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PLEASE DRAFT ME: Brandan Wright

Some prospects aren't getting enough respect on draft boards. PLEASE DRAFT ME aims to change that.

Every year, some stud prospect drops down the lottery because of his "motor." We usually hear the name "Stromile Swift" waved around.

Last year, the heartless player was Rudy Gay. (Gay finished third in Rookie of the Year voting.) Two years ago, it was Charlie Villanueva. (He finished second behind Chris Paul for Rookie of the Year.)

Both Rudy and Charlie were top three talents who fell out of favor because they didn't go hard every possession in college. Villanueva, of course, was picked much higher than anything figured at #7 (he had fallen really hard), and Gay slipped to #8.

Rightthissecond, Brandan Wright has fallen from surefire top five to possibly as low as #10. Why? Yep, his motor.

PLEASE DRAFT ME: Petteri Koponen

Some prospects aren't getting enough respect on draft boards. PLEASE DRAFT ME aims to change that.

If you are a faithul FanHouse diner, you'll remember an earlier ode to Finnish point guard Petteri Koponen -- a tribute centered around one silly alley-oop and a trunk of hype from Chad Ford. You probably expected Koponen's stock to hover a while, then drop once more teams got ahold of him and realized he's years away from contributing to an NBA roster.

That ebb is still missing. Koponen has wowed scouts all over the place -- Memphis, Phoenix and about a dozen teams who showed up to his workout last week in NYC. He newly seems a lock for Round 1, and could go in the top 20.

Pro scouts aren't the only fans, though.

PLEASE DRAFT ME: Aaron Afflalo and Jared Dudley

Some prospects aren't getting enough respect on draft boards. PLEASE DRAFT ME aims to change that.

The problem I have with the NBA draft is that too many teams try to hit home runs instead of taking players that can come in and help their team right away. Listen, not all of these kids are going to turn into 20 point per game scorers. However, having players that can come in and knock down an open shot and play excellent defense is probably just as important to building a winning team as having a 20 point scorer is.

I mean, look at Raja Bell, Shane Battier, and Bruce Bowen. All three of them have carved niches for themselves within the league as charge taking defensive stoppers. They've also all honed their offensive games so that they can be successful on that side of the floor without actually having the ball (in other words: all of them have become solid spot up shooters). They also all have been winners throughout their careers.

PLEASE DRAFT ME: Al Thornton

Some prospects aren't getting enough respect on draft boards. PLEASE DRAFT ME aims to change that.

DraftExpress says Florida State forward Al Thornton is sinking faster than David Stern's stomach seeing this. ESPN's Chad Ford has not yet doomed Thornton to the depths of McRobertsdom, but still shows Al going lower (#12) than he should.

A bit of perspective: Thornton played in a seriously tough conference -- Florida State faced the #24 toughest schedule in the nation in terms of opponent defense. Thornton was by far the go-to guy, taking up 30% of the team's shots when he was on the floor. But he couldn't be stopped. He shot 55% on two-point shots and 44% on threes, and got to the line very regularly (about one free throw for every two shots). A strong offensive rebounder, a good defender but a DAMN good scorer. What's not to like?

PLEASE DRAFT ME: Sean Williams

Some prospects aren't getting enough respect on draft boards. PLEASE DRAFT ME aims to change that.

In most years, a 6'10" athletic freak with great shot blocking ability would most certainly be a top ten pick. However, this year there is a player that has all of those qualities, yet will likely not be selected in the top 15. That player is none other than former Boston College center, Sean Williams.

Williams is a big man in the mold of a young Theo Ratliff that has the ability to change games just with his defense. He's more fluid than Ratliff on the offense side of the ball and has a nice set of hands, so in the right situation (like playing next to Steve Nash or Kobe Bryant), he could have an impact at both ends of the floor. As well, outside of Greg Oden, Williams is more athletic/explosive than any big in the draft.

The problem with Williams is not about his effort on the court, but his issues off of it. He reportedly was kicked off of the Boston College squad because of a bad marijuana habit. But wasn't Lamar Odom once deemed a knuckle head because of his marijuana problem? Despite Lamar's past affinity for "talking to Samson", most now see him as one of the most well behaved players in the entire league.

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