2011 NBA Draft: Harrison Barnes and the Top 10 Pro Prospects
Okay, Blake Griffin. Thanks for the show and the many highlights you provided for the SportsCenter "Top 10."
Landry Fields, it was great while it lasted, but with the entry of Carmelo Anthony, your team just does not have the spark it did before. Of course, everyone is still scoring, but no one is stopping the ball from going in the hoop.
John Wall—the party you received when you first got to Washington was bigger than your performance this season, but we all expect great things from you.
Now, it is someone else’s turn.
The rookies of this year, with the exception of Griffin, have not been as explosive as some of the preceding draft classes', but something tells me that no one will mention that issue when we see the players entering through the 2011 NBA draft’s doors.
Kyrie Irving, Nolan Smith and Jimmer Fredette are just a few of the names to watch as those players make their transitions from college basketball to professional hoops. It will be almost as exciting as when Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James all came in at the same time and took the league by surprise.
Who will be the overall No. 1 pick this year?
10. Jimmer Fredette
1 of 10
Before you chop my head off, let me explain myself. If you did not get a chance to watch the Florida vs. Brigham Young game last night, take a gander. Watch how easy it was for Florida’s defense to dismantle Fredette’s offense, and then consider whether or not he will be in the top five for the draft this year.
Everyone knows that the NBA is where "amazing happens," but it is also where people—front-office executives included—live in the heat of the moment.
Fredette was hot the entire season, but one slip of the ball here or there in the tournament will make general managers go back through every tape they have obtained of him and pick apart every defensive play (or lack thereof).
Fredette is a pure scorer, but similar to Carmelo Anthony, he also comes with a resistance to defense and an inability to move the ball like a point guard.
He will be successful in the league, but no team with a top-five pick will risk putting all of their chips on a one-trick pony.
9. Terrence Jones
2 of 10
Jones’ performance in the Maui Invitational ensured his position as a lottery pick, but since then, he has had issues with fading into the background and not being able to find that explosiveness that he had shown before.
He has only averaged 11 points and six rebounds in the tournament so far and his talent will surely be tested in a battle against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Jones has the ability to be the type of immediate-impact player that a lot of teams in the NBA need right now, but whether or not he will consistently tap into it is a question that general managers will need to think about.
The most he can do at this point is prove that he is the same player scouts saw performing in Maui. He is receiving a lot more attention than he was receiving earlier in the season, and he needs to find a way to elevate his game by making good decisions and getting his teammates involved more.
He can be utilized off and on the ball, and if he figures out a way to showcase his talents, he will be among the top 10 draft picks for this year.
8. Perry Jones
3 of 10
I placed Perry Jones at the No. 8 spot simply because he lost a lot of his appeal being unable to play in the tournament. Even Baylor’s athletic director—citing the handling of Ohio State’s and Auburn’s NCAA violations—could not get Jones eligible for a Big 12 tournament that the Bears may have won with him on the floor.
This is where the situation gets sticky, because moral issues always play into the decisions of the NBA franchises when they select "the next big thing" in their future.
This is like Cam Newton’s situation. Even though Jones was not found guilty of anything, the decisions that a family member made are still looming over his head and will undoubtedly affect his draft stock.
The impermissible benefits that Jones and his family received will obscure his talent and will make it more difficult to argue for his right to be a top draft pick.
7. Harrison Barnes
4 of 10
Even though he is leaning towards returning to school, I am still going to place him in my top 10 just in case. Barnes has a great game and shows more consistent form now than he did at the beginning of the season. He is developing range that might put his team over the top in the rest of the NCAA tournament.
With all of that said, the biggest question for him (and every other college player looking to advance his career into the pros) is: Is he NBA-ready?
You can attack that question from a few different angles to form an argument for and against him.
He does not quite have the ability to drive with either hand that you need to be effective in the NBA. Players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and LaMarcus Aldridge all show incredible balance and ability to drive, favoring either side of the body when necessary.
On the other hand, when he does attack the basket, you can almost guarantee that Barnes is going to score—whether the ball goes in or not—because he wriggles his way between defenders so that the only way to defend him is to foul him and send him to the line.
