I know I am ranting, but after looking things over, I think this center class is even better than last years class. This is how I would rank them all combined:
1. Brook Lopez
2. Hasheem Thabeet
3. BJ Mullens
4. Cole Aldrich
5. Kosta Koufus
6. Jerome Jordan
John Riek (I'm not too sure on him, this would be as high as I could see him, but I won't really rank him, more just place him up here)
7. Roy Hibbert
8. AJ Oglivy
9. Marreese Speights
10. Robin Lopez
11. JaVale McGee
12. DeAndre Jordan (who is am still a fan of and would more likely put up at 8 or 9)
Those are all of the centers that I think will have been 1st round material, with the 2009 draft still a year away. 2008 is deeper, but I think 2009 is just as good based on the fact that I think all of them will be just about as good as any from 2008.
thabeet seems terrible to me, maybe i just caught him on off games tho. reminds me of this kid i played with in high school who was 6'10 250 but got dominated by guys 7 or 8 inches shorter and 80 pounds less.
Thabeet made huge strides this year. I too thought he was terrible, but I saw them play one game and on offense he looked like a completely different player. In some games he looked like a superstar player. He will be one of the most improved players this year if his game as continued to grow this year.
monthh- good posts, i do however think that you are wrong on this next years center class being real strong-
mullins is NOT a one year and done top 5 pick- koufos had the same ratings a year ago and came along well to end up at pick 23- i can see why some might think that mullins has a higher ceiling than koufos, but this is not a guy who will blow up early- it will take time for mullins even IF he turns into a lottery type player-
at the nike hoops summit game in portland, mullins looked like a fish out of water- not even an assertive enough of a kid to get out on the court to warm up for the game- once on the court, he is years behind in skills and ability from alexis ajinca, who many think is years away from being ready for the nba-this kid will not be a freshman star.
1-charlotte- derozen 6-6 sg sc
2-new york- rubio 6-4 pg
3-mlwaukee- daye 6-11 pf gonzaga
4-seattle- griffen 6-9 sf/pf oklahoma
5-minnisota- thabeet 7-2 c uconn
6-sacramento- jennings 6-1 pg arizona
7-memphis- j johnson 6-8 sf wake forest
8-indiana- g monroe 6-10 pf georgetown
9-g state- j harden 6-5 sg asu
10-chicago- s curry 6-1 pg davidson
11-atlanta- l hudson 6-3 pg e tenn st
12-n jersey- t smith 6-7 sg/sf tennessee
13-la clipps-j teague 6-3 pg wake forest
14-portland- buddinger 6-8 sg arizona
I'm pretty sure you just have to turn 19 during the year you are drafted, so he will be 19 a few months after he is drafted.
Owl, I think Mullens will prove to be a little bit more of a traditional center than Koufus, which is why he will go higher, but I do agree that he won't go as high as some people see him going. However, compared to the centers that were drafted this year, I only see Lopez being a better prospect right now. This years crop was considered to be really strong, which is was for centers. I think next years will be equally strong, while other people say it will be weak. The thing is that both years center prospects are almost totally based on potential. McGee, Jordan, Speights, and Koufus are really potential picks, and I think Aldrich, Mullens, Oglivy, and Riek will be about the same, just in a weaker draft overall.
Re: 2009 NBA Mock Draft
