No one knows Toney Douglas on so many levels, or appreciates what he can contribute to the NBA, as does Leonard Hamilton.

No one.

As an evaluator, the Florida State coach saw in the Jonesboro High (Ga.) guard a prolific scorer with a deadly accurate jump shot, great ball handling skills and quickness.

Although Douglas initially went to Auburn, Hamilton later would coach the former McDonald's All-American who became an All-ACC first-team player and a determined talent who could take a game over. Douglas was also the league's defensive player of the year as a senior.

Now the former Washington Wizards coach believes Douglas is about to become the complete package for an NBA team. Maybe it will be Chicago, which nbadraft.net is predicting will pick Douglas tonight in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft with the 26th overall.

"He has the whole package," Hamilton said of Douglas, who led FSU to the NCAA Tournament this past season. "He's more than capable of running a team and making good decisions. In the NBA, teams have a tendency to double-team the featured players. When they do that, they can't double off Toney.

"The fact that he was the leading scorer in the ACC and was also voted as the top defensive player says he has a passion for defending. It makes him a complete player. Someone is going to recognize that and give him an opportunity."

Douglas averaged 21.3 points this past season with a school record 751 points. He finished with 1,655 points in three seasons at FSU. But it was his defensive play that especially impressed former Seminoles such as longtime NBA journeyman Sam Cassell. In part because of what he brings to the court defensively, draftexpress.com is projecting Douglas to be taken by the Portland Trailblazers with the 24th pick in the first round.

Do NBA teams care about defense and leadership?

"I think they do," said Hamilton, who coached one year in the NBA after rebuilding the Oklahoma State and University of Miami basketball programs. "They don't talk about it. This whole draft, if you look around at what's being written and said, where guys are projected to go and who's interested in who — NBA teams would not be smart if they told everybody what they were thinking.

"There are a few things about the draft that are pretty obvious, but for the most part you will never know what happens until the draft takes place. There are a lot of meetings behind closed doors and a lot of gamesmanship that is being played. I think that's going on with Toney. I think it's going on with everybody."

Some mock drafts, such as that of ESPN's Chad Ford, have Douglas projected in the second round. Ford likes Detroit taking him five picks into that round and 35th overall. But one thing seems clear, Douglas benefited from another year in college.

"He's in a much better position this year than last year," Hamilton said. "He's matured. He's improved his game. He accomplished so much this year. If you look around at teams in say, the last 15 years, I don't think you'll find a guard who was his league's most valuable defender and led his league in scoring and led his team to 25 wins and led his team with six first-year players to the NCAA Tournament."



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