Ken Davis

While the debate focusing on Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley at the top of the NBA Draft continues to boil over, it’s important to remember that the process doesn’t end there. For that matter, it isn’t over with the completion of the lottery picks either.

History tells us that teams can find what they are looking for at the end of the first round and the second round seems to become more productive every year. The 2008 draft may not offer a dominant big man but there are some good choices to be made at every position.

And there’s always the chance of landing a sleeper.

Last year, everyone recognized the high-scoring ability of Eastern Washington’s Rodney Stuckey, but many questioned whether he could make the transition from the Big Sky to the NBA. Not the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons took Stuckey with the 15^th pick overall and they ended up with a strong, combination guard who was a fixture in Detroit’s rotation by the end of the season and into the playoffs.

And don’t forget the lesson of Carl Landry. The former All-Big Ten player from Purdue was Seattle’s selection with the first pick of the second round in 2007 draft — the No. 31 selection overall. The SuperSonics traded him to Houston, where he began the season on the bench. But after Yao Ming was injured, Landry emerged as an important role player and a big part of the Rockets’ historic 22-game winning streak. Landry averaged 8.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and shot better than 61 percent from the floor in 42 games during the regular season.

Just because commissioner David Stern leaves the podium, it doesn’t mean you need to switch channels or turn your TV off.

The top sleeper in the 2008 draft might be Rider’s Jason Thompson. The senior power forward recorded three games last season with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. Those are the type of numbers that made Beasley a household name, but because Thompson played at a small school in a small conference, he didn’t receive near the amount of publicity as the Kansas State freshman.

Rider and Kansas State actually met on Nov. 25, 2007. The Wildcats won 82-69 but Thompson had 24 points and 13 rebounds while Beasley was held to 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Don’t read any of that the wrong way. By no means are we trying to suggest that Thompson will be another Beasley in the NBA. He is not the sensational athlete or the franchise player Beasley may become. He had a tendency to become frustrated when he faced better players. But Thompson is a solid big man with an NBA body at 6-11 and 250 pounds.

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Thompson possesses some of the traditional big-man qualities that are so hard to find these days. He has demonstrated the ability to score with his back to the basket and he understands how to get in position and use his strength to pull down rebounds.

Forget the knock that Thompson didn’t play against quality competition. He was consistent as a senior and the progress he made every season at Rider shows he is willing to learn and improve his game. Thompson improved his scoring average from 9.1 as a freshman to 16.6, then 20.1 and finally 20.4 as a senior. His improvement was just as noticeable on the boards. His rebounding average increased from 7.4 as a freshman to 12.1 as a senior.

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Thompson has a tendency to be careless on offense and he needs a lot of work defensively. There have been reports that Golden State might consider taking Thompson with the 14^th pick. Selecting Thompson that high might be a bit of a gamble, but if he is still available at No. 20, Thompson might be too intriguing for Denver to look past.

His game is still raw and there’s no doubt Thompson could do everything just a little better. But it’s that upside that makes him worth picking, even if it is in the second round.