2008 NBA Draft Sleepers

It’s NBA draft time again which means that the most important question that will be circulating among basketball circles will be “Who are the sleepers in this year’s draft?” I’ll get right to the point and tell you.

My two favorite sleepers are: Joe Alexander and Lester Hudson.

Joe Alexander (West Virginia): The 6-8 220 pound small forward averaged 16.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 31.6 minutes per game. Usually, a guy that is in the top 20 of every mock draft and who is considered by some to be a lottery pick is not labeled a “sleeper.” But Joe Alexander is a baller! The guy did not have mind boggling numbers with the Mountaineers but he showed flashes of brilliance. Alexander has all the ingredients to be at least a quality role player on a great team. His game is in the mold of Brent Barry or Luke Walton. If he ever learns to hit a three-point-shot consistently the league better watch out.
There are two aspects to his game that convince me he has what it takes to succeed – work ethic and athletic ability.

Alexander’s work ethic is evident in the improvement of his free throw percentage. As a sophomore Alexander shot 63% from the free throw line. As a junior (this past season) he shot 81% from the stripe. That is a huge jump from one year to the next.

Alexander AKA “Vanilla Sky” can leap with the best of them. His athletic ability is off the charts. Do a quick youtube search for this guy and it won’t take long before you see Alexander dunking from the foul line and hanging on the rim with his elbow. [url=http://youtube.com/watch?v=2PKY3ashUMI]Watch The Foul Line Dunk[/url]. What impressed me most was the fact that during his dunk from the free throw line he began at the half court which is amazing considering that every NBA player I've seen attempt the foul line dunk in the dunk contest has started at the other end of the court and built up speed.

Lester Hudson (University of Tennessee-Martin): Do you know who the first men’s player in Division I history was to record a quadruple-double? Answer: Lester Hudson. He didn’t graduate from high school but played street ball (not the TV show) and constantly worked on his game. He did end up getting his GED and going to community college before transferring to UT-Martin, where last season in 36.9 minutes per game he averaged 25.7 points, 4.5 assists, 7.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals, made 39% of his three-point-shots and 83% of his free throws. At 6-3 and 190 pounds Hudson is a small shooting guard. Think Monta Ellis (6-3).

What impresses me most about Hudson is his rebounding.

For me, a guy that is undersized and still rebounds really well is a great sign of heart. Take Josh Howard for example. Coming out of college Howard was taken with the 29th pick by the Dallas Mavericks. So, just about every team passed on him once. And the biggest reason the Mavericks gave for taking him was that he could rebound. He was listed at 6-6 (now listed at 6-7) and in his senior year at Wake Forest in 32 minutes per game he averaged 8.3 rebounds. The reason this is so important is because no other statistics exemplifies hustle as much as rebounding. To this day Howard is still one of the best rebounding small forwards in the NBA. My point is this: If a guy has already shown that he willing to hustle for rebounds then you can feel comfortable as a coach that he already has the most key ingredient needed to be an impact player. Lester Hudson is only 6-3 but 10 different times this season he grabbed at least 10 rebounds.