This particular bracket features a couple of potential lottery picks, plenty of experienced seniors and more tweeners than any Euroleague scout could possibly hope for. Villanova and Florida will be keeping the scouts in their seats, with Arizona and Oklahoma not too far behind.
Washington Bracket NBA Draft Prospects
The Bracket
#1 Villanova
Jonathan Watters
Randy Foye, 6-4, senior, point guard/shooting guard, (lottery pick?)
One of the season's highest risers on draft boards, Randy Foye emerged as Jay Wright's number one offensive option with his impressive combination of strength, athleticism, and shot creating ability. While he hasn't always shot the highest percentage, he is certainly the most consistent and most dangerous member of Villanova's potent perimeter offensive attack. He personifies the Wildcat mentality, in that he is tough-minded, physical, athletic, versatile, a lock-down defender, and has never met a shot he didn't like.
The main questions about Foye have to do with his ball-handling abilities. He certainly isn't a natural distributor, but also fits the description of "lead guard" quite well. With his size, athleticism, toughness, and ability to score in an almost limitless amount of ways, it is easy to see him finding success in the NBA as a scoring specialist. Foye could really help his stock in this tournament by showing off his point guard abilities, though with Kyle Lowry around, we might just have to be content with a couple of scoring explosions.
Kyle Lowry, 6-0, sophomore, point guard, (future lottery pick?)
If you are looking for a player that could blow the lid off his stock with a big tourney run and end up declaring for the 2006 draft, Lowry could be your man. While many point to Allen Ray and Randy Foye as Jay Wright's stars, I would make the case that Lowry is the most important cog in that 4 guard lineup. His all-out explosiveness and end to end speed will remind you of Raymond Felton, and he might be an even better defender. Without Lowry's smothering ball pressure, this team wouldn't even be close to a 1 seed.
Lowry still struggled a bit with his decision making, including when to pass and when to look for his own offense, but on the whole does a great job of getting the ball into the hands of Foye and Ray. As it becomes obvious to the rest of the nation that Lowry is the engine behind Villanova's 4 guard offense, expect his stock to skyrocket.
Allan Ray, 6-2, senior, shooting guard
Allan Ray is probably the "household name" on Villanova's roster, but isn't quite the NBA prospect that Foye and Lowry are. What he can do is score points in a hurry, at a level that even Foye can't match. Unfortunately, his all around game isn't really up to par with his offensive exploits. He looks for his shot first and foremost, and often hinders his teams with long cold streaks from the field. Ray is unproven as a ball-handler, and always looks to shoot almost as soon as he touches it in the Wildcat offense.
Ray has the potential to dominate this tournament, but will have to prove he can play some point guard if he really wants his NBA stock to bump up. It will be interesting to see if the eye injury effects his shooting stroke over the next couple of weeks. From what weve been told Ray has accepted his invite to Portsmouth and is expected to attend and show NBA scouts that he has more point guard skills than hes been able to show in Villanovas 4-guard offense. A deep run into March could alter those plans, but Ray will have to show some type of playmaking ability somewhere if he's going to have any shot at landing in the 1st round.