"Star."

That was the one-word answer given by Golden State coach Don Nelson when asked about the future of Anthony Randolph, the slender power forward who a year ago was a 17-year-old wearing the cap-and-gown at Woodrow Wilson High School.

After one season at LSU, Randolph is expected to be a lottery pick Thursday when the NBA has its annual draft.

This is becoming almost an annual thing for the Dallas area, and DISD schools in particular. The basketball pipeline from the area to the NBA is gushing like never before. Randolph is the latest in what has become a rich, recent tradition, especially for big men.

For Randolph, it's not about repeating the historic success of LSU centers and forwards such as Shaquille O'Neal and Tyrus Thomas or Glen Davis and Brandon Bass, although he likes the idea of following those former Tigers into the NBA.

The success he wants to build upon hits closer to home. Randolph could join LaMarcus Aldridge and Chris Bosh – the player to whom he is most often compared – as DISD products to be high first-round draft picks in the last five years.

The 6-10, 205-pounder has justifiably earned the nickname "Slim" Randolph. While a wiry frame can be a liability in the NBA, the kid who will turn 19 on July 15 has so many assets in his skill set that pro scouts are overlooking it.

"He reminds me of a Chris Bosh starter kit," one NBA scout said. "He's really thin. But he's got such great athleticism and he handles the ball pretty well. Plus he's still so young."

That is what has some teams in the lottery intrigued, and perhaps salivating. Randolph is eligible for the draft because he has spent at least one year in college.

"Everybody's saying the same thing," said Pat Washington, who coached Randolph at Woodrow Wilson. "He's very talented and skilled. And imagine, he's only supposed to be a senior in high school. He'd be the best player in high school, bar none, if he was a senior this year."

As it is, he's the next big thing in a growing line of big things to come out the Dallas basketball scene. Bosh came out of Lincoln, played one season at Georgia Tech as a skinny power forward and now is a perennial All-Star for Toronto, having been taken fourth overall in 2003.

Deron Williams wasn't even considered the best player on his team at The Colony (Bracey Wright was), yet is now one of the top point guards in the league at Utah, which took him third overall in 2005.

And 6-11 LaMarcus Aldridge came out of Seagoville and became the No. 2 overall draft pick in the 2006 draft. He's now a rising star in Portland.

"There have been a lot of great players come out of Dallas," Randolph said. "I'm just honored to be next in line. I don't really know Chris personally, but I know a lot about him. And it's going to take a lot of hard work to reach his level."

The fact that so many personnel gurus believe he can be that good is part of the reason it was a no-brainer to come out of LSU after averaging 15.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Late in the season, those numbers went up. He averaged 16.7 points and 9.1 rebounds in 16 SEC games.

One concern scouts have is that Randolph's teams have not had strong seasons. LSU went 13-18, and Woodrow Wilson did not win a playoff game during Randolph's two seasons.

It wasn't for his lack of effort, however. He averaged 25.8 points and 12.6 rebounds as a senior, even though his team went just 13-15. It is for that concern, plus his thin build, that one draft service suggests he has "abnormally high bust potential."

The circumstances had something to do with his teams not being playoff or NCAA Tournament caliber. LSU is deep into a transition with a new coach.

"A lot of it was chemistry," Randolph said of his teams never posting great records. "It happens. But I enjoyed it at LSU. I feel everybody should experience college."

Washington remembers the first day he saw the lanky kid walk into the gym.

"He was a 10th grader, and his uncle came and told me he had a nephew who was tall," Washington said. "And that's all he said. Every coach has had a parent come up to him and said he had a kid who was a player."

Washington was skeptical until he saw Randolph in person.

"I said, 'Whoa, we may have something here.' " Washington said.

Part of Randolph's attractiveness is his age. Scouts see a world of upside in him. The reason he's gone through a year of college at such a young age is that he started grade school a year early.

His teenage years have not all been charmed. He went to school in California, then to a Catholic school in Little Rock, Ark., before settling in at Woodrow.

The last high school move was brought about at least in part by some unsavory elements in Arkansas. Keeping Randolph away from the temptations was key to him keeping basketball as a priority.

"Things didn't go well for him there," Washington said of the Arkansas stay.

So what about that body? Bosh is listed at 6-10 and 210 pounds. He has flourished as a hybrid power forward, who in the last two years has even hit the occasional 3-point shot.

Randolph says he loves pizza, but that "I'm blessed" because even the pies don't put on the pounds.

"He's a competitor," Washington said. "It's like I've told all the NBA people, don't mistake his body for being soft. He's got great determination."

Every team Randolph has worked out for likes what they've seen. He has visited everybody picking from second through 10th, plus a few teams below that, including Portland, which was his last stop. The Blazers pick 13th.

"This year, nobody's really giving any guarantees," Randolph said. "It could be anywhere in the lottery. I'm just looking forward to going through the process. It's a dream come true."

Actually, there may be one guarantee for the latest product of the DISD-NBA pipeline: As Golden State's Nelson said, if Randolph is still on the board at No. 14, the team picking 15th, Phoenix, can start looking elsewhere.

Height/weight: 6-10, 205

Age: 18 (Born July 15, 1989, in Worzbach, Germany)

College: LSU

High school: Woodrow Wilson

Nickname: Slim

Parents: Anthony and Chrystal Randolph

Basketball achievements: In college, a unanimous selection to SEC all-freshman team; AP All-SEC honorable mention; only LSU player to start all 31 games last season. In high school, named first-team all-area by The Dallas Morning News, was fourth-team Parade Magazine All-American.

Strengths: Wingspan, explosiveness, quickness, ball-handling, athleticism, a good mid-range shot and the ability to run the floor.

Weaknesses: Lacks strength, has a skinny frame, is turnover prone, lives off instincts, forces the issue too much and his attention occasionally drifts.