The 1985 NBA Draft
(color/color designates current/potential, as seen in the game)
As expected, Jack went #1 to Chicago. He rates, color-wise, as the generational Purple/Purple. That is reserved for only the elite player in the game. I have not seen anyone come into the league with that designation yet.
PG Richie Russell (B/B), a two-time first-team All American out of Southern Cal, went #2 to Milwaukee. He is probably in a worse position than Jack, as the Bucks have no stars...dependable players, but no stars. Russell should be one of the top offensive point guards in basketball, if all breaks right. He does not appear to be anywhere near solid, defensively...but he could be an all-timer on the scoring end.
Rice guard Michael Drake went third overall to Detroit. The Pistons have a growing roster of young talent, led by former Rice star Brian Crawford. Crawford averaged 24.8 points a game last season, and is blossoming into a star. They also have former Nebraska forward Tommy Henderson; he was the Rookie of the Year last season. There's a lot of room for improvement there, but with those three, the Pistons are definitely on their way up. Drake appears to be a solid all-around player, though he may not be a rebounder. He should be a good two-way player.
The Lakers snagged forward Joshua Berry, the Maryland star. He was the #1 recruit in the nation once upon a time, and has made good on that potential. He looks like a scoring machine, even if he can't handle the ball to save his arse.
Houston landed forward Anton Silverstein, out of Columbia, with the fifth pick. This screams bust to me, as outside of being a capable defender and dependable inside scorer, he doesn't really do much well.
The Clippers grabbed Glenn Davis, out of Penn. The guard looks like a three-point specialist off the bench.
Other players of note (or guys I've written about before):
Kermit Lee, the Princeton blocking machine, went #8 to Golden State. He should continue that tradition there.
Maryland forward Grant Crites, who was so good in the NCAA title game against GW, went 13th to Sacramento. He has scoring potential, as well as defensively ability. He may be a steal.
Bruno Bui, who led Florida to the Final Four a year ago, went 17th to the Sixers. He may be another dependable two-way player, though he can't score from anywhere outside five feet.
Princeton star Travis Cruz went 20th to Utah. This was a major reach, as he doesn't have much in the way of any potential.
For their second round pick, the Bulls got Long Island forward, Timmy McBroom! That makes me happy. He should be a great rebounder, but it's unlikely he gets much opportunity to show that.
Former walk-on Regis Devreney (don't get that twisted, he was the 23rd-ranked recruit his senior year) was drafted by San Antonio in the second round. He should be a decent bench piece.
Mr. Irrelevant is Jeffrey Lovelace, out of Canisius. He went to Portland with the 46th pick.
Code:
1985 Draft Order Draft Preview
# Team Selection Pos
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Chicago Jack Dawkins SF
2 Milwaukee Richie Russell PG
3 Detroit Michael Drake PG
4 Los Angeles (LAL) Joshua Berry SF
5 Houston Anton Silverstein SF
6 Los Angeles (LAC) Glenn Davis SG
7 San Antonio Jordan Maus PF
8 Golden State Kermit Lee C
9 Atlanta Michael Tetreault SF
10 New York Richard Mertens PF
11 Phoenix Wolf Peissinger PG
12 Washington Emil Andrae SG
13 Sacramento Grant Crites PF
14 Indiana Dylan Hough SG
15 New Jersey Tony Barnes C
16 Seattle Stephen Towle C
17 Philadelphia Bruno Bui PF
18 Cleveland Ivory Perez SG
19 Dallas Ezra Jimenez C
20 Utah Travis Cruz PG
21 Denver Kevin Matherne PF
22 Boston Booker Templeton C
23 Portland Edward Welton SF
24 Los Angeles (LAL) Manfredo Bacigalupo PG
25 Houston Darrell Fleck SG
26 Detroit Deshawn Brown SG
27 Chicago Timothy McBroom PF
28 Milwaukee Napoleon Gentry SG
29 Los Angeles (LAC) John Mortensen SG
30 Atlanta Thomas Resnick PF
31 San Antonio Régis Devreney PG
32 Golden State Esmé Lhernoult C
33 New York Antoine Verdin C
34 Washington Thomas Rothrock PG
35 Phoenix Richard Silvas C
36 Sacramento Luis Reading SG
37 Indiana Dalton Raymond PG
38 New Jersey Duane Williams PF
39 Seattle Raleigh Butler SG
40 Philadelphia Ike Carty PF
41 Cleveland Henry Kirschner C
42 Dallas Carl Coffman C
43 Utah Neal Meister SG
44 Denver Chris Patterson C
45 Boston Paul Gass SF
46 Portland Jeffrey Lovelace SF