Gilbert Arenas at Arizona...future all-star...

Well the NBA got it right after all…Gilbert Arenas is headed to the All-Star game after being picked Friday by NBA commissioner David Stern to replace Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal, who was voted in as an Eastern Conference starter but is injured. Arenas was perhaps the biggest omission on the East team when reserves for the Feb. 19 game in Houston were announced Thursday night. He is fourth in the league with 28.2 points per game.

The Raptors handed out a beat down to the Blazers last night with Mo Pete scoring 22 points in a 114-81 rout. Mike James had 19 points as the Raptors who shot 59% percent and outrebounded the Trail Blazers 48-32….how bad was it? Someone named Charles Smith had a team-high 11 points for the Blazers, who fell to 0-4 on their seven-game road trip. They had lost both of their last two games by 32 points.

Trade Rumour: T-Wolves send PG Marcus Banks to the Sonics for SG Flip Murray…Pistons send C Darko Milicic and PG Carlos Arroyo to the Magic for C Kelvin Cato…Knicks send SF Trevor Ariza and PF Malik Rose to the Sonics for PF Reggie Evans and PF Danny Fortson…

Word out of Charlotte is that C Emeka Okafor is finished for the season with Ankle woes…

With his 639th victory as an NBA head coach, Memphis coach Mike Fratello passed Chuck Daly for 17th place all-time. Next on the list is Red Holzman at 696.

Terrible, just terrible…The Bobcats, who lost in Milwaukee on Saturday, are the only NBA team that has not won a road game since the start of the year. Charlotte is 0-11 on the road in 2006.

Apparently the Knicks rejected the offering PF Lamar Odom for C Channing Frye…Odom, 26, is averaging 13.9 points and 9.4 rebounds, but the Knicks have fears of him playing in his hometown New York…as in getting in to trouble with old homeboys fears…

1) This is funny, from Isreal Gutierrez of the Miami Herald:

Riley dances around the pressure

Perhaps Pat Riley has spent a bit too much time watching ABC's Dancing with the Stars reality show of late. Because to help lighten the mood in his team's locker room Sunday afternoon, Riley unexpectedly broke into a 15-minute solo dance performance that easily took his players' minds off basketball. The tune? An unidentified Doobie Brothers song, possibly, Listen to the Music. The moves? No one is quite sure how to explain them. The motivation? It's all in the mind of Riley. ''There's a real heaviness to our team,'' Riley said. ``I'm trying to lighten it up. Because there are so many distractions and so many things going on, there's been a lot of pummeling, that it's heavy. It wears on guys.'' For the entire time Riley moved across the gray carpet of the Heat locker room, there were nothing but lighthearted laughs from his players. So his goal was accomplished. ''The last thing I expected to see was Pat coming in here and start dancing,'' Udonis Haslem said. ``And he danced for like a good 15 minutes. I thought he was going to get tired.'' Added Dwyane Wade: ``He was fired up when he came in here. As soon as he walked through that door he was fired up and had a smile on his face. That just made us breathe. We just thought about something else other than us coming out and playing against the best team in the league.'' They might have spent some time trying to figure out exactly what they were watching. ''I never heard the music he was playing in my life, and I've never seen the dances he was doing in my life,'' Haslem said. ``It was definitely nothing of this decade. It was definitely nothing that anybody of this era would know about.'' On a scale of 1 to 10? ''I mean, you know what, since coach is 60, I'm going to give him about an 8, because I didn't know he could move like that,'' Wade said. ``He's got a little rhythm, man.''

2) Greg Anthony of ESPN.com reports on the terrific Heat win over the Pistons from yesterday:

