NBA Draft 2012: Players Who Surprisingly Slipped out of the 1st Round

The NBA draft can be full of surprises and some of those biggest surprises involve players free falling through the first round and into the second round. 

This year’s draft saw talent like Perry Jones III and Arnett Moultrie take some falls, but both players ended up being taken in the late first round. However, there were still several players who had hopes of being selected in the first 30 picks but found themselves anxiously waiting for Adam Silver to call their name in the second round instead.

Let’s take a look at five players in particular who slipped through the cracks and into the second part of the draft.

5. Quincy Miller, SF, Baylor

Miller is a raw, young prospect out of Baylor which is partly why many teams opted to go for more polished players with their first-round selections.

A good fit for Miller could have been the Thunder at 28th overall, but OKC selected the best player available in Perry Jones III instead.

The primary concern for Miller was his torn ACL from his senior year in high school, which is something that is obviously not easy to recover from.

He will need some work before he can come in and contribute, but if he is given the right time and coaching to develop, Miller could fulfill his potential and overcome his past injuries.

4. Will Barton, SG/SF, Memphis

This was another possible missed opportunity for the Bulls since Barton is also a talented 2-guard who could have helped them vastly. 

Besides just scoring, Barton is a good perimeter defender who can contribute on both ends on the court. 

The Bulls could have used him but decided to go with Marquis Teague to fill in for the injured Derrick Rose.

Besides the Bulls, Barton could have easily found himself with the Heat or Warriors to add more depth and versatility to their offense.

While not a sure fire first-rounder, it was still surprising to see several teams pass on Barton, who should be able to transition nicely into the league.

3. Mike Scott, PF, Virginia

Like Green, Scott is a bit undersized for the power forward spot, but he could prove himself to be a contributor in the league.

He is a great post scorer and has shown a very versatile game down low. Averaging 18 points a game last season to go with 8.7 rebounds gave Scott a solid amount of stock coming in, but this year’s class was populated by talented big men and Scott simply couldn’t climb his way up through team workouts.

Questions about his past ankle injuries certainly contributed to his drop as well as his age (23 years old), but Scott could definitely help out the Hawks off the bench next season.

2. Jeff Taylor, SG/SF, Vanderbilt

By going first in the second round, it’s clear to see that Taylor was definitely a player who could have been selected in the first round.

The senior shooting guard/small forward from Vanderbilt is an excellent shooter who could have helped the Bulls or Grizzlies with his services.

Instead, Taylor dropped to the lowly Bobcats, who are definitely the most desperate team in this draft. He should be able to get some good playing time in Charlotte considering where their team is at talent-wise, and he may be able to show the teams that passed on him why he deserved to have his name called by David Stern.

1. Draymond Green, PF, Michigan State

Green was considered to be a late first-rounder for an elite team looking to add depth at the power forward position.

However, he instead went in the early second to the rebuilding Golden State Warriors, who desperately needed some backup big men.

While he is a bit undersized, Green is still an efficient rebounder who can score the ball well. His fall wasn’t too shocking, but it was most likely impacted by the fall of Perry Jones III who the Thunder selected 28th overall. Chances are, if Jones III was picked up, OKC might have gone for Green who would fit in nicely under the veteran leadership of the Thunder’s bigs.