Final 4, Elite 8, Sweet 16--All Pale Before the Fine 29

As a salute to the NCAA tournament, here’s our annual mock draft of amateur players.

Of course, it’s early in the process for the pros. After this come the tournaments at Portsmouth, Va., and Phoenix, the Chicago pre-draft camp where everyone is weighed and measured, and individual workouts.

A year ago, I didn’t even have Maurice Taylor among the “others.” He probably didn’t crack the consensus top 20 until he started working out for teams. The Clippers got him at No. 14. If they held the draft today, he’d go in the top five.

So, with the aid of four general managers, here goes nothing:

1. Antawn Jamison, 6 feet 9, 222 pounds, junior, North Carolina. Small for his position but has been dominating from Day 1.

2. Raef LaFrentz, 6-11, 240, senior, Kansas. May not be a star, but size and skills make him the safe pick.

3. Paul Pierce, 6-7, 220, junior, Kansas. Inglewood High graduate, do-everything offensive player.

4. Michael Olowokandi, 7-0, 265, senior, Pacific. Skeptics say he’s mechanical and lacks instincts. Others see a comer who has played only 80 organized games--and could wind up the No. 1 pick. “He made miraculous strides this season and he came a long way the year before,” says a general manager. “If he makes another jump like that, he’s going to be one of the upper-echelon centers.”

5. Mike Bibby, 6-2, 180, sophomore, Arizona. Doubters cite his unimposing size, but he’s a rarity, an actual pass-first point guard who can shoot from range.

6. Larry Hughes, 6-5, 185, freshman, Saint Louis. “Just as a player, he’s already better than [editor’s note: gasp] Kobe Bryant,” says a general manager. “They won 20 games and the rest of their guys might not start for Northridge.”

7. Robert “Tractor” Traylor, 6-8, 300, junior, Michigan. Like the hippo in ballet slippers in “Fantasia.” Some see a big Charles Barkley, others a small Stanley Roberts.

8. Elton Brand, 6-8, 245, freshman, Duke. Precocious wide body, starring in a program where even Grant Hill was brought along slowly. “You look at what he’s meant when he’s been on the floor in a program as strong as Duke’s,” says a general manager, “it’s very impressive for someone so young.”

9. Vince Carter, 6-6, 207, junior, North Carolina. Some think he can be a star. Others think he’s only a highlight-film guy.

10. Ansu Sesay, 6-9, 220, senior, Mississippi. Another comer. Lithe athlete who can shoot and handle.

11. Brian Skinner, 6-10, 235, junior, Baylor. Tough, good rebounder.

12. Bonzi Wells, 6-5, 210, junior, Ball State. Big guard with range.

13. Ken Thomas, 6-8, 255, junior, New Mexico. Squatty body but has range to 20 feet, is strong on the block.

14. Richard Hamilton, 6-6, 180, sophomore, Connecticut. Slasher. Big East player of the year.

15. Rashard Lewis, 6-10, 220, senior, Alief-Elsik (Texas) High. Not that kind of prodigy, but, like Kevin Garnett, a tall prep from a Houston suburb with all-around skills. Considering the jump.

16. Pat Garrity, 6-9, 230, senior, Notre Dame. Admirers see “Gugliotta type.”

17. Roshown McLeod, 6-8, 220, senior, Duke. Just popped up on radar screens. Battles inside and knocks down threes.

18. Matt Harpring, 6-7, 226, junior, Georgia Tech. Good shooter, second in the ACC to Jamison in rebounding.

19. Nazr Mohammed, 6-10, 240, junior, Kentucky. So fat as a freshman, people say it’s as if he has lost enough weight to make another person his size.

20. Lee Nailon, 6-8, 230, junior, Texas Christian. Bruising power forward who came in with a big junior college reputation, lived up to it.

21. Corey Carr, 6-4, 200, senior, Texas Tech. Range and scoring ability, but if he shrinks to 6-2 at Chicago, his stock will shrink too.

22. Tyronn Lue, 6-0, 175, junior, Nebraska. Derek Fisher type.

23. Bryce Drew, 6-3, 185, senior, Valparaiso. Taller version of Brent Price, just gunned down Mississippi with last-second 24-footer.

24. Michael Doleac, 6-11, 269, senior, Utah. Looks like a big doorstop but is more than that. Good post moves.

25. Michael Dickerson, 6-5, 191, senior, Arizona. Struggled in the ’97 tournament, but pros are coming back to him. “I’m looking at this guy, and I think, what is it we don’t like about him?” says a general manager. “He’s built like a rock and he can shoot it.”

