THE NBA / MARK HEISLER : This Look at Draft Takes a Fresh(men) Approach

In honor of the NCAA tournament, we present our annual mock draft, regardless of players’ year in school.

We polled five personnel directors and scouts and came up with this list. You’ll notice that in the 11 lottery slots, there are four freshmen and one senior:

1. Glenn Robinson, Purdue, 6 feet 8, 225 pounds, junior.

Get ready for the big drumroll as the Big Dog nears the big leagues.

A year ago he might have gone No. 1, ahead of Chris Webber. The pros now think (hope, are salivating at the possibility) he’ll come out.

“You can’t see how good he is now,” says one of our panelists. “He has no one to throw the ball to.”

2. Jason Kidd, California, 6-4, 210, sophomore.

He can’t score at will the way Magic Johnson could, but he’s the most eagerly awaited point guard since Magic left Michigan State in 1979, a once-in-a-generation playmaker. Expected to come out.

3. Donyell Marshall, Connecticut, 6-8, 185, junior.

Big-time scorer who exploded this season.

4. Grant Hill, Duke, 6-8, 225, senior.

Scottie Pippen type, can play either guard position, and small forward. The pros are as high on his maturity as his talent.

“Look at what he did for that team,” says one. “They were No. 1 for a lot of the season, and if you look at their players against North Carolina’s, there’s no comparison.”

5. Rasheed Wallace, North Carolina, 6-11, 225, freshman.

Baby power forward with size and grace, getting the mushroom treatment in his first season in Dean Smith’s senior-oriented program. But when he leaves, he’ll know how to play.

6. Jerry Stackhouse, North Carolina, 6-6, 218, freshman.

Look out, world. He’ll probably be an NBA guard and he has to learn how to shoot from outside, but his explosiveness dazzles the pros.

7. Rashard Griffith, Wisconsin, 6-11, 265, freshman. No phenom, but big and strong. Looks like a worker.

8. Joe Smith, Maryland, 6-9, 210, freshman. The surprise of the freshman class; he didn’t know a skinny guy wasn’t supposed to play like that.

9. Lamond Murray, Cal, 6-7, 220, junior. Good shooter with a picture release, good rebounder for his size. Kidd’s blowup against Wisconsin Green Bay won’t hurt him, but Murray’s swoon might move him down a few spots. He’s expected to come out.

10. Sharone Wright, Clemson, 6-10, 260, junior.

11. Eric Montross, North Carolina, 7-0, 275, senior.

Had a bad senior year after developing steadily the first three. Compared to his young teammate, Wallace, he’s a plowhorse next to a gazelle. NBA scouting coordinator Marty Blake, who usually hypes the draft, compares Montross to Greg Dreiling. That’s too harsh, but you get the idea.

12. Juwan Howard, Michigan, 6-9, 240, junior. Good post player with a nice touch. Expected to come out.

13. Cliff Rozier, Louisville, 6-9, 235, junior. A scout wonders: Why did he transfer out of Carolina? No one else ever does.

14. Jalen Rose, Michigan, 6-8, 208, junior. Another Pippen type. Lots of talent, but doesn’t have a jump shot. Volatile as a sophomore, better as a junior. Expected to come out.

15. Corliss Williamson, Arkansas, 6-7, 245, sophomore. A little moose.

16. James Forrest, Georgia Tech, 6-7, 240, junior. Some nights yes, some nights no.

17. Bryant Reeves, Oklahoma State, 7-0, 290, junior. “Big Country” needs a few years in the weight room, but he moves those 290 pounds around.

18. Aaron McKie, Temple, 6-5, 209, senior. Hard-nosed guy.

19. Othella Harrington, Georgetown, 6-10, 236, sophomore. Not quite in the Patrick Ewing-Alonzo Mourning-Dikembe Mutombo class, though.

20. Marcus Camby, Massachusetts, 6-11, 210, freshman. Another skinny prodigy.

21. Dontonio Wingfield, Cincinnati, 6-8, 225, freshman. Big-time talent if his head’s on straight.

22. Alan Henderson, Indiana, 6-9, 214, junior. Bounced back from knee surgery.

23. Michael Finley, Wisconsin, 6-6, 205, junior. Outside shooter who’ll take it inside.

24. Ed O’Bannon, 6-8, 215, junior, UCLA. At this point, the pros are split. Some like him in the teens, some want to see more game.

25. Eddie Jones, Temple, 6-6, 200, junior. Another Pippen type.

26. Roderick Rhodes, Kentucky, 6-7, 200, sophomore. Rick Pitino had to promise he’d remain until Rhodes leaves. It might not be long for the tandem.

27. David Vaughn, Memphis State, 6-9, 215, sophomore.

On the bubble: Shawn Respert, Michigan State; Khalid Reeves, Arizona; Carlos Rogers, Tennessee State; Travis Best, Georgia Tech; Randolph Childress, Wake Forest; Bobby Sura, Florida State; Voshon Lenard, Minnesota.

