I know a lot of you don't put much stock in John Hollinger's Draft Rater, but it's one more bit of analysis to think and talk about. Personally, I give it a fair amount of credibility, given its basis in detailed factual analysis of a given draft prospect's entire body of collegiate work.
In an update posted on ESPN, Hollinger seriously downgrades Wes Johnson--to 16th-best prospect--based on a new analysis of his production at Iowa State. Hollinger's own "subjective" mock draft has Johnson going 11th.
http://espn.go.com/blog/TrueHoop/post/_ ... raft-rater
Now, I know that Johnson benefited greatly from the superior coaching he got at Syracuse, and we've seen guys improve tremendously over even a year. But this has to give one pause. If NJ tries to hold the Wolves ransom for him, I say nuts--grab Favors with the fourth. (That is, unless Kahn, as many speculate, really has something up his sleeve to get Turner).
Hollinger, by the way, rates Favors fifth. The top prospect remains...DeMarcus Cousins, with an even higher score, and even more distance between himself and second-ranked prospect Evan Turner, than Hollinger's first version three weeks ago.
Despite a few embarrassing pratfalls, Hollinger's system has proven over the years to be a fairly reliable predictor of NBA success. Thoughts?
