Lump Julian Wright in with the wild, hard-throwing pitcher who in the same inning blows away three hitters with overpowering stuff and walks in a run or two because he can't hit the target with any consistency.

In baseball, those prospects are selected higher than the reliable winners who don't quite measure up on the radar gun.

That Wright could announce his intentions at a Monday afternoon news conference to turn pro and do so with the blessing of Kansas University coach Bill Self is the latest example of the NBA Draft drifting toward the June baseball amateur draft, where the premium is placed on raw athletes with potential, instead of on finished basketball players ready to contribute immediately.

Wright, a 6-foot-8 sophomore out of Homewood-Flossmoor High, never matched in college his modest scoring average of 14 points as a senior in high school. Playing mostly power forward for an Elite Eight team this past season, Wright tied for the team lead in turnovers (91), shot .231 on three-point attempts, averaged 12 points a game and had a .613 accuracy rate from the free-throw line. In the final two games of his college career, Wright averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. Those numbers all speak to performance, not the p-word of choice for NBA teams drafting on potential.

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Julian Wright

"Statistically, he's not a guy who jumps off the page at you," Self said, sitting next to Wright. "He's certainly a guy that all great teams have to give you the best chance to win. He's a winner. : Julian is a very versatile, fabulous athlete, and he can do a lot of things very, very well. He would be the first to agree there are things he can get better at, but you can't teach a lot of things Julian does very, very well."

Baseball scouts evaluating prospects from other organizations tend to pay more attention to how those players fare against other highly regarded prospects than against career minor-leaguers. NBA scouts are no different. Wright scored 17 points in the first half of KU's overtime victory against Florida, winner of the past two national titles.

When evaluating extraordinary athletes such as Wright, NBA teams are willing to overlook the concern the player doesn't fit easily into one of the five position prototypes. Wright, on paper a 'tweener who lacks the bulk of an NBA power forward and dribbling and shooting skills of a perimeter player, is a freakishly quick jumper who blocks shots, rebounds, and darts into passing lanes for steals. He also is a gifted passer, provided he doesn't dribble the ball out of bounds first.

Before investing millions in prospects, NBA teams have been known to dig for dirt on athletes. Here's what they will find out about Wright from professors: He sat in the front of the classroom, paid attention, showed a genuine interest in learning. Students will tell them his idea of a good time was either hanging out at Jaybowl, where he once rolled a 233, or attending volleyball games to cheer for his friends on the team. Sports writers will praise him as the rare modern athlete who looks them in the eye, shakes their hands and addresses them by name.

During his final media session in front of the microphone at Hadl Auditorium, someone in the room sneezed. Wright stopped himself in mid-answer to say, "Bless you," and then finished answering the question. Good manners are among his many quick reflexes.

Wright's personality was so warm, engaging and in a way loud that he was able to make connection with the public, despite staying just two years. That is likely to be the exception among early entries. Player-fan connections won't be as real as often in future years. The landscape has changed.

Projected to go in the top 15 picks according to Self, Wright said he first dreamed of playing in the NBA, "in my driveway, hitting game-winners like Michael Jordan."

Wright said he was unaware his hometown Chicago Bulls owned the New York Knicks' first-round pick. Asked if going to the Bulls would fulfill a dream, Wright said, "That would be a lot of pressure, obviously, being from Chicago. Actually, I'll be grateful wherever I go."

He'll need to be patient, too. That virtue won't necessarily be tested on draft day, but it likely will be when he battles for playing time early in his NBA career.

Those he leaves behind, though envious of a former teammate's status, will have more enjoyable experiences competing in college games, regardless of whether they know it. The adrenaline manufactured by an Allen Fieldhouse crowd can't be matched at a sterile NBA arena, where the front-row seats are occupied by men wearing tailored suits, sporting hair gel, talking into razor-thin cellular phones, reveling in being seen.