The gains Chase Budinger made in regards to his ball-handling, defense (particularly help defense), and strength between his freshman and sophomore season were substantial. He is a far better all-around player now although he still has a way to go to make a sizable impact when not scoring, and, as a result, his draft stock has gone down as an even more talented than expected freshman class arrived, and guys like Russell Westbrook and Joe Alexander emerged terrifically.

During the early part of his freshman season he was considered by many to be a top-5 pick in the 2008 draft and is now a late lottery pick, at best.

Despite this, he is an incredibly unique athlete and I don?t think he has fully realized everything he can do on a basketball court and, therefore, could become a more athletic Richard Hamilton in the mid-range with an even better 3-point shot.

Budinger doesn?t aversely force things offensively which is, of course, good in terms of turnovers and bad shots, but it also is part of the reason why he is labeled as a player who disappears from games.

He is very skilled moving without the ball, whether cutting the baseline or curling around screens although his pace here can be a little harder.  Budinger also has great hands and almost always catches the ball cleanly.

He has very good pre-dribble triple threat moves, but he more typically will begin dribbling as soon as he catches the ball, which is possibly a byproduct of coming off so many curl screens in Arizona?s halfcourt offense.

But later in the season, Budinger would use his pre-dribble jab step more and more.  

He is also as good as anyone to shot fake his man in the air to get a clean jumper.

Budinger is almost always able to beat his man and get into the lane, but as help defenders come up to take away his jumper, he needs to get deeper and really attack the rim with greater frequency.  He will go straight up and although he doesn?t shy away from the contact, he doesn?t exactly initiate it in order to get to the line for an and 1.

His strategy when he gets into the lane is the exact opposite of Danilo Gallinari, who will do anything and everything to draw contact and the foul.  Budinger looks to get a clean attempt off at all costs and increases the difficulty of his shot by twisting in the air when he could instead draw a foul and get to the line.

He obviously has a great vertical and looks incredible on lobs (almost always triggered by eye contact with the passer), but there are many times when he can get himself to the rim in the halfcourt on his dribble penetration like he did several times in Arizona?s game at Oregon State.  He simply doesn?t have that killer instinct to finish buckets emphatically like that right now even though he has the natural ability.

This is really the biggest difference between Budinger and Alexander currently.

He doesn?t get the ball in the post or midpost very often, but he looks to and should develop into a serviceable scorer here as soon as he gets stronger.

Budinger is one of the purest shooters in the draft, and it starts with the great technique of his form.  He has a quick and compact shooting motion and gets really good lift on his jumper, which coupled with a high release allows him to shoot over almost anyone without fear of getting the shot blocked.

Unlike other players in this draft, Budinger doesn?t really shoot any worse when he is guarded on the catch-and-shoot or on the pull-up; he even seems to be more comfortable and effective when shooting with pressure.  Budinger is a great shooter in end of game situations and enjoys high-pressured basketball.

He also rarely misses left or right, which, of course, is always a sign of consistent mechanics.

Budinger has a long way to go to become consistent using the glass, but he tries to use it when possible and shows great promise for consistency here.

He is a great finisher with his left hand, with great control and a quick release.

Budinger has great vision as a passer especially in the pick-and-roll and when he curls into the lane.  He isn?t a preternatural passer who will really wow  consistently, but he will set up his teammates with easy buckets based on his talents as a scorer.  He is also one of the best players in this draft on the skip pass; he is able to see over the defense and swing the ball from free throw line extended to the opposite corner for an open 3-pointer.

He sometimes anticipates the pass he?ll make even before catching the ball, not in a way to telegraph it but to think one move ahead of time.

Budinger is much better defensively than he was when he first arrived in Tucson.  He would frequently get beat off the dribble and be of little use as a help defender.  This season he was much better in those areas defensively and couldn?t be categorized as a liability although he still has considerable room for improvement.

He is good in the air as a rebounder although he could have a better motor in this area of his game.  He is comfortable grabbing a rebound and dribbling the ball up the floor himself.  He has a good open floor dribble with both hands and is a good decision-maker.

I was a little surprised Budinger decided to come out this year; I thought he would answer those ?disappear? questions in a depleted Pac-10 for a still talented and probably deeper Arizona team that included Jordan Hill and Brandon Jennings.  The ?disappear? questions will probably take care of themselves in the NBA now that he will join a playoff team that already has a primary scorer or two, and he will develop without lofty expectations that come with being a top pick.

- Click here to see our full list of 2008 Draft Prospect Reports

Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM.  He can be reached at [email protected] where he may use your draft questions in a future mailbag edition