Rookie Rankings - April 17, 2006
By John Schuhmann

Here we are with just three days left in the season and we've got a major change in the rankings. Raymond Felton, who didn't have a permanent home in the Top 10 until late January, has climbed all the way to No. 2. Charlie Villanueva has been terrific, but you just can't ignore what Felton has done in the last three months. Since he's been getting consistent minutes, Felton is averaging 15.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.27 steals per game. That's almost on the level of Chris Paul.

In case you've missed it, we're reviewing the candidates for the six major regular season awards. Today, we're taking a look at Rookie of the Year, with numbers and analysis of our top four candidates. Check it out and come back throughout the week as we look at the rest of the awards.

Next week will be our final Rookie Rankings of the season. We know you have something to say, so e-mail us, and we'll respond to the mail before the playoffs begin.

Overall Rankings - The Road to ROY
1. CHRIS PAUL, G, NEW ORLEANS/OKLAHOMA CITY
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
36.3 16.3 5.2 7.9 2.24 0.08 .431 .286 .848
Last week: 1
Chris Paul's playoff dreams are over, but he has an award ceremony and Team USA to look forward to. The only question may be whether or not the voting is unanimous.
2. RAYMOND FELTON, G, CHARLOTTE
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
29.8 11.8 3.3 5.4 1.22 0.10 .393 .359 .720
Last week: 3
Raymond Felton tied his career-high with 13 assists twice this week (his 11th and 12th double-doubles of the season) and scored 27 points in his other game. He's looking pretty good for his third straight Rookie of the Month award.
3. CHARLIE VILLANUEVA, F, TORONTO
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
28.9 12.8 6.4 1.0 0.75 0.78 .465 .324 .708
Last week: 2
Charlie Villanueva has two more chances to show us he should get the No. 2 spot back, Monday night against Indiana and Wednesday night in Chicago. He scored 15 points and grabbed eight boards on Friday as the Raptors snapped their 10-game losing streak with a win over the Pistons.
4. ANDREW BOGUT, C, MILWAUKEE
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
28.5 9.4 6.9 2.4 0.61 0.85 .531 .000 .635
Last week: 4
Andrew Bogut set career highs in points (24), field goals (10) and assists (7) on Saturday. Throw in 12 boards and it was his 12th double-double of the season, but only the first in more than a month. For the week, Bogut shot an incredible 26-34 from the field. He will be the only rookie starter in the playoffs.
5. DERON WILLIAMS, G, UTAH
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
28.6 10.6 2.4 4.3 0.74 0.21 .416 .404 .697
Last week: 5
Deron Williams outplayed Chris Paul for the third time this season on Friday and hit the game-winning free throws in what was, at the time, a huge game between two desperate teams. The Jazz have since been eliminated from the playoffs, but Williams is finishing the season strong.
6. CHANNING FRYE, C, NEW YORK
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
24.2 12.3 5.8 0.8 0.46 0.72 .477 .333 .825
Last week: 6
This could be one very busy summer when it comes to player movement, and the Knicks could very well be right in the middle of it. That means that Channing Frye's name will be talked about a lot. In fact, it's already starting.
7. DANNY GRANGER, F, INDIANA
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
22.6 7.6 4.9 1.1 0.76 0.78 .468 .333 .774
Last week: 7
Danny Granger's minutes have gone back up as the Pacers continue to play for playoff seeding. After playing just four minutes against the Knicks on Monday, Granger averaged 29.3 in the remaining three games this week, averaging 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds as the Pacers won two of three.
8. RYAN GOMES, F, BOSTON
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
22.0 7.3 4.9 0.9 0.56 0.08 .488 .250 .737
Last week: 8
It has been a pretty nice second half of the season for Ryan Gomes, but he knows he needs to stay motivated. The Celtics wrap up their season with home games against Cleveland and Miami this week.
9. LUTHER HEAD, G, HOUSTON
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
28.8 8.7 3.3 2.7 1.10 0.12 .402 .363 .689
Last week: 9
After starting 16 straight games, Luther Head came off the bench Saturday against Memphis. For the week, he shot just .364 from the field and just 1-of-7 from downtown.
10. MARVIN WILLIAMS, F, ATLANTA
MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
24.6 8.4 4.8 0.8 0.62 0.31 .438 .245 .752
Last week: 10
Marvin Williams recorded his fourth career double-double on Saturday, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 boards in a win in Milwaukee. That followed a 22-point game Friday against Charlotte.
NOTEWORTHY

