NCAA Final Four Stocks

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UCLA have produced many NBA stars.

UCLA                                  North Carolina

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar            Michael Jordan

Bill Walton                         Rasheed Wallace

Reggie Miller                       Vince Carter

Baron Davis                        Antawn Jamison

Jordan Farmar                     Brandon Wright

Trevor Ariza                       Jerry Stackhouse

Jason Kapono                     Raymond Felton

                                        Sean May

The list goes on.............

Some of the top prospects in the nation finished battle and some came home winners and others losers. I have decided to highlight some of UCLA and UNC's top players that hvae declared for the 2008 NBA Draft.

Lets begin with UCLA. 

Darren Collison viewed by some as the best point guard in the country only coughed up 2 pts in mintues on one-9 shooting in his 3^rdconsecutive NCAA Final Four appearance and his last season in college. Supposedly a great defender, Darren Collison got dominated by Derrick Rose whose Memphis' team beat UCLA to advance to the National Championship game.

Collison looked uncomfortable out on the floor and looked like a deer in the head lights, time after time as he allowed Derrick Rose score a Final Four high 25 points to go along with 9 assists and 4 rebounds. Darren averages 14.5 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 2.6 RPG. Judging from this showing, Darren Collison will fall several spots and will be projected as a late first rounder, early second round. 

Kevin Love was limited to 12 points and 9 rebounds on 4-11 shooting. Not at all as dominant as he was in the Pacific Ten Conference. Love was frustrated by the athlectic forwards of Memphis and will see tougher matchups than that in the NBA. The Pac-10 Player and Freshman of the Year, averaged 17.5 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 1.4 BPG for the UCLA Bruins. His full court chest passes and 3pt shooting are certainly weapons that pro teams like. Expect Kevin Love to be a mid first round draft pick as he is one of the best rebounders in the draft.

Tyler Hansbrough was also less than All American putting up 17 and 9 rebounds. Hansbrough's most important stat is free throws. Tyler normally averages about 10 free throw attempts a game. He only had 6 against Kansas. Averages of 22.6 PPG, 10.9 RPG, and 0.4 BPG. Hansbrough hustles night in and night out, but many teams in the NBA are concerned that he will get pushed around in the post and will not have enough of an intimidation factor to be a force in the post. My prediction is that he will be a first round pick but not a good player in the next level.

North Carolina’s floor general and magic maker Ty Lawson only shelled out 9 points on 2-8 shooting. Even though his performance was nothing but lackluster, there will always be a team that will gamble on speed and playmaking ability. Ty averaged 12.7 PPG, 5.2 APG , and 2.7 RPG. Lawson will still be a first round pick with him obviously going to a team that needs a point guard.