Heat feat, Grade A Wade

When Dwyane Wade scored the Miami Heat's 17 final points, capping a dominant 37-point performance Sunday that rallied his team past the Detroit Pistons, 100-98, the win did much more than merely demonstrate how good he is. The team effort Miami showed was the real eye opener. It was exactly what it needs to compete with the NBA's top teams. That's the best 48 minutes of effort that I've seen from the Heat this year. And it's the blueprint for the rest of the season. The Heat already knew they had a special player in Wade. There were other pressing questions that needed answers, effort and defense among them, especially coming off the embarrassment of a 36-point loss to Dallas on Feb. 9. Fifty-one games into the season, this Miami team is still adjusting to the new parts around Shaquille O'Neal and Wade, and still finding ways to deal with adversity in ways that San Antonio and Detroit, as cohesive, veteran teams, have long ago learned to handle. What the Heat should learn from this Sunday: defense can carry you. There's going to be nights when either Shaq or Wade aren't on, and those are the nights you need to rely on the defense. Shaq was on, and he set the tone early, finishing with a season-high 31 points. Heat guard Gary Payton, fitting Miami on this night like a comfortable Glove, was exceptional offensively and defensively. Even though Chauncey Billups (29 points, 10 assists) played well, he really only did damage from the perimeter when Payton was on him in the second half. This is the way Heat coach Pat Riley wants his team playing -- with pride, especially after the embarrassment in Dallas. This was a must-win game for the Heat. I don't care what anybody says -- you lose this one, and it will hurt you. Riley was reported to be dancing to the Doobie Bros. before the game. That's Riley, one of great motivators. Like Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, he knows when to push, and when to pull. Count the dancing as a light-hearted pull for a team under pressure. On this team, he has a lot of veteran guys. Even those kind of players need to be coached. A big part of coaching is motivating. That's where Riley can take them higher. Detroit, which executed very well and still lost, will likely have more respect for the Heat now. Psychologically, the Pistons' certainty of their ability to handle the Heat can no longer be absolute. Even when the Pistons made 11 of 20 3-pointers while the Heat finished 1-for-12, Miami still had enough to win. When the Shaq-Wade combo leads the way, it's tough to beat. The Heat came into the game 0-7 against the top three teams (Detroit, San Antonio and Dallas). In none of those losses did both Shaq and Wade have a standout game. But this eighth time had a different finish, with Wade sinking a shot with 2.3 seconds left over the long arms of Tayshaun Prince. So now, the two teams sit 1-1 on the regular season, with Detroit having earned a 106-101 win on Dec. 29. Next is a March 22 date in Detroit, followed by April 6 game in Miami. And if Miami follows its blueprint, that April game likely won't be their last this season.

3) Chris Ekstrand of SI.com with some draft gems of the past:

Under the radar no more - Arenas, Wallace among best low-profile acquisitions

I was at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Virginia in 1996, when an unknown power forward with big biceps strode to the free-throw line early in his first game. "Watch this," said one of the few NBA scouts who had actually seen the guy play in college. "He shot 37 percent from the line this year." Of course, the NBA Draft hopeful nailed both of his attempts, which led to some good-natured ribbing among the scouts. The next time he was fouled, however, the Adonis stunt double air-balled his first attempt. His second attempt hit the backboard only, well to the right of the rim. Nobody knew then that Ben Wallace of Virginia Union University would become a four-time All-NBA player (twice each on the All-NBA Second and Third Teams) and a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. On Thursday, Wallace was named to play in his fourth straight NBA All-Star Game. But before Wallace made such a lasting impression, he was so lightly regarded that he went undrafted in '96, a draft in which two guys who were not even as good at basketball as they were at baseball (eventual major league baseball players Mark Hendrickson and Ryan Minor) were picked in the second round. The draft, as Marty Blake, the godfather of NBA scouting, likes to say, is an inexact science. Lots of casual basketball fans are under the impression that the only players who turn out to be any good get drafted in the first round. In order to debunk such thinking, we have labored to fashion our own type of All-NBA team. We looked at the past 10 NBA drafts, those conducted from '96 to 2005, and came up with the best 15 players who were chosen in the second round and the best 15 players who were never drafted at all. These lists are obviously subjective, and good cases can be made for several players who did not make it onto our teams. For criteria, we have looked at honors such as making the All-Star team, meaningful contributions to good teams and statistical evaluations. Remember, players who were available for the draft before '96 (like sensational second rounders Nick Van Exel or P.J. Brown) are not eligible for these teams.

Second Round All-Stars

FIRST TEAM

Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs: The foresight that Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford used in grabbing Ginobili with the 57th, and second-to-last pick in the '99 NBA Draft is what makes scouting legends. The Spurs had been impressed with Ginobili, who was playing for Reggio Calabria in Italy at the time, from seeing him there and in international competitions where he competed for his native Argentina. Hardly an overnight sensation in the NBA, Ginobili stayed in Italy three more seasons after being drafted, and by '02, at 25, was regarded by most basketball people as the best and certainly the most dynamic player in Europe. He has been a key member of two NBA championship teams in his first three seasons for the Spurs.

Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards: It's not as if Arenas wasn't heavily scouted during his sophomore season at Arizona (2000-01). NBA scouts flocked to Tucson -- to evaluate Richard Jefferson, Loren Woods and Michael Wright. Although Arenas averaged a team-leading 16.2 ppg that season, many scouts felt he was too out of control to be a point guard and not big enough to be a successful NBA shooting guard. Golden State picked him 31st overall, the second player picked in the second round, and the rest is sometimes entertaining, but always colorful, NBA history. By his second season, Arenas was averaging 18 ppg and had advanced so much that he signed a huge free-agent contract with Washington that Golden State was unable to match. He played in the All-Star Game last year, was named to the All-NBA Third Team last summer and today is the fourth-leading scorer in the NBA, at 28.2 ppg.

Michael Redd, Milwaukee Bucks: Redd surprised most NBA people when he decided to leave Ohio State after his junior year and make himself available for the '00 draft. He had had a better sophomore season than junior season, and, though billed as a shooter, had connected on only 31 percent from 3-point range as a junior. Redd's scoring average had declined from 21.9 as a freshman to 19.5 as a sophomore and then to 17.3 as a junior. As an NBA rookie, Redd was mostly seen in street clothes, sitting at the end of Milwaukee's bench alongside injured list buddy Jason Hart. Redd, picked 43rd overall, got into only six games that season, but he hit for double figures his second season and his scoring average has risen every year for the past six seasons. One of the most feared perimeter shooters in the league today, Redd is averaging 25.1 ppg, 11th in the NBA.

Cuttino Mobley, Los Angeles Clippers: Until his senior season at Rhode Island, Mobley wasn't even the most heralded player in his own collegiate backcourt, taking a back seat to a speedy point guard named Tyson Wheeler. Mobley pumped up the volume to 17.2 ppg as a senior, but most teams did not have him in their draft plans. Even Houston, the team that drafted him 41st overall in '98, used two first-round picks on other guards, Arizona's Michael Dickerson and Valparaiso's Bryce Drew. Mobley immediately established himself as an instant offense factor off the Rockets' bench, earning All-Rookie Second Team honors. Within two years, Mobley and Steve Francis were considered the most explosive backcourt in the league. Eventually though, Mobley was traded twice in less than a year, but he signed with the Clippers last summer as a free agent and has played a huge role in that team's resurgence.

Rashard Lewis, Seattle SuperSonics: When Houston-area high school star Lewis was passed over by his hometown Rockets three times in the first round of the '98 NBA Draft, he shed a few tears on draft night and announcers opined in somber tones that this was the cautionary tale that would make subsequent high school stars think twice before entering the draft. After being chosen 32nd overall and taking what was basically a red-shirt year as an NBA rookie, Lewis started earning some minutes his second year and was in the starting lineup his third. He's been a high double-figure scorer ever since, and, at 26, made his first All-Star Game appearance last year. At 6-10, Lewis is a matchup nightmare and is arguably the league's most dangerous perimeter shooting big man this side of Dirk Nowitzki.

SECOND TEAM

Stephen Jackson, Indiana Pacers: '97 draft, 43rd overall pick by Phoenix
Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz: '02 draft, 35th overall pick by Cleveland
Ruben Patterson, Portland Trail Blazers: '98 draft, 31st overall pick by LA Lakers
Mehmet Okur, Utah Jazz: '01 draft, 38th overall pick by Detroit
Jeff McInnis, New Jersey Nets: '96 draft, 37th overall pick by Denver

THIRD TEAM

Bobby Simmons, Milwaukee Bucks: '01 draft, 42nd overall pick by Seattle
Trenton Hassell, Minnesota Timberwolves: '01 draft, 30th overall pick by Chicago
Othella Harrington, Chicago Bulls: '96 draft, 30th overall pick by Houston
Shandon Anderson, Miami Heat: '96 draft, 54th overall pick by Utah
Gordan Giricek, Utah Jazz: '99 draft, 40th overall pick by Dallas

Undrafted All-Stars

FIRST TEAM

Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons: Wallace made the Washington Bullets (yes, Bullets) roster in '96 as an undrafted free agent and started out as a deep sub. By his third season, he averaged 8.3 rebounds per game and had established a reputation as a good defender. After three years in Washington, he was traded two consecutive offseasons, first to Orlando and then to Detroit in the ill-fated sign-and-trade deal that landed Grant Hill in Disney World (or so he thought). Despite all the offensive talent around Wallace in Detroit, everybody knows that the Pistons would not be a championship-caliber team without Big Ben.

