You see them every game on the television. You hear them every game on the radio. Whether it's on
Altitude Sports & Entertainment or the Altitude Radio Network, these people are the faces and voices of the Denver Nuggets. They are your Nuggets Broadcasters.
Nuggets.com recently caught up with a few of your favorite Nuggets broadcasters to discuss the NBA Draft 2005. In an attempt to test their NBA knowledge, we partnered each of them up with another broadcaster for the ultimate mock draft battle.
Each broadcaster has filled out his or her own personal NBA Draft 2005 first round board. They have also had a chance to look over their partner's selections and make comments on them. Some of the picks turned out to be the same, while others turned out to be exact opposites. But until the Draft actually takes place on Tuesday, June 28th, it is hard to say who is the most accurate.
Look through their selections and see for yourself. After seeing their picks and reading their reasonings for certain picks, you be the judge on how their mock drafts have turned out.
First up, Jerome Jurenovich of Altitude Sports will square off with Jerry Schemmel of the Altitude Radio Network. In 2004-05, Jurenovich completed his first season as both an in-studio personality and a sideline reporter for Nuggets telecasts on Altitude. Schemmel has been the Nuggets radio play-by-play announcer since 1992. Together, the two of them share a wealth of knowledge about both the Nuggets and the entire NBA.
Jurenovich and Schemmel filled out their mock drafts prior to Tuesday, June 21, which was the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw their names from the Draft. Therefore, some of their original picks have withdrawn from the Draft and are no longer eligible to be drafted in 2005.
*** Players that fall into this category have been highlighted in gold on the draft boards listed below. ***
 |
| Jerome Jurenovich Mock Draft |
| 1 |  | Milwaukee Bucks
Andrew Bogut
7-0 C (Utah) |
| 2 |  | Atlanta Hawks
Marvin Williams
6-9 F (North Carolina) |
| 3 |  | Portland Trail Blazers
Chris Paul
6-0 PG (Wake Forest) |
| 4 |  | New Orleans Hornets
Deron Williams
6-3 PG (Illinois) |
| 5 |  | Charlotte Bobcats
Gerald Green
6-8 SG (Gulf Shores HS, TX) |
| 6 |  | Utah Jazz
Tiago Splitter
6-11 PF (Brazil) |
| 7 |  | Toronto Raptors
Raymond Felton
6-0 PG (North Carolina) |
| 8 |  | New York Knicks
Channing Frye
6-11 C (Arizona) |
| 9 |  | Golden State Warriors
Sean May
6-9 PF (North Carolina) |
| 10 |  | Los Angeles Lakers
Danny Granger
6-8 SF (New Mexico) |
| 11 |  | Orlando Magic
Fran Vazquez
6-10 PF (Spain) |
| 12 |  | Los Angeles Clippers
Martynas Andriuskevicius
7-3 C (Lithuania) |
| 13 | | Charlotte Bobcats
Hakim Warrick
6-9 PF (Syracuse) |
| 14 |  | Minnesota Timberwolves
Antoine Wright
6-7 SG (Texas A&M) |
| 15 |  | New Jersey Nets
Charlie Villanueva
6-11 PF (Connecticut) |
| 16 | | Toronto Raptors
Joey Graham
6-7 SF (Oklahoma State) |
| 17 |  | Indiana Pacers
Martell Webster
6-7 SG (Seattle Prep HS, WA) |
| 18 |  | Boston Celtics
Jarrett Jack
6-3 PG (Georgia Tech) |
| 19 |  | Memphis Grizzlies
Chris Taft
6-10 PF (Pittsburgh) |
| 20 |  | Denver Nuggets
Rashad McCants
6-4 SG (North Carolina) |
| 21 |  | Phoenix Suns
Johan Petro
7-0 C (France) |
| 22 | | Denver Nuggets
Roko Ukic
6-5 PG (Croatia) |
| 23 |  | Sacramento Kings
Nemanja Aleksandrov
6-10 F (Serbia & Mont.) |
| 24 |  | Houston Rockets
Ike Diogu
6-9 PF (Arizona State) |
| 25 |  | Seattle Sonics
Wayne Simien
6-9 PF (Kansas) |
| 26 |  | Detroit Pistons
Yaroslav Korolev
6-9 F (Russia) |
| 27 | | Utah Jazz
Ronny Turiaf
6-10 PF (Gonzaga) |
| 28 |  | San Antonio Spurs
Ryan Gomes
6-7 SF (Providence) |
| 29 |  | Miami Heat
Monta Ellis
6-3 G (Lanier HS, MS) |
| 30 | | New York Knicks
Andrew Bynum
7-0 C (St. Joseph HS, NJ) |
| Jerome Jurenovich Commentary |
On the Bucks drafting Bogut:
"You can't pass on a guy his size with his talent. There aren't that many good big men around. And, let's face it, in the East what do you have? Shaquille O'Neal and that's it. So you need someone up front that can get the job done, and Bogut's that guy."
On Paul being the best in the draft:
"He is going to be the steal of the draft. He is a polished guard and he can do it all. I think Jerry's out of his mind for having Deron Williams ahead of him. You just can't deny what he did down in the ACC, and I think he's ready to step in and do the same in the NBA."
