RATING THE GUARDS

Staff Writer Ira Winderman looks at the top guard prospects in Thursday's NBA Draft:

Player . . . School . . . Ht. . . . Comment

Derrick Rose . . . Memphis . . . 6-2 1/2 . . . Premier playmaker from this year's class

O.J. Mayo . . . Southern Cal . . . 6-4 . . . Can shoot and score, but is he a playmaker?

Jerryd Bayless . . . .Arizona . . . 6-3 . . . Prototypical NBA scoring point guard

Russell Westbrook . . . UCLA . . . 6-3 1/2 . . .Offers quality mix of size, handle, defense

Eric Gordon . . . Indiana . . . 6-3 12 . . . Undersized shooter who is not a point guard

D.J. Augustin . . . Texas . . . .5-11 1/2 . . . The annual debate over how small is too small

Brandon Rush . . . Kansas . . ..6-6 . . ..Can step in and play, but is there upside?

Courtney Lee . . . Western Kentucky . . .6-5 . . ..A shooter whose work ethic is unquestioned

Mario Chalmers . .. Kansas . . . 6-1 . . . Perhaps not a starter, but can run the offense

C. Douglas-Roberts . . . Memphis . . . 6-7 . . . A quality slasher who should find a way to score

Of note

Despite his NBA-quality outside shooting, Tennessee's Chris Lofton could find himself undrafted. Just for sheer perseverance he deserves a shot in some team's summer league, considering the way he persevered this past season while battling testicular cancer.

As a group

This draft is particularly strong on point guards, but many will have to make the transition from primary scorer. As Ben Gordon has shown with the Bulls, an undersized shooter has difficulty creating a defined NBA role.