McGee still slated to go in 1st round

BY DARRELL MOODY

Appeal Sports Writer

If you have been paying any attention to the various NBA Draft sites, you will see that Nevada sophomore JaVale McGee is expected to go anywhere from 14 (the last lottery pick) to 19 in the first round.

This writer saw one site that had McGee going 14th to Golden State. That would be an interesting pick because McGee is athletic enough to run the floor like Golden State loves to do, but right now McGeehasn't shown himself to be an exceptional defender.

The NBADraft.net site has McGee going at No. 15 to Phoenix. It will be interesting to see who replaced Mike D'Antoni at the helm, and what kind of style they use offensively.

Most of the sites like McGee's athleticism, length and shot-blocking ability, and those are probably three of the best things he has going for him.

The HoopsHype.com site praised McGee to a point, but also criticized him, too.

Here's an example:

"A project in every sense of the word - extremely weak, possesses poor shot selection, nonexistent passing ability and a concerning lack of hustle. Barely competes defensively and has very little in the ways of fundamentals or awareness at this end of the floor. He is 2-3 years away from stepping foot on an NBA floor."

Hoops.Hype has McGee, who averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots a game, going No. 18 to the Washington Wizards.

FARING WELL

All four WAC softball teams that made the NCAA Tournament - Nevada, Louisiana Tech, Fresno State and Hawaii - fared well.

All four reached their respective regionals before losing in the championship games. It's a testament showing just how good conference programs are getting these days.

Nevada had a tremendous season at 43-18, and the Pack loses just three players, including No. 2 pitcher Jordan McPherson. She is expected to be replaced next year by Spanish Springs ace Mallory Darby.

BAD ENDING

Nevada's baseball team got the help it needed from Sac State last weekend, but it couldn't help itself.

The Hornets split with conference leader Fresno State, meaning that Nevada had to take three of four from San Jose State to win the regular-season title and get the top seed in this weekend's WAC Tournament at Louisiana Tech.

Nevada was swept in the four-game series and fell all the way to third. The Pack will face San Jose State at 5 p.m. on Thursday in the final game of the day.