NBA Draft week is a pretty exciting time around here, particularly when Kansas University has three players who are likley to be selected in the draft.
Our own Tom Keegan talked with an independent NBA scout over the weekend and he offered his opinion on where the three Jayhawks eligible for this year’s NBA Draft might be selected. For those of you still contemplating your KUsports.com NBA Draft Contest entries, Keegan’s latest column might be a good place to start. I will warn you, though, the scout merely gives ranges for Cole Aldrich, Xavier Henry and Sherron Collins, not specific spots.
Anyway, for me, this year’s draft holds special meaning because I’ll actually be there at Madison Square Garden in The Big Apple, watching the action unfold in front of me.
I’ve followed the draft for years, dating back to my early teens, when I used to jot all of the picks into a spiral notebook — this was before the Internet, *GASP!!!* — and then analyze them as if I were a GM when the draft was complete.
Most often, the third and fourth pages in my newly-purchased notebook included each team’s projected starting lineup for the following NBA season. Rarely was I right. I always over-valued rookies.
This year, I’ll be writing down things in an entirely different manner. Instead of simply scribbling down the name that NBA commissioner David Stern calls out, I’ll be blogging and surely will add my opinion in there somewhere — for better or worse. Instead of just typing down the players’ positions and schools, I’ll give you a little more. I’ll tell you what he looked like when he was picked. I’ll tell you what path he took to the podium and who he said hey to on his way to meet the commish. I might even be able to tell you the type of cell phone he’s talking on or who made the suit he’s wearing.
In short, I’ll be there for all of your Draft Night needs. And I couldn’t be more excited about it. Throughout the night, I’ll be in contact with Keegan as well as KUsports.com online editor Jesse Newell and KU hoops beat writer Gary Bedore, who will be holding down the fort back here in Lawrence.
I’m sure they’ll be contributing their own opinions and thoughts to the Hawks in the NBA blog throughout the night so make sure you log on and check us out. Let’s hope none of us are discussing why Cole Aldrich is still in the Green Room or why Sherron Collins didn’t get drafted.
My best guess is that all three Jayhawks will hear their names called on Draft Night. When is the question. If you think you have the answer, make sure to enter our Draft Contest, where you could win a Paul Pierce Celtics jersey and a Pioneer Blu-ray DVD player.
If you’ve already entered or simply don’t want to, make sure you stay in touch with KUsports.com often during the next few days. I’ll be in New York all week and will have some great stuff from Draft headquarters. Wednesday there’s a media day with several of the projected lottery picks. So I’ll be blogging from that and will send Tweets — follow me at mctait — about the goings on of the day.
I’ll also send back some stories for Thursday and Friday’s papers, including previews, draft night coverage, reaction from the Jayhawks and maybe even a few mini-features on some of the top players, such as Kentucky’s John Wall — the likely No. 1 overall pick — and any former Big 12 players in this year’s draft.
Oh, and for those of you wondering, I’ll probably have my spiral notebook with me, too. You know, just in case there’s a power outage.
