Italian Taken With 1st Pick!

After weeks of speculation Andrea Bargnani became the first pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. He was one of nine players that were chosen from Europe, the most surprising choice being England’s own Joel Freeland, who? That’s Joel Freeland! He was taken by Portland with the 30th pick in the first round. Only 2 weeks ago I was speaking with Mark Clark, whose son Dan plays in the same Spanish league as the 7’0” forward. Mark and I discussed the interest in the forward by NBA scouts, but neither of us believed he would be taken this year and so high!

It’s pretty major as most people thought Pops Mensah-Bonsu would be the next British name called behind Luol Deng a couple of seasons ago. Mensah-Bonsu was not chosen in either round, so he will have to wait and see if he is invited to play in the summer league in order to get another chance to impress.

However Freeland, a former player at the Solent Stars, was never really a player that you would have predicted to go so high in this year’s draft. But his time in Spain at Gran Canaria Fadesa seems to have paid off. Don’t expect to see him lighting up the NBA courts anytime soon – scouts feel he may need a little more time perfecting his skills and bulking up his 225ilb frame before he’s ready to take on a gruelling NBA season.