NBA Draft chart

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jun 20, 2009 | by Curtis Pashelka

Power forwards

Name School/club Age Ht. Wt. Ppg. Rpg.

1. Blake Griffin Oklahoma 20 6-10 250 22.7 14.4

2. Jordan Hill Arizona 21 6-10 235 18.3 11.0

3. DeJuan Blair Pittsburgh 20 6-7 270 15.7 12.3

4. James Johnson Wake Forest 22 6-8 235 15.0 8.5

5. Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina 23 6-9 234 20.7 8.1

6. Earl Clark Louisville 21 6-9 220 14.2 8.7

7. Taj Gibson USC 23 6-9 214 14.3 9.0

-- OVERVIEW: Griffin still has to cut down on turnovers and improve his defense, otherwise, he does almost everything else exceptionally well for a power forward. He has great touch around the basket, possesses great footwork and has a high basketball I.Q. Almost as physically imposing is Hill, who doesn't mind mixing it up inside and is as competitive as anyone. A knock on Hill is his polish on offense and whether he can develop some adequate post moves, but he still looks like a top 10, if not top five, pick.

Blair can struggle with his back to the basket and lacks a ton of post moves, but he is aggressive and could wind up being one of the better rebounders in the draft. Johnson matured greatly during his sophomore season, becoming more efficient on offense and a better defender. His conditioning and fundamentals are an issue, though.

Clark is a bit turnover prone but figures to have a big upside. Hansbrough is as competitive as they come but isn't terribly athletic and is a bit old compared with other top power forwards. Gibson is a good defender but lacks offensive polish.

Centers

Name School/club Age Ht. Wt. Ppg. Rpg.

1. Hasheem Thabeet UConn 22 7-3 267 13.6 10.8

2. B.J. Mullens Ohio St. 20 7-0 258 8.8 4.7

3. Josh Heytvelt Gonzaga 23 6-11 260 14.9 6.5

4. Vyacheslav Kravtsov BC Kyiv 21 7-0 235 3.9 3.7

5. Goran Suton Michigan St. 23 6-10 245 10.1 8.2

6. Luke Nevill Utah 23 7-1 250 16.8 9.0

7. John Bryant Santa Clara 23 6-10 275 18.1 14.2

-- OVERVIEW: It's the thinnest position of any in this year's draft as only Thabeet and Mullens are locks for the first round. Truth be told, Heytvelt and Suton are more power forwards than centers, and it's possible only three or four players in this group will even be drafted.

Thabeet can contribute right away just because of his defense, although he still needs to develop offensively. Mullens will be a project, no doubt, but if a team is willing to show some patience, he could wind up being a steal. Same with Kravtsov. Heytvelt was solid for the Bulldogs last season, and Suton, Nevill and Bryant were the same for their teams. But they'll all need to be on the right team to make an impact. Like, in the D-League.