Jeff: Top 25 Under 25

The general question here is: if you could have any player under the age of 25 (I'm limiting it to the NBA, college, and one particular high school senior), who would you have? Keep in mind, NBA salary (if he's drawing one) IS a factor here, as are dirty mustaches and striped socks. Since this is MY list, there are going to be biases, and probably some guys I've forgotten (if you're one of the three or four Portland Blazers fans left on the planet, and happen to stumble upon this, I have not forgotten about Zach Randolph. Yes he's young and can average a double-double but his attitude is horrible and his contract is even worse. No thanks. Also I didn't forget about Darko either. He has no business being anywhere close to this list). Since both are a rare commodity these days, I am also partial to point guards, and big men who actually want to play in the paint. So if you're one of the seemingly endless supply of athletic wingmen, you're going to have to have something special to make the list. Guys like Charlie Villaneuva, Luol Deng, Josh & JR Smith, Danny Granger, Gerald Green and others are close, but not quite Top 25 material for me.
(All salaries courtesy of hoopshype.com. PER is ESPN.com's John Hollinger's Player Efficiency Rating. The league average is 15.00):

25. Kendrick Perkins, C, Boston Celtics, 6'10, 260lbs 21 yrs 3yrs/$4.5 million 17.3 mpg, 4.3 pts, 5.2 Reb, 1.3 blk, 12.69 PER
So you're wondering how Perkins gets on here but Darko doesn't? He hasn't shown much as a scorer, but if you give him twice the minutes (which would be pretty good for a starting post) you'd be getting 10 boards and 3 blocks a game. And the kid shoots over 50% from the field right now. High school bigs take at least 4 years to figure things out, and this is year 3 for Perkins. With Blount gone the big fella should get more time, and we'll see if his numbers take the expected jump.

24. Shaun Livingston, PG, LA Clippers, 6'7, 190lbs, 20 yrs, 4yrs/$17 million 26mpg, 6 pts, 4.3 ast, 1.0 stl, 10.32 PER
Has showed flashses of immense potential, but has also showed a propensity for getting hurt. Stats aren't pretty, and his jumper's even uglier, but had a solid April to close out last season, and has had moments this year. He's a couple of years away, but 6'7 point guards with his vision and skills don't come along very often. Clips will give him every opportunity to develop properly.

23. Rudy Gay, Sophomore, SF, UConn Huskies, 6'9, 220lbs, 20 yrs, 29.0 mpg, 15. ppg, 6.2 reb, 2.0 stl,
He's big, athletic, and has every skill in the book. So how is he only averaging 15 and 6 a game? If he was playing anywhere near the level of Adam Morrison or JJ Redick right now, his talented UConn team would be overwhelming favorites for the national title. We'll see if he shows heart and tenacity at the big dance. Has all the tools to be an NBA star, it's just a matter of using them.

22. Andrew Bogut, C, Milwaukee Bucks, 7'0, 245lbs, 21 yrs, 5yrs/$28.47 million, 29.2 mpg, 9.4 ppg, 7.8 reb, 1.07 blk, 16.67 PER
Not quite the stiff I envisioned him to be after the Bucks took him #1, but I'm still not as high on him as others. A decent first year, but really, what's his ceiling? I'm thinking a 15 and 10 guy tops, which means he won't be a star, but he's not going to be a 1st overall bust like Olowakandi either. It also puts him at the front of the line to kill a team's cap by getting vastly overpaid by Isiah Thomas or Chris Mullin someday.

21. Andre Iguodala, SF, Philadelphia Sixers, 6'6, 205lbs, 22 yrs, 4yrs/$10.9 million 38.1mpg, 12.0ppg, 5.9Reb, 1.5 stl 14.42 PER
Offense has been slow in coming, but he's shooting 50% from the field, 73% on free throws, and his 12ppg are on 8 SHOTS A GAME!! All-NBA Defense potential, he's one of those few guys these days who contributes in so many other ways coaches never want to take him out. His 38 mpg is a testiment to that.


11-20 later in the week...