Too bad hype doesn’t determine who gets drafted where.

If hype ruled supreme, why bother with the draft? Simply let the experts at ESPN and Sports Illustrated tell us who teams should draft. The pundits at these places know much about what they think teams need and little about what they would seek.

If the national media outlets chose the NFL and NBA drafts, Detroit Lions starting quarterback Sean Harrington would play in NFL Europe somewhere and Chicago Bulls upstart Trenton Hassel would man a drive-thru near you.

If ESPN had its way, Eastern quarterback Tony Romo won’t go until the second day of this weekend’s draft.

His arm strength is too big of a concern, the network’s Web site said.

National outlets say Panther NBA Draft hopeful Henry Domercant doesn’t create enough of his own shots to be a first round pick.

What do they know?

Jesse Mackinson isn’t an expert on the draft, but he’s an expert on all things Domercant.

“What (national media members) don’t see is what Henry’s work ethic is like,” Mackinson said. “He takes 500 shots in the morning, another 500 in practice and then 500 more after. He’s a gym rat.”

Spoiled usually precedes the word rat when referring to most of the NBA.

The Ohio Valley Conference, the eighth oldest in the nation, ranks close to the eighth weakest, or worst in terms of quality competition. Therefore, Eastern’s stars slip under the NBA radar screen.

Romo faces the same challenge as a I-AA quarterback. The NFL doesn’t ask: “What have you done for me lately?” but instead wants to know “How big are the teams you have beaten lately?”

Romo’s readiness for the NFL is on the clock this weekend.

An article in Thursday’s Chicago Tribune said the Chicago Bears consider him a seventh round pick. Other national outlets say he’s a mid-round pick at best.

They have as much knowledge of Romo as he has arm strength, but maybe that’s a sore spot.

“He’s done well at the NFL Combine,” said wide receivers coach Brian Flinn. “There’s a lot of things that aren’t measured. He’s a field leader. It’s exciting for us in the program it’s a testament to what he’s done.”

Flinn’s corps literally wound up on the receiving end of Romo’s success.

“He could make all the throws,” Flinn said. “He was a guy who very rarely put my guys in a bad spot. They all loved playing for him.”

No doubt some NFL receivers would love to be on the opposite end of Romo’s passes. He doesn’t have Michael Vick speed or a Daunte Culpepper arm, but why does that have to be what the league needs?

What happened to the need for a smart quarterback with the ability to read whole field’s defense with ease? Romo can do all that and more, but you won’t hear that on ESPN. Network analysts stop at the school he went to and the division he played in and sell him short.

Domercant rides in the same boat as Romo in a Rodney Dangerfield sort of way.

But in the end, even Eastern’s own experts buy into the predictions of everyone else.

“(Domercant can go) mid-second round,” Mackinson said. “There’s a lot of young talent in the first round. I could also see him going to Europe and then coming back.”