Top Big Men in the NBA Draft

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jun 25, 2008

Top Big Men in the NBA Draft

Michael Beasley

Beasley, Kansas State's first All-America since 1959, averaged 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds in his only collegiate season. The inside-outside threat also shot 53.2 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three-point range. He is expected to be one of the first two players selected.

Kevin Love

The "knows-how-to-play-the-game" line applies neatly to Love, a first-team All-America who scores inside and out, rebounds well and is an accomplished passer. Love will need to improve his conditioning going forward.

Brook Lopez

Regarded as the No. 1 center in the draft, the Cardinal sophomore showed his stuff on the national stage with 30- and 26-point performances in the NCAA tournament.

Anthony Randolph

One scout said the slender Randolph "has the most upside of anybody" and likened him to Chris Bosh when the Raptors' All-Star was a freshman at Georgia Tech. Randolph doesn't turn 19 until July; he will need some time to develop before making an impact in the NBA.

Kosta Koufos

The 7-foot freshman has excellent shooting range for a big man. He averaged 14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds with the Buckeyes.

DeAndre Jordan

The ultimate "upside" prospect, Jordan played sparingly in two NCAA tournament games and was a part-time starter throughout a season in which he averaged 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. But the NBA-type athleticism and size -- more than the freshman production -- is why Jordan is being talked about as a first-round pick.

Darrell Arthur

Arthur showed flashes of dominance -- a 20-point, 10-rebound effort against Memphis in the NCAA final certainly didn't hurt -- in a relatively modest amount of playing time (24.7 minutes a game) with the well-balanced national champions.

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Robin Lopez

An NBA executive said of Brook's twin brother, "He has a physical presence, he has mobility and he has underrated offensive potential. He's going to get drafted a lot higher than anyone realizes."

Jason Thompson

For four years, Thompson was the big fish in the small-pool MAAC. Now he very well might jump from a bus league -- which he owned with 20.4 points and 12.1 rebounds in addition to 2.7 blocks -- to the first round.

J.J. Hickson

A strong finisher around the basket, the 6-9 freshman led the ACC in shooting (59.1 percent) while averaging 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds.

Alexis Ajinca

The 20-year-old 7-footer showed big improvement this year. He's long and nimble with perimeter shooting skills, but he needs to keep building his strength.

Serge Ibaka

Ibaka, 18, came out of the recent Reebok camp in Italy looking like a first-round pick. The 6-10 forward from Congo is a long-term investment who will need a couple of more years in Europe or in the D-League as he has been playing organized basketball for a short time.

Roy Hibbert

Hibbert is one of the few seniors getting first-round consideration. The 7-2 center, No. 4 on the Hoyas' all-time shot-blocking list, should be able to play some minutes immediately.

JaVale McGee

The skilled big man averaged 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds and led the WAC with 2.8 blocks. His mother, Pam, a former U.S. Olympian and WNBA player with the Sacramento Monarchs, has nicknamed her son the Big Secret.

D.J. White

White relied on his solid post game to average 17.4 points and shoot 60.5 percent from the field as a senior last season. He was named Big Ten Player of the Year.

Ryan Anderson

The 6-10 forward set a school record for points by a sophomore (697), averaging a Pac-10-leading 21.1 to go with 9.9 rebounds. According to Anderson, NBA executives have told him that he will be picked in the 17 to 25 range.

Ante Tomic

Tomic, 21, was considered a possible first-round pick last year before withdrawing from the draft. He has good skills for a 7-footer, but one NBA executive said of the 230-pound Tomic, ''The question with him is how strong he can get.''

DeVon Hardin

Hardin flirted with entering the draft last year but returned to school. As it turned out, he was less productive as a senior than he was a junior. Nevertheless, Hardin has an NBA-type body (6-11, 250 pounds) and runs the floor well for a player his size.

Omer Asik

One scout said of the 21-year-old, 6-11 Asik, ''He has a good sense of timing for rebounds and blocking shots. He's skinny and needs to get stronger, but he has the kind of body that can bulk up.''

Top Big Men in the NBA Draft