Anticipation overrated
Ronny Turiaf spent Monday evening in New York, relaxing with family members over a nice meal and trying to cope with a classic case of wide-ranging pre-NBA Draft emotions.
The former Gonzaga University standout and reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Year confessed to being nervous, anxious and generally fed up with the entire process leading up to the 2005 NBA Draft, which will play out this evening on ESPN.
“To be honest, I’m tired of it,” said the 6-foot-10, 245-pound power forward, who has worked out for 10 different NBA teams since last March when his final season at Gonzaga ended with a loss to Texas Tech in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I just want the whole process to be over with. I just want to know where I’m going to go so I can start moving all my stuff and step into the NBA and the highest level of basketball there is.”
Despite all of his workouts and contacts with NBA teams presumably interested in his talents, Turiaf insists he has no idea where he will fall into tonight’s two-round draft.
“Except for the first four or five guys, this draft is wide open,” he said. “Several teams have shown real interest in me, but I can’t tell you who, when, where or what is going to happen.
“I think it’s just going to be a matter of what teams are thinking as the draft goes on.”
Turiaf, who many thought might declare for the draft last summer and skip his senior season at GU, has worked out for NBA teams in New York, Denver, Utah and Memphis, among others. And according to various reports, he probably raised his stock at a recent tryout camp in Chicago.
Few, who accompanied Turiaf to Chicago, has been impressed with the way his former star has prepared for the draft, but admits he, too, has no idea what to expect.
“Having been through it with all our guys, it’s really hard to figure out who’s going to do what on draft day,” Few said. “I do know Ronny has had a lot of good workouts.
“He’s worked really, really hard; he’s in great shape, and I think he’s helped himself in those workouts. But, again, it’ll probably hurt him that all those young kids committed to the draft.”
Mock drafts on the internet are all over the board in predicting where Turiaf might fall.
CBS SportsLine.com’s Tony Mejia has him going to Toronto as the 17th pick in the first round, saying, “An excellent athlete with great ups, Turiaf could be of great service alongside Chris Bosh and would be the safest choice in a draft the Raptors can’t afford to whiff on.”
Mejia’s colleagues, Matt Lawerence and Gregg Doyel also think Turiaf will end up as a first-round pick, but have slightly different takes on his ability.
“Turiaf will be a fan favorite when he reaches the next level because of his non-stop hustle,” writes Lawrence, who predicts Turiaf will be chosen by San Antonio as the 28th pick of the draft. “He’s a similar mold to former Spur Malik Rose, but with more tenacity. He has a decent post game but lacks a consistent jump shot. Bottom line, he needs a lot of work offensively.
Doyel, who sees Turiaf going to Miami as the No. 29 pick, adds, “He’s a hustle guy. Don’t expect many plays to be drawn for him, but like longtime NBA power forward Brian Grant, Turiaf can contribute in the right system.”
NBAwire.com and hoopshype.com each predict Turiaf will be selected by Utah as the 27th pick.
But insidehoops.com put him on the “first-round bubble.”
And probasketball.about.com, which predicts he will fall to the second round and end up going to Indiana as the 46th selection, checks in with this unflattering assessment of Turiaf’s talent:
“We’ve come full circle on Ronny Turiaf, from ardent supporters to ambivalent skeptics. Whether it’s fair or not, the downgrade comes from Turiaf’s piddling performances in the big spot. Whenever Gonzaga needed Turiaf to come up large, he responded with an off-shooting night or frequent turnovers or a night watching the action while in foul trouble. Turiaf’s greatest flaw is his poor decision-making with the ball in his hands, which often nullifies his impressive footwork and agility in the post. And he magnifies his offensive errors by being a negligible presence on the glass. The rebounds he gets are because he’s 6‘9” in a conference stocked with diminutive players.
“Bottom line: he looks the part, but his production says otherwise. Sounds a lot like Maurice Taylor.”
Turiaf is unruffled by such criticism, saying he hopes only to find a home with an NBA team that appreciates his abilities and will give him time to grow.
“I will only be disappointed if I get drafted by a team that doesn’t really want me as a player – someone who drafts me just because they don’t want another team to have me,” he said. “I’d rather be picked 33rd by New Orleans than taken 17th by Indiana and not play at all.
“The (guaranteed first-round) money isn’t that important. With me, it’s a matter of feeling wanted and going to a team that sees me as part of its future.”