NBA Mock Draft 2012: Grading the Top Underclassmen Likely to Go Pro

March Madness has become a time when homage is paid to the many underclassmen who will make the jump to the NBA in the upcoming draft. 

While experience is a valued commodity, we find that most of this year's top prospects are ones who will forego part, or most, of their collegiate career.

Is it too soon for some?

Perhaps, but only time will tell.

For right now, though, the focus is on which of the top-rated underclassmen will go pro and what they can bring to the table in the NBA. 

Austin Rivers

School: Duke

Year: Freshman

Position: Shooting Guard

Height/Weight: 6'4", 200 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists

Grade: B-

Pros: Austin Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, is as fine a scorer as this year's draft class boasts.

He has a quick first-step, unmeasurable range and can score off the dribble or as a spot-up shooter. His ability to come through in the clutch cannot be discounted and he also handles the ball better than most point guards.

Cons: Rivers is a volume shooter, and must become more of a threat to pass. Opposing defenses are much different at the NBA level, and he must improve his shot-selection or risk seeing his field-goal percentage plummet. His effort on defense—fighting over screens, contesting shots, etc.—is still pretty raw as well.

Quincy Miller

School: Baylor

Year: Freshman

Position: Small Forward

Height/Weight: 6'9", 210 Pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 11.1 points, five rebounds and 1.5 assists 

Grade: C+

Pros: Quincy Miller is one of the deadliest spot-up shooters expected to enter the draft. In fact, with the ability to create off the dribble and thrive in isolation, he's one of the biggest overall offensive threats in the pool.

Cons: Even now, it's tough to completely buy into Miller's stock.

While Miller is a lights-out shooter, his shot-selection is worse than questionable and he lacks the athleticism and explosiveness that makes so many forwards successful. His injury history (torn ACL) is also a potential red flag. 

Miller's potential to grow has kept him amongst the nation's top underclassmen, but he is more of a roll-of-the-dice player than any of his comrades.

Meyers Leonard

School: Illinois

Year: Sophomore

Position: Center

Height/Weight: 7'1", 245 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 13.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks 

Grade: B

Pros: Meyers Leonard is 7'0" tall, and he doesn't let anyone forget it. He has great range and mobility for a big man, in addition to a deadly jump-hook shot.

Leonard is also a solid rebounder and an adept shot-changer on the defensive side of the ball. He has great anticipation in the low post, and the athleticism necessary to get up and send attempts the other way.

Cons: Leonard stands to get out-muscled in the paint. While he is great at boxing out, his rebounding totals could be higher if he packed on another few pounds of muscle.

Outside of shot-anticpation, his defensive abilities are subpar. He takes too many risks and finds himself out-maneuvered down low far too often.

Damian Lillard

School: Weber State

Year: Junior

Position: Point Guard

Height/Weight: 6'3", 195 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 25.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and four assists

Grade: B-

Pros: Damian Lillard is seriously athletic. He is an aggressive scorer who excels in transition, as well as in drive-and-kick scenarios.

The point guard also has a solid grasp of the game, great range and can spend time at the 2-guard position if needed.

Cons: Lillard lacks commitment on the defensive end. He is liable to get beat off the dribble and has a tendency to fall outside of the play altogether.

He has to become a better floor general as well. Despite a willingness to create plays, he is overly aggressive, or not aggressive enough, in his attempts to involve teammates. His passes often go awry and his assists per game are likely bolstered thanks to a supporting cast laden with strong perimeter shooters.  

Terrence Jones

School: Kentucky

Year: Sophomore

Position: Forward

Height/Weight: 6'9", 252 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 12.5 points, seven rebounds and 1.8 blocks 

Grade: B

Pros: Terrence Jones has a great wingspan (7'3") for his position. He is extremely athletic and possesses the necessary size to engage in battle down low.

Jones is also a terrific ball-handler, capable of assuming the point forward role on any given play. He is an above-average rebounder and an and-one threat whenever he draws contact.

Cons: Despite being a great finisher at the rim, Jones lacks the necessary low-post arsenal to set up camp, yet he isn't fully comfortable on the perimeter either. He must improve his percentage from the outside and find a way to extend his range.

Jones is predominantly viewed as a defensive threat and would increase his value by honing his offensive skills further.

Kendall Marshall

School: North Carolina

Year: Sophomore

Position: Point Guard

Height/Weight: 6'4" 195 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 7.8 points, 9.8 assists and 1.2 steals

Grade: B+

Pro: Kendall Marshall, perhaps the most unselfish and underrated player set to enter the draft, is a natural playmaker. He makes great decisions with the ball, and is an offensive catalyst who makes everyone around him better.

His passes are precise, he's a great pick-and-roll partner and has limitless range when he puts his scoring shoes on.

Everything he does is calculated and executed to the last detail.

Cons: Marshall tends to be too unselfish. He often passes up open shots in favor of delivering the ball to one of his teammates.

As an average defender, he can be tripped up rather easily. He is liable to fall for ball-fakes and doesn't possess the necessary speed to recover once beaten off the dribble.

He's also fresh off a fractured right wrist.

Jeremy Lamb

School: UConn 

Year: Sophomore

Position: Guard-Forward

Height/Weight: 6'5", 180 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists 

Grade: B+

Pros: Jeremy Lamb is perhaps the best off-the-ball player headed for the draft. He has superior range and an extremely quick release.

Lamb's perimeter defense is also superb. He is adept at breaking up passes and rarely lets a field-goal attempt go uncontested. His outlandish speed also allows him to make quick and sharp lateral movements.

Cons: Lamb is not especially skilled at creating his own shots, relying heavily on his ability to knock down shots coming over screens.

