You can’t fashion a preseason
All-America team in 2005 without tapping liberally into the talent bases in
Durham, N.C., and Storrs, Ct.
So that’s what we’ve done, as
illustrated by the presence of two players apiece from Duke and Connecticut on
the Scout.com Preseason All-America teams.
Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick, a couple of seniors for Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils, are
first-team choices, as is Huskies’ sophomore forward Rudy Gay.
Gay’s junior teammate, center
Josh Boone, is a third-team selection.
Dee Brown (Illinois) and
Craig Smith (Boston College) complete the first-team choices.
The Atlantic Coast, Pacific 10 and
Big East conferences have three representatives each, with the Big 12 and Big
Ten bagging two apiece and the West Coast and Southeastern conference placing a
player each among the 15 chosen to the three teams.
The players were chosen based on
what they have accomplished during their college careers and how we project them
to play this season. Projected NBA Draft status was not factored into the
selections.
Here’s a closer look at the 15
All-America choices, as well as a list of 15 other players who came the closest
to landing somewhere on those three teams:
FIRST
TEAM
Shelden Williams (Center,
6-9, Sr., Duke)
What he did last season:
15.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.7 blocked shots per game; .582
FG%
Why he’s here: He’s the most
forceful and consistent low-post presence on the college level and one of a half
a dozen or so reasons why the Blue Devils are the consensus choice to win the
2006 national championship.
Craig Smith (Power forward,
6-7, Sr., Boston College)
What he did last season:
18.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game; .504
FG%
Why he’s here: He would have
been the preseason Player of the Year in the Big East if the Eagles hadn’t
relocated. He could win it in the ACC if Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick cancel
each other out as front-runners.
Rudy Gay (Wing forward, 6-7,
So., Connecticut)
What he did last season:
11.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game; .456
FG% (.452 on 3’s)
Why he’s here: Definitely in
the mold of most of the talented wings that Jim Calhoun has coached. He
wasn’t nearly the dominating presence in July (as a Nike Camp counselor and at
USA Basketball trials) that most NBA talent evaluators expected he would
be.
J.J. Redick (Wing guard,
6-4, Sr., Duke)
What he did last season:
21.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game; .408 FG% (.403 on
3’s)
Why he’s here: The Top Five
finisher in the last John R. Wooden Award race is clearly the best player at his
position in the country and is a much more well-rounded player than some give
him credit for being. But it’s about time he cranks up that shooting percentage
just a tad.
Dee Brown (Point guard,
5-11, Sr., Illinois)
What he did last season:
13.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game; .499 FG%
(.434 on 3’s)
Why he’s here: He was the
Big Ten Player of the Year while helping the Illini win 37 games last season.
File those under “impeccable All-America credentials”. The ball will be in his
hands pretty much full time now with Deron Williams playing for Jerry
Sloan instead of Bruce Weber these days.
SECOND
TEAM
Paul Davis (Center, 6-10,
Sr., Michigan State)
What he did last season:
12.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game; .541
FG%
Why he’s here: He seems to
get nit-picked more than any other player in the country but it was hard to
fault his performance in the NCAA tournament, especially in collecting 49 points
and 38 rebounds against Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina.
Taj Gray (Power forward,
6-8, Sr., Oklahoma)
What he did last season:
14.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per
game; .557 FG%
Why he’s here: His numbers
may not lead you to believe so but he’s just about as dependable a rebounder as
there is on the college level. There isn’t quite enough variety to his offensive
game to get NBA scouts particularly pumped. But, on this level, he’s got more
than enough to dominant most guys who try to check him.
Adam Morrison (Wing forward,
6-8, Jr., Gonzaga)
What he did last season:
19.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game; .498 FG% (.311 on
3’s)
Why he’s here: He’s the
latest model of “Gonzaga’s best player since John Stockton”. And he
actually might be that, too. And there isn’t a forward in college with his
scoring ability.