Brad Miller, Sacramento Kings: In his last two seasons at Purdue, Miller was the Big Ten's best center. Despite playing reasonably well in the pre-draft events, he went undrafted in '98. It might have been a blessing in disguise. NBA players, at an impasse that summer with the NBA in negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, refused to play for USA Basketball's entry in the '98 World Championship. Even players who had been drafted, the newest members of the players association, were prohibited by the union from playing on the team. Miller, undrafted and unbound by any restrictions, was chosen along with American expatriates playing in Europe to represent the USA. Her made such an impression in the championship that by the time that bronze-medal-winning U.S. team was done, he had a guaranteed contract with the Charlotte Hornets. He has averaged more than 13 points and more than eight rebounds in each of the last five seasons and played in two All-Star games.

Marquis Daniels, Dallas Mavericks: Daniels did everything right in four years at Auburn: he improved every season, obtained a degree in sociology in three-and-a-half years and peaked in carrying his team to the Sweet Sixteen of the '03 NCAA Tournament. However, Daniels was regarded as a poor 3-point shooter (he still is) and a bit of a tweener between small forward and shooting guard. After the Mavericks saw him play for a couple of weeks that July on their summer league team, they rushed to find a standard player contract and get his signature before other NBA teams beat them to it. Daniels scored playing time on a 52-win, Don Nelson-coached team by hustling and committing a turnover about every blue moon. This season, under coach Avery Johnson, Daniels is playing 30 minutes and is averaging in double figures (11 ppg) for the first time.

Raja Bell, Phoenix Suns: It's hard not to feel good for players like Bell, who used perseverance, a bit of luck and a lot of sweat equity to carve out an NBA career. Bell, undrafted in '99 out of Florida International, had a productive season and a half for the Yakima Sun Kings of the CBA before signing with Philadelphia near the end of the '01 season. Suddenly, the Sixers were winning playoff games and Bell was playing in them, even making an appearance in the '01 NBA Finals against the Lakers. After two double-figure scoring seasons in Utah, Bell was plucked in free agency last summer by Phoenix, which felt he could help the Suns to become a better defensive team. Bell has been a perfect fit, contributing on defense and scoring a career-high 14.4 ppg.

Mike James, Toronto Raptors: You probably can't get more low-profile than playing in Austria, but that's where James started his climb to the NBA after being undrafted out of Duquesne in '98. After a year in Austria and two in France, James blew up in the CBA at the beginning of the '01 season, averaging 23.3 ppg in 14 games for the Rockford Lightning before the Miami Heat signed him to be a 12th man. In five NBA seasons, James has played for six NBA teams, but the one constant in his tumultuous career has been year-to-year improvement. A career 9.2 ppg scorer entering this season, James is averaging 17.6 points and 5.3 assists as the Raptors' big shot taker this season, and his value around the league can be measured by how many times interim Raptors GM Wayne Embry's phone is ringing as the trade deadline (February 23) nears.

SECOND TEAM

Chucky Atkins, Memphis Grizzlies, undrafted in '96
Troy Hudson, Minnesota Timberwolves, undrafted in '97
Damon Jones, Cleveland Cavaliers, undrafted in '97
Earl Boykins, Denver Nuggets, undrafted in '98
Udonis Haslem, Miami Heat, undrafted in '02

THIRD TEAM

Reggie Evans, Seattle SuperSonics, undrafted in '02
Carlos Arroyo, Detroit Pistons, undrafted in '01
Adrian Griffin, Dallas Mavericks, undrafted in '96
Anthony Carter, Minnesota Timberwolves, undrafted in '98
Erick Strickland, current free agent, undrafted '96

4) Here’s the pot calling the kettle black, from Peter Vescey of the New York Post:

