{image1} Fans of Wisconsin's basketball team better start scouring the 2004-05 roster for the team's next point guard. Devin Harris, who has assumed the role for the previous three years, will not return for a fourth.

"We're looking at draft status right now and where I'm projected at," Harris said on May 5 while announcing his decision to test the NBA Draft waters, "and I've just got to decide if I can improve on that or if it is time for me to leave."

Harris' stock has gone nowhere but up since then. This is good news for the UW star but bad news for Kohl Center denizens who were dreaming of a Final Four run next March.

Harris has until June 17 to change his mind and reclaim his fourth year of eligibility, but don't bet on it. Most NBA Draft analysts project the would-be senior as no worse than a late top 10 selection, with some predicting he'll go as high No. 6. Lottery status - which includes the first 14 picks - is what Harris covets, and it's looking more and more like he'll have it.

Of course, projections are just projections - it only takes looking back at last year's draft to see how large the discrepancy can be between expectations and reality. Polish teen Maciej Lampe was in the top 10 on many pre-draft boards before sliding all the way down to No. 30 on draft night. But Harris will decide whether or not to stay in the draft based on those projections, which are currently stacked in his favor.

Chad Ford, ESPN's NBA "Insider," travels the globe, literally, covering all things draft. He has Harris going at No. 7 to Phoenix, ahead of fellow point guards Ben Gordon (of UConn) and Shaun Livingston (the Duke recruit by way of Peoria, IL). "No point guard has gained more ground this year than Harris," according to ESPN. "Right now he's a mid to late lottery pick."

Stewart Mandel of SI.com has Harris going one slot higher at No. 6, where he would join Hawks guard Jason Terry in the backcourt.

Sportsline.com's Tony Mejia actually ranks Harris as the fourth-best point guard, behind Gordon, Livingston and St. Joseph's All-American Jameer Nelson. But he also projects Harris to be a pro next year: "Top-notch defender whose size and quickness has scouts drooling, ensuring he'll remain in the draft."

Meanwhile, Sportsline.com's mock draft projects slightly differently, with Harris (No. 6) falling in between Gordon (No. 9) and Livingston (No. 4). "His size and skill make him the perfect building block for the Hawks to start over with."

Comparison-wise, Livingston (6' 7", 175) and Harris (6' 3", 185) will both need to get stronger, but scouts love Livingston's additional inches. Gordon may have a slight shooting edge and already owns more big-game experience, but Harris probably has more "up-side."

NBA.com's Rob Reheuser tabs Harris as a likely lottery pick, as well, noting Harris' length, quickness, defensive skills and ballhandling. In fact, numerous analysts cited Harris' low turnover numbers as a big factor for scouts who may otherwise worry that he's more "2" than "1."

Lesser-known draft sites spin the same tale. Jeff Lenchiner of InsideHoops.com picks Harris to go No. 8 to Toronto, as does NBADraft.net and Sean Deveney from sportingnews.com, who writes "Harris definitely is NBA-ready."

Overall, Harris' versatility and experience look like clinching factors for his bon voyage from Madison. At this point, three years of NCAA hoops constitutes "grizzled veteran" status. Not only are pre-draft boards littered with high schoolers like Dwight Howard, Josh Smith and Livingston, but Chinese, European, Russian and other foreign teens (even Iranian big man Jaber Rouzbahani, who NBADraft.net had going to Milwaukee at No. 47, the team's only pick) have gone completely mainstream. That's why Ford and other draft correspondents send dispatches from the far corners of the globe each spring.

One last ironic factor is also pushing Harris toward the NBA, at least for Marquette fans: Dwyane Wade's rookie success at Miami will only embolden the UW star. Like Wade, Harris is seen as score-first point who needs to learn the nuances and passing aspects of the position at the pro level. Also like Wade, Harris' athleticism and explosion to the hoop make any potential growth curve seem a lot more tenable.

However, there's still a ray of hope for selfish UW fans: the draft is still three weeks away, an eternity in today's world of shifting trends and "who's hot, who's not" wisdom. Harris could reconsider - but be prepared for Boo Wade's minutes to increase, just in case.