The upcoming Rookie Draft of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) does not seem to stir the same interests among the league's coaches as during the previous years. I happen to wonder just why.

For one, marquee names from the amateur and collegiate ranks come in very sparingly.

Ateneo's former center Rabeh Al-Hussaini, who was largely responsible for the Blue Eagles' back-to-back UAAP crowns, has been mentioned as the most probable top pick that the Air21 Express will pluck from the list come the August 29 event. But outside of him, only a handful of players has managed to impress PBA coaches so far.

“RJ Jazul is probably the best combo guard available in the Draft, and then there’s Rey Guavarra who is highly-recommended by everybody, especially coach Rajko Toroman. Also, who cannot consider the talent of Elmer Espiritu,” Air21 team manager Allan Gregorio said in a recent interview.

Jazul and Guevarra, both standouts from Colegio de San Juan de Letran, were former members of the Smart-Gilas developmental team but, just like Al-Hussaini, begged off from their commitment to the squad to pursue a professional basketball career.

Espiritu, on the other hand, is a high-leaping forward out of the University of the East, and was one of the integral members of the Philippine Patriots who won the first-ever ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) crown recently.

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Previous reports from the Manila Bulletin say that the Express official already mentioned the names of Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao, also a product of Ateneo, as their target for the No. 1 and 2 picks in the draft. With the third overall selection, they’re hoping to get a shooter or a small forward.

"I guess we’ll just concentrate on our priority. So that means we’ll choose either a guard to backup Ty (Tang) or a wingman to backup Gabe (Norwood),” said Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia, who hinted he is also interested in Jazul and another former Blue Eagle in Ford Arao, also in a previous report by the Bulletin.

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Another factor would be the lack of quality Filipino-American players who have applied for the draft this year.

Unlike previous years when the draft class boasted of “stars” such as Kelly Williams, Gabe Norwood, and Sol Mercado, this year’s rookie class only had 20 players this time around. However, as of last week, only three of them (Hyram Bagatsing, Josh Vanladingham, and Sean Michael Anthony) have managed to complete the necessary documents.

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Maybe if not for the presence of the Smart-Gilas national squad, the likes of Chris Tiu, JV Casio, Mac Baracael, Japeth Aguilar (who have already applied for the draft last year but decided to forego a career in the pros to play for the country), and Mark Barroca could have made themselves available for this year’s rookie cast.

What intrigues me the most is why the likes of Jimbo Aquino (from San Sebastian College), John Wilson (Jose Rizal University), and Khasim Mirza (University of Santo Tomas) — all explosive players in the collegiate ranks — have failed to catch the coaches’ attention despite sterling performances for their respective teams prior to making themselves available for the draft. Will they be like Mark Isip, Pong Escobal, and Chris Calaguio in the making — all marquee names in college whose brightness and promises faded when they stepped into the PBA.