CHICAGO - Here's the list of players the Kings interviewed Thursday:
John Wall, G, Kentucky
DeMarcus Cousins, C, Kentucky
Jarvis Varnado, F, Mississipi State
Al-Farouq Aminu, F, Wake Forest
Jordan Crawford, G, Xavier
Wesley Johnson, F, Syracuse
Ryan Richards, F, England
Andy Rautins, G, Syracuse
Epke Udoh, F, Baylor
Wall rescheduled the interview he missed Wednesday.
There's no chance he's available with the Kings' pick at No. 5 in the first round.
Cousins, Johnson, Udoh and Aminu are realistic targets at No. 5.
Johnson is one of the best shooters available. Aminu is a prolific rebounder who played both forward spots in two seasons with the Demon Deacons.
Udoh is a defensive-minded power forward.
Crawford, Rautins, Varnado and Richards could all be possibilities with the Kings' second-round pick (33rd overall).
Crawford and Rautins are both considered undersized shooting guards (6-4). Crawford can be an explosive scorer and Rautins is one of the better shooters in teh draft.
Varnado averaged 4.7 blocked shots as a junior and senior. He wasn't bad as a sophomore when he averaged 4.6 blocks.
Here's some of Varnado's work. He's the NCAA's all-time leader in blocked shots.
Richards is another power forward who has shot-blocking ability.
Notice a theme? If you're big and can defend, the Kings are willing to talk to you.
Here's a little more on some of these players from today's media sessions that I haven't mentioned today.
*Johnson would like to believe he has some Scottie Pippen in his game.
*Aminu thinks his natural position is small forward. He had to play power forward for
Wake Forest last season and thinks his rebounding ability would allow him to help a team immediately.
*Crawford would like to known as more than the guy who dunked on LeBron James:
*And a little more on Cousins. The more people I speak to, the more the opinions vary. Once coach said he'd take Kansas center Cole Aldrich ahead of Cousins because of the questions about Cousins.
Aldrich met with the Kings Wednesday, but wasn't present today during media availability.
--Jason Jones
