By LUKE ANDREWS
Plenty of stars have declared for this year’s NBA Draft: UCLA’s Kevin Love, Kansas State’s Michael Beasley, USC’s O.J. Mayo and Memphis’ Derrick Rose.
One of those stars is not Zach Feinstein.
In fact, Feinstein, a junior at Washington University in St. Louis, has never played organized basketball.
His closest connection to sports is that he serves as the webmaster for the school’s intramural sports office.
But the 5-foot-8, 130-pounder’s name is on the list of eligible players for the June 26 NBA Draft — all because Feinstein filed the necessary paper work to NBA headquarters after a friend jokingly suggested the two should declare.
He was approved and is now running with the idea of getting “the worst player ever to declare for the NBA Draft into the NBA.”
He’s developed and maintained a very thorough Web site, one likely better than many of his fellow draft hopefuls.
DraftFeinstein.com features a full scouting report, his NBA comparison being Herm Klotz, a 5-7, 150-pound guard who played during the 1947-48 season and averaged 1.4 points per game.
His lengthy list of strengths includes, among others, that he “gives same level of intensity on both ends of the court” and “does not get too high or too low.”
The succinct list of weaknesses reads: “Lacks actual basketball skills, ability and experience.”
He provides scouts a detailed statistical page from pick-up basketball games with a disclaimer that all statistics are “educated estimations.”
He logged 5,750 minutes in 186 games during the 2000-01 season, averaging 1.6 points. He had 332 turnovers that season and has one block in his eight-year career to date.
Feinstein also describes the draft process and allows the site’s visitors to submit possible nicknames, one appropriately being, “Ice Pack Zach.”
Sadly, Feinstein won’t be at Madison Square Garden to attend the NBA Draft festivities — he’ll be busy conducting research in China during the summer.
And optimistically awaiting a phone call.
