B-Real By Zach

Meet your 2006 Pac-10 Player of the Year: Brandon Roy. He's coming off a huge game against conference co-leader Cal (27 points, 9-13 from the field, 6-6 from the line, 3-6 from behind the arc, held Ayinde Ubaka [14 straight games in double figures scoring] to just 6 points). He hit a bunch of big shots down the stretch to carry the Huskies to the W in his final game at Hec Ed Pavilion. He drew 3-4 charges on the defensive end.

While Nate Robinson is the highlight reel guy, the flashy player with the big grin and the even bigger hops, Roy is the best player at UW since Detlef Schrempf, and he'll be a better pro than Nate, too. At 6-6, he's got the length to cover twos and threes, but could stay with bigger ones as well on the defensive end. His shot has greatly improved since he came to UDub, and he's a solid ballhandler.

I'll be very curious to see where he goes in the draft. He's shot up a lot of mock draftboards lately, as he's shown more ability to score, and a better all-around game, than most people thought heading into this season. He might be a decent test case for the theory David and I devised a while back, that teams would be better off drafting guys they knew could contribute over "projects" who often turn out to be busts. Obviously, at the top of the draft, you want talent. But once you get past the first 7-10 picks, wouldn't you prefer to add a contributor every season, even if it means passing up on the very occasional star who drops to the late lottery/rest of the first round?

Roy will be, at worst, a solid rotation guy for 10 years. It's possible that in the right system, he could be a good starter, a Tayshaun Prince type. Of course, the future is hard to predict. Except this part: Brandon Roy, 2006 Pac-10 Player of the Year.