2011 NBA Draft: Grading Kyrie Irving and All Potential Lottery Picks
With the 2010-2011 NBA regular season continuously moving forward and March Madness in full swing, it's time to really start thinking about the NBA draft.
The bright lights of the NCAA tournament set up the perfect stage for the potential lottery picks to show off their skills and shine in front of the entire nation. Some succeed and improve their draft stock while others succumb to the pressure and give a little hint about what they might do in the professional ranks.
For the purposes of this slideshow, I've graded the top 20 potential lottery picks based on their play during March Madness. That means that players like Alec Burks of Colorado and Perry Jones of Baylor, who are not participating in the Big Dance, are not included. Similarly, foreign players were left out.
You're going to see a lot of high grades as you read on, but that's to be expected since we're only talking about the cream of the crop here.
So without further ado, read on and feel free to leave a comment if you feel so inclined.
Chris Singleton
1 of 20
After recovering quickly from a fractured foot, Chris Singleton made a surprising return to the court and has helped guide the Florida State Seminoles to a Sweet 16 appearance.
His minutes have been extremely limited as he's played just 26 of them in the two games combined. While on the floor against Texas A&M and Notre Dame, the junior scored just five points and pulled down only four rebounds.
But his biggest contribution is always on defense, as Singleton is arguably the best defensive player in the country. And as expected, teams have had difficult scoring when No. 31 is playing.
However, it remains to be seen how he'll play with increased minutes. The Seminoles will need a productive outing from him if they're going to knock off the blazing VCU Rams.
Grade: Incomplete
Kyle Singler
2 of 20
Despite his great production, Kyle Singler just isn't talked about as much as Nolan Smith and Kyrie Irving are.
But no matter how much the general public forgets about Singler, opposing defenses can't afford to do the same thing. The senior was quietly productive in both games thus far.
Singler scored 11 points and grabbed three rebounds in the second-round game against Hampton and then went for 13 points and eight rebounds against Michigan.
The best is yet to come for him though.
Grade: C+
Tyler Honeycutt
3 of 20
In his last game of the tournament, an eight-point loss to the Florida Gators, Tyler Honeycutt failed to leave a lasting impression.
Sure, his 13 points are nothing to laugh at, especially considering that's more than he averaged throughout the season, but the fact that Honeycutt shot only four-for-14 is not very impressive.
Honeycutt also was kept off the glass for much of the game and ended up with just three rebounds and four assists to go along with his scoring.
Florida is a good team and it's tough to do much against the Gators' defense, but Honeycutt didn't exactly go out with a bang.
His 16 points, six rebounds and five assists in the second-round victory against Michigan State help to redeem him, but the last impression is the most important one.
Grade: B-
Terrence Jones
4 of 20
The Kentucky Wildcats didn't get as much out of Terrence Jones in their first game as they would have liked. In a tight game against the upstart Princeton Tigers, Jones only managed to score 10 points and grab two rebounds. No assists and a turnover didn't do much to help make his day look good.
Jones helped redeem himself against West Virginia though. The freshman put up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while adding three assists and no turnovers.
He'll have to step up his game even more though if the Wildcats are going to be able to hang with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Grade: B-
Tristan Thompson
5 of 20
It's hard to grade the freshman center's performance during March Madness because he was so inconsistent between the two games.
Tristan Thompson absolutely shut down Oakland star Keith Benson with seven blocks during the second-round contest and even added a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He was efficient, got an assist and didn't ever turn the ball over.
Simply put, he was sensational.
Then he disappeared in the next game, a one-point loss to the Arizona Wildcats. Thompson took only four shots and made just one. He scored a putrid three points and pulled down six rebounds. The four blocks he recorded were the only saving grace.
Grade: B
Jordan Hamilton
6 of 20
Jordan Hamilton produced about the same numbers as he did throughout the course of the regular season, but he won't be remembered for his 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in a win against Oakland and a loss to Arizona.
Instead, Hamilton will be remembered for calling an inopportune timeout at the end of the Arizona game, allowing for the possibility of a five-second violation on the ensuing inbounds pass.
