NBA Draft 2012: 5 Players Whose Games Won't Translate to the NBA

Breaking news: Some of the 2012 NBA draftees won't make it at the next level.

And it won’t necessarily be because they have lousy work ethics. Or because they have hitherto gotten by on potential without production.

Sometimes the things a prospect has done very well, for a very long time, simply don't work in the league.

Kemba Walker, Wesley Johnson, Hasheem Thabeet, Jonny Flynn, Michael Beasley, Corey Brewer, Adam Morrison, Randy Foye, Sean May, T.J. Ford, Drew Gooden and Marcus Fizer—they all were household names as college prospects, but quickly found themselves in the NBA’s lower class once their shortcomings, athletic or otherwise, were exposed.

To that end, here are five players in the 2012 draft class who thrived as amateurs but will soon find the NBA to be a whole other ball of wax.

Thomas Robinson

School: Kansas  |  Year: Junior  |  Age: 21  |  Born: March 18, 1991  |  Position: PF
Height: 6’9”  |  Weight: 240  |  From: Washington, DC 

Here's the problem and it's a rather immutable one: Robinson isn't long enough to thrive inside or polished enough to do work outside. He's a nice athlete, sure, but hardly a freak. Which means that to play a face-up game, as he wants to and surely must, he'll need a respectable jumper.

Unfortunately, he connected on only 35 percent of his jump shots during his junior year.

Add to this the fact he isn't yet a passing threat (1.8 assists per game last season), and it becomes fairly obvious what Robinson wants to do on the basketball court: use his good-but-not-elite first step to get to the basket where he is an excellent finisher with either hand.

The NBA eats one-dimensional prospects for breakfast, as we've seen, and Robinson will struggle once defenses learn to take away what he does best.

Damian Lillard

School: Weber State  |  Year: Junior  |  Age: 21  |  Born: July 15, 1990  |  Position: PG
Height: 6’2”  |  Weight: 195  |  From: Oakland, CA

Bad news: Lillard's best-case scenario is that he becomes a player most teams can't use.

Focusing first on his strengths, he's a highly athletic point guard with an excellent shot. He thrives in transition. And he's a dangerous scorer in the pick-and-roll which bodes well for his transition to NBA half-court sets.

Unfortunately, he's also only 6'2" and has questionable point guard instincts. And since we've seen all but the most elite score-first point guards fail to carve roles in NBA rotations, it would be pie in the sky to project Lillard as a starter on a playoff team.

Particularly when his performances against better competition haven't been good. In Weber State's only games against notable teams this season (BYU and Cal), Lillard averaged 14.5 points on 31 percent shooting. That's an ominous sign for a score-first point guard who hasn't shown he can make other players better.

Austin Rivers

School: Duke  |  Year: Freshman  |  Age: 19  |  Born: August 1, 1992  |  Position: SG
Height: 6’4”  |  Weight: 200  |  From: Winter Park, FL

I'm loath to pile on Austin Rivers when his many detractors have done such a thorough job of it already. He is a fine player, after all, who possesses a trait that so many others lack: a fearless approach to big moments in big games.

That said, it's hard to know what Rivers will be good at in the NBA. He used his athleticism to great effect in high school but saw it neutralized by longer and quicker players at the college level. And his shot is no great shakes from any distance (43.3 percent FG / 36.5 3P / 65.8 FT).

He projects as a shooting guard without elite size, athleticism or a reliable jumper; the NBA's mediocre class is littered with such prospects.

Any team that takes him in the lottery will be gambling on the possibility that his basketball IQ and instincts compensate for his skill set, which is a significant gamble indeed.

John Henson

School: UNC |  Year: Junior  |  Age: 21  |  Born: December 28, 1990  |  Position: PF
Height: 6’10”  |  Weight: 220  |  From: Round Rock, TX

What John Henson does well, he does very well. The 6'10" power forward was a tremendous shot-blocker in college (2.9 per game in his junior season), second only to consensus No. 1 draft pick Anthony Davis in this regard.

He's extremely long and athletic and has the potential to be a defensive difference-maker in the NBA.

The question is what to do with him on offense.

His jump shot is shaky at best, and at a wiry 220 pounds, he's a long way off from doing damage in the post (if he ever does). He showed signs of improvement as a scorer over his three-year tenure at North Carolina but will spend his first few seasons in the NBA without a true offensive identity.

Even his defensive impact will be mitigated if he can't put on weight. NBA guards and big men alike have learned that the best way to counter a shot-blocker is to initiate contact with his body. Right now Henson lacks the stature to stand his ground and will be a foul machine in the early goings.

Mo Harkless

School: St. John's |  Year: Freshman  |  Age: 19  |  Born: May 11, 1993  |  Position: PF
Height: 6’8”  |  Weight: 208  |  From: Queens, New York

At 6'8" and 208 pounds with excellent length and run/jump ability, Harkless is as athletic a wing as any in this year's draft class.

Interestingly, he spent much of his one season at St. John's playing power forward and center, where he used his first step and his motor to beat opposing big men to the basket.

The problem is that he was given little opportunity in this role to refine his raw skill set. Entering the draft, he has an unreliable jump shot (21.5 percent from three) and virtually no ball-handling skills. And having averaged just 1.5 assists per game he has a long way to go as a passer.

In the NBA his physical gifts will be matched, if not neutralized entirely, and it's hard to see how Harkless will play significant minutes until his core competencies develop.