McCants
On the outside looking in:
Francisco Garcia (SAC), Joey Graham (TOR), Sarunas Jasikevicius (IND), Rashad McCants (MIN), Johan Petro (SEA), Salim Stoudamire (ATL)

Esteban Batista (ATL) recorded his first career double-double (10 points and 10 boards) on Monday in Orlando, but he didn't score a point in his three other games this week.

Ike Diogu (GSW) is finishing the season strong, averaging 12.8 points and 6.4 boards while shooting .589 from the field in his last eight games.

Diogu's teammate, Monta Ellis (GSW) is doing the same, averaging 10.1 points over his last 15. If the Warriors make changes this summer, one of the results could be a lot more playing time for Ellis, who has star potential.

Gerald Green (BOS) scored a career-high 22 points on Wednesday in Indiana and, with Paul Pierce out, got his first career start on Sunday in New Jersey. He has scored in double-figures in five of his last seven games, averaging 14.1 points per game in that time period.

With increased playing time, Jarrett Jack (POR) got a chance to show what he can do, scoring 20 points on Wednesday, dishing out 11 assists on Friday and then scoring 15 on Saturday.

Linas Kleiza (DEN) got his second career start on Wednesday (both Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby were out) and scored a career-high 16 points in Utah.

Rashad McCants (MIN) sprained his ankle in Tuesday's loss in Memphis. He sat out the next two games, but returned to score 20 points and grab six boards in a loss to the Spurs on Sunday.

Nate Robinson (NYK) had his second 30-point game in two weeks, hitting 11-for-20 from the field, including 6-of-9 from downtown for 32 on Thursday in Cleveland.

Martell Webster (POR) scored in double-figures in all four games this week and has done it in six of the eight games he has played in April, averaging 13.6 points for the month.

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. Andrew Bogut (MIL)
19.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, .765 FG% in 3 games
2. Raymond Felton (CHA)
19.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 11.3 APG, 1.67 SPG, .358 FG% in 3 games
3. Ike Diogu (GSW)
14.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.50 BPG, .607 FG% in 4 games
4. Chris Paul (NOK)
16.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 6.3 APG, 1.25 SPG, .383 FG% in 4 games
5. Nate Robinson (NYK)
17.0 PPG, 2.50 SPG, .543 FG%, 9-14 3PT in 4 games
ROOKIE LINE OF THE WEEK
Andrew Bogut (MIL)
04.15 vs. ATL
24 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 10-13 FG
ROOKIE STATS -- LEADERS
Scoring | Rebounding | Field Goal %
Blocks | Assists | Steals
LETTER OF THE WEEK
How about some love for the two Golden State rookies, Monta Ellis and Ike Diogu? Both are playing awesome and are giving us disgruntled Golden State fans some reason for optimism.
Gabe - Half Moon Bay, Cal.

Rookie Report: We've like what we have seen from both of them and they're two of the players not in the Top 10 that could make a much bigger impact next season. Our other candidates are Gerald Green, Sean May, Martell Webster and Antoine Wright.
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DOWN TO THE D-LEAGUE
04.12 - Von Wafer (LAL) to Fort Worth
UP FROM THE D-LEAGUE
04.12 - Martynas Andriuskevicius (CLE) from Arkansas
ROOKIE PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Raymond Felton
Kent Smith/NBAE/Getty Images

Jason Maxiell
Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images

Marvin Williams
Scott Cunningham/NBAE/Getty Images