On the Nuggets selecting McCants:
"Jerry Schemmel is a smart guy for agreeing with me on this. It is a need that the Nuggets have right now and I don't see a lot out there in free agency that the Nuggets can afford because of salary cap issues. Also, he's a proven winner and that's what Denver needs."
On why the Nuggets need Ukic:
"It has nothing to do with the fact that he plays the point. Ever since I saw Gordan Giricek raining threes on us, I told my man Kiki Vandeweghe that 'you need more Croatians in Denver!' I can't be the only one around here."
On Jerry's mistake with Warrick:
"I just think there is something to said about championship experience. He learned a lot about the game when Syracuse won the title, which is why I don't think he will last until 21 like Jerry thinks. "
|
|
 |
| Jerry Schemmel Mock Draft |
| 1 | | Milwaukee Bucks
Andrew Bogut
7-0 C (Utah) |
| 2 | | Atlanta Hawks
Marvin Williams
6-9 F (North Carolina) |
| 3 | | Portland Trail Blazers
Gerald Green
6-8 SG (Gulf Shores HS, TX) |
| 4 | | New Orleans Hornets
Deron Williams
6-3 PG (Illinois) |
| 5 | | Charlotte Bobcats
Chris Paul
6-0 PG (Wake Forest) |
| 6 | | Utah Jazz
Raymond Felton
6-0 PG (North Carolina) |
| 7 | | Toronto Raptors
Danny Granger
6-8 SF (New Mexico) |
| 8 | | New York Knicks
Channing Frye
6-11 C (Arizona) |
| 9 | | Golden State Warriors
Sean May
6-9 PF (North Carolina) |
| 10 | | Los Angeles Lakers
Ike Diogu
6-9 PF (Arizona State) |
| 11 | | Orlando Magic
Fran Vazquez
6-10 PF (Spain) |
| 12 | | Los Angeles Clippers
Martell Webster
6-7 SG (Seattle Prep HS, WA) |
| 13 | | Charlotte Bobcats
Antoine Wright
6-7 SG (Texas A&M) |
| 14 | | Minnesota Timberwolves
Joey Graham
6-7 SF (Oklahoma State) |
| 15 | | New Jersey Nets
Martynas Andriuskevicius
7-3 C (Lithuania) |
| 16 | | Toronto Raptors
Jarrett Jack
6-3 PG (Georgia Tech) |
| 17 | | Indiana Pacers
Charlie Villanueva
6-11 PF (Connecticut) |
| 18 | | Boston Celtics
Tiago Splitter
6-11 PF (Brazil) |
| 19 | | Memphis Grizzlies
Chris Taft
6-10 PF (Pittsburgh) |
| 20 | | Denver Nuggets
Rashad McCants
6-4 SG (North Carolina) |
| 21 | | Phoenix Suns
Hakim Warrick
6-9 PF (Syracuse) |
| 22 | | Denver Nuggets
Wayne Simien
6-9 PF (Kansas) |
| 23 | | Sacramento Kings
Ersan Ilyasova
6-9 SF (Turkey) |
| 24 | | Houston Rockets
Andray Blatche
6-11 PF (South Kent Prep, CT) |
| 25 | | Seattle Sonics
Johan Petro
7-0 C (France) |
| 26 | | Detroit Pistons
Monta Ellis
6-3 G (Lanier HS, MS) |
| 27 | | Utah Jazz
Yaroslav Korolev
6-9 SF (Russia) |
| 28 | | San Antonio Spurs
Ryan Gomes
6-7 SF (Providence) |
| 29 | | Miami Heat
Rudy Fernandez
6-5 SG (Spain) |
| 30 | | New York Knicks
Roko Ukic
6-5 PG (Croatia) |
| Jerry Schemmel Commentary |
On why Deron Williams is ahead of Paul:
"I think whoever gets Deron Williams is going to have a great draft pick. He's basically Jason Kidd with a jump-shot in my mind. I think he's going to be a tremendous NBA player. I think you'd be getting a great player with either Chris or Deron, but Williams will eventually be a better player."
On Green's future being uncertain:
"I wouldn't be surprised if Portland makes a move. From what I've gathered, the Blazers will probably pick Gerald Green; but I wouldn't be surprised if they traded him on draft day."
On the Nuggets selecting McCants:
"I think if he's available at 20 that would be a no-brainer for the Nuggets,and they'll go ahead and pull the trigger. I don't think he's the most talented player in the top 20, but he just has a knack for getting the ball in the hole."
On getting frontcourt help in Denver:
"I think they could use an extra big man. If they don't take Wayne Simien, I could see them taking a player like Hakim Warrick if he's available. And despite what Jerome believes, I don't think NBA teams are going to put as much emphasis on whether a player won or lost in college as they would athletic ability. So, there's a good chance Warrick could be around in the 20s."
On Jerome missing the boat with Diogu:
"I'll say this, if Ike Diogu is drafted 24th or lower, then I'm going to pay Jerome a substantial amount of money. In other words, I think he's way off the mark on that pick. I don't know if he'll be in the Lottery, but I think he'll be right there on the edge."
|
|
