It’s less then a half hour before the NBA Draft is about to start. I’ve made my way to the living room with my laptop to watch Sportscenter, and I am chatting online with my friend Angie online.

Angie: So I didn’t know you were that excited about the NBA draft

Me: Oh yea! It’s the last time I get to see my favorite college players before they fizzle off into the obscurity that is the NBA.

Angie: So it’s more like a funeral; or a ‘celebration of life?’

Me: Remembering the good times we had…

In my mind, the NBA is second tier basketball. There are 80+ games in the regular season that decide which 14 teams out of 30 will not make the playoffs. Once a majority of the teams in the league make the playoffs, they face immediate elimination after losing four games in a series. A player can “take a night off” and not have to worry much about the consequences.

Give me a one-and-out playoff, at least in the early rounds and I might be interested.

That being said, I am a college hoops fanatic and love determining what teams need. It has been nice to see most of the players that are being talked about in the draft play in college thanks to the new rules.

As the draft show starts, there are a bunch of rumors running around, including Ray Allen to the Celtics and Luke Ridnour to the Bucks.

1. Portland Trailblazers – Greg Oden. The first Big Ten player taken with the top pick since Glen “Big Dog” Robinson. Reminds me of Hakeem Olajuwon. Great shot blocker and rebounder. A giant kid that

2. Seattle Sonics – Kevin Durant. Pure scorer that reminds me a bit of the “Big Dog.” Can shoot and works hard (a story by ESPN before the draft stated he worked out ten hours a day since he was 10 years old). Has the potential to lead the league in scoring, but defense is suspect.

3. Atlanta Hawks – Al Horford. You can count on the Hawks to take a forward every year in the draft like you can count on the Detroit Lions of the NFL to take a wide receiver.

4. Memphis Grizlies – Mike Conley Jr. The third best player in the draft this year in my mind. Clutch. A pass-first point guard that can drive the lane and can shoot. A leader on the floor and was the leader on the Ohio State team that played in the championship game. Oden helped Ohio State become one of the top teams this last year, but Conley was the player that made sure they stayed there.

The first big trade of the night – Ray Allen to Boston for the #5 pick in the draft. Do the Celtics think another aging shooter is going to help them? In a draft with this much talent that you can build about especially at the top, that’s just a bad move. The Celtics better get used to drafting near the top of the draft.

5. Seattle Sonics – Jeff Green. Seattle just became a force for years to come with this move. Green can do it all; pass, shoot, take the ball inside and rebound. I predict the Sonics will be the six seed next year in the playoffs.

6. Milwaukee Bucks – Yi Jianlian. If the Bucks decide to keep this pick, it is the worst pick of the draft. Lenny Harris should be fired immediately if this is his pick. Jianlian refused to work out for the Bucks and stated he did not want to play there. Harris was shut out from Yianlian’s workouts, and was forced to take his father’s word about Yianlian’s skills. He’s soft, doesn’t play defense and lied about his age to play against players younger then him in China because he couldn’t hack it. Before the draft, he didn’t play against other players, rather showing his skills to scouts alone in a gym.

What makes it worse is he’s a shooting “power forward” (a term I use loosely), similar to Charlie Villaneuva, Dan Gadzuric, Ersan Ilyasova. The Bucks need defense, and should have went with one of the two Florida players (Joakim Noah or Corey Brewer), or at least Brandan Wright if they had planed to go with a forward. Also, the Bucks currently have no point guard, who is going to run the team? Apparently Harris doesn’t realize the goal of the draft is to get better and fill your needs not get more of the same. This might be a worse move then when the Bucks traded Dirk Nowitzki for Robert Traylor. Therefore, he should no longer be the manager of the Bucks.

Time to play catchup after that rant.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves – Corey Brewer. Great defensive player that is highly athletic. Reminds me a bit of Ron Artest with the exact opposite attitude. Would have been a better pick for the Bucks then Jianlian.

8. Charlotte Bobcats – Brandan Wright. GM Michael Jordan picks a North Carolina Tar Heel – that is a big surprise. I’m tired of hearing about this kids “upside.” He was the third option on the Tar Heels. Similar to Marvin Williams (the #2 pick by the Hawks a couple years ago), this kid is all hype and potential. However, at least he can block shots, and therefore would have been a better pick for the Bucks then Jianlian.

9. Chicago Bulls – Joakim Noah. Probably the worst look ever at the NBA draft. Seriously, how hard does he try to be the ugliest player in the country? He probably would have been the first pick had he come out last year, but falls to a playoff team by coming out this year. Great energy and desire to win. I love that in players. Horrible shooter, but great defender, rebounder and shot blocker. Strange pick for the Bulls, as they have a bunch of similar players on the team already (Thomas, Wallace). Would have been a better pick for the Bucks then Jianlian. Maybe the two teams can work out a trade (yes I’m an optimist).

10. Sacramento Kings – Spencer Hawes. This is the point in the draft where the talent really starts to fall off. Didn’t see a lot of this kid this year because he played on the west coast, but saw enough. Soft big man that needs to get more physical to play center in the NBA.

11. Atlanta Hawks – Acie Law. First senior selected this year, and one of my favorite players in this draft. Good height and a pass-first point guard that can play defense and pass the rock. A natural leader that plays with a lot of heart. Like him almost as much as Conley, and think both will make their teams better immediately. Better pick then Jianlian.

12. Philadelphia 76ers – Thaddeus Young. Another kid with a ton of “upside.” Like him, and if the Bucks had made the trade proposed by the 76ers, I wouldn’t have complained seeing him wearing green in the fall.

13. New Orleans Hornets – Julian Wright. Have I mentioned “upside” and “potential”lately? Yea.

14. Los Angeles Clippers – Al Thornton. Thornton was a force in the ACC this year, and single-handily put his Seminoles on his back and lead them to a win over Duke. A bumper on the inside that can board and score. A senior that will contribute immediately and average a double-double after a couple years.

The lottery portion of the first round is over, so I’ll comment as I feel fit.

JSOnline states “The Houston Chronicle reported that he once told Shane Battier that he was 24. He’s telling people this week that he is 19.” Gotta love when your draft choice is five years older then you thought he was.

How can anyone think that Josh McRoberts is going to be a better NBA player than Alando Tucker?  Tucker is going to need to move to a guard position on most teams, but he can create his own shots.  McRoberts is going to get killed by big power forwards in the league.  He will be an end-of-the-bench player at best (this coming from a Duke fan).

Speaking of which…

29.  Phoenix Suns – Alando Tucker.  Dicky V. is going on about Tucker, the Big 10 player of the year.  I’m excited to see one of my favorite players go to one of my favorite teams.  He fits their style of play, run and gun with quick shots.  Tucker can create and with a dominant big man and point guard, he should have no problem making the team.

Think I am off to the bar to have a beer with friends and talk about the draft.  I’ll discuss the second round when I get back.