NBA Draft 2012: 7 Big-Name Players Who Must Be Avoided in the 1st Round

The 2012 NBA Draft is loaded with potential.

Analysts have been raving about this year’s crop of NBA talent for months. If the hype is to be believed, nearly every team will instantly improve as a direct result of this year’s draft pick.

However, that is highly unlikely.

Every year sees a number of players selected early in the draft who are unable to figure out how to find success in the Association.

The following seven guys are those players this year.

John Henson, PF, North Carolina

In three years at North Carolina, John Henson bulked up significantly. Now his 6’10” frame holds 220 pounds of weight—still nowhere near enough to survive as a big man in the NBA.

That leaves Henson playing as either an undersized power forward or an under-skilled small forward.

Henson is not a good shooter (See: .483 career free-throw percentage), nor does he have confidence shooting from beyond the arc (See: three-point attempts dwindle from 18 as a freshman to 0 as a junior).

He rebounded and blocked shots well in college, but as he becomes more and more overpowered in the NBA, he will spend less and less time around the basket.

Doron Lamb, SG, Kentucky

By being Kentucky’s best shooter, Doron Lamb’s draft stock skyrocketed.

He was in the perfect situation, surrounded by fellow collegiate superstars.

Lamb is a guy who can knock down triple after triple.

But that is all he can give you.

At 6’4” and 200 pounds, Lamb does not have prototypical shooting guard size. That will leave him in trouble on the defensive end of the floor when he is forced to guard either bigger shooting guards or quicker point guards.

Lamb lacks explosive speed and quickness, and he cannot do much off the dribble.

The team that gets Lamb gets a shooter and little else.

Fab Melo, C, Syracuse

The team that picks Fab Melo gets an NBA-sized center and the best name in the draft.

That team also gets a player that does not produce up to his potential who comes with a lot of baggage.

At 7’0” and 255 pounds, Melo averaged less than eight points and six rebounds per game in college. Yes, Syracuse played in a difficult conference, but with that much size a college big man needs to do more.

Defensively, Melo has the size and shot-blocking ability to be a force immediately—when he’s on the floor. Too often, Melo goes for shot fakes and gets himself in foul trouble.

Unfortunately for Melo, foul trouble is the good kind of trouble for him to get into.

The Syracuse center was unable to be there for his team when it mattered most—in the NCAA Tournament—because he couldn’t get the job done in the classroom and was ruled ineligible. He was also suspended earlier in the season for similar missteps.

If Melo can’t cut it when it matters most in college, there’s no reason he can be trusted to do so in the pros.

Terrence Ross, SG, Washington

Terrence Ross was an above-average scorer and rebounder for the Washington Huskies during his sophomore season.

He made big strides from his freshman season, during which he was underwhelming.

But statistically his numbers were skewed. The skinny swingman put up a lot of shots to get his 16.4 points per game against below-average competition during a down season in the Pac-12.

Ross has not shown much creativity in creating his own shot off the dribble. While he has the ability to get hot from deep, he can also hurt his team by overshooting from that range.

NBA guards defending Ross will have little difficulty limiting his production at the next level.

Tyler Zeller, PF/C, North Carolina

This North Carolina big man has a good range of offensive tools.

But for the finesse game Tyler Zeller brings to the table, he completely lacks the strength needed to play in the NBA.

Zeller will regularly get muscled out of position on the low block when he tries to post up.

Defensively, Zeller will be overmatched on a nightly basis. NBA centers will simply be too strong for him to defend and they will bulldoze through him on their way to easy baskets.

Perry Jones III, PF, Baylor

Perry Jones has the ultimate drool-inducing package for NBA scouts: Athletic big man with great length and explosiveness.

Those same traits have defined a great many NBA Draft busts, from Jonathan Bender to Darko Milicic.

He has the ability to score both inside and outside. But he has not crafted either area to the point where he will be effective in the NBA.

In fact, Jones seemed to stagnate—if not regress—from his freshman season to his sophomore season. That is not how you want to segue from college to the pros.

Jones has the body and athleticism of an All-Star. But he does not appear to have the skill or mindset to become one.

Marquis Teague, PG, Kentucky

Family heritage works in Marquis Teague’s favor, as his older brother plays point guard for the Atlanta Hawks.

But Marquis will have his work cut out for him making his own name in the NBA.

During his one season at Kentucky, he averaged nearly three turnovers per game, compared to just under five assists a contest. He does not take care of the ball well enough to run an NBA team, nor does he pass well enough.

Also, for a true point guard, Teague takes too many shots and doesn’t make enough of them. He averaged 8.8 field goal attempts per game last year—and 10.0 PPG.