SPEAK SLEAZY

Barkley shows he has foot-in-mouth disease…WHAT'S more ludicrous, the drivel that drizzles from Charles Barkley's lips, or the people who lobotomize themselves by responding to his standardized stupidity? Or, worse yet, enable him by justifying it. Barkley's latest (broken play), Oklahoma "is no place for black people" is the most ignorant thing I've heard since the last thing that recklessly dribbled out of his mouth. After getting a nervous giggle out of his TNT gaggle alongside him Barkley posed this side-splitting question to Hornets' prize rookie Chris Paul: "Do you have cows and chickens in your yard?" Geez, what a shame "Hee-Haw" was cancelled many moons ago. Who wouldn't want to hear Barkley and Junior Samples engage in a socially relevant conversation? All races of Oklahomans, from politicians to Hornets fans to journalists replied angrily to Barkley's ill-bred insensitivity. Governor Brad Henry, who is white, offered, "Obviously, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Anyone who follows Barkley knows he's notorious for saying ridiculous things that have no basis in fact, and this case is a perfect example." As always, Bye-Ron Scott miserably missed the point. "If you know Charles just a little bit, you know how crazy he is and how funny he is," the Hornets' coach remarked. "I sat there and watched the whole thing and I just started laughing. I don't think he meant anything malicious. That's just Charles being Charles, trying to be funny." There you have it in a nutshell, Barkley's appeal and his audience. Anybody but Sir Charlatan would've been fired long ago for ceaselessly contaminating the airwaves with his racist comments and warped perspective. What saves him, the reason he's given a free pass by TNT and indulged by the likes of Bob Costas and the preponderance of the kowtowing Caucasian media, the reason Barkley is blissfully invited into their living rooms and the volume turned up, it says here, is his celebrated lack of common sense and unruly urge to act the fool. Barkley, bear in mind, went to school (classes were optional) at Auburn - an institution of higher learning and/or its boosters he boasts about taking illicit money from - and has threatened to run for governor of Alabama. Dixie hasn't been this proud, I submit, since it invented the paper cup, a popular staple in locker rooms throughout professional sports…Should the NBA determine Kenyon Martin had any role whatsoever in two of his friends menacing two fans (one innocent) for taunting the Nuggets' inactive forward during a Denver game last week, his punishment can't be harsh enough. "Why don't you suit up, chump (Martin understood him to say 'punk')?" goaded the guy. How Martin's involvement can be proved is awfully unlikely. Let me rephrase that: How it can be true is highly implausible. I've yet to read a single account where anybody says the renowned chucklehead was witnessed issuing any such marching orders - either verbally or with eyes/head movement - to his peeps whom he refuses to identify, at least to the media. Those same two fans attest Martin got up (he denies it) and said something to the heckler whose language, by all accounts, wasn't vulgar. Martin's disputed retort to the fan might've triggered his friends' overreaction, or maybe they were near enough to hear their meal ticket being called out and took matters into their own hands. At the same time, there's no doubt Martin had words with at least the innocent season-ticket holder after the game while the fan was talking to security outside the locker room. But nobody has sworn out an affidavit, as far as I know, accusing Martin of communicating hostility to his posse - no, not Kendra Davis and Bob Huggins. Any way you look at it, unless there was some prearranged signal to set Martin's hoody vigilantes into motion, and someone admits it, it's impossible to hold Martin responsible for the offensive behavior of his posse. But, wait, with Valentine's Day just two days away, love, again, is in the Mile High air. What else can we assume after the Nuggets mauled the Mavericks, 113-104, Friday night, in a game Dallas didn't come to play? Grand Kenyon sent a personal candygram to antagonist George Karl with a season-high 34 points (14-18 FG) and nine rebounds as Denver put a resounding end to the Mavs' win streak of 13 straight. Better yet, none of Martin's homies in the Pepsi Center homey crowd were dispatched to silence any lambs or loudmouths. "We're taking extra precautions to protect our fans' freedom of speech," said the Nuggets' newly-hired director of customer relations, Dan Issel…Florida Today reported the Pistons and Magic are discussing a package of Darko Milicic ($4.1M/$5.2M) and Carlos Arroyo ($4M/$4M/$4M) for Kelvin Cato ($8.6M). I was under the impression such trade talk took place about a month ago. But that doesn't mean it hasn't been or won't be revived. All the names mentioned prominently in proposed deals over the last few months are almost guaranteed to surface again as the Feb. 23 deadline draws near. It's always like that. As usual, Mitch Lawrence got it loud wrong last week in the Daily Nuisance when he maintained Nets president Rod Thorn advised owner Bruce Ratner against re-signing Martin when he was a free agent. "Rod wanted to keep Kenyon, but some of the larger investors, most of whom wound up not investing [from Goldman Sachs], didn't want to keep him for economic reasons," Ratner replies. "I listened to the [potential] investors even though my neophyte instincts said we should keep him. I took and take the responsibility for what might now be better than worse. "I said shortly thereafter that I made a mistake. But like a Dreiser novel, that 'decision' has had unpredictable and perhaps inevitable consequences that have changed the 'lives' of what now looks like at least three teams and possibly more depending on where [Vince] Carter would have gone had we kept Kenyon and not gotten Vince."…The NFL season ends tonight with the always-enthralling Pro Bowl. Janet Gretzky loves the NFC with the points. Wayne denies he's ever heard of football. This just in: Prior to tonight's balance-of-power tilt in Houston, the Knicks shall be honored by Ken Lay as the "Enron of the NBA."

