In the days leading up to the 2008 NBA Draft, NYKnicks.com will profile many of the top players available. We offer these profiles for fans to familiarize themselves with some of the biggest names in the draft. A player's inclusion in this series of articles is based purely on his rankings in the scouting services and mainstream media and does not necessarily reflect the Knicks organization's preferences for the June 26 Draft at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

We continue our series with a profile of Texas guard D.J. Augustin, a projected first-round pick, according to major scouting services and numerous publications.

When D.J. Augustin announced he would return to the University of Texas following the 2006-07 NCAA tournament, he left many draft pundits scratching their heads. As a freshman, he'd already established himself as an elite point guard, and with star teammate Kevin Durant jumping to the NBA, many assumed Augustin could only hurt his stock by returning to a less talented college team.

Augustin quickly quieted his critics, putting together one of the finest season of any point guard in NCAA history. Behind his 19.2 points, 5.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, Texas finished the season at No. 5 in the nation with a sterling 31-7 record. The Longhorns eventually fell one win short of the Final Four, losing to Memphis in the regional finals.

It was certainly a banner year for Augustin. He won the 2008 Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard, following in the footsteps of NBA stars Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph's, 2004), Raymond Felton (North Carolina, 2005) and Acie Law (Texas A&M). He was also one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA National Player of the Year).

Augustin also became only the 15th player in NCAA history to earn both consensus first-team All-America and first-team Academic All-America honors. To be named a first-team All-American, a player must receive the prestigious honor from six different organizations -- The Associated Press, USBWA, NABC, John R. Wooden All-America Team, Sports Illustrated, and The Sporting News.

Often compared to his idol Steve Nash, Augustin is recognized as a natural leader who is lightning quick and very athletic. Scouts point to his superb court vision, noting that he delivers passes with both flair and pinpoint accuracy. He is credited for always being composed and has shown an ability to control the pace of a game. Pundits and scouting services paint him as a dynamic guard who is not only a great distributor, but can score from anywhere on the court with his deep range and sweet stroke.

The New Orleans native also has an excellent basketball IQ and is a remarkalbe student-athlete who finished his college career with a 3.64 cumulative GPA. He even logged a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2007 fall semester.

As the Longhorns' leader, Augustin turned in several memorable performances in 2007-08, finishing with double-digit assists on four occasions, and reaching the 20-point plateau 19 times. In a three-game stretch from Jan. 24 to Jan. 31, he recorded 32 assists and only eight turnovers. Augustin twice posted 30-point games – vs. St. Mary's on Jan. 5 and on March 1 vs. Texas Tech. He also turned heads in the NCAA tournament, leading Texas into the Elite Eight with an 82-62 humiliation of Stanford behind a 23 point, seven-assist effort that drew national headlines.

Most critics point to Augustin's size as his main drawback. The Texas star is listed at what appears to be a generous 6-foot-0, 180-pounds. In today's NBA game, however, this might not be an issue, since New Orleans Hornets star and MVP candidate Chris Paul is the same height and weighs slightly less than Augustin.