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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WWW.KANSAN.COM Sports WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2008
SPORTS
》 NBA DRAFT
Destination unknown: Jayhawks await draft
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Kansas coach Bill Self is convinced something special is going to happen Thursday night at the 2008 NBA Draft.
Self said he expected five Kansas players to be selected in the draft, which will take place in New York City and be aired live at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Since the draft expanded to its current two-round format, the most Jayhawks ever taken in a single draft was two players. Kansas has produced four NBA Draft picks in the past five years.
But Self said he was confident
Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers, Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson all would be picked Thursday night. He even thought Russell Robinson had a chance to be taken.
Rush
"The great news is all those kids are going to have an opportunity to play and be successful," said Lew Perkins, Kansas athletics director. "The bad news is they're not going to be with us."
BRANDON RUSH
"Brandon, maybe," Wright said. "In terms of his game, it's pretty suited for the NBA."
Ask former Jayhawk Julian Wright, who the New Orleans Hornets selected 14th overall in last year's NBA Draft, which Jayhawk will be most successful in the NBA and he'll say he doesn't know. Ask him again and he'll admit he thinks it's Rush.
Wright's observations are dead on with the feelings of NBA scouts. Andy Katz, an ESPN college basketball and NBA Draft analyst, said Rush was one of the most coveted
olavers in the draft right now.
Teams think Rush has the size
and defensive ability to be an effective shooting guard at the next level. Katz said if Rush was available when the Washington Wizards selected at No.18, they
Arthur
would pick him — but Katz isn't so sure that would happen.
"He may not get all the way down to 18." Katz said. "He's a player that's rising."
Fellow ESPN draft expert Chad
Ford had Rush slotted at No. 13 to the Portland Trailblazers in last Wednesday's mock draft.
DARRELL ARTHUR
Darrell "Shady" Arthur has traveled coast-to-coast and worked out with as many teams as any player in the draft. That doesn't mean it makes it any easier to project where he'll go.
"Darrell Arthur is kind of hard to place," Katz said. "He could go in the late lottery or he could slide down into the 20s. He's sort of all over the map."
All players aspire to be taken in the lottery, which means in the top 14 overall. Arthur's size and ability to score near the basket indicates he has a good chance to be picked highly.
Self said he thought Arthur would go somewhere in between picks number 10 and 17.
According to Ford, Self is just off. Ford's latest mock draft has Arthur going to the Washington Wizards with the 18th pick.
Self said he wasn't sure if Chalmers would be selected.
MARIO CHALMERS
in the first round when the junior declared for the draft in April. Now, there's no doubt in the coach's mind he will be.
Chalmers
Self said he had received dozens
of positive reports on Chalmers and his individual workouts for teams. Katz agreed and said Chalmers was a lock for the first round.
"Chalmers is getting a lot of interest from Orlando at 22, possibly San Antonio at 26," Katz said. "I think you're going to find him at the end of the day out in Orlando."
Internet rumors are swirling that the San Antonio Spurs, whose gen-
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