Insider: Top 15 International 2003 Draft

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NBA scouts claim that this year's crop of international players may end up dominating the lottery and the early part of the first round of the 2003 draft.

NBA Insider Chad Ford has already traveled to Germany, Yugoslavia and Croatia along with NBA international scouting guru Tony Ronzone to get a first-hand look at seven top international prospects: Darko Milicic, Mickeal Pietrus, Zarko Carbakapa, Alexsandar Pavlovic, Victor Khryapa, Zoran Planinic and Slavko Vranjes.

Ford will be leaving for Spain, France and Italy in early May to get a first-hand look at most of the other top prospects expected to go in the first round.

Here's our latest take at the guys teams are buzzing about:

1. Darko Milicic, PF/C, Yugoslavia

The line: 7-0, 245, 17 years old

The skinny: He's dominant. Like Dirk Nowitzki, he has the full complement of skills. He can handle, shoot the three and play in the paint. Unlike Nowitzki, he's tough as nails. A strong defender who gets aggressive in the post. He has the potential, if he fills out, to be a legit center in the league. He's going to be a top three-pick in this year's draft.

2. Anderson Varejao, PF, Brazil

The line: 6-10, 230, 20 years old

The skinny: He's good, but there's lots of debate about exactly how good. Teams get excited about his rebounding, shot blocking and soft shooting touch from the outside. Others claim he's a tweener. He's not physical enough to thrive in the post in the NBA, and his game isn't developed enough on the offensive end to play small forward. Nevertheless, he's probably a lock for the Top 10, and he could go higher if he once he starts working out. None other than Dejan Bodiroga, one of the greatest Europeans ever, and a Varejao teammate, told Insider that he's one of the best young players he's ever seen.

3. Mickael Pietrus, SG, France

The line: 6-6, 210, 20 years old

The skinny: Perhaps the most athletic player in Europe at the moment. Pietrus has a very American game. He loves to take it to the basket and use his athleticism and leaping ability to fly past his opponents. He's also a pretty good defender. He's aggressive on both ends of the court. He's very strong for his size. He also has a nice shooting touch. I saw him hit 10 straight NBA threes in warm-ups in December. Think a mixture of Desmond Mason and Ray Allen. Right now, teams have him going in the late lottery. He could move much higher once he gets into individual workouts.

4. Boris Diaw, SG, France

The line: 6-9, 220, 21 years old

The skinny: A big-time prospect who's been overshadowed by the emergence of Pietrus. They play on the same team, and scouts are divided on who the better prospect is. Diaw is more skilled and a better defender, Pietrus is the better athlete and scorer. After only seeing garbage minutes earlier in the year, Diaw is now playing big time minutes for his teams. Scouts have noticed.

5. Maciej Lampe, F, Poland

The line: 7-0, 255, 18 years old

The skinny: Considered one of the top three young players in Europe right now. Lampe's combination of size, shooting touch, ball handling skills and an advanced inside-outside games have drawn comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki. He's needs to become a better rebounder, defender and get stronger, but he could end up as the sleeper in the draft.

6. Pavel Podkolzin, C, Russia

The line: 7-4, 300, 18 years old

The skinny: After the story on Podkolzin appeared in Insider in December, representatives from 18 NBA teams have made the their way to Varese to watch the 18-year-old giant play. While admitting that he is very raw, and only now beginning to get playing time in Italy, most of the teams that have seen him play claim that he'd be a late-lottery to mid-first-round-pick if he puts his name in the draft this year. Obviously, teams are enamored with his huge frame. But it's another attribute that makes him something more than George Muresan. "He's a legitimate athlete," one NBA executive said. "I'm not saying that he's Vince Carter, but he's got above average athletic skills for his size. He runs the floor well and he's pretty active. He's a big-time project, but at 18, he's probably worth it."

7. Leandrinho Barbosa, PG, Brazil

The line: 6-4, 185, 21 years old

The skinny: Considered the best player in Brazil. He's very long and an explosive athlete. The thing that has scouts buzzing is the speed at which Barbosa plays for someone his size. He's constantly attacking the basket on offense, and aggressively harassing his man on defense. With his long arms (6-foot-10 wingspan) he gets an unusual amount of steals and blocks for a point guard. Only a few teams have actually been to Brazil to see Barbosa play. He averaged 29.6 ppg, 7.8 apg, 4.2 rpg, 2.6 spg and 0.8 bpg while shooting 57 percent from the field, 47 percent from beyond the arc and 85 percent from the free-throw line. Several NBA scouts who have seen him feel that he could move his way into the late lottery with strong workouts.

