Houston Rockets draft prognosis from Fox Sports

Houston Rockets draft prognosis


SportsTicker
Jun. 21, 2003 11:28 p.m.

HOUSTON ROCKETS (43-39)

Selections: 44

Returnees: Gs Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Moochie Norris; Fs Eddie Griffin, Glen Rice, Maurice Taylor; Cs Yao Ming, Kelvin Cato

Prominent free agents: G-F James Posey

Assets: Stevie Franchise Francis may have the flashy nickname, but Yao became the team's unofficial franchise player last season with his strong rookie campaign. Francis is no slouch either, and backcourt mate Mobley is a big-time player as well.

Needs: The club has talent at forward, but Griffin, Rice and Taylor have largely been disappointments with the Rockets. Griffin looks like a tweener neither a 3 nor a 4 while Rice is on his last legs due to his age and health and Taylor has been inconsistent. Re-signing free agent Posey, who was obtained for Kenny Thomas last season, is key.

Options: The Rockets are rumored to be exploring trades this summer that would involve mainly Mobley and Rice, but Griffin and Taylor are expendable as well. The team knows that its current draft situation will not provide much improvement Houston only has the 44th selection. The Rockets have not conducted many pre-draft workouts as a result, but some of the prospects who have visited the club include UCLA F Jason Kapono, UCLA, Beaumont Ozen HS C Kendrick Perkins and Georgetown C Wesley Wilson.

The braintrust says: You're only a hot coach when you're not coaching. When you're coaching, everybody gets to see your warts. newly hired coach Jeff Van Gundy on the attention he received this offseason from NBA teams

 

Does anybody have any info on the players listed, that we have worked out?

I found this on USA today on the UCLA kid.


Scouting the small forwards
By Brad Friedman, U.S. Scouting Services

UCLA 6-8 senior Jason Kapono is another prospect that turned pro earlier in his career. Kapono left school after a stellar freshman year in which he led the Bruins in scoring, only to return to campus when he learned that he was not a lock for the first round.

Nowadays, Kapono is just hoping to sneak in to the end of the second round. The sharpshooter has done nothing over the past three seasons to dispel the knock on his quickness and scoring ability off the dribble.

Although Kapono appears to be the poster boy for entering the draft when your stock is hot, the all-time leading 3-point shooter in UCLA history is said to have no regrets regarding his decision.

 

Another clip from the same author of the previous post.

The list of teenage center prospects continues with Texas high school pivot Kendrick Perkins, a 6-10 270-pounder. Perkins has good fundamentals in the post and takes up space. The only downside is his mobility. As Perkins added weight in high school, his lack of athleticism became more apparent.

Perkins could be a terrific NBA center if he can get his conditioning in check, although that is not a gamble that many teams are prepared to take. He could be selected as high as the late teens or as low as the 40s.

 

This is from www.guhojas.com

WESLEY WILSON CENTER 50


Excellent athlete…Steady player who is becoming a force on the blocks…. Had four double-doubles this season while averaging 24 minutes per game and starting every contest…. Third leading scorer on the team averaging 12 points…. Second leading rebounder on the team averaging 5.8 boards… leads the team in blocks with 53…. Fourth in the BIG EAST in Blocks….2.3 block average places him 30th in the nation.

Sophomore

Came off the bench to spell senior captain Ruben Boumtje Boumtje…Saw action in every contest, averaging more than 12 minutes per outing…Had his first double-double vs. Howard when he set career highs in scoring with 20 and in rebounding with 11.

High School

Ranked one of the top ten High School centers in the nation…Averaged 12.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game as a senior.

CAREER HIGHS

Points: 26 vs Notre Dame (2/9/02)

Rebounds: 13 vs Grambling (11/26/01)

Assists: 2 four times

Steals: 1 eleven times

Blocks: 6 vs Virginia (12/20/01)

PERSONAL

Class: 2003

School: College

Hometown: Vallejo, CA

High School: Maine Central Institute

Height: 6'10 1/2"

Weight: 260 lbs.



