NBA Draft 2012: Ranking the Biggest Potential Busts

If you shudder at the word "bust," just imagine what these 10 players likely to be selected at the front end of the 2012 NBA draft will do when they hear the word years down the road.

No college player is ever a sure thing, even though prospects like Anthony Davis may seem to be guaranteed to have success at the next level. Things change as time moves on. That's a sure thing.

But some players have more potential to be busts than others, and these 10 take the cake.

Read on to find out who they are.

10. Kendall Marshall

School: North Carolina

Position: Point guard

Year: Sophomore

Vitals: 6'4", 195 pounds

2011-2012 Per Game Stats: 7.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 9.7 assists

Just a few days ago I would have put Kendall Marshall near the top of a list like this. But after he proved his value in absentia against Ohio and Kansas, I couldn't help but move him down.

Despite the obvious value he has in making a stellar North Carolina Tar Heels offense flow, Marshall still has a lot of bust potential.

After all, he still hasn't proven that he can score on a consistent basis, and his defense is porous at best. While his passing and facilitating skills are off the charts, it's hard to get by in the NBA with only one elite skill when the rest of them are significantly below average.

9. Thomas Robinson

School: Kansas

Position: Power forward

Year: Junior

Vitals: 6'10", 237 pounds

2011-2012 Per Game Stats: 17.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists

Including Thomas Robinson in these rankings is bound to be controversial.

I want to be perfectly clear that I don't expect T-Rob to completely flop in the NBA. I'm just not sure that he'll ever be able to justify the seemingly inevitable top-five draft status.

Robinson is NBA-ready right now both in terms of skills and physical presence. He's had one hell of a season for the Kansas Jayhawks, and that may very well carry over to whichever team drafts him. My only problem is his upside.

In a draft littered with high-ceiling players, I'm not sure that Robinson has the upside necessary. Can you really see him improving that much over his current form?

8. Jeremy Lamb

School: Connecticut

Position: Shooting guard and small forward

Year: Sophomore

Vitals: 6'5", 180 pounds

2011-2012 Per Game Stats: 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists

Jeremy Lamb is an insane athlete and a very good prospect, but his numbers have been rather meaningless for a Connecticut team that fell off a cliff during the second half of the collegiate season. This sophomore displayed absolutely no leadership skills and never got the Huskies back on track, despite the fact that he was his team's most talented player.

This was never on better display than during the Round of 64, when Connecticut forgot what day it was playing and showed up an hour late to the game, falling behind in the early going by an insurmountable margin.

Lamb scored enough points to have a good-looking stat line, but the numbers were empty once more, as many came once the contest was already decided. Then, with the final seconds ticking off the clock, Lamb went for a windmill jam and was rejected by the rim—a fitting end that represented both the UConn game and season as a whole in just one play.

7. Terrence Jones

School: Kentucky

Position: Small forward and power forward

Year: Sophomore

Vitals: 6'9", 252 pounds

2011-2012 Per Game Stats: 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists

Terrence Jones is fantastically skilled across the board and has the ability to single-handedly take over a game—something that everyone clearly noticed when they made him a preseason All-American after just one season in Lexington.

But Jones has disappointed throughout the year thanks to his inconsistent play. He lacks the ability to get his head in the game during each and every contest, which is a major red flag for someone with his level of skill.

Drawing comparisons to the pre-Dallas Mavericks version of Lamar Odom (remember how highly he was thought of when he was entering the league), Jones could easily become an All-Star in the NBA. But he could just as easily decide he doesn't care that much and create problems like another former Kentucky Wildcat named DeMarcus Cousins, just minus Cousins' level of play.

6. Quincy Miller

School: Baylor

Position: Small forward

Year: Freshman

Vitals: 6'9", 210 pounds

2011-2012 Per Game Stats: 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists

Quincy Miller may end up being drafted in the lottery portion of the 2012 NBA draft, but his freshman season for the Baylor Bears doesn't really justify that status.

Miller struggled throughout the year after a fantastic start to his first season in Waco, culminating in a benching during the second half of Baylor's final game, an Elite Eight loss at the hands of the ridiculously talented Kentucky Wildcats.

This young man has the length and skill necessary to be a stud, but I'm of the opinion that statistical justification of a pick should come before the pick itself and not just after.

