Could We See Two NBA First Rounders?

Continuing on from my college write up from Sunday, the experts are saying if the NBA draft was tomorrow, Australia would be responsible for two first rounders and a second round pick. If you do not believe me check this out! There hasn't been a draft since 1997 that has seen this many Aussies being talked about in NBA circles. (Can you name all four of them?)

First to hear his name could be Andrew Ogilvy. Currently in his first season at Vanderbilt, Ogilvy will have a tough decision when his season comes to an end. He has to decide if he wants to forgo his remaining three years at college and flee for the NBA. If he is in a good college environment and he is living life, it is hard to give this up. College life is the best!

On the flip side, if he leaves for the NBA and was to get drafted somewhere near 20, he becomes instantly wealthy. Being drafted in this position is worth about 3 million plus dollars. Something I would have trouble turning down.

Ogilvy has good hype around him right now and if he continues to play well in the tough SEC conference, the first round is calling him.

My NBL Rookie of the Year, Nathan Jawai, is currently predicted to go around pick 24. I can see NBA team executives falling in love with his great hands and explosive power around the basket.

In my eyes Jawai has the potential to move rapidly up or down. Playing in the NBL, the NBA scouts only see him play a few times a year, then they have to trust other people's word. (Unlike Ogilvy, he will be playing in front of scouts every night.)

The advantage though is, when he goes and works out for teams he is relatively unknown so he has a clean slate. If he goes gangbusters in the workouts his stock will skyrocket.

Jawai has captured their attention, now it is up to him to see where his chips fall come June.

The other player currently on the draft board is Aleks Maric. He is sitting at pick 48 (2nd round) right now. From what I have seen I do not think he can work his way into the first round, but his impressive numbers in the Big 12 conference will catch plenty of second round pick attention.

Other Aussies that may create some hype come draft time are Aaron Bruce and Joe Ingles.

Bruce also plays in the Big 12 Conference, but has seen his stock decline since his freshman year. In saying this though, if Bruce wants to exhaust all NBA avenues I can see him on a summer league roster. From there, anything can happen.

As for Joe, I'm not sure what his time frame is for giving the NBA a crack, especially if he is trying to get to Beijing in the same year. Tough timing.

If Ingles was to flirt with the NBA, he could do as Brad Newley did. Go over there this year, get his feet wet, then go after the next year.

It is interesting and exciting times for Aussie products right now. I hope that all become a success as this will help our national team. From this I believe there will be a positive effect on the NBL.