ESPN hopes NBA interest continues into the draft

Coming off a compelling, interest-stoking, ratings-generating NBA Finals, ESPN will try to keep the momentum going with its draft coverage Thursday night from The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Game 7 of the Celtics-Lakers series last Thursday night ranked as ABC's most-viewed NBA game ever. The Lakers' defensive-oriented win earned a 15.6 final rating and 28.2 million viewers, making it the highest-rated and most-viewed game since Game 6 of the Bulls-Jazz series in 1998 on NBC.

But that event had the two most recognizable uniforms in the sport going head-to-head.

The NBA draft generally puts on center stage guys we were just getting used to seeing in their college uniforms, or European products much of the fan base doesn't know at all.

John Wall and Evan Turner are the headliners for this year's draft and there's extra interest around here because the 76ers and new coach Doug Collins have the No. 2 pick, likely to be Turner.

Jay Bilas, one of ESPN's lead college analysts, and Fran Fraschilla, who has done extensive overseas scouting, both think the star power fades quickly after the first couple of weeks.

"It's a weak draft," Franschilla said during a teleconference on Monday.

"It's not as strong as some of the drafts we've had in the past, like in 2003," Bilas said. "There are some good players in the draft and potential all-stars, but once you get the fifth or sixth selection, it's a little more difficult to peg players. There's not a lot of difference between the guy ranked 20th and the guy ranked 40th. There's some depth of good players, but it's not a super draft."

Bilas seems to think the 76ers shouldn't tinker too much and take the best player available and that's Turner, the 6-foot-7 swingman out of Ohio State who was named the national player of the year.

The Samuel Dalembert trade has some speculating that the 76ers are going to go for a big man.

"I'd take Turner," Bilas said. "I just like him and think Turner is a player. He's a much more reliable prospect than [6-10 power forward Eddie] Favors. He's a lot like Brandon Roy in that he just understands how to play the game. He's a deceptively better athlete than people give him credit for, again like Roy. If it would be up to me, he'd be my choice at No. 2."

Some are concerned about Turner's outside shooting ability, but Bilas said: "He's not a bad shooter. If you're Turner in college, why you should be jacking up 3s when you can get to the basket any time you want and either get a layup or get fouled? People start overthinking this stuff. This kid can play and a lot of guys improve their shooting when they get to the NBA because they have more time to work on it.

"He's one of those guys who will improve."

Fraschilla said the Dalembert trade was just to dump salary and a guy who had been "an underachiever for the last six or seven years."

Regardless, the Collins hire and No. 2 pick have a chance to reshape the Sixers' sagging fortunes and get them back on the radar screen after all the success the Phillies and Flyers have had of late.

And even though the Eagles haven't been especially successful, they still don't have to worry about waning interest around these parts.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

•Chris Michael's RCN4 "Sports Talk" at 6 p.m. on Thursday night will feature guests from the District 11-champion Pius X and Catasauqua baseball teams.

•HBO's "Real Sports" with Bryant Gumbel has a new show debuting tonight. Topics include a visit with Dallas Braden, the Oakland A's pitcher who tossed a perfect game; a visit to Brownsville, Texas, to meet the kings and queens of chess; a profile of Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas and an expose on racism in elite soccer.

•Speaking of HBO, there's lots of anticipation for this summer's series of "Hard Knocks" from the training camp of the Jets. With colorful Rex Ryan as coach and some interesting characters like Mark Sanchez and Darelle Revis, this series has the potential to match the pizzazz of 2008's focus on the Cowboys. The series premieres Aug. 11.

•6ABC has announced it will continue airing "Eagles Football Frenzy" this season. The station will also air the team's preseason games. No word yet on a replacement for the Donovan McNabb show.

THUMBS UP

To Philadelphia sports icon Al Meltzer, who will receive the Board of Governors' Award from the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) this September.

Meltzer is a sports broadcasting legend who has worked in the business for 50 years, 40 in Philly, although we haven't seen much of him lately. He did it all, but to me he'll always be synonymous with the Saturday night college basketball doubleheaders from the Palestra back in the 1960s and 70s.

THUMBS DOWN

I realize the World Cup is a big deal and there's more interest in it across the board than I ever imagined. Even my visit to a local high school recently revealed much more passion for it than I thought possible, although ratings were down considerably in the second week.

But do they really have to show games around the clock, even on a Sunday morning? Kind of miss my weekly fix of ESPN's "SportsReporters" show.

Keith.groller@mcall.com