NBA Draft 2012: 7 Players Falling Down Draft Boards

The NBA season is winding down, which means it’s playoff time. Playoff time also means there are those teams that weren’t good enough to make the cut and are beginning to piece together their draft boards for the upcoming NBA draft.

The draft is a great way for teams to quickly upgrade the talent on their roster and make a postseason push the next season. That also means teams have to be very selective about which prospects they select with their limited number of picks.

Selecting a bust could potentially set back a team for years, and that won’t get said team any closer to the postseason. Every draft is littered with potential busts, and this year isn’t any different in that regard.

There are many risers and fallers in this year’s draft. The fallers make their descents for a variety of reasons. Injuries, competition, potential, attitude and work ethic are typically the main contributors to a decline in draft stock.

Here are seven players falling down draft boards as the 2012 NBA draft approaches.

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Andre Drummond, PF, UCONN

Andre Drummond was slated to go very early in the first round of the upcoming draft. His tremendous upside and prototypical NBA size at 6’10” and 270 lbs had him in the Top Five when looking at the draft.

That changed after his mediocre tournament performance. He averaged 10 points per game during the regular season, but he was essentially a no-show at the tournament as his squad was bounced from contention quickly.  

Drummond isn’t a Top-Five pick anymore at this point. He’ll still go early in the first, but he isn’t the consensus Top-Five pick he used to be.

JaMychal Green, PF, Alabama

JaMychal Green had a chance to be taken considerably early in this year’s draft based on size and talent alone. There is no lack of quality big men in the NBA, so teams without said big men are always looking for prospects like Green who can fill that void.

The senior wasn’t lacking experience, but he seemed disinterested at times down the stretch of the season and allowed small-school players to get the best of him in the tournament. He will still be selected, but it won’t be until the mid to late second round now.

Kevin Jones, PF, West Virginia

Another senior makes this list, which is a bad sign. Kevin Jones had another absolutely dominant year at West Virginia while he averaged about 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. Now the dust is finally starting to settle from that stellar season.

At first glance the numbers are great, there’s no questioning that. But now that teams are having the chance to watch the film on Jones, they realize he dominated against mostly inferior competition and was the lone star on a horrendous team.

Jones has potential in the NBA, but he isn’t going to be drafted high.

Fab Melo, C, Syracuse

As stated earlier, the NBA has a plethora of quality big men, so teams are always looking to add more.

The general consensus was that Fab Melo could be a quality big man after a few years of grooming. He has great NBA size standing at 7’0” and 255 lbs, but had mediocre numbers last season after averaging only eight points a game.

Melo excels at shot-blocking, but his lack of offensive production for a prospect his size is alarming. And the fact he was ineligible for the tournament and his team proceeded to make a run in his absence only adds to the list of reasons Melo’s stock is plummeting.

Marquis Teague, PG, Kentucky

Marquis Teague is yet another Kentucky point guard that has been placed under the national microscope recently. What has been discovered about Teague’s game hasn’t been to the liking of NBA scouts.

It became very apparent throughout the course of the season and into the tournament that Teague struggles with decision-making. He’s an aggressive player that has a tendency to create his own shot rather than find and involve his teammates.

This brings up the question of whether he can play point guard at the next level. He doesn’t have the size to play shooting guard, so his stock is taking a hit.

John Henson, PF, North Carolina

John Henson is by no means a bad prospect. In fact, he’ll likely do quite well in the NBA once he is given a fair shot.

Unfortunately for him, he is joining a draft class that is absolutely stacked at his position, which in turn is causing his stock to take a hit.

Add in the fact that Henson is extremely thin for his position at 6’10”, 220 lbs, and there could be a recipe for disaster here. There’s no doubting he is a talented player, but it appears teams are questioning his ability to be effective down low and stay healthy for the entirety of a rigorous NBA schedule.

Perry Jones, SF, Baylor

Perry Jones has had a tumultuous draft ride so far. Earlier in the year he was projected as a lottery pick, but that seems to be changing with alarming regularity. There are a few important reasons for that change.

While Jones is a freak athlete with unlimited upside, he’s still a project. It’s hard to justify selecting a project in the lottery of the draft. Considering his unimpressive outing in the tournament, it is easy to see why Jones won’t be taken until the mid to late first now.