Total 3-Point Rebounds

Year GP-GS Min/Avg FG-FGA Pct FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Off-Def Tot Avg PF-FO Ast TO Blk Stl Pts/Avg

2001.. 33-0 398/12.1 68-141 .482 0-0 .000 46-83 .554 46-63 109 3.3 56-0 11 30 30 6 182/5.5

2002.. 30-30 765/25.5 147-261 .563 0-0 .000 73-118 .619 65-121 186 6.2 76-4 18 59 68 9 367/12.2

TOTAL. 63-30 1163/18.5 215-402 .535 0-0 .000 119-201 .592 111-184 295 4.7 132-4 29 89 98 15 549/8.7

 

This is from UCLA- http://uclabruins.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kapono_jason00.html

Jason Kapono

Class:
Senior

Hometown:
Lakewood, CA

High School:
Artesia

Height / Weight:
6-8 / 213

Position:
F






UCLA — A Wooden Award Preseason All-American entering his final season, Kapono has also been nominated for the Senior Class Award, given to the nation’s top senior by the Kansas City Club and for the College Basketball-Student Athlete of the Year, given by the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau … Will be a senior co-captain with Ray Young … In 2002 he was a Naismith Player of the Year Finalist, in 2001 a Wooden Award Finalist and he is a three-time All-Pac-10 performer (if he earns first-team all-conference honors in 2003, Kapono will be the first four-time, first-team All-Pac-10 honoree in school history) … UCLA’s leading scorer the last three seasons (2002, 16.0; 2001, 17.2; 2000, 16.0) … On the Bruin career charts, he holds the school records for three-pointers (253) and three-point attempts (549), No. 2 in three-point percentage (46.1), No. 6 in free throw percentage (81.7, 299-366) and No. 15 in scoring (1,608) … Kapono’s career season scoring average is 16.4 (536 points-if he scores his average this season, he would end his career with 2,144 points, No. 3 in Bruin history, trailing only Don MacLean (2,608, 1989-92) and Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 2,325, 1967-69) … Has set the UCLA season three-point record every year (2002, 87; 2001, 84; 2000, 82) and has tied the school single-game three-point mark (7, at Arizona, 1/19/02) … For three straight years, at UCLA’s end of the season banquet, Kapono has received the Coach John Wooden Award as the squad’s Most Valuable Player (in 2002, Kapono shared the award with Matt Barnes, Dan Gadzuric and Billy Knight; in 2001, he shared the honor with Gadzuric and Earl Watson; in 2000, with Jerome Moiso and Watson) and the Bob "Ace" Calkins Memorial Award as team Free Throw Champion … As a true freshman in 1999-00, he was the CBS SportsLine National Freshman of the Year and co-Pacific-10 Freshman of the Year … Kapono was one of the top players in the nation in 1998-99 as a senior prepster at Artesia High School, signing with the Bruins on May 20, 1999 … A 1999 first-team prep All-America honoree by McDonald’s, Parade and Street & Smith … The O’Bannon brothers, Ed and Charles, also played at Artesia HS.

