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By AJ Cadman

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The exodus of some of the nation’s best basketball underclassmen from college to the pros begins Wednesday when the NBA holds its annual amateur draft at 4:30 p.m. at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

While UCLA reclaimed one of its would-be draftees in freshman Jason Kapono last Monday, two other Bruins, sophomores Jerome Moiso and JaRon Rush, are attempting to follow in the footsteps of former UCLA point guard Baron Davis, who left college for a professional basketball contract.

“I think I have the potential to play in the NBA,” Moiso said at a press conference held after he and Rush decided to enter their names in the draft. “It will take a lot of hard work in the first year to make the transition from college basketball to the pros.”

UCLA has already had five first-round draft picks this decade, and will attempt to land two more in the first year of the new millennium. In a draft lacking immediate impact players, two of Westwood’s most high-profile athletes will try to land a spot on an NBA roster next season.

Moiso, a 6-foot-10 forward who declared his intentions after many believed he might be a marginal pick from the lottery to the middle first round, has impressed professional scouts with his versatility and size. Through private workouts with several NBA squads, he has many basketball analysts, including ESPN’s Andy Katz, saying that Moiso could go as high as No. 8 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Moiso has all the necessary skills to develop into a solid NBA forward. The Guadeloupe, West Indies, native has a smooth midrange jumper and a soft touch, as well as a great leaping ability to rebound and shotblock at a professional level.

Yet skeptics such as George Rodecker, a CBS sportsline.com analyst who has also written for publications like College Hoops Insider and Basketball Times, have dubbed Moiso as inconsistent and as someone who turns his energy on and off.

Critics say he can dominate unlike any other in college basketball, but can also disappear while being the largest player on the court. With bigger bodies and more physical contact in the NBA, Moiso must be able to pound in the paint.

But his offensive prowess earned him All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention. He averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per contest while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.

UCLA’s other underclassmen looking to get drafted on Wednesday is Rush, a 6-7 forward. He received much publicity last season for violations of NCAA amateur rules and was suspended for much of the season before returning for its final nine contests.

But his playing in those games was crucial in helping UCLA reach the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years.

Rush was instrumental in his first game back from suspension. He scored 17 points, capped by a baseline jumper at the buzzer in overtime, to lead the Bruins to a 94-93 upset victory over then top-ranked Stanford at Maples Pavilion.

While his statistics might make many NBA teams turn away, the Kansas City native’s athleticism still has many teams examining his draft possibilities. Rodecker has tabbed Rush as going anywhere from the late first-round to not being chosen at all. While the latter is not a likely scenario, the critics point to Rush’s weaker ball-handling and perimeter shooting skills as reasons why he could slip down the draft board.

But Rush improved in both of those areas last season, complementing that with a desire to play aggressively above the rim, as witnessed by his numerous alley-oop jams and rebounds against bigger players. His tenacity should help him survive an NBA season.

“I think this is a great opportunity for me,” Rush said at the press conference. “Coach has talked to the GMs and said I could go anywhere from 15 to 25 (in the first round) and might slip, at worse, into the second round. It really depends on how the individual team workouts go.”

Kapono’s recent pullout has much to do with creating a gauge of his current status. It should allow NBA scouts to examine his game more closely next season from its start. The Lakewood, Calif. native might then attempt the draft next year and work himself into the lottery.

Should Moiso go in the first round Wednesday, it would mark the first time a Bruin has gone in the first round in back-to-back years since 1979-80.

The last time two players from UCLA went in the first round in the same draft was 1992, when Tracy Murray and Don MacLean went 18th and 19th, respectively. The last time a UCLA player cracked the first round while not garnering a first team All-Conference award was in 1995 when George Zidek was taken by the Charlotte Hornets.