NBA Draft 2012: 8 Prospects Whose Stocks Are Free-Falling

With the ping pong balls of the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery getting ready to start popping, the focus will quickly shift from the draft order to the draft prospects. 

Teams will fall in love all over again with prospects that dominated in college, teams will ignore questionable habits displayed in college games in favor of jaw-dropping workouts and some players will inevitably find themselves sliding on draft day due to one concern or another. 

The following eight players currently seem to be on the downward swing.  Don't be surprised if you see some surly faces from these players as they slide down the first round on draft night. 

Perry Jones

Perry Jones is the textbook definition of an NBA project. 

With all the athleticism in the world, a mountain of potential and tremendous length, Jones has the tools to be a machine on both ends of the floor. 

Despite all the promise, the sexy and sleek Ferrari will be useless if the engine doesn't work all the time.

Jones' motor and work ethic has repeatedly come into question—a red flag on a prospect as raw as Jones. 

Is the inconsistency in effort a chronic problem that will forever plague Jones or merely a byproduct of Jones' age and immaturity? 

The problem is something Jones could eventually outgrow, but is significant enough to make several teams pass on Jones. 

Harrison Barnes

The general consensus on Barnes' stock is more mixed than the other players on this list, but the major concerns with Barnes are enough for teams to be wary of drafting him. 

Barnes seemed to completely disappear at various crucial moments during the 2012 NCAA tournament.  Like Jones, his motor and motivation are often called into question, and his effort can be inconsistent. 

Barnes also has an incredibly hard time creating his own shot, possibly making teams without a prototypical distributor at point guard shy away from Barnes. 

Kendall Marshall

While Marshall's problem with dropping stock is the same as Perry Jones', the reason is completely different.

Jones' effort and dedication to the game are questionable, while his ceiling is astronomically high.

On the other hand, Marshall is a fiery and dedicated floor general with top-notch passing skills and superb court vision, but with a ceiling that would make Spud Webb claustrophobic. 

Who Kendall Marshall will be in the NBA is much easier to predict than most of his counterparts in the 2012 NBA Draft—a pass-first distributing point guard with a nearly nonexistent scoring ability. 

Teams that are not knocking on the door to the playoffs will undoubtedly be looking for a player with much more potential to grow than Marshall appears to have. 

Andre Drummond

The player comparison that nbadraft.net chose for Andre Drummond says it all. 

Drummond is compared to Amar'e Stoudemire and DeAndre Jordan.   

Drummond certainly seems to be a feast-or-famine player.  Whichever team is lucky enough to pick in the top three to five in the 2012 NBA Draft may not be willing to take such a monumental risk with Drummond. 

Drummond is excellent at finishing close to the rim and has the quickness and athleticism that is reminiscent of Dwight Howard.  But like many young prospects, he has maturity issues and shot an ungodly 29 percent from the free-throw line. 

Drummond's drawbacks make selecting him in hopes he puts it all together considerably less tempting. 

Jared Sullinger

Although Sullinger is likely to have a long and productive career, his precipitous drop in terms of NBA draft consideration has been the most noticeable.

Last year, Sullinger was getting buzz as a possible No. 1 pick and would've almost certainly gone in the top five had he entered the draft after his 2011 campaign at Ohio State. 

Sullinger opted to stay another year in school and now is in danger of falling out of the lottery altogether.

Sullinger has an impressive offensive arsenal and has a wide, powerful body ideal for his physical style of play. 

Sullinger also has the vertical leap of a sumo wrestler with a neutron star in his pocket. 

Meyers Leonard

Leonard is not without a significant amount of assets, but he seems to lack a true identity as a basketball player. 

Leonard has impressive length, quickness and court vision and is a more than capable interior defender.  But Leonard seems to be in the dreaded "jack of all trades, master of none" classification that can turn some NBA teams off.

Leonard also lacks a true go-to move offensively and has had questions raised about his motor and his confidence. 

Dion Waiters

Waiters will struggle to avoid being typecast in the same bench role in the NBA that he played so well in college. 

Despite Waiters' ability to spread the floor with his spot-up shooting, his free-throw percentage (70 percent) was much lower than you would expect from a "shooter." 

Waiters also lacks the ideal size for an NBA shooting guard and could run into trouble being guarded by taller shooting guards. 

While some predict Waiters to be a late lottery selection, he could easily be available at selection 20 and beyond. 

Doron Lamb

Lamb was part of a dominant starting five for the national champion Kentucky Wildcats.  Ironically, being paired with so many talented player such as Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will likely end up hurting Lamb's draft stock. 

How many teams will write off Lamb's college production as a byproduct of being paired with so many immensely talented players?  More than you think. 

Lamb is a shoot-first point guard who will find himself caught betwixt the point guard and shooting guard positions. 

His wily and crafty style is in the "old-school" mold of play, which is a refreshing change from the norm, but may cause Lamb to be a less than ideal fit with many NBA teams.