More draft tidbits on Woods, Kedrick Brown, Radman, and etc....

http://www.foxsports.com/nba/home/nba_news.cfm?source=st&cont_id=64690

Why teams have backed off Woods
June 21, 2001
BY FRANK BURLISON
FOXSports.com

He’s a seven-footer with remarkable fluidity and a wide range of basketball skills, and was the dominant big man in college over the final month of the season while leading Arizona to the national championship game.

All those factors would seem to help deposit Loren Woods squarely into Lottery Land in the NBA draft on June 27.

But, despite impressive performances at every individual workout he’s attended, Woods might still be available for someone to select in the late teens or early 20s of the first round.

The concern about Woods isn’t as much the “soft” label he’s been tagged with or his so-so rebounding ability.

It’s his health -- most specifically, his back.

Woods underwent two back surgeries in April of 2000, with surgeons inserting four screws and a plate to stabilize two compressed vertebrae.

It didn’t seem to bother him last season -- the only games he missed were because of suspensions, six ordered by the NCAA and one imposed by coach Lute Olson.

But the long-range stability of the back is something that more than one NBA franchise’s medical staff has genuine concerns about.


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Mum’s the word in Boston but it’s almost a given in NBA circles that the Celtics have committed to selecting forward Kedrick Brown with one of their first two picks in the first round (No.’s 10-11).

Brown worked out with some of the other Arn Tellem clients in this draft class in Los Angeles in late May and early June before suffering a “turf” toe injury.

And no one, it seems, has seen him play since as he skipped the Chicago pre-draft camp and hasn’t participated in any individual workouts -- turning down offers from several lottery level teams, including Cleveland (No. 8) and Seattle (No. 12).

Yes, the Celtics were among the few teams that got a good look at him before his injury -- and they also scouted him extensively during this past season with Okaloosa-Walton Community College in Niceville, Fla.

Thursday one scout from a Western Conference franchise watched videotapes of three of his games during the National Junior College Championships in Hutchinson, Kansas, in March.

“He’s very, very good,” said the scout, who said Brown looked like a “big 6-foot-6 ½ and very solidly put together (he’s listed at 6-7, 223 pounds).

“He’s a very good athlete. I’m not sure quite the jumper Vince Carter is, like some people have been saying but he’s very strong and explosive.

“And he has legitimate small forward ball-handling skills and NBA 3-point range. In the tapes I watched today, he hit 12 3-pointers and several of them were from four or five feet behind the line.”

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2001/s/2001/0621/1217044.html

'Radmanovic' a name to remember

Radmanovic has climbed up the draft list, possibly as high as No. 8 to Cleveland or No. 9 to Detroit. His worst-case scenario could be No. 13 to Houston.

His best skill -- passing -- isn't being seen as much in the individual workouts. But the word is out that he knows the game and what to do with the ball when he's in trouble.

"I show people in the United States my game here because a lot of scouts don't go to Yugoslavia to watch," Radmanovic said. "The new rules will be better for European players than college or high school. Big men can shoot in Europe. I can shoot outside with a big man and go inside against a small player."

Radmanovic has been added to the list of players invited to New York on draft night. He's expected to join such lottery locks as Eddie Griffin, Eddy Curry, Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Rodney White, Joe Johnson, Shane Battier and Pau Gasol backstage waiting to hear his name called by David Stern.

But, the 20-year old Radmanovic said he's better prepared for the NBA than some of the above players becaused he's been playing in Yugoslavia for three-plus seasons. The workouts haven't been any added pressure, considering he's simply going through shooting drills and displaying his post moves. So far, he's had a flurry of workouts for Houston, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, New Jersey, Detroit, Washington, Orlando, Golden State. He'll have a second visit with Seattle on Friday, but cancelled a second trip to Chicago and visit to Memphis.

Bauman said Radmanovic's buyout is only $300,000, making it financially feasible to enter the NBA next season.

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http://mfile.akamai.com/3310/rm/sportnws.download.akamai.com/3310/i/media/audio /2/20010620/1904

Gasol should be a high draft pick -06/20/2001

A radio interview with Gasol's agent, Herb Rudoy, talking about Gasol's underrated athleticism.

http://mfile.akamai.com/3310/rm/sportnws.download.akamai.com/3310/i/media/audio/2/20010620/1910.ram

Rodney White not a finished product -06/20/2001
A radio interview with NBA draft guru Peter Setter Jr. Some good insights on several top talents. White, Battier, Chandler, Bradley, and Curry are highlighted.

[This message has been edited by Da Man (edited June 21, 2001).]