These guys are all about scoring.  Hit the triple, slash to the basket, finish on the break… put the ball in the hoop.  Here are the top five shooting guard prospects in this year’s draft.

1. Brandon Roy, University of Washington, 6’5”, 195 lbs.
Roy is probably the most polished and most ready to play on the NBA level.  And I’ll admit, I’m really high on this guy and he’s the player I’ll be following most from this draft.  Roy plays both ends of the floor very well and is a straight up smooth player.  He has a high basketball IQ and could be a Shawn Marion type from the 2-guard.  Okay, maybe that’s puttting a lot of expectations on him, but Roy does everything well.  Roy has had knee problems in the past and that can be a concern, but look at his production in college.  Also, he pulled a Dwyane Wade (when Wade was with Marquette) this past season by putting Washington on his shoulders and carrying them deep into the NCAA tournament.  The intangibles are just as impressive as his physical abilty. 

2. Randy Foye, Villanova University, 6’3”, 205 lbs.
Foye is a smooth slasher that can get to the hoop and finish, even if he gets fouled.  He’s as stubborn as that other Philly guard, Allen Iverson, when it comes to driving the ball into the lane.  But, he isn’t all about penetration as he can drain the jumper, but he is more a scorer than shooter.  His skill set dictates that Foye is a two-guard, naturally, he’s a bit short for the position.  He will need to improve his playmaking ability if he needs to play the point on the NBA level.

3. Ronnie Brewer, University of Arkansas, 6.7”, 228 lbs.
Brewer can score and create shots for others almost equally.  He slashes to the basket with aplomb and can even drop it off when the defense collapses on him.  Defensively, he can lockdown any offensive player thanks to his quickness and wingspan.  At Arkansas, Brewer has a career 2.4 steals per game average.  The problem with his game is that he has an uglier shot than Shawn Marion.  He’ll need to work on the release on his shot in order to be able to score the way he did in college.

4. Maurice Ager, Michigan State University, 6’5”, 202 lbs.
Ager’s athletic ability helps his transition game, which is one of his strengths.  Another aspect that is strong in Ager’s game is his ability to hit from beyond the arc.  Ager doesn’t score much off the dribble and will need to work on that to be a better player at the next level.  He has very good physicallity to succeed as a defender, but needs to be a little more intense.

5. Quincy Douby, Rutgers University, 6’3”, 175 lbs.
Douby can score to a high degree both from attacking the hoop and shooting from the outside, which makes him a difficult defensive assignment.  Douby is very quick, but thin.  He’ll need to add muscle mass in order to continue to slash to the hoop.  Douby is a scorer and can sometimes get that tunnel vision where he isn’t looking for his teammates because he’s so focused on scoring.

Others to consider:

J.J. Reddick, Duke University; Shannon Brown, Michigan State University; Guillermo Diaz, University of Miami; Allan Ray, Villanova University; Rudy Fernandez, Spain