NCAA Basketball: Five Players That Need One More Year Before the NBA

Recently, more and more College players have been leaving their respective colleges early to enter the NBA draft, and for many players such as Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans, it has proved to be the right choice. However jumping to The League early isn't for everyone, so here are five players that could use another year in college before making the jump to the NBA.

Derrick Favors—While he is projected as the No. 2 pick in the draft behind only John Wall, it sometimes looks like Favors could still use another year in college. Favors is averaging 11.5 points and 8.6 rebounds in his freshman year at Georgia Tech, but doesn't exactly have the most polished offensive game. While he is capable of beating the majority of Power Forwards that he goes up against, it isn't because a good set of post moves, it is simply because he is a freakish athlete. He is projected as a top-five pick because of his rebounding and shot blocking abilities, and because of his incredible upside. However with one more year at Georgia Tech he could polish his offensive game, and with John Wall gone, he would most likely be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 Draft.

Ed Davis—Davis who is a sophomore at UNC and has seen a jump in his numbers from his Freshman to sophomore seasons. Averaging only 27 minutes a game, Davis has managed to put up 14 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. Davis is seriously lacking in experience, and although he is a good rebounder and is extremely long Davis could definitely benefit by showing NBA scouts he can take over a game. I would expect Davis to move into the top-two pick range if he were to continue to develop just one more year at North Carolina.

Xavier Henry—Henry was one of the top recruits of this years freshman class. While averaging 13 points per game in just over 26 minutes as a Freshman Henry could definitely gain some great experience being a little higher up on the Kansas totem pole. Right now Henry is anywhere from 3rd to 5th on the list of KU's go to guys and with Collins graduating and Aldrich expected to leave Henry could be come the go to guy. If Henry decides to stay one more year and proves that he can be KU's go to guy then his draft stock would sky rocket into a top 10 and possible top 5 pick.

Willie Warren—When Warren announced that he would stay at Oklahoma for his sophomore year, NBA Scouts and Big XII coaches alike expected him to explode and lead Oklahoma into the NCAA Tournament. However with five games under 10 points, all except one which his team lost Warren is turning out to be someone we didn't think he was. He is inconsistent and struggles to lead his team as is shown by his assist to turnover ration of 1.1. Warren could use yet another year in college to prove to scouts that he can run a team more efficiently than he has proved this year. Needless to say, Warren has some major improvements to make before he proves himself an NBA ready guard.

Ekpe Udoh—Going into the year Udoh was a relatively unknown transfer leaving Michigan for Baylor. Since then Udoh has climbed on to the national scene by averaging a double double and tacking on 4.2 blocks per game. Ekpe used his red-shirt year wisely and has emerged a better shot blocker, a better rebounder, and even a better scorer. Udoh has multiple post moves that he can go to and also sees the court better than any big man I've ever seen. There are three main reasons I think it would benefit Udoh to stay in college and here they are: 1) To continue to work on his offensive game to become more of a scoring threat, 2) Because this draft is very Power Forward heavy and he would probably move up the draft board on another year, 3) Because I want him to continue to play basketball in Waco because he is a joy to watch.

Now whether these players stay in School or not is completely up to them, but I believe they could all improve their draft stock by working on their game at the college level for one more season.