By Adam Kiefaber

While most of the sports world is concerned with the NFL Draft, which begins April 26, there hasn’t been much talk about the NBA Draft, which has an April 27 deadline for college basketball underclassmen to declare themselves eligible.

Due to the new rule (in second year) that forces players to be one year removed from high school before being eligible for the draft, many of the early entries are college freshmen.

Let’s take a look at the top early entries:

Arizona Guard Jerryd Bayless 6-3, 190 - The surprising thing is that the Wildcats won’t miss a beat after losing one of the best guards in the country as they replace Bayless with the top incoming freshman (at guard) in Brandon Jennings. Bayless should be a Top 10 pick.

Kansas State Forward Michael Beasley 6-9, 230 - Recently announced that he was going pro and admitted that it was a tough decision. Kind of surprising for a guy that averaged 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds a game. Beasley is extremely talented and can hit three-point shots. He will be a Top 5 pick.

Indiana Guard Eric Gordon 6-4, 215 - It is surprising that some IU fans are happy that Gordon will be gone this season after averaging 20.9 points per game last season. Gordon definitely made a lot of freshman mistakes last year and personally I believe his game is more suited for the NBA level. He should picked somewhere in the Top 15.

Stanford Center Brook and Robin Lopez 7-0, 260 - NBA teams need seven footers, so Brook Lopez should be a Top 5 pick. However, Robin could have benefitted by playing without his brother. What a terrible offseason so far for Stanford, the team has lost two big men and its coach, Trent Johnson, who took the job at LSU.

UCLA Center Kevin Love 6-9, 260 - Love doesn’t have the size to be a center in the NBA, but he will make a great power forward. Love averaged 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds a game last season and should be a Top 10 pick.

USC Guard O.J. Mayo 6-4, 195 - Similar to Gordon in regards to his game being more suited for the NBA. I’m not sure he really helped USC that much and sometimes lost games on his own by committing too many turnovers. He averaged 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists last year and will be a Top 10 pick.

Memphis Guard Derrick Rose 6-3, 190 - This talented freshman is probably going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Other early entries that should be chosen in the middle of the first round
Brandon Rush (Kansas), Earl Clark (Louisville), Donte Greene (Syracuse), Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis), Anthony Randolph (LSU)

Players that should go later in first round
Keith Brumbaugh (Community College), Derrick Caracter (Louisville), JaVale Greene (Nevade)

Players that are testing the waters
Lester Hudson (UT-Martin), J.J. Hickson (N.C. State), Russell Westbrook (UCLA), Joe Alexander (WVU), Ryan Anderson (CAL), Darrell Arthur (Kansas), Chase Budinger (Arizona), Richard Hendrix (Alabama), Shawn James (Duquesne), DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M), Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga), Trent Plaisted (BYU), John Riek (Sudan), Marreese Speights (Florida), Robert Vaden (UAB), Lorrenzo Wade (S.D. State), Bill Walker (Kansas State), Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (UCLA).

For a complete list go to CBSsportsline.com

This entry was posted Saturday, April 19th, 2008 at 6:35 am and is filed under NBA Draft. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.