2001-02 — Kapono was on the list of 20 finalists for the Naismith Award … Also selected first-team All-District 15 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and All-Pacific-10 by the league’s coaches …Kapono ranks 15th on UCLA’s career scoring list (1,608) … In 33 starts and games played (tying school records), Kapono led the Bruins in minutes (34.6), points (16.0), three-point field goal percentage (45.3, 87-192) and free throw percentage (85.6, 101-118) … He also averaged 5.1 rebounds (No. 3 on team) and 2.1 assists (No. 3) and shot 45.9 from the field … In the Pac-10 regular season stats, he ranked eighth in scoring, 18th in rebounding, third in free throw percentage, third in three-point field goal percentage and second in three-point field goals per game … He led the Bruins in scoring in 11 games … Kapono scored at least 20 points on nine occasions and UCLA was 6-3 in those games, 6-1 in the last seven … He scored in double figures in 28 of 33 games … He made 48 of his last 54 free throws (88.9) and had a string of 21 straight snapped at Villanova …His 87 three-point field goals set a new school record … He made at least one three-pointer in 30 of 33 games, missing only at Oregon and against Mississippi and Missouri … Athletic Director’s Honor Roll (3.0gpa or higher) for Fall and Spring quarters … Kapono in 2001-02 was on the Wooden Award Midseason (Top 30) and Preseason (Top 50) lists and on the Naismith (Top 20) end of the season and (Top 30) Preseason Player of the Year charts … He was also a Playboy All-American … His other preseason honors include - AP second-team All-America; Athlon honorable mention All-America, first-team All-Pac-10; Basketball News second-team All-America, first-team All-Pac-10; College Insider.com All-American; Lindy’s No. 3 small forward in the U. S., first-team All-Pac-10; Street & Smith’s second-team All-America, first-team All-Pac-10 and The Sporting News No. 5 small forward in the U. S., first-team All-Pac-10 … Before his junior campaign, Kapono spent the summer on the U. S. team that won the Gold Medal at the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men held at Saitama, Japan …He helped lead the USA squad to an 8-0 record, averaging 7.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists and shooting 1.000 (10-10) from the foul line, a U. S. individual record in the Young Men category.

KAPONO’S CAREER CHARTS — On UCLA three-point charts, Kapono is No. 2 in percentage (253-549, 46.1), No. 1 (253) in three-point field goals (surpassing former No. 1 Tracy Murray, 197, 1990-92) and No. 1 (549) in attempts (surpassing former No. 1 Toby Bailey, 501, 1995-98) … He also ranks No. 6 in free throw percentage (299-366, 81.7) … Kapono was the 41st Bruin in history to score 1000 or more points (1608, No. 15), but only the third player to do it by the end of his sophomore season and just the fifth to do it in his first two seasons.

KAPONO’S SEASON HIGHS — 39 minutes, four times, last vs. Stanford (2/23/02); 28 points vs. Pepperdine (11/28/01); 11 rebounds vs. Columbia (12/27/01); six assists vs. Arizona (1/19/02); three steals vs. Arizona (1/19/02); 1 blocked shots vs. Pepperdine (11/28/01) and Stanford (2/23/02).

KAPONO’S PAC-10 (ALL GAMES) RANKINGS — Scoring, 11th, 16.0; Rebounding, 20th, 5.1; FT% - 6th, 85.6 (101-118); 3pt. FG%, 4th, 45.3 (87-192); 3pt. FGs, 3rd, 2.64.

KAPONO’S NCAA RANKINGS —3pt. FG%, 8th, 46.4.

NCAA Highlights — In 31 minutes vs. Missouri, he had seven points, a team high-tying four assists, three rebounds and two steals … In 32 minutes vs. Cincinnati, he had 19 points, 17 after halftime, five rebounds and one assist … Kapono’s basket at the start of the second overtime gave UCLA the lead for good … He also made three 3-point field goals, the first setting a new UCLA single-season record … In 24 minutes vs. Mississippi, Kapono had two points and one assist.