8. Sofaklis Schortsianides, C, Greece

The line: 6-10, 287, 17 years old

The skinny: Nicknamed Baby Shaq by his teammates in Greece, he's very strong and capable of playing with his back to the basket. Several teams compared him to a more aggressive, motivated Eddy Curry. His stock has dropped lately as teams question his size and work ethic. He was recently measure at 6-10, 287. Will that stop the slippage?

9. Alexsandar Pavlovic, SG/SF, Yugoslavia

The line: 6-7, 210, 20 years old

The skinny: May be the hottest riser in the draft. Several teams made the trip to Yugoslavia to see his teammate, Slavko Vranes. Vranes, however, hasn't been playing of late. What they did see was Pavlovic, a 6-foot-7 athletic swingman who some scouts are comparing to Peja Stojakovic. While scouts say that he struggles as a defender and doesn't have a great long range game, the latest buzz has him hanging around the mid first round.

10. Zaur Pachulia, PF/C, Georgia

The line: 6-11, 250, 19 years old

The skinny: Former teammate of Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Pachulia is more of a classic low-post banger. He's strong, likes to mix it up down low and is an excellent rebounder. Pachulia actually threw his name into the draft last season and wowed several teams, including the Pacers. He was considered a late-first-round pick last year. Pachulia's agent felt that he'd be better off waiting a year to get Pachulia more exposure. After a slow season in Turkey playing behind the Euroleague MVP, Joe Blair, Pachulia finally got his chance two weeks ago when Blair went down with an injury. He responded with 26 points on 10 of 13 two-point shooting and added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in a huge win over defending Euroleague champ Panathinaikos. The game wasn't a fluke. He followed it up with a 13-point, 17-rebound performance against Skipper Bologna.

11. Zarko Carbakapa, PF, Yugoslavia

The line: 6-11, 230, 22 years old

The skinny: NBA scouts are flocking to Europe right now to get a look at Carbakapa. He's another versatile athlete who plays three positions in Europe. He's an excellent outside shooter. He just needs to get stronger. Teams are also concerned that he's a little one dimensional. He's not nearly as comfortable putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the hole. He's represented by super agent Bill Duffy, which won't hurt his stock come draft day.

12. Zoran Planinic, PG/SG, Croatia

The line: 6-6, 215, 20 years old

The skinny: Gets a lot of comparisons to Jiri Welsch. He plays both guard positions, but his NBA future is at the point. Unlike Welsch, he's more of a one than two. He's coming off an injury, which has limited his exposure a bit. But now that he's healthy, the scouts are flocking to Cibona, Croatia to check him out. He's very thin, but teams will always take a risk on a 6-6 point guard. Should be a late first-rounder.

13. Victor Khryapa, SF, Russia

The line: 6-9, 200, 20 years old

The skinny: Gets a lot of comparisons to Andrei Kirilenko. Both players are long and mutli-dimensional. Khryapa impressed NBA scouts when he subbed for an injured Kirilenko for Team Russia during the World Championships. He's a good shooter with NBA range. However he's not quite the atlete that Kirilenko is nor is he quite as polished as his European counterparts. He also has to get stronger to compete at the next level. With all that said, most teams still consider him a great prospect. He'll likely late first-rounder.

14. Malick Badiane, PF/C, Senegal

The line: 6-11, 225, 19 years old

The skinny: Badiane, a native of Senegal, has long arms (7-foot-4 wing span) and a solid NBA body. He already has the shot blocking and rebounding down, but scouts say he's very raw (think Olumide Oyedeji) on the offensive end. But unlike Oyedeji, he's bigger, stronger, more athletic and has decent pro instincts. NBA scouts concurred that he'd likely be a late first-rounder if he declared. "He's going to have a big time NBA body and his shot isn't that bad. He just needs a lot of work and he's got to get tougher. But when you're working with those raw materials, he's worth a shot."

15. Slavko Vranes, C, Yugoslavia

The line: 7-6, 250, 19 years old

The skinny: He's huge. He's very raw offensively, but he isn't a stiff either. He can run the floor, block shots and has enough meat on him to defend in the league. He's not ready for the NBA but that doesn't mean that NBA teams won't take a shot on him in the late first round.