By now, the oddities of the National Basketball Association draft should not surprise anyone. Still, the logic of these teams' decisions remains as elusive and baffling as ever.

In 1984, the experts of the NBA drafted 7-1 Sam Bowie one spot ahead of a kid named Michael Jordan.

Twelve teams passed on Kobe Bryant in 1996 before he was taken by the Charlotte Hornets. And then they traded him to Los Angeles for center Vlade Divac.

In 2003, 7-footer Darko Milicic went ahead of Carmelo Anthony.

This year, North Carolina dominated the NCAA Tournament in a way that no basketball team has since Indiana's 1981 squad. Those Hoosiers were led by a point guard who was not particularly tall but possessed extraordinary speed: Isiah Thomas. He eventually was voted as one of the top 50 players in NBA history.

Now, UNC's Ty Lawson -- an ultra-quick point guard no one could check in the NCAA Tournament, the fastest kid with the basketball from end-to-end in college -- is being rated by many as the fifth-best point guard available.

Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday, who played one season for UCLA without making a great impression, is supposed to be drafted before Lawson.

Holiday played 35 games. He averaged 8.5 points, shot 45 percent from the field, 30.7 percent from three-point range and had a 1.75 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Lawson scored almost 17 points per game, shot 53 percent from the field, 47 percent from three-point range and had a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.

So, why is Holiday supposedly superior to Lawson? Because Lawson is 5 feet, 11 inches tall. Holiday is 6-3, with an extra two inches of reach with his long arms. Thomas was listed as 6-1, but that seems a stretch in my memory.

The problem, at least in the minds of NBA general managers and scouts, is that they fear Lawson will struggle in a half-court game. So they say.

Chris Paul, a former Wake Forest point guard, is a NBA superstar because he's quick, and he thrives in the running game. Paul is listed at 6 feet tall. He shot 41 percent from the field and 31 percent on three-point shots last season for the New Orleans Hornets, while averaging 10.4 assists to 4.8 turnovers per game.

Lawson is one inch shorter than Paul, assuming the ruler measuring the two is the same. Paul is quick, but no quicker with the ball than Lawson is, and Lawson is a better shooter and far stronger.

NBA teams love to focus on the negative with some players. How about Lawson's positives?

He is second-to-none among point guards in getting to the basket, drawing contact, making the shot and then going to the free-throw line.

Lawson's physical strength is greatly undervalued. His ability to get into the lane at will is not taken seriously enough. His skill at dribbling through traffic without losing the ball seems to go unnoticed in these evaluations.

Of course, devaluing the available Tar Heels is not unique to Lawson. Wayne Ellington, who emerged as a genuine all-around basketball player his last two years in college, is viewed as about the fifth-best shooting guard available. That's after he set a record for three-point shooting at the Final Four, and became a critical rebounder for UNC throughout his last year.

Then, there is Tyler Hansbrough, the leading scorer and rebounder in Carolina history.

From almost the moment he played his first game at UNC, many have degraded his chances to be a successful pro.

Hansbrough's lack of reach could affect his ability to score, but if anyone believes he will not be an excellent rebounder in the pros, then they failed to watch this guy rip the ball away from people for the last four seasons.

He has quick, powerful hands and is relentless when it comes to going after the ball. He is also strong ... really strong. He will not stop lifting weights any time soon.

Comments about his "work ethic" that so many use as a backhanded compliment is exactly why he will succeed in the NBA. He is not going to stop improving as a player. He probably will make a teammate or two angry when they try to cruise through practice and Hansbrough bounces them off the walls.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino, who has been a pro coach, said it best two years ago when he predicted Hansbrough would be a coach's dream in the NBA, because the big guy is skilled and driven to succeed.

The most interesting nugget to come out of the pre-draft workouts is 6-6 Danny Green has a 6-10 wingspan, which helps to explain his amazing ability to block shots against taller people.

Green also seems to be the one Tar Heel who gets some respect in the evaluations.

He epitomizes what former UNC coach Dean Smith used to say about height: It's reaching height, not the top of player's head, that matters most.

Who knows? Maybe the scouts are right and all these guys are not up to par with the players they crushed while on their way to Carolina's fifth NCAA title.

But that premise is tough to swallow. Remember, the NBA's experts loved all 85 inches of Sam Bowie's height.

- chn -