26. Anthony Carter, 6-2, 185, senior, Hawaii. At midseason, the Rainbow point guard was ranked in the top 10.

27. Dion Glover, 6-5, 220, freshman, Georgia Tech. Great athlete, reportedly thinking of leaving.

28. Baron Davis, 6-2, 190, freshman, UCLA. Some love him, some think he’s wild, no one thinks he’s ready. “With those other guys gone,” says a skeptic, “he’ll have a chance to settle down and learn the position.”

29. Miles Simon, 6-5, 199, senior, Arizona. Pros are skeptical of him, even after a career of making big shots.

Others: J.R. Henderson, UCLA, who came a long way but whose crying makes people wonder how tough he is; Toby Bailey, UCLA, a great athlete and a gamer but still an erratic shooter, a problem for a shooting guard; Jelani McCoy, ex-UCLA, of whom one general manager says, “It’s not like he was a great player who had problems”; Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State; DeMarco Johnson, North Carolina Charlotte; Shawn Marion, Vincennes JC; Brad Miller, Purdue; Charles Jones, Long Island; Ruben Patterson, Cincinnati; Obinna Ekenzie, Maryland; Al Harrington, St. Patrick High, Elizabeth, N.J.; Jeff Sheppard, Kentucky; Keon Clark, ex-Nevada Las Vegas; Jason Williams, ex-Florida; Chris Herren, Fresno State; Marcus Saxon, Utah State; and Eastern Michigan’s 5-5 Earl Boykins, described by Cleveland General Manager Wayne Embry as the most complete offensive player of all the smurfs like Muggsy Bogues, Spud Webb and Tyus Edney.

FACES AND FIGURES

Imagine that, Allen Iverson and Larry Brown at each other’s necks again: Brown lit up Iverson publicly after Rod Strickland torched him in a loss to the Wizards. Brown also told Sports Illustrated: “The people Iverson hangs with is Reebok, not the Sixers.” Replied Iverson, circumspectly: “There’s a lot of things he does that I don’t like. But I would never go to the media to say those things. I’d keep it private. Obviously, he doesn’t want to. That’s just him.” Whereupon, Brown went off again: “Any player that’s selfish, that doesn’t play hard, that doesn’t try to play the right way is going to have a problem with me. That goes for everybody and that ain’t going to change. Regardless of their contract situation.” Said Iverson, after scoring 32 on Strickland as the 76ers won the rematch: “I’ll remember everything he’s said when contract time rolls around. I’m fed up with this . . . .”

Nice try, SI: The game’s best moves are actually 1) Michael Jordan spins left for a turnaround jumper in the post, 2) Jordan spins right for a jumper in the post, and 3) Jordan spins right, fakes the shot, gets the defender in the air and steps through for a layup. The magazine awarded first place to Hakeem Olajuwon’s Dream Shake but that’s a joke, a memory or both. Says a Houston writer: “Obviously, they haven’t seen many Rocket games this season.” . . . Seeing as how he has to give him $100 million, Rick Pitino wants Antoine Walker to get serious. “What Antoine needs to do is develop Karl Malone’s 15-, 16-foot shot,” Pitino said after Walker went 0 for 4 on three-pointers in a loss to the Jazz. “He’s shooting 41%. You take away his 200 threes where he’s shooting 27% and he’d probably be around 46%.” . . . Not his year: Patrick Ewing isn’t talking, angry about New York tabloids giving the big treatment to his separation, his hiring of famed divorce lawyer Raoul Felder and his romance with a Knick City Dancer, Heather Errico. Meanwhile, Ewing’s comeback continues to inflame passions, throughout the five boroughs, anyway. Reports he shot free throws at a closed drill made headlines. “If it did happen, I didn’t see it,” Coach Jeff Van Gundy said. “He flips it up in the air now and then.”

Better get the Valium ready: Jayson Williams and Keith Van Horn are injured, but Net Coach John Calipari isn’t going down the tubes quietly: “I told them, ‘The media can write about it, think about it, talk about it. You can all be . . . off. But I’m coming at you teeth and feet.’ And they said, ‘OK, he’s going to be back to normal.’ ” . . . Turn out the lights, the season’s over: Maverick Coach/General Manager Don Nelson and son Donnie missed the start of a game because of bad weather on their way back from the Big 12 tournament. Asked if they would split up scouting to avoid a repeat, Nellie said, “No, it doesn’t matter that much. I don’t think we’ll be late again. But you never know. If it happens, it happens.”