Rookie Rankings - February 6, 2006
By John Schuhmann

If you're a regular Rookie Rankings reader, you should know by now that the participants for the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge were announced last Tuesday. The assistant coaches who voted didn't quite agree with our rankings, but we think there's a pretty strong squad heading to Houston and they have a real shot at upsetting the sophomores. We said it already in last week's mailbox, but we really can't wait to see Chris Paul and T.J. Ford go at it. Don't forget, the Rookie Challenge is Friday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.

Congratulations to Chris Paul and Andrew Bogut, winners of the January Rookie of the Month awards.

Got beef with the rankings or with the Rookie Challenge selections? E-mail us!

Overall Rankings - The Road to ROY
1. CHRIS PAUL, G, NEW ORLEANS/OKLAHOMA CITY
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
35.9 16.6 5.6 7.7 2.22 0.07 .436 .280 .827
Last week: 1
Chris Paul more than recovered from last week's poor shooting performance, hitting 20 of his 32 shots this week. We think he should be an All-Star and we'll be at the Meadowlands Monday night to see him go up against Jason Kidd for the first time, a matchup we have been looking forward to for quite a while. Check out Paul's play at the end of the third quarter in Saturday's win over the Lakers (Video).
2. ANDREW BOGUT, C, MILWAUKEE
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
29.3 9.3 7.8 2.2 0.76 1.15 .533 .000 .617
Last week: 2
Andrew Bogut won't stay in Houston long after the Rookie Challenge. He is having his jersey retired that Saturday night in Utah. Bogut recorded his eighth double-double in Saturday's win over the Grizzlies, giving him twice as many as any rookie not named Chris Paul.
3. CHANNING FRYE, C, NEW YORK
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
25.6 13.6 5.8 1.0 0.47 0.78 .494 .250 .831
Last week: 3
Channing Frye may have been immune to the Knicks' woes early in the season, but he has been affected of late. The Knicks have lost 11-of-12 and Frye is shooting just .404 during that stretch, down from .522 in his first 33 games. Another week like this last one and Charlie Villanueva will jump ahead of Frye for the first time this season.
4. CHARLIE VILLANUEVA, F, TORONTO
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
24.9 12.2 5.3 0.8 0.74 0.72 .477 .343 .659
Last week: 4
Toronto fans have been calling for Charlie Villanueva to start for the Raptors, but Jalen Rose wasn't exactly the starter they wanted him to replace. Either way, Villanueva had one his best week's of the season (see the stats to the right), starting the last two games. On Sunday, he had a huge rebound in the final seconds of regulation, but missed a key free throw that would have sealed the game for the Raps. Instead, they lost a heartbreaker in overtime to the Clippers.
5. RAYMOND FELTON, G, CHARLOTTE
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
25.1 8.7 3.1 4.4 1.23 0.10 .359 .319 .655
Last week: 8
After a game in which he recorded three points and one assist in just 12 minutes, Raymond Felton averaged 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 3.00 steals over the next two. Thanks to the struggles of some of his fellow rookies, Felton has quickly gone from unranked to No. 5 on the list.
6. SARUNAS JASIKEVICIUS, G, INDIANA
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
23.6 8.8 2.0 3.1 0.69 0.09 .427 .392 .881
Last week: 5
Hampered by a back strain, Sarunas Jasikevicius contributed four assists and a key basket in the Pacers' big win over the Pistons on Saturday. He continues to be somewhat inconsistent, but he's still one of the top three shooters in the rookie class.
7. DERON WILLIAMS, G, UTAH
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
26.5 9.5 2.4 3.9 0.79 0.19 .383 .317 .723
Last week: 6
Deron Williams' minutes are starting to pick up a little here in February, but like Jasikevicius, Williams has issues with playing both the one and the two. He'd like to have a more defined role and we guess that he'd like to be running the show.
8. SALIM STOUDAMIRE, G, ATLANTA
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
19.9 9.5 1.9 1.3 0.44 0.07 .427 .381 .878
Last week: 7
Salim Stoudamire probably has a beef with the Rookie Challenge selections. He says he will use it as motivation, but he shot just 4-for-14 after the snub.
9. DANNY GRANGER, F, INDIANA
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
21.4 6.7 4.6 1.0 0.76 0.74 .445 .366 .790
Last week: Unranked
Danny Granger makes his debut in the Rookie Rankings after another strong week. Granger is averaging 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 0.80 blocks in his last five games. He came up big in the win over the Pistons on Saturday, putting together his own personal 6-0 run at the end of the third quarter to help the Pacers take control of the game.
10. JOSE CALDERON, G, TORONTO
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
25.5 6.0 2.4 5.1 0.84 0.05 .442 .139 .844
Last week: 9
It seems Jose Calderon has realized that he doesn't have three-point range just yet. He has only taken one three in his last 10 games and we saw him pass up at least one wide-open look from downtown Sunday against the Clippers. For the season, he's shooting .139 from beyond the arc and .500 from inside it.
NOTEWORTHY

