NBA Draft: Looking at the Big Board

April 27 was the last day for college freshmen, sophomores and juniors to enter their names for June's NBA Draft.

Players who have already signed with agents or will sign with one in the next month-and-a-half cannot return to the college game.

However, most hold off on signing with agents. This gives them until June 16 (10 days before the draft) to withdraw their names from the draft pool.

Since the entry deadline has now passed, I figured I'd go ahead and lay out my big board for the 2008 NBA Draft.

1. Derrick Rose, Memphis Point Guard
Rose led his team to a National Championship appearance as a freshman and will hire an agent. I can't pass on an NBA-ready point guard with so many skills in the No. 1 slot.

2. Michael Beasley, Kansas State Forward
Beasley will hire an agent, foregoing his college eligibility. Rightfully so. Beasley will not fall out of the Top Two in this year's draft, and he should help some lucky team on offensive right away.

3. O.J. Mayo, Southern California Guard
Mayo will never be just a point guard or just a shooting guard at the next level, but he will be an explosive scorer and a nice defender.

4. Brook Lopez, Stanford Center
This Lopez has the better hair and the better game, and will therefore have the better NBA career. With a Top Five draft pick, look for the Memphis Grizzlies to push hard for him.

5. Eric Gordon, Indiana Shooting Guard
Gordon probably has the most range of any guard in this draft. His outstanding athletic ability will make up for his 6-foot-4 height.

6. Danilo Gallinari, Italy Small Forward
Like most international players, Gallinari can run the point guard position at 6-foot-9. He'll have a difficult time guarding other NBA guards, however, due to his slow footwork.

7. Russell Westbrook, UCLA Guard
Westbrook has shown improvement at the point guard position. He will have to continue that progression to be a successful NBA player. Watch for some highlight dunks from Westbrook at the next level, too.

8. JaVale McGee, Nevada Center
Not a lot of people know about McGee, but they will learn about him in the next two months. This athletic center will hire an agent and will be a lottery pick based on his enormous potential.

9. Jerryd Bayless, Arizona Point Guard
Developing the necessary point guard skills is what Bayless needs to improve the most. He plays with a very high level of intensity, so that could make up for his small size. He could still be a Top Five pick.

10. DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M Center
This is yet another pick based on potential, as Jordan only played 20 minutes per game as a freshman. He put up nice numbers as a freshman in his limited time, so keeping him on the floor should lead to big numbers.

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