Ronald Martinez/Getty Images LaMarcus Aldridge Height: 6-10 Weight: 237 Position: Power Forward Projected Picks: (as of 6/8) NBADraft.net: 5 DraftExpress: 2

Pendergraft's take: Click here

Locke's take: I always have one concern when it comes to big men in the draft. Do they love the game? Too many bigs make it through college and all the way to the NBA Draft without loving the game. Their height gets them through high school and they get recruited and they are good enough to survive and if they go pro soon enough their warts get overlooked.

Aldridge is very fundamentally sound; therefore my thought would be that he has taken the game seriously and worked at craft. He is not a Chris Wilcox or Stromile Swift where he is an athletic freak who never has had to learn the game.

His incredible length at 6-11 lets him play like a 7-footer. Therefore, he will be a top-five pick in the draft.

Quite frankly he sends me a lot of worrisome signs. I always wonder about drafting a guy in the top five when he wasn’t the lead dog on his team. Texas was propelled by other players. If I am drafting top five I want a guy who understands what it is to be the man.

In addition, this time of year all of the focus is on workouts and scouting camps. I like to administer two tests from the regular season to all prospects. First, how did they play the second time they played a good team in conference? In other words, when a team had already seen him and now puts a game plan against him, how does he play? Secondly, the big game test.

He fails the second-game test miserably. His second game versus Kansas he went 1-for-5 from the field with 5 points and 5 rebounds. His second game versus Texas A&M he went 3-for-10 with 9 points and 11 rebounds (6 offensive). Finally second game against Oklahoma State he went 2-for-7 with 10 points and 10 rebounds (5 offensive)

Aldridge mostly fails the big game test with one exception. In the Sweet Sixteen against the worst defensive team in the tournament, West Virginia, he went for 26 points and 13 boards. However, in the Elite Eight he was very poor against LSU, going 2-of-14 from the field and never going to the free throw line. The aforementioned poor game against Kansas was the Big 12 title game. He had good numbers against Duke in the December game, but it was a 97-66 loss so I don’t put much stock in that performance.

In addition, the most recent news that he is unwilling to workout against any other players in the draft would throw another red flag in my direction. He will work on Wednesday in Portland without competition.

He may turn out to be a wonderful NBA player. However, he fails on all three fronts of what I want to see out of a college player if he is a top-five pick. Nonetheless, his body is so remarkable and his fundamentals are strong so he will be able to start in the league. I would be shocked if he is a Chris Bosh-caliber player.

Pelton's take: I'm a little more optimistic about Aldridge. Two of the traits that historically have translated the best from the NCAA to the NBA are rebounding and shot-blocking, and Aldridge does well in both categories. He averaged 9.2 rebounds per game last year, and while he feasted on some weak non-conference competition (double-doubles in Texas' first six games), Aldridge grabbed 41 rebounds in four games in the NCAA Tournament.

Aldridge's length reminds me a little of Tyson Chandler. He probably won't be that good as a shot-blocker, but he should be able to consistently alter shots if he's able to play alongside a bigger player who can handle the post matchups, allowing Aldridge to roam on the weak side. Aldridge blocked 2.0 shots per game and 0.8 shots per foul (an underrated indicator) last year, and I like his potential there.

Remember that when Wilcox was Aldridge's age, he was playing a relatively small role on the National Championship Maryland team that featured seniors Lonny Baxter and Juan Dixon. I think if teams draft Aldridge expecting a dominant All-Star, they'll be disappointed, but he can be a key piece on a winning team.