NBA Draft 2012: Picks Besides Anthony Davis That Will Contend for Rookie of Year

Anthony Davis will go No. 1 in the upcoming draft, but other prospects are looking to make that pick look bad.

Davis won every award there was to win during his only season in college basketball, but the other players projected to go to lottery teams also have the skills to explode in the pros.

Here are three players with NBA-ready games who can win Rookie of the Year in the 2012-13 season.

Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas

Robinson gave Davis a serious push in the National Player of the Year voting and led Kansas to the National Championship game against Davis and Kentucky.

He averaged 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds in his junior year while shooting just over 50 percent from the field.

Davis has an NBA body at 6’10” and 237 pounds. He also has a complete offensive game and can hit jump shots or back down his defender.

Robinson is a fiery leader with all the necessary tools to start and make an immediate impact wherever he lands. If he ends up in the right situation, he will have a great rookie year.

Bradley Beal, SG, Florida

Beal’s ability to light it up from the perimeter is unequaled in this draft class.

The lights-out shooter averaged 14.8 points for Florida last year. He is undersized for a shooting guard at 6’3”, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that by the way he plays. He routinely gets in the lane and scores and also pulled down 6.7 rebounds per game for the Gators.

He plays bigger than he is and is a pure scorer. He will likely go in the first five picks and will get plenty of playing time and touches on the offensive end for one of the NBA’s bottom-dwellers. 

Beal has the talent to become his team’s first scoring option during his first year, and if that happens, he’s got a great shot at winning the Rookie of the Year. 

Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina 

Barnes is one of the most complete prospects in the draft. 

He can score from anywhere on the floor and has perfected his mid-range game. He can also defend and rebound at a high level. He has prototypical size for a wing player at 6’8” and 210 pounds.

Few players in the draft can impact a game at both ends of the floor like Barnes can. He is also very coachable and has the manners and humility that are typical of a Roy Williams-coached prospect.

His character and well-rounded game will allow him be successful right away wherever he goes, and he will compete with every rookie across the league.