I'm trying to take this team to the Final Four next year." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Mar 2002 Archive
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