June 28, 2006 Draftexpress.com With most of the attention focused on the high-profile lottery picks that will be selected in the June 28 NBA Draft, the top scouting departments in the league are watching hours of tape and holding workouts to find potential sleepers to round out their teams. Anyone call tell you that players like Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony were good prospects in 2003. But how many people were singing the praises of Josh Howard, Kyle Korver, James Jones and Zaza Pachulia? With the evolution of the salary cap and luxury tax, finding a hidden gem is a cost-effective way to add depth. These are players that can work their way into to a team's rotation and infuse quality specialty skills off the bench. With that in mind, we dig into this draft to uncover five potential standouts. Yotam Halperin Halperin is a victim of circumstance. Coming off an outstanding season - he averaged 14 points and 3.5 assists per game for Olimpija Ljubljana in the ultra competitive Euroleague - Halperin should be considered one of the most polished and experienced players in this year's draft. Because his team was competing in the playoffs in Slovenia, Halperin was not able to make it over for private workouts or the pre-draft camp in Orlando. To make the most of his time, Halperin flew to Treviso, Italy, for the unofficial European pre-draft camp. He impressed teams with his ability to smoothly run a team. Leaving the camp after only three days, he is now in the U.S. working out for NBA teams. (ps. drafted by Seattle at #40) Kyrylo Fesenko Every year on draft night we find one almost completely unknown international big man crashing the party and making everyone wonder "Who in the world is that?" Ian Mahinmi in 2005, Sergei Karaulov in 2004, Andreas Glyniadakis in 2003, Nenad Krstic in 2002 - the list goes continues. This year's candidate is Ukrainian 7-footer Kyrylo Fesenko. Fesenko has an NBA body with long arms and great strength. His quickness is especially impressive. He's nimble and runs the floor extremely well. His leaping ability is just average, though. His post moves and go-to moves around the basket all need serious work, as does his overall feel for the game. He's also not a great rebounder, and his defense is terrible any way you slice it. On the plus side, he doesn't shy away from contact and definitely has some fight in him. Steven Smith Smith took himself out of the 2005 draft when he wasn't guaranteed a first-round selection and went back to La Salle. He was named Atlantic 10 player of the year for the second consecutive season and hoped to have secured his spot in the first round with the improvements he showed in his ball-handling, passing, perimeter defense and shooting stroke. Smith had a very disappointing showing in Orlando and is on the verge of going undrafted. Smith doesn't stand out with his explosiveness or shot-creating skills, but he understands the game. He is a terrific mid-range shooter and is the type of player who is always in the right place at the right time, whether it moving off the ball intelligently or coming up with a big offensive rebound for his team. Even if he goes undrafted, look for him to make a team and end up contributing more than quite a few players who were drafted ahead of him. Darius Washington Jr. Despite measuring in an inch shorter than advertised and appearing a bit out of shape, Washington had a solid showing at the pre-draft camp in Orlando. He is a better point guard than he showed this past season at Memphis. He has a very good feel for finding the open man and is excellent at running the pick-and-roll. He will be a better NBA player than college player, with a game better suited for the pros. Washington shot the ball extremely well from the NBA 3-point line at the pre-draft camp. He still has nice potential to continue to develop, and if he can manage to keep his ego in check, it wouldn't be a shock to see him establishing himself as an excellent backup point guard in the league. Jose Juan Barea Barea might be the best bet among this year's class of small guards - players that aren't 6 feet tall. We are talking about one of the top point guards in this year's draft, certainly when considering current ability and overall polish. Barea is a wizard with the ball and has the skills needed to create separation from his defender and either get his own shot or - more likely - find the open man. His court vision is exquisite and his basketball instincts are top notch. He plays the game with the type of heart and tenacity that gives the feeling that he will make it no matter what the odds. Barea is likely a second round pick and will contend for minutes right away if he is picked up by a team that lacks depth at the point guard position. http://nbadraft.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1167&CID=557056 --

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