Had he elected to refrain from putting his hands together in a "T" and instead just accepted the fact that he would be fouled, Texas might still be alive. Hamilton is, after all, a 78-percent free-throw shooter.
He was productive, but made a costly mistake.
Grade: B
Brandon Knight
7 of 20
No matter how you spin it, Brandon Knight was pretty bad in his first March Madness game. The big lights clearly got to the freshman point guard as Knight only made one of his eight field-goal attempts. To go along with those two points, he added two rebounds, five assists and one turnover.
He, more than anyone else, was the reason that Kentucky couldn't put away Princeton with ease.
Knight did come back with a vengeance against the Mountaineers of West Virginia, scoring a career-high 30 points. The explosiveness was ever present in that game, but three rebounds, four assists and four turnovers hindered an otherwise great performance.
Grade: B
Trey Thompkins
8 of 20
Trey Thompkins may have scored 26 points and grabbed 11 boards in a hard-fought 68-65 second-round loss to the Washington Huskies, but as has been the case throughout the season, the numbers don't tell the whole story.
Thompkins failed to show too much fire at the end of the game and never really took over. I still feel as though he's capable of dominating a game, but that's been a rather unfounded belief to this point.
Still though, this was a very productive game for the junior and will not be a bad way to go out if he chooses to go pro.
Grade: B+
JaJuan Johnson
9 of 20
So the 16 points and 16 rebounds that JaJuan Johnson put up in the first round are very impressive on paper. But then when you remember that the stats came against St. Peter's and that the 6'10" forward was a solid three inches taller than anyone on the opposing team, it would kind of be embarrassing if he did anything less.
Then Johnson posted 25 points and 14 rebounds in Purdue's next game. The problem this time was that the Boilermakers fell to VCU, 94-76, in a game that probably wasn't even as close as the score indicated. Once again, the numbers are a bit tainted.
Johnson showed how he can stuff a stat sheet, but when you dig deeper, he wasn't really quite as impressive as he was at first glance.
Grade: B+
Nolan Smith
10 of 20
In my opinion, Nolan Smith was the absolute best player in college basketball this year. Yes, better than even Jimmer Fredette and Kemba Walker. But that is a debate for a different time.
Smith only played 24 minutes in the second-round match with Hampton, but he still managed to score nine points, grab two boards and dish out seven assists.
Then he took over down the stretch in a tight game against Michigan and ended up with 24 points, four rebounds and two assists. When Smith is on fire, watch out.
His crossover is absolutely unstoppable and he always seems to make good decisions. I had a friend compare him to a young Kobe Bryant who passes.
That's high praise indeed.
Grade: A-
Kawhi Leonard
11 of 20
Kawhi Leonard hasn't been sensational yet in this tournament, but the do-everything forward for the San Diego State Aztecs has been quite good in each of his two games.
Playing Northern Colorado in his second-round matchup, Leonard scored 21 points on nine-for-14 shooting and grabbed 10 boards to boot. He also dished out two assists and turned the ball over just once.
Then, against Temple, Leonard almost had another double-double, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds. Most importantly though, he was a key player in the end of a close game.
Grade: A-
Jared Sullinger
12 of 20
Jared Sullinger has only averaged 25 minutes per game so far during March Madness, but that's only because the Buckeyes have held humongous leads early in each game.
Despite the limited playing time, the surefire Freshman of the Year has posted near double-doubles in both the game against Texas-San Antonio and the contest with George Mason (if you can call it a contest).
The big man scored 11 points and yanked down nine boards in his first game and then put up 18 and eight in the second. There is just no stopping Sullinger in the low post.
Grade: A
Marcus Morris
13 of 20
Other than his 0.5 assist-to-turnover ratio through two games, it's tough to find fault with Marcus Morris' performance in the Big Dance.
Marcus has taken over during both of the Kansas Jayhawks' matchups. In the second-round game against Boston University, Morris put up a very solid 16 points and nine rebounds on seven-for-13 shooting. Then, against Illinois, he improved in both categories and posted 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Not bad for the better of the two twins.
Grade: A
Markief Morris
14 of 20
Markief Morris may not have been able to equal his brother's production during the regular season, but this twin is coming on strong when it really matters.