Others of note:

Gary Trent, Ohio--This 6-8 sophomore wasn’t a big-name prep. The pros were flocking to the the tournament to catch up on him.

Tyus Edney, UCLA--All the smurf point guards can break a defense down and get in the lane, but few shoot from the outside like the Bruin tyke. A ’95 first-rounder.

Charles O’Bannon, UCLA--”Belongs in the top 40,” says a West Coast scout. “One of the great bodies I’ve ever seen on a basketball player.”

Yinka Dare, George Washington--This 7-1, 265-pound Nigerian has been playing for only three years and looks it. I once threw his name out in a list of pro prospects, but he’s years away.

Damon Bailey, Indiana--When Bailey was in eighth grade, Bob Knight called him the best prospect he’d ever seen. Now he looks like a good college player with limited pro potential. Isn’t expected to go in first round this spring.

I DON’T THINK HE’S LISTENING, COMMISH

Not since Pete Rozelle decided to get a handle on the Jim McMahon problem--and got ridiculed on TV every time the Chicago Bears played--has a commissioner been so overmatched.

The gallant David Stern called the disturbed Dennis Rodman in last week after the Worm’s fifth ejection, which he punctuated with a typically colorful exit, ripping his shirt off.

Said the San Antonio Spur forward after that game: “Maybe I’ll take my pants off next time.

“I’m an X-man. I wear a death wish on my forehead. They’re getting bets in Las Vegas on when I’m going to get thrown out. . . .

“I don’t know, maybe we should hire dancers out there so they could walk around topless so we could give them money. Then we could see what (the officials) would do about that. The hell with it. I think this league is going to hell.”

Stern, worried about that very thing, summoned Rodman and long-suffering Coach John Lucas to his office on a game day.

The Spurs’ game was in Denver. Stern’s office is in New York.

Stern told Rodman to cut the crap, in lawyer language.

By way of reply, Rodman flew to Denver, drew his 29th technical foul, threw his mask at the San Antonio bench and was yanked for the rest of the game.

Asked if he intended to change his behavior, he said: “Are you out of your mind?”

FROM CAMELOT TO NELLY-GATE

Suddenly the long knives are out for Golden State Warrior Coach Don Nelson.

Houston’s Mario Elie, a former Warrior, blasted Nelson for mistreating players like himself and Vince Askew, claiming Nelson asked players what they’d do if he punched their lights out.

Nelson said it was true.

“I do it all the time,” he said. “I’ll go up to a player and say, ‘What will you do if I just slap the hell out of you?’

“And their response usually is, ‘Then I’d just have to hurt you, Coach.’ It’s a fun thing I’ve been doing for years and everybody gets a kick out of it. Almost everybody.”

It turned out, Nelson had just said it to Byron Houston, his fireplug forward with the nasty disposition.

Said Houston, obviously a man who appreciates a gag: “I told him to watch his back.”

OK, Nelson has a macho sense of humor. He yelled at Chris Webber, who didn’t like it. His prerogatives have been whittled down.

On the other hand, he dug the Warriors out of a hole and built an exciting team that has sold out every game since the spring of 1989. Along the way, he rescued Elie and Askew from the CBA.

If he no longer rules absolutely, he’s still the most powerful and best compensated coach in the game. He has two key players returning to a promising team.

Webber has no “escape clause,” only one making him a restricted free agent. They’ll just have to work it out.

FACES AND FIGURES

Further adventures of the Brat Pack: J.R. Rider of the Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to appear at a card show, but didn’t show up because it was his birthday. When the promoter called to protest, Rider took offense, got into his car, drove to the Mall of America and got into a dispute in which he was accused of kicking a woman. “I could have handled it in a little different way, but there’s no point in talking about it now,” said Rider, who has experience in these matters. “People always believe the other side in a situation like this.”

End of an era or two: For the first time, Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons sat out a game on a coach’s decision. Thomas said he supported Don (the Dead Duck) Chaney, but friends said he was boiling. . . . Dan Majerle of the Phoenix Suns, after a loss at Indiana, where the Pacers rebounded several of their own missed free throws: “They shoot them so bad, sometimes you can’t tell where they’re going.”

Shaquille O’Neal of the Orlando Magic turned the ball over six times and Penny Hardaway eight in a loss at Chicago. Both refused comment afterward. If you can’t take the consequences, you can’t take the pressure. Said teammate Scott Skiles: “We can’t handle the pressure. We haven’t handled the pressure all season. We want to win big games, but we don’t play well. We’re soft. We play like we should have skirts on.” . . . Glen Rice on Miami Coach Kevin Loughery after the Heat had come from behind to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks: “He was swearing so hard, some of us thought he might faint.”