5) Aran Smith of NBADraft.net with his underrated and overrated looking forward to the draft:

Underrated

Mike Gansey 6-4 205 SG W. Virginia Sr. - Though he's just 6-4 and lacks ideal size, his ability to shoot and creativity getting shots against bigger players makes him a legitimate offensive threat. On the defensive end, he hustles and even gets blocked shots with his great anticipation ability.

He's looks more like the star of your local YMCA league than a future NBA player, but Gansey has caught the attention of NBA scouts in a big way. His intangibles are what separate him from the average player. He has a great knowledge and feel for the game, that few are able to develop. He's extremely competitive and plays at a high energy level. Due to such a weak crop of players in this year's draft, and Gansey's versatility, there's a real chance he will crack the first round come draft night. He's undersized and isn't a real freak athlete, but he has good quickness and deceptive athleticism. It might be a stretch to compare him to Jeff Hornacek, but Gansey has some of the same intangibles which made Hornacek successful as a smaller shooting guard. He's not nearly the shooter the Hornacek was, but he's quicker and more athletic. Proving to be one of the most clutch players in college basketball, Gansey spearheaded West Virginia's run to the Elite Eight last year. He has been even more impressive this season taking his game to another level. At 24 years of age, he doesn't have the upside of some other players. However, some teams see this as an advantage because he has the maturity to come right in and be able to produce. Look for Gansey to have another great tournament and become a first round sleeper for the 2006 NBA draft.

Josh Boone 6-10 237 PF UConn Jr. - Although Boone has really struggled this year, failing to live up to the lofty expectations, he's still highly regarded by most scouts. His statistics really dropped off with the absence of Marcus Williams and the increased production by Hilton Armstrong. Boone however seems to be back on track. Over the past 7 games, Boone has averaged 12.5 pts (61.0 %FG) 8.9 boards and 3 blocks per game. His 18 and 10 in an 8 point win over Syracuse sparked his run of solid games, and his court demeanor and confidence has been a lot better since. He's got the body strength that Hilton Armstrong lacks, plus great quickness and agility to run the floor for a big man. In a draft devoid of talent, Boone has a shot to be a lottery pick, despite the drop off in offensive productivity. He's most likely a role player in the NBA, but gives a team a great glue type guy.

Aaron Gray 7-0 270 C Pittsburgh Jr. - Gray looks very slow running the court but scouts are very intrigued with his size and potential. Along with Hilton Armstrong he's one of the most improved players not only in the Big East but the entire country. Gray has gone from a role player who averaged 4.3 ppg and 2.8 rpg last year to the becoming most integral member of a top 25 team and one of the top centers in college basketball. He's averaging 13.8 ppg and 10.8 rpg and in the 10 games of 2006 has failed to reach double digits scoring just once and has hit at least 20 points four times. Gray's ball skills are extremely adept for a player his size. He has soft touch inside and uses his strength very well to create shots for himself. His vision and passing ability is also very good for a bigman. When double teamed, he does an excellent job of finding the open man. Scouts are intrigued with his potential and he is considered a likely future first round pick.

Eric Hicks 6-6 245 SF/PF Cincinnati Sr.- Though Hicks is not even 6-7, scouts really love his toughness and ability to play the post. He's an absolute beast inside blocking shots and grabbing rebounds. Some scouts have even mentioned Ben Wallace when talking about him. His leaping ability and long arms allow him to play much bigger than his size, and his heart and toughness are incredible. In the team's win over Louisville, a game which they could not afford to lose, Hicks really impressed scouts with his heart refusing to sit out the game after suffering a concussion. Hicks finished with 14 and 12 in a six point victory. Hicks teammate last year Jason Maxiell was just an inch taller but never showed the rebounding ability or toughness that Hicks possesses, and he ended up the 26th pick of the draft to Detroit. A strong effort at the NBA draft camp could vault Hicks draft stock in a similar way.

Overrated

Leon Powe 6-8 245 PF California So. - Powe was considered a top 10 player coming out of high school, in a class that featured the likes of Lebron James, Chris Paul, Luol Deng and Charlie Villanueva. Prior to his senior year in which he injured his knee (the first time), Powe was considered a top 3-5 player in his class. At the time, Powe's explosiveness and athleticism made him an exception to the rule, a player (ala Barkley) who could make it despite being a few inches short for his position. Now in his sophomore season at Cal, Powe is getting lukewarm reviews from NBA scouts. On the college level, his offensive skills and strength allow him to score close to 20 and 10. To the average basketball fan, he may appear to be a top prospect, but if he enters the 2006 draft as some suggest he might, he's a second round pick at best. Unfortunately after a second knee operation, Powe's explosiveness and quickness has dropped off. He's a tough kid who will likely make a lot of money playing basketball over his career, but there's a chance that won't be in the NBA. His game just does not translate well to the league. As a 6-7 PF, and he'll have trouble rebounding and defending the way he does in college and he he lacks the size to get shots. Powe has a solid offensive game, he really gives great effort and probably would be better suited for a career in Europe where his size would not be a disadvantage and he could dominate. Powe is a likely second round pick, who because of his great heart could have a lengthy NBA career, but patience about entering the draft would increase his chances.

