Official Early Entry List For 2009 NBA Draft

By Official Release
Posted Apr 30 2009 2:12PM

NEW YORK -- The National Basketball Association announced today that 103 players, including 74 players from U.S. colleges and 29 international players, have filed as early entry candidates for the 2009 NBA Draft.

Players wishing to renounce their remaining intercollegiate eligibility and enter the 2009 NBA Draft were required to submit a letter to the NBA to be received no later than Sunday, April 26. Players who have applied for early entry have the right to withdraw their names from consideration for the Draft by notifying the NBA of their decision in writing no later than 5 p.m. ET on Monday, June 15.

Following is the list of players from U.S. colleges and institutions who have applied for early entry into the 2009 NBA Draft, which will be held Thursday, June 25, at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/04/30/nba. ... index.html

Omri Casspi Maccabi Elite (Israel) 6-9 1988

Mark Titus enters NBA draft, is kindly asked to leave
By Eamonn Brennan

Mark Titus has become a college basketball blogging institution. His Club Trillion -- a goofy compendium of his end-of-the-bench antics at Ohio State -- is basically Internet-famous. How do I know? One of my friends, whose only blog reading comes in the form of Tucker Max, if that can even be considered a blog, recommended Club Tril to me. That's Internet fame.
But as with any fame, there are perils. This year, Titus, whose NBA prospects are about as good as mine, decided to enter the NBA draft. It wasn't long until that dream died: Ohio State got a call from the NBA, first asking that Titus remove his name from the draft to prevent him from making a "mockery" of the process. Then, when Titus stuck in, the NBA got serious:
Today, (no this isn’t an FML) Dobo again approached me, only this time his face suggested that either the situation with the NBA had escalated or he found out that I was the one who spread peanut butter underneath his car handle door. [...] The NBA had called back and this time they demanded I pull my name out “or else.” I assume the “or else” meant they were going to make me do an NBA Catalog commercial like Larry Bird did in 1987. Despite the fact that I would have loved nothing more than to do a similar commercial, I realized that maybe the NBA isn’t an organization to be messed with and I pulled my name out.
Is Titus upset by this decision? Quite the contrary. He's thrilled with it:
Because of this, I’m not really all that upset about them treating me differently. In fact, I’m somewhat excited. I could very well be the first person in the history of the NBA to basically be told to go away.
It really is quite an accomplishment. Were Titus not famous for his blog, no doubt the NBA would have just let him put his name in the draft and ignored him as he was passed over -- or ignored completely -- by every NBA scout in the business. Instead, they stopped Titus before he did something truly evil, like "poke fun at an institution" or "execute a harmless gimmick for his blog." Phew. Disaster averted.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Mark-Titus-enters-NBA-draft-is-kindly-asked-to-?urn=ncaab,160332

SpursFanIsrael wrote:

Omri Casspi Maccabi Elite (Israel) 6-9 1988

He is rated as one of the top foreign prospects. But is also slated to fall to the second round.

STRENGTHS:
- Off-ball movement
- Scoring instincts
- Aggressive slashing mentality
- Assertiveness
- Confidence
- Energy/Intensity
- Physical Toughness
- Work ethic
- High-level productivity
- Ability to finish around basket
- Athleticism
- Frail frame
- Size for position
- Undersized
- Wingspan
WEAKNESSES:
- Mid-range game
- Advanced ball-handling skills
- Jump-hook shot
- Lateral quickness
- Off-ball defense
- Strength
- Free throw shooting
- Jump-shot

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Omri-Casspi-538/

How is "frail frame" and "undersized" a strength? And how can you be both "undersized" and have "size for position" as a strength?

He also has a strong scoring instinct, but has a poor jumper/ft shooter/weak hook shot. How does he score? Dunks? Well that's something the Spurs could use more.

Casspi Highlights