Garcia
On the outside looking in:
Francisco Garcia (SAC), Joey Graham (TOR), Luther Head (HOU), Jarrett Jack (POR), Nate Robinson (NYK), Marvin Williams (ATL)

Andrew Bynum (LAL) had the best game of his career during garbage time in New York on Tuesday. He shot 7-for-7 for 16 points in just 12 minutes of action.

Gerald Green (BOS) finally made his NBA debut on Friday against the Clippers.

Jarrett Jack (POR) had the best game of his career on Friday, scoring 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and grabbing six boards in a close win over the T-Wolves.

Take a look at Rashad McCants' (MIN) last eight games. He has two games in which he didn't score (taking three total shots) and in the other six, he's averaging 13.3 points on .569 shooting.

James Singleton (LAC) has been big off the bench for the Clippers over the seven games, and they've won six of the seven.

For those of you that care about kicks, we spotted Antoine Wright (NJN) rocking the new S.Carters (blue on white) at shootaround Monday morning.

RED = Rookie Leader

Got beef with our rankings or have a comment or question for us? Send us an
e-mail and we may respond to it here next week.

THIS WEEK'S RANKINGS
1. Chris Paul (NOK)
20.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 11.7 APG, 2.33 SPG, .625 FG% in 3 games
2. Charlie Villanueva (TOR)
16.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.33 BPG, .463 FG% in 3 games
3. Raymond Felton (CHA)
13.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.3 APG, 2.67 SPG, .448 FG% in 3 games
4. Danny Granger (IND)
12.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG, .452 FG% in 3 games
5. Andrew Bogut (MIL)
9.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 3.00 BPG, .409 FG% in 3 games
ROOKIE LINE OF THE WEEK
Chris Paul (NOK) - 02.01 vs. CHI
25 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assist, 3 steals, 8-11 FG
ROOKIE STATS -- LEADERS
Scoring | Rebounding | Field Goal %
Blocks | Assists | Steals
LETTER OF THE WEEK
I can't believe Raymond Felton did not make the Rookie team. He is playing great after finally playing 25-plus minutes per game. If he had been playing constant minutes all season, he would one of the most productive rookies this year. Also he has to play, due to injuries, on a team that is missing all of it major pieces.
Dabasssource - Charlotte, N.C.

We can't really disagree with you. Felton and Salim Stoudamire seem to have the biggest beef with the selections of the rookie team (sorry Toronto fans). For the sophomore team, Boston fans probably have a right to complain about the omission of Delonte West.
Last week's mailbox

DOWN TO THE D-LEAGUE
01.31 - Bracey Wright (MIN) to Florida
02.01 - Lawrence Roberts (MEM) to Arkansas
02.01 - Anthony Roberson (MEM) to Arkansas
UP FROM THE D-LEAGUE
02.01 - Martynas Andriuskevicius (CLE) from Arkansas
02.03 - Gerald Green (BOS) from Fayetteville
02.03 - C.J. Miles (UTA) from Albuquerque
02.04 - Sergei Monia (POR) from Fort Worth
02.04 - Martell Webster (POR) from Fort Worth
ROOKIE PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Raymond Felton
Kent Smith/NBAE/Getty Images

Rashad McCants
Allen Einstein/NBAE/Getty Images

Marvin Williams
Mitchell Layton/NBAE/Getty Images