Tiago Splitter 6-11 236 PF Brazil 1985 - Due to his fluidity and size running the floor, some consider Splitter a possible top 10 pick. But his skills and feel for the game are just average. There's also a real concern that he won't be able to add much more weight and strength to his body, as he hasn't put on any muscle mass in the past year or two. At around 235-240, he will get pushed around by bigger and stronger players in the NBA. His offensive game is limited to intermediate jump shots and put backs. He lacks great touch, especially on drives where more often than not his shots find iron. He has been a player that has received a lot of hype, even considered a potential first overall pick in the draft a couple years back, but his skills have not developed and his upside has diminished. On the positive side, he has a good attitude, plays hard and is an athletic 6-11 post player. Despite the lack of quality players in this year's draft, elevating his stock, look for Splitter to fall out of the lottery when all is said and done.

Paul Davis 6-10 260 PF/C Mich. St. Sr. - Davis is a player most scouts describe as serviceable when projecting him to the next level. He's stepped his game up in his senior year and has had a number of big games, however he's limited offensively and lacks great potential. He's a bruiser, but lacks any real offensive game outside of dunks and 12 foot jump shots. Davis is a player destined to be a lifetime NBA bench player. He's very mechanical, and lacks passing ability or intangibles that would suggest he is anything more than a role player in the NBA. He's a very productive player on the college level, but he's a player who's game and skills don't translate well to the league. Davis can have a decent NBA career, but he lacks the talent to be more than a role player, so if he's taken high in the draft the expectations will likely haunt him. If Davis ends up in the lottery as some have suggested, he will most likely end up a bust of Todd Fuller proportions.

Ronnie Brewer 6-7 217 SG Arkansas Jr. - Brewer is a talented player with basketball in his genes, his Dad Ron Brewer Sr. was a top ten pick back in the 1979 draft. Brewer's real strength is his ball handling and passing ability. At 6-7, he has the ability to play the point guard position on the college level. His skills should allow him to see time at the position in the NBA, but he's not a full time point guard. On the negative side, his outside shot has really trailed off this year. His shooting percentage is just 34% from 3, and he shows a lack of consistency on shots outside of 12 feet. His overall field goal percentage has really dipped this year as well (from 47.5 last year to 42.8 this year). His mechanics are messed up by a childhood accident which has affected his shooting form. Scouts fear he lacks the shooting ability to keep defenders honest. He's also a player who scouts have concerns about what position he plays on the next level. He's very good with the ball in his hands, but he can be too ball dependent. Brewer has the talent and potential to be a nice NBA player someday, but he is no longer considered the high lottery pick (top 5) that he previously had been projected.

6) Tony Meija of CBSSportline.com with his NBA Notebook:

Notebook: More trying times in store for K-Mart?

There's a lot of controversy surrounding Denver's Kenyon Martin of late. For starters, there is the drama with head coach George Karl -- Martin recently refused to answer a postgame question about the status of their relationship. "I think Kenyon and I, because of his injuries and the inconsistency of the basketball team, we're not chummy-chummy guys," Karl told the Denver Post. "But I think he played great in January. I think he's been a major factor in us staying in first place. I know his knee bothers him and I know mentally trade talks bother everybody." Beyond the knee and the trade talks, there's also an incident the NBA is investigating. Two fans say Martin directed one of his friends to confront them in the stands Wednesday night, and that Martin yelled at them later. Martin denies both accusations. It's the latest episode in a difficult season for Martin, who is trying to tough it out through a season in which he looks like his normal self one game, and awfully gimpy the next. He's missed two of the past three games and is seemingly an eternal game-time decision. With him healthy, the Nuggets are the favorite to win the weak Northwest Division. With him hampered, he could become a volatile distraction. With him gone? Well, we could find out soon. The New York Knicks are said to be interested in him. Then again, they're interested in everyone. Is there another team willing to deal for potentially damaged goods? You can't rule anything out, particularly as trigger fingers get itchy around the trade deadline. Things have been relatively quiet since the brief period where Ron Artest and Peja Stojakovic swapped homes and the Celtics and Timberwolves orchestrated their mega-deal. Is there a future blockbuster in the works? Martin, Orlando's Steve Francis, New York's Jamal Crawford and Boston's Paul Pierce are possible candidates to move. Denver's Earl Watson always comes up in rumors, too. As for potential buyers, the Hornets are looking for another ball handler with Chris Paul and Speedy Claxton banged up. Golden State may be willing to stir things up to stop its downward spiral, and New Jersey and Phoenix are said to crave depth. Oh, and of course there's the Knicks, but that should go without saying.

