09:40 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 28, 2005

BY KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer

Welcome to yet another Kiddie Draft, courtesy of the NBA.

While a high schooler won't be the first overall pick like last year (Dwight Howard), most of the top talent is 20 years of age or younger. If you're an accomplished, four-year college star like Hakim Warrick, Wayne Simien or Ryan Gomes, you're crossing your fingers tonight and hoping you land in the first round, or the top-30 picks.

Potential, or upside, is the phrase of choice in the league today. Two recent developments out of last week's new labor agreement could also play a large role in the draft. First, the NBDL, or NBA Developmental League, can be a place to store green youngsters for a season or two. This could lead to more unproven foreign and high school players being picked early.

Also, a clause was inserted into the agreement that allows teams to vacate the contracts of one high-salaried veteran without expensive luxury tax ramifications. This could allow the Celtics, for example, to waive Mark Blount or Raef LaFrentz and draft younger players to fill their roster spots.

This is the first draft with local college basketball relevance since URI's Lamar Odom was picked fourth overall in 1999 by the Clippers. PC's Gomes had second interviews and workouts with Phoenix (21st pick), Houston (24th) and the Celtics (18th), whom he worked out for yesterday. There also is significant interest from Detroit (26th), Utah (27th) and San Antonio (28th).

Here are 31 of the prime prospects available in tonight's NBA Draft. This draft is loaded with younger, unproven players with lots of upside and a smattering of college stars. It's also a very deep draft and teams with second-round picks are excited about grabbing solid players in the 30s and 40s.

Point guards
• 1. CHRIS PAUL, 6-feet 1, 180 pounds, Wake Forest. Best point prospect likely to go third overall to whatever team Portland trades with.

• 2. DERON WILLIAMS, 6-3, 200, Illinois. Big, strong but slow and not a good deep shooter. Won't get past Charlotte's fifth pick.

• 3. RAYMOND FELTON, 6-0, 200, North Carolina. Quickest and most flamboyant point guard available.

• 4. ROKO LENI UKIC, 6-6, 190, Croatia. A 21-year-old, polished Euro guard that the Celtics like.

• 5. MONTA ELLIS, 6-3, 175, Jackson, Miss. Big high school scoring guard with upside as a point guard.

• 6. JARRETT JACK, 6-4, 200, Georgia Tech. Another big, strong point guard who can get to the rim but can't shoot.

Shooting guards
• 1. GERALD GREEN, 6-7, 195, Houston, Texas. An Oklahoma State recruit who possesses the biggest upside of any high schooler. Great athlete, weak shooter. Best of a bad lot.

• 2. RASHAD McCANTS, 6-4, 200, North Carolina. Good offensive player who lacks discipline and is not a good teammate.

• 3. ANTOINE WRIGHT, 6-6, 200, Texas A&M. Good scorer, inside and out, but lacks explosive athletic ability.

• 4. FRANCISCO GARCIA, 6-7, 190, Louisville. Streaky shooter but overall polished offensive skills. At 23 years old, some scouts think he's too old to improve much.

• 5. JULIUS HODGE, 6-7, 200, North Carolina St. Rangy swing player finds many ways to score. Major defensive questions.

• 6. MARTELL WEBSTER, 6-8, 230, Seattle, Wash. High schooler owns great body and shooting range. Could go in top 12 or in the 20s.

Small forwards
• 1. MARVIN WILLIAMS, 6-9, 230, North Carolina. Frosh didn't start for Tar Heels but showed enough eye-popping athleticism to be tonight's No. 1 or 2 pick.

• 2. DANNY GRANGER, 6-9, 225, New Mexico. Versatile scoring forward has emerged as top college senior. Could go as high as No. 6 to Utah.

• 3. YAROSLAV KOROLEV, 6-9, 215. A 17-year-old Russian scouts compare to Toni Kukoc. Celtics are very interested, but he could be three years away.

• 4. JOEY GRAHAM, 6-7, 220, Oklahoma St. Big-time athlete can be top defender but scoring ability in doubt.

• 5. RYAN GOMES, 6-7, 250, Providence. The opposite of Graham. One of most polished offensive players in the draft but scouts aren't sure he can defend.

• 6. ERSAN ILYASOVA, 6-9, 215. A 19-year-old Turkish forward with ankle problems could be worth a gamble. Celtics reportedly are very intrigued.

Power forwards
• 1. FRAN VAZQUEZ, 6-11, 230, Spain. A rare older, more developed European that is ready to help a team right away. Best of a talented but varied lot.

• 2. HAKIM WARRICK, 6-9, 215, Syracuse. Can't Big East fans see this highlight-reel dunker jamming alley-oops for the next 10 years? Lack of outside jumper keeps him out of top 10.

• 3. SEAN MAY, 6-9, 260, North Carolina. Big, strong and with good hands. Lack of explosion off floor limits upside.

• 4. CHARLIE VILLANUEVA, 6-10, 240, Connecticut. Is he a monster talent or a big dog? The ultimate tease in college could fill same role in the NBA.

• 5. IKE DIOGU, 6-8, 255, Arizona State. Versatile big forward can be top-15 pick or fall to late first round.

• 6. CHRIS TAFT, 6-10, 260, Pittsburgh. Range of about eight feet has scared scouts but his live body is certainly worth a chance for someone in the first round.

• 7. WAYNE SIMIEN, 6-9, 250, Kansas. College star is undersized for NBA game and injury-prone but also offensively skilled.

Centers
• 1. ANDREW BOGUT, 7-0, 255, Utah. A 20-year-old Australian who's a combination Vlade Divac-Larry Bird. Extremely skilled big man.

• 2. CHANNING FRYE, 6-11, 250, Arizona. Fast-rising big forward who can make shots. The Knicks (eighth pick) would love to snap him up.

• 3. JOHAN PETRO, 7-1, 250, France. Big, strong and athletic 19-year-old should be coveted more than he is. Watch the Celtics on this one.

• 4. ANDREW BYNUM, 7-0, 290, New Jersey. UConn signee wouldn't play much for the Huskies next year but will be a first-round pick. That about tells it all with this draft.

• 5. ANDRAY BLATCHE, 6-11, 240,Syracuse, N.Y. Kevin Garnett-type body and athleticism. Very immature but very skilled prep star.

• 6. MARTYNAS ANDRIUSKEVICIUS, 7-3, 240, Lithuania. Massive center can shoot from 20 feet but needs to play for a couple years to continue maturing. Can you say NBDL?