Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | June 16, 2005 (Updated June 22 following deadline to withdraw)
Shooting guard has been the hip place for high schoolers in the NBA Draft. Last year, a pair of shooting guards, J.R. Smith and Dorrell Wright, went in the first round, and a third, Josh Smith, can play at shooting guard. This year, arguably the top two shooting guards available are high schoolers - Houstonian Gerald Green and Seattle's own Martell Webster. Foreign shooting guards might have benefited from the hype around Manu Ginobili during this year's postseason, but no foreigner is a legit prospect at shooting guard. After Green, Webster and Texas A&M's Antoine Wright, confusion reigns; there are a number of qualified college twos available, and the order in which they end up going on Draft night will depend largely on team preference.
Sonics Outlook: Shooting guard is the one position at which the Sonics have no players under contract for the 2005-06 season, with Ray Allen and Ronald "Flip" Murray both becoming free agents (Murray is restricted). If the Sonics can re-sign Allen, the starting job won't be open for the foreseeable future. However, the Sonics may still be interested in a defensive-minded shooting guard to come off the bench. Last year, they eyed Kirk Snyder in that role (but passed) and were highly interested in Oklahoma State's Tony Allen before he unexpectedly went in the first round.
NBA.com profile
The measurements: 6-7, 190
High School: Gulf Shores Academy
The skinny: Despite not playing basketball during his first two years of high school, Green has developed into a big-time prospect. He could go as high as the third pick to Portland, with the Blazers reportedly very interested - though GM John Nash recently criticized Green for being unwilling to participate in workouts with another player. No matter what happens, Green will not fall too far. He was named the nation's top high-school prospect by Rivals.com, scored a game-high 24 points in the McDonald's High School All-America game and won the Slam Dunk Contest at the game. A tremendous athlete, Green could be a big-time star in the NBA.
NBA.com profile
The measurements: 6-7, 230
High School: Seattle Prep
The skinny: Prep basketball in the state of Washington is for real now. Not only is Bremerton product Marvin Williams the possible top pick overall, Webster is the first preps-to-pros player in state history (and, with talk of an age limit bandied about, possibly the last). While Webster doesn't have the upside of a Green and is not considered an exceptional athlete, he's arguably more ready to play in the NBA. He has good size for a shooting guard and his jumper and body are reportedly NBA-ready. Defense, as it is for many high schoolers, remains a question mark. But Webster could go in the lottery and is a certain first-round pick.
NBA.com profile
The measurements: 6-7, 200
College: Texas A&M
The skinny: Few prospects have improved their stock as much over the past year as Wright. As a sophomore, he shot just 36.8% from the field and 29.7% from 3-point range while his team struggled. Last year, A&M returned to postseason play (the NIT) while his shooting percentages exploded to 50.1% and 44.7%. Now, Wright is a top prospect who could certainly go in the lottery. Before last year, Wright had developed a reputation as soft, and he averaged only three and four free-throw attempts per game his first two years despite outstanding athletic ability. That actually didn't improve a lot last season, but Wright still started hitting many more of his shots. Not having a star player's mentality hurt Wright on a middling college team, but will help him fill a role in the NBA.
NBA.com profile
The measurements: 6-7, 190
College: Louisville
The skinny: Garcia helped his stock in the eyes of casual fans by leading his Cardinals to the Final Four this spring, but close observers of the college game had long known that Garcia is one of the best perimeter players around. Garcia earned high honors in Conference USA, including Freshman of the Year, back-to-back First Team All-Conference selections the following two years and a spot on the Conference USA All-Decade team. Garcia's strength is his versatility; he can pretty much do it all for a perimeter player. He can get to the basket, shoot the ball, handle it and distribute, rebound and defend. That versatility has drawn comparisons to Tayshaun Prince in terms of Garcia's ability to be a fine role player on a quality team.
NBA.com profile
The measurements: 6-4, 200
College: North Carolina
The skinny: Part of North Carolina's outstanding recruiting class of 2002 (along with likely first-rounders Raymond Felton and Sean May), McCants was the high-scorer for the Tar Heels as they won the NCAA Championship last season. McCants averaged 20 points per game as a sophomore before dipping to 16.0 in his final college season to spread the wealth with his talented teammates. Unlike many high scorers, McCants shoots a fine percentage from the field - 48.6% for his career, 41.5% from 3-point range. There are no questions about McCants' ability to put the ball in the basket at the NBA level, but his defense and attitude leave some question marks. At 6-4, McCants is one of the smaller shooting guard prospects in this year's draft and he doesn't have the mentality or the ballhandling ability to play the point.
NBA.com profile
The measurements: 6-6, 205
College: Florida
The skinny: A 6-6 guard with a feel for the game, good passing ability and 3-point range on his shot - and, oh, yeah, floppy hair. I'm describing former Sonics guard Brent Barry, but I could have been describing Walsh before he recently cut his hair in preparation for the draft. Walsh wasn't a dominant college player, earning All-SEC Second Team honors the last two seasons, but his skills could translate well at the NBA level, where he should be a useful role player. Not as skinny as Barry, Walsh played small forward at Florida but will play the two in the pros. His biggest question marks are on defense, but good workouts appear to have lifted him into the first round.
NBA.com profile
The measurements: 6-7, 200
College: N.C. State
The skinny: Hodge is one of the more intriguing prospects at the bottom of the first round or possibly in the early second. At 6-7, he has enough size to play some time at small forward, but many teams are looking at him as a supersized point guard. The skinny Hodge isn't as good of a defender as Garcia, but he's an even better ballhandler and rebounder. He's also a good leader and a winner who helped the Wolfpack advance to the Sweet Sixteen after earning ACC Player of the Year honors as a junior. Hodge is an experienced player, but he's actually only 21 years old (Garcia, though an early entrant, is 23). Hodge also bears a striking resemblance to Dave Chappelle, for what it's worth.
NBA.com profile
The measurements: 6-3, 180
College: Illinois
The skinny: The leading scorer on the NCAA's second-best team last season, Head is another player who has improved his stock lately. A second-rounder going into the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp, Head left it a possible late first-rounder after averaging 13.7 points and shooting 57.1% from the field and 44.4% from 3-point range. At 6-3, Head might have to play the point in the NBA after playing off the ball at Illinois. That could stretch his ability, though Head posted an outstanding 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio as a senior. Head is also a plus-defender who averaged 1.7 steals last season.
NBA.com profile
The measurements: 6-6, 230
College: Alabama
The skinny: Seattleites might remember Winston from the 2004 NCAA Tournament, when he and the Crimson Tide upset number one seed Stanford at KeyArena to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Winston was the best player on that team, and he averaged 17+ points and was named All-SEC First Team each of the last two seasons. Last year, that mark was good enough to lead the SEC. Winston is a fine athlete with perimeter shooting ability (43.2% from 3 as a junior). He has the potential to be a better defender than he has been in college.
| OTHER SHOOTING GUARD PROSPECTS |
Tre Simmons, Washington - Should be able to make an NBA living as a sharpshooter off the bench.
Salim Stoudamire, Arizona - See Simmons. Best shooter in Draft, but 6-1 shooting guard. Pac-10 Player of the Year.
Dijon Thompson, UCLA - Uneven college career capped by All-Pac-10 senior season.
Tiras Wade, Louisiana Lafayette - Averaged 20.4 points for Sun Belt Champs.