Against Boston University, Markief knocked down five of his 10 field-goal attempts for 15 points. He also had eight rebounds, two assists and two turnovers. But he was just getting warmed up.
When it was all said and done and the Jayhawks had knocked off Illinois, the box score revealed that Markief had put up an astounding 24 points and 12 assists. Even more impressively, he made 10 of his 13 shots from the field.
A couple more good performances could boost Markief over Marcus on a few draft boards.
Grade: A
Harrison Barnes
15 of 20
Harrison Barnes has continued his torrid pace, extending his run of double-digit scoring games through the first two games of the tournament.
Knocking down nine of his 19 field-goal attempts in both of the Tar Heels' wins, Barnes scored 24 points against the Long Island Blackbirds and then 22 against the Washington Huskies to advance to the Sweet 16.
In addition to utilizing his sweet shooting stroke, Barnes pulled down 16 rebounds in North Carolina's first game but only two in his second. The talented freshman has also had more turnovers than assists in each game, but he has led the team to two wins.
Grade: A
Kenneth Faried
16 of 20
Facing tough competition in March Madness with a second-round matchup against Louisville and a third-round contest with Richmond, Kenneth Faried proved that he can play with the big boys.
In a one-point shocker against the in-state Cardinals, Faried posted yet another double-double, pulling down a ridiculous 17 rebounds and putting up 12 points. Then, in the loss to the Spiders, college basketball's all-time leading rebounder grabbed another 13 rebounds and logged 11 points for yet another double-double.
He may only be 6'8", but Faried is a double-double machine who NBA scouts are sure to love.
Grade: A
Kyrie Irving
17 of 20
Did anyone in the world expect Kyrie Irving to come back for the Duke Blue Devils' second-round game against Hampton and lead the team in scoring? I certainly didn't.
After three months of sitting on the bench, Irving scored 14 points in his first game back and then added another 11 in the Blue Devils' next game. Now he's expected to see increased minutes in the upcoming matchup with Arizona.
The most impressive shot Irving has made thus far is the runner he made in the lane to take a lead in the closing minutes of the Michigan game. With the game on the line, the freshman who hadn't played in months still had the confidence to take a tough shot, knowing two future Duke legends' careers rode on whether or not he made it.
Irving is scary good.
Grade: A+
Jimmer Fredette
18 of 20
As if we didn't already know that Jimmer Fredette could score, he went out and proved it once more during each of his first two games in the 2011 edition of March Madness.
Jimmer has become such a celebrity now that he is really only being referred to by his first name. His quickness and incredibly accurate outside shooting have definitely helped with that achievement.
In the second round, playing against Wofford, Jimmer put up 32 points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out seven assists. His second game, a win against the red-hot Gonzaga Bulldogs, resulted in even better stats when the guard scored 34 points, pulled down two rebounds and racked up six dimes.
In that second contest, Jimmer knocked down 11 of his 23 shots, giving him a much more efficient game than normal.
He's been asked to score and he has.
Grade: A+
Kemba Walker
19 of 20
And the run continues.
Kemba Walker has been unstoppable for what seems like forever now. You can add Bucknell and Cincinnati to the list of teams that have tried and failed to slow him down.
First, Walker showed that he can actually pass by racking up 12 assists to go along with his 18 points and eight rebounds against Bucknell. Then he took over the scoring load against Cincy and dropped a 33-spot against the Bearcats. Six rebounds and five assists made that box score look even more full.
Teams are still left scratching their collective heads about how to stop Kemba.
Grade: A+
Derrick Williams
20 of 20
A potential first-round pick, the nation's most efficient player has lived up to the hype so far.
Derrick Williams scored 22 points on six-for-11 shooting against Memphis and also pulled down 10 rebounds. After knocking down a late three-pointer, Williams had the game-clinching block to pick up where he left off after the Pac-10 tournament.
Then, against Texas, Williams helped the Wildcats pull off an upset by scoring 17 points and grabbing nine boards. No play in the one-point win was bigger than his incredible three-point play to take the lead with just 9.6 seconds left to play.
Averaging 19.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.0 game-saving/winning plays per game thus far, Williams has been the best player in the tournament.
Grade: A+
