College Eye for the NBA Guy: South Regional, Part I

The FanHouse realizes that not everyone digs March Madness. Some of us enjoy our basketball on a taller, more expensive, professional level. Even so, it's almost impossible to completely ignore the media buzz around the tournament, so we present you with this handy guide to potential 2007/2008 NBA prospects who will be, for a couple of more weeks anyway, playing basketball and filling CBS airtime for free.

Also see:
East Regional, Parts One & Two
Midwest Regional, Parts One & Two
West Regional, Parts One & Two
South Regional, Parts One & Two

Likely to one day wear an NBA uniform:

Greg Oden, 7-0 Freshman, Ohio State. A lot of guys get drafted for their freakish qualities ... freakish athleticism, freakish wingspan, freaking leaping ability. You know what Oden has in freakish quantities? Maturity. Greg Oden has freakish maturity. You know the book on him. Potential to be a legendary shot blocker, has all the physical tools, but the offensive repetoire lacks polish. Fine. But the maturity and down-to-earth-edness (I realize that's not a word) are the reasons he'll improve on anything he has to. They may also be the reasons he stays in school another year. Or more.
Best Guess: There's really no one like him in the NBA right now. I project him as a combination of David Robinson, Alonzo Mourning, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Acie Law, 6-3 Senior, Texas A&M. I'm in love with him. Absolutely in love. There are a lot of college point guards who can score, but few who can score like Law and run the team, distribute, lead, and win. He's such a smart player. He'll be the best point guard in the 2007 draft, and has the ability to save a point-starved NBA team. I wish I could date him.
Best Guess: Chauncey Billups, minus the upper body strength, but with a quicker learning curve. I pray that he ends up with the right coach/team.

Nick Fazekas, 6'11 Senior, Nevada. Since there's no way I'm putting this name in the "Best Guess" section, Fazekas is like a weaker, less athletic Dirk Nowitzki. He has the range, the variety of shots, great touch, a turnaround, even a little bit of post ability. He's a pretty good passer, too. But in the NBA, strength is a factor. Fazekas could get outmuscled by Shaq's right leg. Looks like a late first-rounder.
Best Guess: Hard to say. Not many people with that size play the way Fazekas plays, and Fazekas probably isn't getting to the level of the ones that do. The best I can do is this: a taller, way smarter, Antoine Walker, but I doubt he gets to that level because he lacks the physical strength.


JR Reynolds, 6-3 Senior, Virginia. He's not just a shooter, he's a scorer. Gets to the rack, finishes, his a nice pull-up J. The downside, though, is that he plays Wizards defense, which means he ignores it for most of the game, until he decides to gamble on a steal, and leaves his teammates to clean up his mess. I don't care for his shot selection, either. But he's probably got too much talent to not be taken in the second round.
Best Guess: Dajuan Wagner, without the debilitating disease, which still probably isn't that good.

Ron Lewis, 6-4 Senior, Ohio State. Could go in the second round, and has a lot of athleticism. Co-exists with Oden, Conley, etc., so playing a role isn't an issue for him.
Best Guess: Delonte West, but ... that's on the very high end of things.

Also see:
East Regional, Parts One & Two
Midwest Regional, Parts One & Two
West Regional, Parts One & Two
South Regional, Parts One & Two