Draft chatter

Basketball Digest, Sept-Oct, 2004 by Troy Erickson

I want to thank you guys for putting out such a great magazine as BASKETBALL DIGEST. I really enjoyed the August 2004 article "Second to None," about the 1984 draft. It was great. I would have to agree that it was the best draft ever. I was wondering if you could print the first round of the 1984 draft.

I also enjoyed that issue's 2004 draft preview, "Where Have All the Blue Chips Gone?" I am a big fan of Marvin Williams. He is a great player and person. You guys said a lot of good things about his game that I agree on. Williams is going to North Carolina, which will help prepare him for the pros even more, with Roy Williams as his coach.

I watched him in high school and I think he's more gifted than some of the high-schoolers going straight to the pros. Was his ranking in your draft preview (No. 23) because of his poor McDonald's All-American game? Josh Smith and Sebastian Telfair are ranked high, but they seem to have more weaknesses in their games, according to your article.

Troy Erickson

Belfair, Wash.

Williams made a solid decision in giving North Carolina a try, unlike other high-schoolers who decided to jump to the NBA even if they weren't lottery picks. You'll see in our NCAA preview on page 46 that Williams is our No. 1 newcomer in all of college basketball, and the Tar Heels are ranked No. 3 in our preseason poll.

There is certainly less of a glaring weakness in Williams' game when compared to 2004 NBA draft choices Smith and Telfair; however, Williams could fall victim to tweenerhood--not being quick enough to man the 3 or big enough to play the 4.

1984 NBA Draft: First Round

Pick Player              School                 Team

 1. Hakeem Olajuwon      Houston                Houston Rockets
 2. Sam Bowie            Kentucky               Portland Trail Blazers
 3. Michael Jordan       North Carolina         Chicago Bulls
 4. Sam Perkins          North Carolina         Dallas Mavericks
 5. Charles Barkley      Auburn                 Philadelphia 76ers
 6. Melvin Turpin        Kentucky               Cleveland Cavaliers
 7. Alvin Robertson      Arkansas               San Antonio Spurs
 8. Lancaster Gordon     Louisville             Los Angeles Clippers
 9. Otis Thorpe          Providence             Kansas City Kings
10. Leon Wood            Cal State-Fullerton    Philadelphia 76ers
11. Kevin Willis         Michigan State         Atlanta Hawks
12. Tim McCormick        Michigan               Seattle SuperSonics
13. Jay Humphries        Colorado               Phoenix Suns
14. Michael Cage         San Diego State        Los Angeles Clippers
15. Terrance Stansbury   Temple                 Dallas Mavericks
16. John Stockton        Gonzaga                Utah Jazz
17. Jeff Turner          Vanderbilt             New Jersey Nets
18. Vern Fleming         Georgia                Indiana Pacers
19. Bernard Thompson     Fresno State           Portland Trail Blazers
20. Tony Campbell        Ohio State             Detroit Pistons
21. Kenny Fields         UCLA                   Milwaukee Bucks
22. Tom Sewell           Lamar                  Philadelphia 76ers
23. Earl Jones           District of Columbia   Los Angeles Lakers
24. Michael Young        Houston                Boston Celtics