LAHAINA, Maui — More than 30 NBA scouts and player personnel directors have swarmed the Lahaina Civic Center this week, eager to analyze the potential pro talent playing in this year's Maui Invitational.

"You're probably looking at, at least five to six first-round draft picks, if not more, among the teams playing right now," said Isaiah Thomas, a Hall-of-Fame player with the Detroit Pistons who is now general manger of the New York Knicks. "You've got some of the top programs (in the country) over here."

This year's crop of pro prospects playing in Maui is headlined by Connecticut sophomore forward Rudy Gay, Gonzaga junior forward Adam Morrison and Arkansas junior guard Ronnie Brewer.

The spindly Gay is adept at blowing by defenders and playing above the rim. He has a smooth shot, plays within the flow of the game and knows when to takeover and when to get his teammates involved, scouts say.

ESPN.com's Chad Forde predicts that Gay will be the top choice in the 2006 NBA Draft.

But Forde is just one of the many prognosticators trying to decipher the wants of NBA general managers.

The invitational provides the perfect stage for scouts and players.

Scouts can evaluate talent early, this year more than ever, many say, because top college teams bring top prospects.

And top pro prospects bring out the scouts.

Huddled together in four rows of recently constructed wooden bleachers under the Makai basket, the scouts spend more than eight hours each day watching basketball. The NBA fines team personnel for commenting on the talents of underclassmen, so when the scouts speak on the record, it's only about seniors.

And some scouts may talk about one player in order to deflect attention away from their interest in another.

Others play it close to the vest, insisting that early season tournaments give little indication about how a player will perform at the end of the season.

"It's too early," said Elgin Baylor, a Hall-of-fame player and current scout for the Los Angeles Clippers.

"I'm not commenting because it's way too early."

This week's games are just a few of the more than 50 contests Los Angeles Laker general manager Mitch Kupchak will watch this year.

He said the tournament is a great opportunity to get a feel for players early in the season, and reiterated a widely held feeling among basketball scouts that, "if you haven't seen it live, you haven't seen it."

Kupchak declined to comment about players he liked in the tournament.

"Why would I do that?," he said, grinning. "I've been coming here for about seven, eight years and this could be the best it's ever been. You can see all the NBA scouts that are here. It's indicative of the level of talent out there."

The players say they don't feel any pressure, and emphasize their focus is on their opponent, not the talent evaluators sitting in the crowd.

Arkansas' Brewer says he'll take a peek, maybe, if he's at the free throw line. But he won't stare and says the scouts are the last thing on his mind.

"You don't really focus on that when you're playing," he said after Arkansas' 65-64 victory over Kansas yesterday.

Gonzaga's Morrison, who set a Maui Invitational record with 43 points in his team's 109-106 triple overtime win against Michigan State, said he never looks at the scouts, nor does he worry what they think.

"No, I try not to," he said. "Your game is going to speak for itself."

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.