NBA talk has its pros, cons.(recruiting of basketball players Kelenna Azubuike and Kenneth Winston by National basketball Assn teams)(Brief Article)

When the long road through the summer recruiting scene began, Kelenna Azubuike's name was known to nearly everyone on the trail, even if they struggled to spell or pronounce it. Kennedy Winston was something of an afterthought.

Given their similarities, this might seem odd. Winston is 67 and Azubuike (ah-za-BUE-kee) is 6-6. Each handles the ball deftly and flies comfortably above the rim. They are teammates on Prep Stars International, which includes players from seven states and Canada. Each is from an area better known for football: Azubuike will be a senior at Victory Christian High in Tulsa, Okla., and Winston is from Blount High in Prichard, Ala. Each ranks among the top 35 prospects in the prep class of 2002.

There is a simple reason, though, why Azubuike caught everyone's attention: He said last winter he would consider entering the NBA draft after the completion of his senior season at Victory. That kind of talk rarely is ignored, for better and worse.

It assured NBA scouts would see him. Some recruiting analysts might have ranked him higher on the theory any player considering this jump must be pretty good. But other players at the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival teased Azubuike about the NBA talk. Some recruiting analysts, draft analysts and college coaches considered Azubuike's proclamation ludicrous.

College coaches who watched him last week at the adidas Big Time tournament in Las Vegas say nice things about his athleticism but point to his lack of a defined position and his work-in-progress jump shot. Draft analyst Chris Monter of Monter Draft News does not consider Azubuike a first-round pick out of high school. Clark Francis, who publishes the HoopScoop recruiting newsletter, is less kind.

"I think he's a great athlete, a great defender. But he can't shoot," Francis says. "He's a top 50 player, not top 20. People get caught up in his athleticism ... but he could go to four years of college and still might not get drafted in the first round."

Francis notes just one of the top 20 selections in June's draft was shorter than 6-7. He could add that only two of the 12 high school players taken in the first round since 1995 were backcourt players.