" Ranking the players in next week's NBA draft (June 23, 7 p.m., ESPN) is risky business. There aren't a lot of stars but there is depth. The player you'll get at No. 10 might be no safer a bet than one chosen No. 22.

It says something that Kyrie Irving, who played about a dozen games at Duke, and Enes Kanter, who never gained eligibility in a year at Kentucky, are now considered among the safer picks in this draft. More than ever, you're making guesses on potential, rather than assessing a body of work.

It's reasonable to assume that Irving, Kanter, Arizona forward Derrick Williams and Kentucky guard Brandon Knight will be among the first names called. You can round up the players likely to go 10th through 30th, but it's hard to differentiate them in any precise way.

If this draft has a positional strength, it's power forward, although many of those power forwards are undersized (a classic example: volume rebounder Kenneth Faried of Morehead State). Some players who starred in college - Connecticut's Kemba Walker and Brigham Young's Jimmer Fredette - aren't sure things in the pros because of height issues. And two players who led Duke to the national championship two years ago - Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith - figure to wait until late in the first round or beyond to hear their names called.

The Charlotte Bobcats will pick ninth, 19th and 39th overall. It's quite possible the ninth and 19th picks won't be all that different in ability. As one scout described, if the Bobcats like a player, but aren't sure he's worth the ninth pick, they won't know with any confidence whether that player will still be there at No. 19. This draft is that much of a blur. "