There are a number of directions that the Nuggets can go with the 20th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, and the center position is a definite possibility. Although Marcus Camby had yet another terrific season manning the middle for Denver in 2007-08, one of the Nuggets biggest holes in the roster was a back-up center. Their two bench players big enough to play the center position -- Nene and Steven Hunter -- spent most of the season dealing with injuries and recovery time, forcing Coach George Karl to play small the majority of the time that Camby was out of the game. Therefore, drafting a promising young big man might look like a smart move by the Nuggets if a similar situation were to arise again next season.

If Denver is in fact in the market for a promising young center, this might be the ideal draft for that. This year's first round is brimming with young big men full of potential, especially in the mid-to-late first round because of the guard/forward depth throughout the Lottery. Chad Ford on ESPN.com considers seven centers among the Top-22 overall prospects in the entire draft. While none of those seven centers cracks Ford's Top-10, the seven appearing in the Top-22 are more than any other position on his annual listing. Here is a look at four of those highly touted centers that will be on the Nuggets radar when the 20th selection rolls around:

	Height / Weight: 7-0 / 265 College: Ohio State Hometown: Canton, OH Age: 19 NBA.com: Video | Profile
Career Highlights: Earned Third Team All-Big Ten honors and was named to the league’s All-Freshman Team ... Named Most Valuable Player of the 2008 MasterCard Postseason NIT and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team ... A member of the Greek U18 National Team ... Averaged 26.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots in helping lead Greece to a silver medal at the 2007 UMCOR U18 European Championships held in Madrid, Spain ... Tallied 37 points and pulled down 20 rebounds in the semifinals vs. Lithuania and scored 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the gold medal match vs. Serbia ... Led the tournament in scoring and rebounding on his way to Most Valuable Player honors. What Scouts Are Saying: According to DraftExpress.com, his strengths include: Has good size, an excellent wingspan and a nice frame for an NBA center. Has an extremely high skill level, excellent hands, good scoring instincts with back to the basket and facing up. Has a nice jump-hook and turnaround jumper, an outstanding shooting touch and range out to the three-point line. He is fairly mobile and can block/contest shots on the defensive end. CollegeHoops.net lists his weaknesses as: He is not super fast or athletic and is questionable whether or not he has the foot speed to guard mobile NBA big men. He tends to face-up to the hoop more than post up and can drift out to beyond the arc too often. He is still inexperienced – big guys tend to need more time to develop. While he would probably benefit from at least another year in college, Koufos could pan out to be an above-average pro. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has Koufos listed as the No. 2 ranked center in the draft and the No. 12 overall prospect.

	Height / Weight: 7-0 / 255 College: Stanford Hometown: Fresno, CA Age: 20 NBA.com: Video | Profile
Career Highlights: Earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 honors and was named to the league’s All-Defensive Team as a sophomore ... Finished collegiate career as Stanford’s second all-time leader in blocked shots with 156. What Scouts Are Saying: According to NBADraft.net, his strengths are: He is more mobile and athletic than his twin brother Brook. He really hits the glass hard and hustles for loose balls. He is an excellent shot blocker (led the Pac-Ten as a freshman at 2.4 per game and ranked second in the conference as a sophomore). With his quickness and explosive leaping ability, he has a real chance to be a factor as a shot blocker in the NBA. His foot speed is good, allowing him to get to rebounds and run the floor very well. He is a tough, hardnosed player willing to do the dirty work to help his team win. Much like his brother, who is a higher rated prospect, he is extremely long and naturally strong and aggressive. DraftExpress.com lists his weaknesses as: He is a good, but not great athlete and needs to get stronger. He is extremely unpolished offensively and has poor footwork and post moves. Currently lacks the ability to face the basket, has very little shooting range and struggles with free throw shooting. His focus and decision making ability is not where it needs to be, while his intensity wavers at times as well. He struggles defending on the perimeter and tends to get backed down in paint. He is definite project. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has Lopez as the No. 4 ranked center in the draft and the No. 19 overall prospect.

	Height / Weight: 7-0 / 237 College: Nevada Hometown: Flint, MI Age: 20 NBA.com: Video | Profile
Career Highlights: Earned Second Team All-WAC honors as a sophomore ... Also named to the league’s All-Defensive Team. Finished collegiate career as the fourth all-time leader in blocked shots in Nevada history with 122 ... Also ranks fourth all-time in career field goal percentage (.542) ... Started 31 of 66 career games. What Scouts Are Saying: NBADraft.net lists his strengths as: He is a long athletic bigman who is absolutely bursting with potential. He is improving at a rapid pace on both ends of the floor. He runs the floor exceptionally well. He has freakishly long arms: around a 7-6 wingspan, which makes him a great rebounder and shot blocker, and his length makes it extremely difficult for opponents to get shots over. He can really become a force defensively when he adds strength and discipline on opponent's shot fakes. His offensive game is showing a lot of promise with developing back to the basket skills, while he even shows some ability to face the basket and make drives or spot up, to go along with solid form and touch on his shot. He also has a tremendous frame which should allow him to get much stronger and retain his great agility and athleticism. He was a late bloomer who went underrecruited out of Chicago, while his parents were both professional basketball players so he has been around the game from a young age. According to CollegeHoops.net, his weaknesses include: He is very inexperienced and only played significant minutes his sophomore year. He didn’t play in a major conference, so he didn’t go up against top talent every game. He is a poor free throw shooter. He needs to get physically stronger for the NBA. On offense he will have to learn to post up stronger for the NBA, while on defense NBA players will be able to overpower him and back him down. He is extremely turnover prone – had four times as many turnovers than assists this past season. He is the ultimate “high-risk, high-reward” pick. His length and athleticism are very enticing, but with his game and body still a work in progress there is no guarantee he’ll ever turn out to be a solid NBA pro. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has McGee listed as the No. 7 ranked center in the draft and the No. 26 overall prospect.

	Height / Weight: 6-10 / 245 College: Florida Hometown: St. Petersburg, FL Age: 19 NBA.com: Video | Profile
Career Highlights: Emerged as a sophomore after serving as a backup to current NBA players Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Chris Richard as a freshman on Florida’s 2007 NCAA Championship team ... Currently ranks eighth all-time in Florida history in blocked shots per game (0.93 bpg) ... Would also rank second all-time in field goal percentage (.633) but falls just short of the minimum qualifications of 500 career field goal attempts ... Has registered 12 career double-doubles. What Scouts Are Saying: CollegeHoops.net lists his strengths as: He has a long wingspan, good hands and good NBA size. He is athletic for a big man, a good shot-blocker and a very good rebounder. He has a nice shooting touch for a big man and shoots for a very high percentage from the field – over 60% each year. As a freshman at Florida he practiced against three future NBA big men (Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Chris Richard). He got more consistent as his sophomore season progressed. According to DraftExpress.com, his weaknesses include: His post-game is not very diverse due to his limited ability to put the ball on floor. His shot-selection and decision making were questionable, as was his basketball IQ and work ethic. He does not have great defensive fundamentals or defensive awareness. His conditioning has also be questionable, which relates to his lack of motivation/focus/consistency and his tendency to coast. Simply put, he needs time to develop. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has Speights listed as the No. 3 ranked center in the draft and the No. 16 overall prospect.

Other C Prospects to Watch: Roy Hibbert (Georgetown); DeVon Hardin (California); Ante Tomic (Croatia); Trent Plaisted (BYU); Omer Asik (Turkey).

Other Prospect Pages: Point Guards | Shooting Guards | Small Forwards | Power Forwards