NBA Draft 2012: Fab Melo and Other Steals on This Year's Board

Even outside of Kentucky's Anthony Davis-Michael Kidd Gilchrist tandem at the top of this year's draft board, there are plenty of appealing options across top to bottom, all of whom could make an immediate impact in the league.

The teams outside of the lottery have just as good a chance of landing quality talent as the Charlotte's and Washington's that will be selecting near the top. The NCAA produced so many viable options this year that there will be enough for every team to choose from.

Here are some of the steals who could fall to the bottom of the draft order but could make just as much of an impact as the guys at the top.

Fab Melo, C, Syracuse

The Syracuse center has been blamed by many for the Orange's inability to go all the way in this year's NCAA tournament: He was suspended indefinitely by the NCAA for academic violations, ruling him out for March Madness, and top-seeded Syracuse bowed out in the Elite Eight. On Thursday, the Brazilian 7-footer announced that he is declaring for the draft, ending a short career with the Orange.

During his breakout sophomore year, Melo averaged 7.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, leading the Big East in the category. He finished the 2011-12 season with 88 total blocks and helped the Orange start the season 20-0 en route to becoming the conference's defensive player of the year.

Melo projects to be a late first-round pick as a very physical, very mobile center with long arms and good defensive instincts. He has a lot of room to grow offensively, but with a little bit of development, he can be a dominant presence in the middle.

Marquis Teague, PG, Kentucky

He was one of the anchors that helped the Wildcats win the national championship this year, yet he got a fraction of the attention afforded to some of his teammates. Head coach John Calipari has talked extensively about how much of Teague's development this season revolved around learning how to make his teammates better instead of trying to do everything himself, and that unselfishness is precisely what will help him succeed in the NBA.

Teague, at 6'2", currently projects as the fourth-best point guard available in this year's draft, according to ESPN.com's Chad Ford. In 40 games with Kentucky, he averaged 10.0 points, 4.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.7 turnovers in 32.6 minutes per game. He showed great improvement as the season progressed, and most importantly, he played some of his best basketball during the Final Four.

At 19 years old, Teague is still young and still could use some development in terms of his shooting and decision-making, but on a Kentucky team stocked with talent, he proved that he is very coachable and can make his teammates better.

Austin Rivers, SG, Duke

He entered the 2011-12 season as the top high school prospect and, breaking with Duke tradition, will leave just one year later. Celtics coach Doc Rivers' son is projected as a late lottery pick and the third best shooting guard. This season, he averaged 15.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game for the Blue Devils, disappointing numbers to some.

Rivers has often been lauded for his maturity and his confidence, which exceed what is typically expected of a player in his peer group. Some, however, interpret that as cockiness. The drawbacks with Rivers center around his mediocre athleticism and his size (6'4"), and though he was one of the more impressive freshman scorers this season, he exhibited some of the warning signs you hate to see in young players: lackadaisical defense and a hesitance to get the rest of his teammates involved on the court.

Rivers has taken a lot of flak for modeling himself after Kobe Bryant and failing to live up to the All-Star's skill level, but he has still managed to impress a lot of NBA GMs, and if he can continue to develop his shot and his work with his left hand, he has the potential to be a star.