Taquan Dean (Wing guard,
6-3, Sr., Louisville)
What he did last season:
14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game; 445 FG%
(.447 on 3’s)
Why he’s here: He more than
did his share in helping Coach Rick Pitino take his third program to a
Final Four last spring. You’ve got to like guys whose jumpers have textbook
deliveries, no matter the duress provided by a defender or the circumstance of
the game.
Daniel Gibson (Point guard,
6-2, So., Texas)
What he did last season:
14.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game; .415 FG%
(.398)
Why he’s here: He’s the best
player in the Big 12 (although a compelling argument could be launched for
Taj Gray). He was easily the Nike Camp counselor who drew the most praise
from the NBA personnel directors and scouts who watched them work out in July in
Indianapolis – and Rudy Gay, Adam Morrison, Shelden Williams and Rajon Rondo were among the other counselors.
THIRD
TEAM
Josh Boone (Center, 6-9,
Jr., Connecticut)
What he did last season:
12.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 3.0 blocked shots per game; .609
FG%
Why he’s here: He might only
be his team’s third or fourth offensive option at times but he usually scores
without a lot of fuss or muss when they do pass him the ball into the post. And
he’d block as many shots as Shelden Williams does if he didn’t have
Rudy Gay alongside him swatting a bunch, too.
Leon Powe (Power forward,
6-8, So., California)
What he did last season: Did
not play while recovering from knee surgery; as a freshman in 2003-04, he
averaged 15.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game
Why he’s here: I probably
wouldn’t be making this pitch if he had been healthy a year ago. If that had
been the case, he would more likely than not be in the NBA right now. He’s the
most formidable post player in the Pac 10 and the same claim could be made if he
played in almost any other conference as well.
Hassan Adams (Wing forward,
6-4, Sr., Arizona)
What he did last season:
12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game; .491 FG%
(.302 on 3’s)
Why he’s here: The ultimate
slasher/take-you-off-the-dribble guy in college this season. And, truth be told,
we could also refer to him as the best 6-4 “center” in the game, too, since he’s
something approaching relentless in the low post.
Ronnie Brewer (Wing guard,
6-7, Jr., Arkansas)
What he did last season:
16.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game; .475 FG%
(.396 on 3’s)
Why he’s here: He could
also, in essence, be listed at either of the other perimeter spots. That’s why
he’s the most versatile player in the SEC and many points north, east and west.
He’s got a funky release on his jump shot but it goes in enough that people have
to guard it.
Chris Hernandez (Point
guard, 6-2, Sr., Stanford)
What he did last season:
15.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game; .430 FG% (.404 on
3’s)
Why he’s here: It seems as
if Lute Olson has been calling him “the best point guard in college
basketball” for as long as Hernandez has been in a Stanford uniform. That’s got
to be worth some kind of prize. Here it is.
Among those
also strongly considered were:
Centers: Nick Fazekas (6-10,
Jr., Nevada); Terence Dials (6-9, Sr., Ohio State) and James Augustine (6-9, Sr., Illinois)
Power forwards: Paul Millsap
(6-7, Jr., Louisiana Tech); Steven Smith (6-8, Sr., La Salle) and Jeff Green (6-8, So., Georgetown)
Wing forwards: Alando Tucker
(6-5, Jr., Wisconsin); Maurice Ager (6-4, Sr., Michigan State) and
P.J. Tucker (6-5, Jr., Texas)
Wing guards: JamesOn Curry
(6-3, So., Oklahoma State); Mardy Collins (6-5, Sr., Temple) and Dan Grunfeld (6-5, Sr., Stanford)
Point guards: Marcus Williams (6-3, Jr., Connecticut); Rajon Rondo (6-1, So., Kentucky)
and Ronald Steele (6-2, So., Alabama)
An April inductee into the USBWA
Hall of Fame, Frank Burlison is Scout.com’s National Basketball Expert
and is also a columnist for the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram. He can be
reached at frank.burlison@presstelegram.com. Read more of Burlison’s pieces at
www.FrankHoops.com
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