5. Austin Rivers

School: Duke

Position: Point guard and shooting guard

Year: Freshman

Vitals: 6'4", 200 pounds

2011-2012 Per Game Stats: 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists

Austin Rivers was the only player on the Duke Blue Devils who could create a shot for himself on a consistent basis. That won't be the case no matter which team Rivers ends up on in the NBA, and the combo guard is going to have to dramatically change his style of play to mesh with the new offense.

While he improved towards the end of his freshman season under Mike Krzyzewski, Rivers would be better off staying in college for at least one more season. He still turns the ball over far too often and makes bad decisions in all facets of the game.

Plus, Rivers' collegiate legacy is going to be forever tied to one shot: his game-winner against the hated North Carolina Tar Heels. One shot should not have a serious impact on draft position.

4. Royce White

School: Iowa State

Position: No idea

Year: Sophomore

Vitals: 6'8", 270 pounds

2011-2012 Per Game Stats: 13.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists

Royce White made the first weekend of the NCAA tournament into his own personal coming-out party, as he dominated the Connecticut Huskies and then performed admirably against the bigger and better Kentucky Wildcats.

Possibly the most versatile player in the country, White has the ability to shoot from outside, run the point, break a full-court press, post up a bigger defender and so much else. There's a reason that I listed his position as "No idea." I honestly have no clue.

The sophomore member of the Iowa State Cyclones is listed as a forward, but he could end up playing point-forward at the NBA level or even become a full-time guard if that's what the team that drafts him requires.

But despite all that, White remains a possible bust because of his mental problems. He's always suffered from anxiety, and it's been crippling at times, something that may prove to be a major factor when he's forced to board planes and travel on road trips.

3. Perry Jones III

School: Baylor

Position: Power forward

Year: Sophomore

Vitals: 6'11", 235 pounds

2011-2012 Per Game Stats: 14.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists

I can't say it any better than NBC's Rob Dauster, who provided the single best explanation of Perry Jones III I've seen. Here it is:

"

That right there is the issue with PJ3. Consistency. The kid has all the talent in the world, and he showcased it for 15 minutes in the second half before he fouled out of the game. He’s good enough to be some combination of Blake Griffin, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki, yet there are elongated stretches of time where he is nonexistent. For every play that leaves you in awe, there is a point where you say to yourself, “wait, Jones is on the floor right now?”

"

2. Harrison Barnes

School: North Carolina

Position: Small forward and power forward

Year: Sophomore

Vitals: 6'8", 215 pounds

2011-2012 Per Game Stats: 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists

It's amazing just how well this 2012 NCAA tournament has epitomized Harrison Barnes' flaws as a prospect. First the positives, though.

Barnes is a terrific shooter and one of the best scoring prospects we've seen in quite some time. I've been infatuated with this sophomore forward ever since he first emerged on college radars and was highly recruited. He truly does deserve to be called a future NBA player, but he hasn't proven that he can be a star quite yet.

As soon as Kendall Marshall went down with a fractured right wrist, Barnes struggled with his shot even more than he had during the North Carolina Tar Heels' first two games of March Madness. The forward has always had difficulty creating his own shot, and this was even more evident with Stilman White passing to him instead of Marshall.

My other big knock on Barnes throughout his second year with the Tar Heels has been his lack of passing ability. He was averaging just one assist per game throughout the season going into the year's final tournament.

Although he dished out four dimes in each of UNC's last two games, Barnes also turned the ball over eight times, almost negating all the good that he did with his passing.

1. Andre Drummond

School: Connecticut

Position: Power forward and center

Year: Freshman

Vitals: 6'10", 270 pounds

2011-2012 Per Game Stats: 10.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists

Andre Drummond has seemingly been locked into the No. 2 draft slot for most of the season, but his grasp on that specific selection is tenuous at best right now.

The freshman big man still has massive upside and an NBA-ready body, but at some point a player has to prove something in college before he can hope to see what the highest level of the sport has to offer. Drummond hasn't proven much at the collegiate level, and there's no shot at him changing that unless he decides to return for a postseason-less sophomore year at UConn.

During his one and only March Madness game, a 77-64 loss to Iowa State that wasn't as close as the score indicates, Drummond was an offensive non-factor, scoring two points on 1-of-4 shooting from the field. He did have four blocks, but that's the one thing he's been consistent about all year long.

In a draft where almost everyone has upside but most players have at least proven that they belong in the lottery, I'd settle for one of the safer options if I was a general manager.

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