THE ROOKIE Draft will be the first big official activity of the 40th Philippine Basketball Association, and it happens on Aug. 24 with point guards and wingmen likely to occupy most — if not all — of the picks in the first round.

I say big because it is in the Draft that some of the teams rebuild, where some of the teams find franchise players, where the fortunes of some of the teams in the coming years are determined by the picks they make in the pool.

Paul Lee proved a franchise player for Rain or Shine when he was picked second overall in 2011 behind JV Casio; June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer and Greg Slaughter of Barangay Ginebra definitely have the same roles for their respective squads.

But can the Class of 2015 prove to be the same? Can Globalport, which picks first, and Rain or Shine, which owns the second overall selection, be able to tab talents that are really for keeps?

As of this writing, there are but a handful of players who have the potential of being franchise finds.

There are 67 names currently in the tentative list of candidates for the proceedings with a week left before the deadline. The PBA then will conduct biometrics sessions to know the athletic skills of each and every candidate.

The PBA will also do due diligence on the credentials on the candidates, especially the foreign-bred and born players who claim to have Filipino blood.

Stanley Pringle and Chris Banchero, point guards with American blood, are tipped to dispute the top overall selection. Point guards, or shooting guards, are aplenty in the pool, with the league still awaiting the availability of Kevin Alas and Bobby Ray Parks, who are also guards.

There’s definitely no big man worthy of being called a franchise player in this pool. Unlike last year, when three big men went 1-2-3, led by Slaughter, Ian Sangalang of San Mig and Raymond Almazan of Rain or Shine.

Slaughter has established himself as a superstar right in his first year, even contending for the season MVP award.

Sangalang emerged as a force in the middle for the Mixers, whom he helped immensely in completing the Grand Slam.

Almazan, a reedy 6-foot-7 find from Letran, has also shown that he has the stuff to excel and will be a great talent in the next few years for the Elasto Painters.

Rain or Shine board representative Mamerto Mondragon said a couple of days ago that the Elasto Painters will definitely try to look for a big man in the pool to help Almazan and enable Beau Belga to slide to the No. 4 position.

That seems logical enough, since the Painters already have Lee, Chris Tiu, Ryan Arana and even Gabe Norwood manning the point guard spot. They can easily look past Banchero or Pringle to search for the player they truly want.

It could also be safe to assume that should the Painters find no talented enough big man in the pool worthy of being picked second overall, they would go for either Pringle or Banchero and trade him for a quality big man.

******

After having three quality big men step out of the Draft last year and potentially none with the same skills set coming out this season, when will the next dominant big man be arriving to the PBA?

At the rate things are going in the collegiate ranks, it seems that neither the UAAP nor the NCAA is helping the country develop a big man who could be worthy additions to the national team in the future and become a big come-on in the PBA as well.

Both the NCAA and the UAAP have resorted to tapping foreign players to beef up their rosters in the past years, just like imports in the PBA who are being paid to help their teams win.

It is no secret that these players are getting more than just an education in both leagues and there was even a report that one collegiate power even bought the rights to one foreign player from the south for a hefty sum.

The UAAP and the NCAA are doing nothing about this and are allowing foreigners to play in their leagues. I heard that one rule to eliminate these mercenaries will be enforced in 2020, which is a long way away.

These players may have been giving their schools the wins they want, or even the championships they need. But are they helping Philippine basketball in the long run?

I ask that because an import, just like in the PBA, takes away the spot of a potential player in the lineup for each of these schools.

And that these imports are big men robbing the homegrown talent of the chance to develop their skills and be a part of the bigger local basketball picture.

Slaughter, Sangalang and Almazan, the likes of them, will not be coming to the PBA in the very near future, there simply is no talented player around — homegrown — who can play like they do.

The imports in the collegiate ranks will continue to dominate their respective leagues. They may even earn their diplomas but will cease to help Philippine basketball after that.

They can’t be a part of the national team, nor can they play in the PBA. So, what’s the use of having them around?