2012 NBA Draft: Predicting the 2013 NBA All-Rookie First Team Selections

With the NBA Draft order on the precipice of setting Wednesday evening, we're about to embark on everyone's favorite part of the draft process:  endless mock drafting.

Over the coming weeks, we'll be inundated with daily, hourly, minutely mock drafts that all promise to have the latest, breakingest, most up-to-the-datiest news on where everyone is heading.  

Don't take my snarkiness as being dismissive, though, because I'm not immune to mock draft fever either. You'll be seeing my one and only (excessively long) mock draft during the week of the draft.

But, when it all comes down to it...none of us know anything until draft night (besides Anthony Davis going to whomever wins the lottery), because the NBA draft is always in a never-ending flux of swapped picks, rights trades and the occasional trade involving veterans.

Something we all want to know about the draft process that may be more accurately predicted is who is going to be good in their rookie season.  Well, all I can promise is this:  In making my (super early) predictions for 2013's All-Rookie First Team squad, I'll try to be less wrong than the endless stream of mock drafts we'll be reading in these coming weeks...

Guard: Damian Lillard (PG, Weber State)

Every year there is a player I'm completely indifferent towards heading into the draft process that I fall in love with by draft night.

Lillard, who started the pre-draft process as the No. 3 point guard on my Big Board (No. 16 overall), quickly became this year's guy and now sits comfortably as my top-rated point guard.  

The moment you start watching Lillard's game tape, what stands out is his ability to create a scoring opportunity anywhere on the floor.  

He finished second in the NCAA in scoring with 24.5 PPG, and that's thanks to his otherworldly ability to work into the lane and create his own shot off the dribble.  Lillard also extended his range over his three years at Weber State and shot nearly 41 percent from three-point range last season.

Obviously, the Big Sky isn't the NBA, and the steep increase in quality of competition will create an adjustment period.  But Lillard has translatable skills that should serve him well as a rookie.

Look for a Rodney Stuckey stat line from Lillard next season, which would make him a First-Team Rookie Team selection in any year.  Also look for me to dislocate my shoulder patting myself on the back next season while conveniently omitting the fact I co-signed Al Farouq-Aminu two years ago.  

Guard: Bradley Beal (SG, Florida)

There is a small groundswell among scouts saying that UConn's Jeremy Lamb or Syracuse's Dion Waiters could end up as the draft's best shooting guard over Beal, the long-assumed top dog.

Waiters even had one scout telling ESPN's Chad Ford, "There are really only two potential superstars in this draft. One is a sure thing -- freshman Anthony Davis. The other one is Waiters. He can be an electric scorer in the NBA. There's some Dwyane Wade in him." 

That's a quote that would make anyone's eyes go cartoonishly bulge.

Although I like Waiters and Lamb just fine, my money is on Beal.  His tape still shows me the gorgeous jumper and athleticism that made Beal the 2011 Gatorade National Player of the Year.  

And while his numbers were disappointing across the board in his only season as a Gator, Beal was the unquestioned go-to guy on a team that made it to the Elite Eight.  No other guard in this draft can say that.  

Forward: Jared Sullinger (PF, Ohio State)

You have to wonder, considering Sullinger's status as a mortal lock top-three pick last April, whether he regrets coming back to Ohio State for his sophomore season.  

Most mock drafts now have Sullinger as a fringe top-10 selection after his struggles against Kansas in the Final Four gave a national stage to mounting concerns about his ability to athletically compete at the NBA level.  

And most scouts would be right to feel wary about an undersized natural center with athleticism that is average at-best.  They look at Sullinger and fear Glen Davis.

But Sullinger is already far more skilled in the post than Davis ever was, coupled with a burgeoning face-up game.  Sullinger won't ever sell you tickets or be a superstar at the next level, but he'll be an instant contributor who could probably start on Halloween night.

Forward: Thomas Robinson (PF, Kansas)

Robinson, like Sullinger, is a little undersized at the next level.  But unlike Sullinger, Robinson's freakish athletic ability helps make up for his shortcomings.  

Always an elite defender and rebounder in limited minutes, Robinson flourished last season as Kansas' leader and defensive anchor, while adding a mid-range game and vastly improving on other areas on the offensive end.  His mid-range shot still needs some work and his offensive IQ is still average, but those are skills that can be developed over time.

Robinson will most likely come into a situation where he's needed to step in and start or play heavy minutes early on. But most scouts view him as the draft's second-most NBA ready prospect behind Anthony Davis, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Forward: Anthony Davis (PF, Kentucky)

Let's pretend that you don't know that Davis is the consensus No. 1 overall pick, a future Defensive Player of the Year and an ardent supporter of Frida Kahlo. 

Let's continue this charade by saying that I was having doubts about putting Davis on this list and had to come up with a pros and cons list of why Davis' rookie campaign will go well.

Here's what it would look like.

Pros:

- 2012 Rupp Award recipient (National Player of the Year)

- National champion.

- 2012 National Championship Game MVP

- Set an all-time NCAA record for blocks by a freshman (186). 

- Used to play point guard, so turnovers shouldn't be a problem at the next level.

- Shot 62.3 percent as a freshman.

- Led the nation in PER at 35.71.

- Larry Brown thinks whichever team drafts Davis will win 50 games based on his presence alone.

Cons:

- I didn't enjoy looking at him while typing this paragraph.