NBA Rumors: It's Too Soon to Consider Michael Kidd-Gilchrist as No. 1 Pick

We still have a long way to go until the 2012 NBA Draft, but it's never too soon to start getting familiar with the players who might be selected with the No. 1 overall pick.

In this discussion are players like North Carolina small forward Harrison Barnes, Baylor power forward Perry Jones, Kentucky big man Anthony Davis, Ohio State power forward Jared Sullinger and so on and so on.

However, another Kentucky player is on the rise. NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper had the scoop on Wednesday:

If you're looking to know more about Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, all you really need to know is that he's a freshman forward who is in the midst of a pretty great season for the Wildcats. He entered Wednesday's action averaging over 13 points and nearly eight rebounds per game.

Given the amount of star power John Calipari has at his disposal at Kentucky, it's oftentimes easy to lose sight of Kidd-Gilchrist. At other times, you can't keep your eyes off him. Kentucky's win over Louisville on New Year's Eve is a good example, as Kidd-Gilchrist dominated that game with 24 points and 19 rebounds.

So yes, there are times when it's easy to get excited about Kidd-Gilchrist. Judging from Howard-Cooper's report, NBA executives are excitable folk.

But let's all take a deep breath and calm down here. As good as Kidd-Gilchrist is, it's a little too soon to anoint him.

Kidd-Gilchrist has gotten off to a hot start, but there's a lot of basketball still left to be played this season. Kentucky has only played about half of its regular season schedule, and after that will come the SEC tourney and then the Big Dance. It remains to be seen if Kidd-Gilchrist is going to be able to finish as hot as he's started.

The other thing we should all keep in mind is that Kidd-Gilchrist has a lot of talent around him at Kentucky. Anthony Davis is a stud, and so are Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb. In fact, all three of them could be first-round picks if they all go pro.

By comparison, there's a lot of pressure on players like Perry Jones and, say, Jared Sullinger to be the guy every night. To boot, both of them are considerably more polished than Kidd-Gilchrist.

Concerning talent alone, I'll admit that Kidd-Gilchrist has the goods to be a star in the NBA. If he's not the No. 1 overall pick, he'll certainly be a top-10 or maybe even top-five pick.

But it's too early to tell if Kidd-Gilchrist is cornerstone-type player that a wayward franchise could build around.

We'll find out if he is in the coming months.