While he possesses the necessary size to play either the 2 or 3 at the NBA level, he must add some definition. Putting on some muscle would go a long way in helping him overpower defenders. 

Perry Jones III

School: Baylor

Year: Sophomore

Position: Power Forward

Height/Weight: 6'11", 235 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 14 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists 

Grade: B-

Pros: Perry Jones III is a bona fide matchup headache. He runs the floor extremely well and is one of the most athletic players making the jump to the NBA.

He is solid face-up scorer, who has nice range for someone his size, but is as explosive as anyone when he approaches the rim.

Cons: Jones relies mostly on athleticism to get him by. He doesn't have great anticipation on the defensive end, and doesn't block many shots for someone his size.

He must also put on some muscle if he hopes to have the opportunity to get to the rim at the professional level. 

Harrison Barnes

School: North Carolina

Year: Sophomore

Position: Small Forward

Height/Weight: 6'8", 215 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals

Grade: B+

Pros: Harrison Barnes is a terrific offensive player. He has one of the best step-back jumpers in the nation and can create his own offense against any type of defense.

Barnes' off-the-ball movement is also exceptional. His quick release renders him deadly coming over screens, and gives any team a player to feed down the stretch.

His rebounding and perimeter defense are stellar, and two of the more underrated facets of his game. 

Cons: Ball-handling has proved to be an issue with Barnes. He sometimes attempts to do too much and is susceptible to losing control of the ball. 

He also must expand his horizons on offense. He relies too much on his jumper and would benefit from attacking the basket with more frequency. 

Jared Sullinger

School: Ohio State

Year: Sophomore

Position: Forward

Height/Weight: 6'9" 265 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 17.6 points. 9.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals 

Grade: B+

Pros: Jared Sullinger is a banger. He hoards rebounds on both ends of the floor and is a defensive connoisseur.

The big man is also extremely versatile. He can score in the low post, but is also capable of stepping back and hitting the deep ball.

Perhaps most notably, Sullinger embraces dirty work—diving for loose balls, saving errant passes and grabbing rebound amidst an ocean of elbows.

Cons: He thinks he's stronger than he actually is. He forces up shots in the paint and plays right into the eyes of double-teams.

Bradley Beal

School: Florida

Year: Freshman

Position: Guard

Height/Weight: 6'3", 207 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 14.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists

Grade: B

Pros: Bradley Beal is an instinctive player on both ends of the floor. He has a fluid shooting-motion that has rendered him a threat from anywhere on the court and above-average play-making abilities that gets everyone around him involved.

Beal is one of the nation's best rebounding guards and is excellent at applying defensive pressure on the perimeter. 

The intangibles he brings to the court cannot be stressed enough. He exudes pure energy and does not need the ball in his hands to make an impact.

Cons: Beal can become complacent at times. He has the ability to do so many different things on offense, but far too often, he pulls the equivalent of a Steve Novak and hovers around the three-point line for what seems like an eternity.

He is also slightly undersized for someone who is best suited at the shooting guard position. 

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

School: Kentucky

Year: Freshman

Position: Small Forward

Height/Weight: 6'7", 232 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 11.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and two assists

Grade: B+

Pros: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is extremely versatile. He is a terrific rebounder and hounding perimeter defender who has a knack for causing key turnovers.

His play-making abilities rival that of any point guard's and he boasts the necessary toughness it takes to power through traffic and get to the rim.

Cons: Kidd-Gilchrist is wildly inconsistent on the offensive end. His perimeter shooting has more than enough room to grow, and he puts little lift on his jumpers, resulting in flat attempts that fall well short.

He also overuses his right side and must learn to go to his left if he wishes to succeed on the offensive end at the professional level.

Thomas Robinson

School: Kansas

Year: Junior

Position: Power Forward

Height/Weight: 6'10", 237 pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 17.9 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals

Grade: A-

Pros: Thomas Robinson is an athletic freak and has the physique to back it up. He is incredibly agile for his size and not afraid to put the ball on the floor.

He has exceptional range and should have no problem hitting the NBA three. Robinson is also an adept passer, especially from inside the paint, and ferocious rebounder.

Cons: Robinson's defense could use some tweaking as he has to develop into more of a shot-blocker. He also has a tendency to overpass and goes stretches where he hardly looks for his shot on offense. 

Andre Drummond

School: UConn 

Year: Freshman

Position: Center

Height/Weight: 6'10", 270 Pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 10.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks

Grade: A-

Pros: Andre Drummond is a skilled face-up shooter and can absorb contact while finishing around the rim. He's also the best offensive rebounder set to enter the draft.

Defensively, the center is respectable in the low post. He forces opposing players to make mid-shot adjustments and can swat away field-goal attempts with the best of them.

He has an enormous upside and the tools necessary to become a franchise big man.

Cons: Despite having a nice touch around the basket, Drummond's overall offensive game needs to be refined. He has to improve with his back to the basket and learn how to better utilize his size.

His footwork on both ends of the floor must be corrected for him to maximize his production potential.  

Anthony Davis

School: Kentucky

Year: Freshman

Position: Power Forward

Height/Weight: 6'10", 220 Pounds

2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 14.3 points, 10 rebounds and 4.6 blocks 

Grade: A

Pros: Anthony Davis is as fierce presence in the paint as we have seen in years. He is a shot-blocking and rebounding machine, and can put up points in bunches when he needs to.

He is also extremely quick, can finish in transition and has a great touch around the basket.

Without a doubt, he is a future NBA All-Star. 

Cons: Davis' mid-range game needs some work and he must pack on some muscle if he wishes to continue crashing the boards at the professional level.

Aside from that, nothing of major concern stands out. Unless you count the fact that the Bobcats cannot experiment with a tandem of he and Bismack Biyombo sooner, that is.

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