By SCOTT SPANGLER

As the NBA’s regular season winds down to the final week of play, I must say I am extremely impressed with the volume of quality young players, namely rookies, in the league today. Much concern has been voiced in recent years regarding the lack of talent infusion, lack of talent replenishment to replace those aging stars that have long carried the torch for David Stern and the Association. I’m here to say that while we are still a long way from the glory days of Bird and Magic, the NBA enjoys a strong foothold on rather solid ground in terms of young talent and more importantly, marketable talent.

This season’s rookie class has been stellar, not spectacular. The Memphis Grizzlies boast two such youngsters in Pau Gasol and Shane Battier. Gasol, a.k.a. Spanish Fly, carries the look of a future all-star. His game is something the likes we’ve never seen before – very hard to make comparisons with this kid. There are times he looks out of sorts with the way he moves – almost too fluid, too carefree. The first time I saw the kid, I could’ve sworn he was a skateboarder. Then I finally saw him play one night early in the season. It was against Minnesota and Gasol was matched up against who else, yeah Kevin Garnett. You had to feel for the young Spaniard, that is until he faced up on KG, drove, and flipped a runner over Garnett’s outstretched fingers.

Not once, but three times in succession.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Pau Gasol made plays on the defensive end. Garnett immediately went to retaliate with a half hook of his own. The rookie caught the shot on its way up and subsequently swatted the ball off the glass to trigger a fast break. Offensively speaking, the young man does resemble Alex English a great deal with his quick release and baseline flips. But his total game is, once again, something I’ve not seen before. One thing was rather obvious that night – Kevin Garnett hadn’t either.

It’s not just Gasol though. Golden State’s Jason Richardson suffered from the typical slow start and has come on magnificently. He’s more than this season’s slam-dunk king. Although his range is still a tad inconsistent, he is adept at getting to the rim and very solid defensively. It’s easy to see why the Warriors are so high on ex Michigan State Spartan. The upside here is absolutely tremendous. Now I’d be remiss if I failed to include Utah Jazz rookie forward Andrei Kirilenko in this piece. While the young Russian is barely old enough to belly up and order a shot of Stoley's, he is more than ready to log major minutes alongside veteran Karl Malone. It hasn’t taken long at all for Kirinlenko to fit in with Utah. He compares favorably to Tom Chambers or even Ivan Drago, if you will (see Rocky IV). The Russian AK can face up, floor it, and even has range from deep. His defense is rather quality for a young player despite his penchant for earl foul trouble. Oh well, such is life for an NBA rookie.

Are there more? Of course there are more. Expert prognosis would have figured on Antonio Daniels to replace the departed Avery Johnson as the San Antonio Spurs starting point guard. Enter nineteen year-old Frenchman Tony Parker. He has more than solidified the position for Greg Popovich and veteran players like David Robinson say he has court awareness and savvy beyond his years. The Spurs have hardly missed a beat without Johnson. Now they can look to the future with the point in good hands.

There are very good rookie big men as well. Take for example Chicago's Tyson Chandler. It's taken him a while, but since he has been playing consistent minutes for Bill Cartwright his production has been more than adequate. Wednesday night in Detroit, the Los Angeles native tossed in 21 points, grabbed 12 boards and blocked three shots. This was perhaps his finest night as a pro, and again the key here is upside. Chandler oozes with athleticsm, there's just no other way to put it.

Check out Eddie Griffin down in Houston, who arguably may be the most gifted of any rookie in this crop. At 6'9" he can shoot from distance, floor, post, and oh yes he might perhaps be the best shot blocker we've seen in a while. It would not shock me totally if Griffin led the NBA in blocks within the next two years. He's an excellent rebounder also.

Jamaal Tinsley, Bendan Haywood, Shane Battier, and Vladimir Radmanovic are other first-year players who have repeatedly demonstrated they have what it takes to excel at the NBA level. No one will argue the point that recent NBA drafts have left plenty to be desired. The annual summer harvest hasn't been up to snuff the last several years. With the dramatic increase of global talent entering the equation coupled with the wealth of homegrown goodies, the National Basketball Association and its fans have much to smile about - on and off the court.