Regular Season Highlights (last-to-first game) — In 37 minutes vs. California at the Pac-10 Tournament, Kapono had 10 points and four rebounds … In 29 minutes vs. Oregon, he had seven points and one rebound … In 31 minutes vs. Oregon State, he had 11 points, seven rebounds and one assist … In 39 minutes at Stanford, Kapono led the Bruins with 22 points (8-12, 3-3, 3-4) and added a team-high five assists, five rebounds and one block … In 30 minutes at California, he had 10 points and five rebounds … In 37 minutes vs. Arizona State, Kapono had 13 points, four rebounds and one assist … In 37 minutes vs. Arizona, he scored 20 points (7-14, 6-11, 0-0) and added five rebounds, one assist and one steal … He scored nine of UCLA’s final 10 points on a trio of three-point baskets and hit the game-winning three-pointer with 19 seconds left … In 37 minutes at Villanova, Kapono had nine points, five rebounds and three assists … In 38 minutes vs. USC, he led the Bruins with 26 points (7-15, 4-10, 8-8) and added eight rebounds and one assist … In 33 minutes at Oregon State, had a team-high 19 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals … In 24 minutes at Oregon, Kapono had four points, one rebound and one assist … In 33 minutes vs. California, he had a team-best 17 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal … In 37 minutes vs. Stanford, had 16 points, six rebounds and two assists … In 35 minutes at Arizona, Kapono led the Bruins with 25 points (8-16, 7-11, 2-2), eight rebounds, a career-high tying three steals and tied for the team lead with a career-high tying six assists … His seven three-point field goals tied the school record set by Reggie Miller in 1987 and tied by Ed O’Bannon in 1995 and Matt Barnes at USC (2002) … He was named the UCLA Chevrolet Player of the Game for his efforts at Arizona … In 37 minutes at Arizona State, had 20 points, five rebounds and three assists … In 33 minutes vs. No. 1 Kansas, Kapono had 10 points, a team-high seven rebounds, two steals and one assist … In 37 minutes at USC, he had 13 points, five rebounds and two assists … In 37 minutes vs. Washington State, he had 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal … In 39 minutes vs. Washington, had 13 points, five rebounds and one assist … In 39 minutes vs. Georgetown, Kapono had 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal … In 34 minutes vs. Columbia, he recorded a double-double with 16 points (14 in the second half) and a team and season-high 11 rebounds and added a team high-tying four assists, plus one steal … In 37 minutes at Washington State, Kapono had 14 points, a team-high eight rebounds and a team high-tying four assists … His basket with 1:17 remaining broke a 71-71 tie and he added a three-point play with 26 seconds left to make the score 76-71 … In 39 minutes at Washington, he had 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals … In 38 minutes vs. UC Irvine, Kapono scored a team-high 25 points (7-11, 5-6, 6-6), with two rebounds and one steal … He scored 21 points in the second half, making all seven field goal attempts (all five from three-point range) … Late in the game, he scored 13 straight points …In 35 minutes vs. Alabama at The Wooden Classic, he scored a team-high 22 points (7-14, 3-8, 5-6) and added eight rebounds and a team-high five assists … Against UC Riverside, Kapono played 37 minutes with 18 points, six rebounds and one assist … Vs. Pepperdine, played 36 minutes, equaling his career-high in points (28; 10-20, 5-8, 3-3), with seven rebounds and one assist, blocked shot and steal … Maui - In three starts at Maui, Kapono averaged 33.3 minutes (No. 1 on the team), 20.3 points (No. 1), 4.3 rebounds (No. 3) and 2.3 assists (No. 3) and shot 54.5 (18-33) from the field and led the team from the three-point (66.7, 10-15) and foul lines (93.8, 15-16) … His highlight game was vs. Ball State, getting 26 points (6-14, 4-6, 10-10; two short of tying his career-high), five rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes … During the tournament, he moved into second-place (176) on the Bruin all-time three-point chart … Kapono was a member of the All-Tournament team.

