How would you like to be Stu Jackson these days? He has to deal with owners who rip referees, players who rip referees, players who rip each other, owners who rip each other, crybaby players and other low crimes and misdemeanors. Even worse -- he has to watch just about every NBA game.

	Orlando's Mike Miller has played extensively with Grant Hill out.

But those tasks pale in complexity and depravity compared to the one before him now. As the NBA's august, cerebral director of operations, Jackson also has the unwanted, thankless, some might say hopeless, task of choosing the participants in February's rookie game during All-Star Weekend.

Right now, that's like trying to pick the best Brooke Shields movie. (An NBA mole says Jackson took the job on the condition that he either choose the rookies or have to watch Bulls' tapes from the Tim Floyd era.)

Luckily for Jackson, the NBA has decided to retain the format from last year, so only one side will actually be rookies. The other side will include rookies from last year's game (otherwise known as true sophomores) such as Elton Brand, Lamar Odom, Steve Francis and Wally Szczerbiak.

But that still leaves Jackson with 10-12 selections. As of now, anything over 1 (Kenyon Martin) is a reach. And, in the words of Nets' coach Byron Scott, maybe even Martin isn't ready for such prime time viewing. This is what Scott said when asked about Martin being named Rookie of the Month for November.

"Shows you what kind of class is out there." That about covers it.

Lord Byron's thoughts notwithstanding, the sad reality is that Martin is head and shoulders above any other rookie -- and some true sophomores as well. You can pencil him in as a starter in the much-anticipated All-Star Saturday event. Beyond that, well, you have a collection of clueless kids, most of whom are in the NBA only because they might be able to do something three years from now.

It's tough for these kids. They all are accustomed to playing big minutes, playing above the rim, playing to the crowd. Now, most of them are either doing more watching than playing, or should be doing more watching than playing.

It's hard to remember such an underwhelming class of rookies. Martin, the No. 1 overall pick, should be doing something. He spent four years in college and has undeniable skills. He's starting and among the rookie leaders in several statistical categories: minutes, points, rebounds, blocked shots. By most everyone's account, the Nets have themselves a player on their hands.

Good for them. They also might have a decent find in Stephen Jackson, who is getting minutes due to Keith Van Horn's injury. He has bounced around Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and other exotic ports of call before taking the Exit 16W exit off the New Jersey Turnpike. He's being called "This Year's Adrian Griffin" -- which is both good and bad. Griffin played well last year -- for a couple months. Now Griffin can't get off the bench for a sub-.500 team in the D2 Eastern Conference. Jackson, meanwhile, has fallen already.

The No. 2 pick in last year's draft was Stromile Swift of LSU. Remember him? Big block on Chris Mihm (another rookie stud) in the NCAA Tournament? Leaper extraordinaire? What has he done for the Grizzlies? Well, he can't unseat Othella Harrington or Grant Long, so that should tell you something.

The operative phrase for Swift is that he's being brought along slowly. That's fine if you're on the Lakers. But he's on the Grizzlies, for goodness sakes. Why do they need to be bringing anyone along slowly? Maybe it's because young Mr. Swift isn't in Baton Rouge anymore. And he knows it. Through the first week of December, he wasn't among the top 20 rookies in either points, rebounds and minutes, which means he's averaging less than 13.6 minutes, 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds.

	“	(He's) not ready from an intensity level, not ready from a defensive level. Basically, he's not ready for pro basketball. ”
		— Rick Pitino on his rookie, Jerome Moiso

Scan the rest of the lottery and you'll see more carnage. Darius Miles, Marcus Fizer, Mike Miller, DerMarr Johnson, Jamal Crawford, Mihm, Joel Przybilla, Keyon Dooling, Jerome Moiso. That's 1-11 from last June's draft. Not one player from that group is a regular starter. Some of those see as much time as the trainer.

Of that group, Miles, the No. 3 pick right out of high school, has had tongues a-waggin with episodic acts of aerodynamics. But you only have to watch him once to realize that he's a gifted, but otherwise raw, unschooled work-in-progress. True to form, he and fellow rookie Quentin Richardson have no problem operating their hand held computers or cell phones. That's not as hard as learning how to rotate or box out.

The rookie's inability to learn, understand and comprehend NBA defenses is their biggest obstacle, or so says no less an authority than Rick Pitino. On this, he's 100 percent right. He's even getting an up close and personal reminder everyday in the person of Moiso, who left UCLA after two seasons. Pitino thinks Moiso has more innate talent than anyone he's ever coached over 27 years, including, we presume, Travis Ford, Anthony Epps and Jared Pritchett. But he still can't bring himself to give the amiable rookie any meaningful minutes.

Part of that is because Moiso plays the same position as minutes-monger Antoine Walker. (The Celtics made the same mistake when the traded for Danny Fortson. 'Toine ain't going nowhere.) The other reason is that Moiso appears to have an aversion for defense, physical play, every-day fervor as well as a laissez-faire attitude which, altogether, actually seems quite appropriate for a child of France. Pitino said Moiso is "not ready from an intensity level, not ready from a defensive level. Basically, he's not ready for pro basketball."

The coach later added, "he's a tremendous talent that should have stayed in college, got one more year out of it. This young man has unbelievable athleticism. He's long. He's got lightning quickness. We've got ourselves a jewel, but it's just going to take a little bit of time. In one sense, being a foreigner is great because he's so polite with no ego. In the other sense, having no ego kills him because he's not hungry. [He thinks], 'Oh, I'll get my time, and if it comes along someday it'd be fine.' He's not in any rush to kick anybody's (you-know-what)."

Moiso is compiling DNPs along with many of his fellow naifs. Among the rookies, only five are averaging more than 20 minutes; one of those went undrafted (Jackson) while another is 27 years old (Dragan Tarlac.) Only two, Jackson and Martin, are averaging in double figures in points. The top assist man is Khalid El-Amin, who was a second rounder.

We are told that we have to wait for rookies and that it takes three years for a draft to run its course. This may take even longer because the kids are younger and not ready, either mentally or physically. The NBA is not SportsCenter. The wait will be worth it for some. For the others, let's hope that they realize sooner rather than later that they're waiting for a basketball Godot.

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.