Snub reactions - Every All-Star snub has a different reaction to getting shafted. Perhaps the most candid was Washington's Gilbert Arenas, who would have missed out on an All-Star appearance had commissioner David Stern not named him to the team on Friday as a replacement for injured forward Jermaine O'Neal. "That chip was falling off from the 2001 draft and now another chip goes on," said Arenas, who slipped all the way to the way to the second round in '01 but has blossomed in to the NBA's fourth-leading scorer this season. "You've just got to go out there and play. You can't let something like this hurt you. You know, 2001, I used that to get to this point and I'll use this to get further." Milwaukee's Michael Redd, averaging a career-best 25.1 points per game, was snubbed twice. First the coaches left him off, now Stern. "Gilbert Arenas has had a good year, but I think Michael being left off the All-Star team is very disappointing," Bucks coach Terry Stotts said. "He's having the best year of his career. He's leading a team that hasn't been under .500 all year. He's scored in double figures every game. He's improved every part of his game. And I think it's a shame that he's not on the team." In the West, Carmelo Anthony was the most blatant snub. He is averaging 25.8 points per game and has been an on-court leader for a team that has persevered despite injury woes. "Of course it was a disappointment at first, having that as one of my goals at the beginning of the season," Anthony said. "But at the end of the day you and everybody else knows how the West was." Anthony was referring to the West's glut of great forwards -- the Clippers' Elton Brand, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Phoenix's Shawn Marion were all included as reserves. Memphis forward Pau Gasol, the player Anthony was competing with for a spot on the team, was chosen as a center. The West guard choices were San Antonio's Tony Parker and Seattle's Ray Allen. Golden State's Baron Davis, New Orleans rookie Chris Paul and the Clippers' Sam Cassell were also passed over. Cassell, having a resurgent season at age 36, wasn't overly worried about missing out. "I'm an All-Star in my mind," Cassell said. "You don't have to have somebody tell you that, to be an All-Star. It doesn't work that way." Well, to play in the actual game, it does.

Pierce pleased ... for now - Amid the seemingly annual speculation that he's on his way out of Boston, Paul Pierce found a reason to smile over his fifth consecutive All-Star inclusion. "Over the years, the pattern has shown they usually go with the guys who have better records, on the teams that are at the top of the conference," Pierce said. "I think it's more satisfying to make it (this way)." While it might be gratifying to make an All-Star team on a losing squad, it will be interesting to see how satisfied Pierce is to sit home during the playoffs -- which is where he'll be should the Celtics continue to struggle. Last year, the always candid Pierce questioned whether he was a part of the team's future vision, yet predicted that his team would win the Atlantic Division and make the playoffs. One wonders what predictions Pierce will have in store for this year, now that he's been separated from running mate Ricky Davis in favor of Wally Szczerbiak. Boston is nine games behind division-leading New Jersey and six back of Philadelphia, who would be the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference should the playoffs start today.
Boozer returns to Utah lineup - During an interview, a radio show in Salt Lake City asked if I would be sent to cover the return of Carlos Boozer on Friday night in Minneapolis. My response: "Now why would CBS just throw away money like that?" Boozer, who saw his first real basketball action on Wednesday by briefly participating in a scrimmage, played in his first game in almost a calendar year when Utah faced Northwest Division rival Minnesota. Boozer reported no pain in his left hamstring, which in the preseason replaced his foot as the source of his inactivity. Coach Jerry Sloan told the Salt Lake Tribune that he intended to utilize Boozer for about five minutes to get him back in basketball shape, hoping to ramp him up to the point where he can become the type of contributor the team invested $63 million in before last season. Boozer played six minutes vs. Minnesota and scored two points and collected an assist to go along with two personal fouls. When Boozer gets to about 20 minutes a game, maybe it will be worthwhile to check him out. That's provided the injury-prone forward doesn't suffer another setback.