2000-01 — Kapono was on the list of 20 finalists for the Wooden Award … He was also selected first-team All-District 15 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and All-District 9 by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as well as All-Pacific-10 Conference by the league’s coaches. … Kapono had already scored over 1,000 points in his career … He is only the third sophomore to accomplish this feat (Don MacLean and Tracy Murray are the others) and only the fifth Bruin to reach the 1,000-point plateau in his first two seasons (MacLean, Murray, Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton are the others) … After 32 games (31 starts) and leading the Bruins in scoring in 16 of the 32 contests (at Washington State, at DePaul and Villanova - a career-high 28, at Washington 26, at Arizona State 25, UCSB 24, at Purdue 22, Kentucky 21, Hawaii 21, USC 20 twice, Utah State 19, Oregon State 19, UC Irvine 19, Georgia Tech 18, at California 15), Kapono averaged 35.1 minutes (No. 1 on the squad) and led the Bruins in scoring (17.2), three-point field goal shooting (45.7, 84-184) and foul shooting (86.9, 133-153) … Kapono was third in assists (2.3), rebounding (5.7) and steals (1.2) … He scored at least 20 points in 14 games and was in double figures 25 times … He also led the team in rebounding seven times … He made at least one three-point field goal in all but four of his games … He made 28 free throws to start the year, missing for the first time on his first attempt vs. Hawaii … At the end of the season, he had made 23 straight free throws before missing his second attempt vs. Duke …Kapono made 84 three-point field goals, breaking his own school record and his three-point field goal percentage of 45.7 ranked fourth on single-season list … His free throw percentage of 86.9 ranked sixth on the single season chart … During UCLA’s final 24 games (19-5), Kapono averaged 17.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals, while shooting 45.2 from the field (127-281), a team-high 46.8 from three-point range (59-126) and a team-best 85.6 from the free throw line (95-111) … In the week of Feb. 8-10 (at USC, DePaul), he averaged 24.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals, while making 15 of 27 shots from the floor (55.6), eight of 12 shots from three-point range (66.7) and 10 of 11 free throws (90.9) … He was the BasketballNews.com Player of the Week … In the NCAA Tournament, in first round action against Hofstra, Kapono started and played 33 minutes, finishing with seven points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal … In NCAA second round play vs. Utah State, he played 32 minutes off the bench and led the Bruins with 19 points … He also contributed five rebounds, three assists and one steal … In the third round vs. Duke, Kapono started and played 33 minutes despite having four fouls by halftime, contributing 12 points , five rebounds, a team-high three steals and two assists and was named the CBS Chevrolet UCLA Player of the Game … On the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll (3.0gpa and higher) for winter and spring quarters … Kapono’s preseason honors included - Wooden, Naismith and USBWA Player of the Year preseason lists; Athlon third-team All-Pac-10; Basketball News second-team All-America, first-team All-Pac-10; Blue Ribbon fourth-team All-America; Lindy’s No. 8 small forward in the U. S., second-team All-Pac-10; The Sporting News No. 2 small forward in the U. S., second-team preseason All-America, first-team All-Pac-10; Vitale No. 6 swing forward in the U. S., second-team All-Pac-10.

KAPONO’S SEASON HIGHS — 42 minutes vs. Oregon State (2/24/01); 28 points vs. Washington State (3/8/01), DePaul (2/10/01) and Villanova (1/13/01); 13 rebounds vs. Oregon (2/22/01); six assists vs. Kansas (11/9/00) and Hawaii (12/9/00); three steals vs. Duke (3/22/01), DePaul (2/10/01) and North Carolina (12/23/00); 2 blocked shots vs. UCSB (11/29/00).

KAPONO’S PAC-10 RANKINGS – Scoring, 5th, 17.2; Rebounding, 15th, 5.7; FT% - 2nd, 86.9 (133-153); 3pt. FG%, 3rd, 45.7 (84-184); 3pt. FGs, 1st, 2.62.

KAPONO’S NCAA RANKINGS –3pt. FG%, 17th, 45.5.

1999-00 — Kapono was selected National Freshman of the Year by CBS SportsLine … He was also named first-team All-Pac-10 and Pac-10 co-Freshman of the Year by vote of the league’s coaches … Selected second-team Dist. 9 by the USBWA and second-team Freshman All-America by Basketball Times … One of three winners of UCLA’s John Wooden Award for Most Valuable Player … The highest scoring freshman in the Pac-10 (16.0 points per game), Kapono was one of two Bruins (Earl Watson) to start all 33 games, tying the school record … He is only the second true freshman in school history to start 33 games (Watson was the first in 1998) … Kapono was the second-highest scoring freshman in UCLA history behind only Don MacLean (18.6) … He led the Bruins in scoring 16 times (20, DePaul; 10, Gonzaga; 15, Maine; 19, Purdue; 19, at Washington; 20, at Washington State; 21, at USC; 24, Arizona State; 21, Stanford; 19, California; season-high 27, USC; 24, at Arizona State; season-high tying 27, at Arizona; 17, Washington State; 18, Washington; 17, Ball State), including 13 of the final 24 games … Scored in double figures in 29 of 33 games, best on the team … He scored 20 or more points nine times … Kapono set a then- UCLA single-season record for three-point field goals with 82, breaking the old mark of 78, set by Tracy Murray in 1992 … His 82 three-point field goals also ranked No. 1 on the Pac-10’s list for freshmen and Kapono’s percentage of 47.4 ranked third in school single-season history … In 33 games, Kapono averaged 32.7 minutes (second on the team), 16.0 points (first) and 4.4 rebounds (fourth) … He shot 51.9 from the field, 47.4 (82-173, first) from three-point range and 68.4 (65-95) from the foul line … In NCAA Tournament action, in the first round of the Midwest Region against Ball State, Kapono led the Bruins with 17 points (all in the second half ), and added four rebounds, two steals and one assist … In the second round win over Maryland, he played 22 minutes and contributed 11 points, five assists, two rebounds and two steals … In the Regional semifinal vs. Iowa State, Kapono played 30 minutes, finishing with eight points, four rebounds and three assists … His preseason honors included — Lindy’s No. 7 incoming college/NBA freshman in the U. S.; Street & Smith’s All-West Freshman; Vitale’s No. 7 Diaper Dandy in the U. S.

KAPONO’S SEASON-HIGHS — 39 minutes vs. DePaul (12/18/99) and Purdue (12/30/99); 27 points vs. USC (2/9/00) and Arizona (2/19/00); 11 rebounds vs. Pepperdine (12/28/99); six assists vs. Washington State (1/8/00); three steals vs. USC (1/12/00) and Washington (1/6/00).

KAPONO’S PAC-10 RANKINGS — fifth in scoring (16.0), seventh in field goal percentage (51.9) and first in three-point field goal percentage (47.4).

KAPONO’S NCAA RANKINGS — In the final NCAA stats, Kapono ranked eighth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (47.7).

High School — One of the top players in the nation as a senior prepster at Artesia High School, Kapono signed with the Bruins on May 20, 1999 … A 1999 first-team prep All-America honoree by McDonald’s, Parade and Street & Smith’s … Earned second-team All-America from USA Today and third-team from Slam … The O’Bannon brothers, Ed and Charles, also played at Artesia High School for coach Wayne Merino … Playing for the West squad at the McDonald’s High School All-America game in Ames, IA, on March 24, 1999, Kapono played 19 minutes, with 12 points and seven rebounds in the West’s 141-128 victory … He also won the three-point shooting contest … In 1998-99, Kapono led Artesia to 32 wins, tying a school record, against just two losses … The Pioneers were CIF southern CA Div. I finalists, CIF Southern Section IAA champions and winners of the Suburban League … Kapono led the team in scoring (23.5) and assists (7.6), was second in rebounding (9.0) and third in steals (3.3) and blocked shots (1.4), while leading his squad in foul shooting (92.5) … In 1999, he set the school’s single-season scoring record (823) and scored a school-record 52 points in a game … Along with his All-America honors, Kapono also earned—John Wooden High School Player of the Year, CIF Div. I Player of the Year, Cal-Hi Sports first-team All-State and the Gatorade Circle of Champions CA State Player of the Year … Entering his senior season, he was the second-leading vote-getter on the first-ever Orange County Register Fab 15 Basketball Team (honoring the top prep men’s basketball players in the western portion of the U.S.) … As a junior at Artesia in 1997-98, Kapono averaged 21.0 points and 7.0 assists, as a sophomore in 1996-97 he averaged 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists and as a freshman in 1995-96, Kapono averaged 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists … Kapono is Artesia’s all-time leader in games played (132, ahead of No. 2 C. O’Bannon, 126), scoring (2,678, ahead of No. 2 C. O’Bannon, 2,177), three-pointers (211), free throws (403) and percentage (87.5) and assists (817) … The single-season (823 points) and single-game (52 points) records that Kapono set in 1998-99 broke E. O’Bannon’s Artesia records (814 season points and 50 points in a game, both set in 1990).

Personal — Full name: Jason Alan Kapono … Right-handed … Born Feb. 4, 1981 in Long Beach … Parents: Joe and Joni Kapono … One sister, Jillian … History major.