6. Markieff Morris
5 of 10
In the previous seasons, Markieff Morris was simply the other twin. Well, that is far from the case this season, as he is performing more powerfully at the power forward position and expanding his skill set in the process.
One of the issues keeping him from rising in the draft is the fact that he still selects his shots poorly. He has range beyond the three-point arc, but he takes way too many shots in a game and needs to stop just settling for those long-range jumpers.
Operating in the paint is still not something that he seems entirely comfortable with, but his ability to finish in the transition offense is enough to make any team look at him once, twice and then again.
His brother, Marcus Morris, may be a better all-around player than him, but I project that Markieff will be drafted higher because his potential is greater.
5. Kemba Walker
6 of 10
If he had been performing the entire season like he has in the last eight games of the Big East tournament and the NCAA tournament, I would have him at the overall No. 2 position.
But, he has not.
Walker has the "clutch gene" that we have seen in the likes of Kobe Bryant and operates very well off of the ball. He was another one of the spotlighted players in the Maui Invitational, where no one expected UConn to make much noise.
He has taken the Huskies from underdogs to, in some cases, favorites.
Walker has the speed to get into the paint and draw defenders, creating opportunities for his teammates, but also creating free-throw opportunities for himself because his opponents go for his pump fakes time and time again, no matter how much tape they have watched.
Why?
He is so dangerous offensively that you have no choice but to guard with everything you have.
His size may prove to be a problem in the league and he still has a lot of work to do as far as decision making goes.
4. Nolan Smith
7 of 10
While Duke’s most seasoned guard exited the court in tears after being routed by the Arizona Wildcats’ monstrous Derrick Williams, Smith does have something else to look forward to.
He is one of the most complete players in the draft and, while his plays may not always make you rise to your feet like those from Kemba Walker or Jimmer Fredette, he gets the job done just as well.
When he was asked to shoulder a heavier responsibility in taking on the combo role in Kyrie Irving’s absence, it seemed like the team would begin to fall. But, in his last season as a Blue Devil, Nolan Smith refused to allow that to happen, making a huge case for the Naismith Award in the process.
He has great size that will allow him to defend and operate effectively with the defense tossed at him in the pros. His high basketball IQ has allowed him to improve on his playmaking abilities for himself as well as those surrounding him.
Smith needs to be able to play a more intense and physical game in order to be successful in the NBA.
3. Derrick Williams
8 of 10
Maybe if Williams was put on television a lot more, he would have been able to make a run at the Naismith Award this year, because he has done way more than prove himself.
Why is he such a great candidate for the NBA? Because there is no consistent way to guard him.
Even if you foul him, you could be sending him to the line with two points, because he can make the contested layup or mid-range jumper. He is a standout, and it is unfortunate it has taken this long for him to get his due.
Williams was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year, and rightfully so. Honestly, I believe that, if put into the right system, he can be more effective than the NBA's most coveted big man, Dwight Howard.
Williams is a paint presence and he makes an unbelievable 60.3 percent of his three-point attempts.
He almost single-handedly destroyed Duke in the Sweet 16 tournament game that everyone in the world just knew that Duke would dominate, especially with Kyrie Irving and Nolan Smith playing side by side.
There are not many, if any, downsides to Williams' game.
2. Kyrie Irving
9 of 10
Irving plays at a pace that keeps the defenders guarding him off balance and allows him to put forth that signature move, slipping around, splitting defenders and making the driving layup. He was thrown for a loop after sustaining a toe injury and sitting out almost the entire season leading into the tournament.
Does that hurt his draft stock? Not at all.
What happened when he was on the court is magical enough to stick in the minds of anyone making draft arguments for him.
Duke was an unstoppable force when he was off the court. Unfortunately, his return to the team threw the Blue Devils off of their game and allowed teams to take advantage of the somewhat crippled offense.
He is an elite-level prospect because of his size, ability to push the pace of the game and knack for distribution that you only see in the professional league now. Irving will be mentioned with the likes of Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo in his rookie year.
1. Jared Sullinger
10 of 10
So what if the Ohio State Buckeyes did not go undefeated in the regular season? They are the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament, Big Ten regular season champions and Big Ten tournament champions.
Playing in a physical conference like the Big Ten, Sullinger has experienced his share of hits and body bang-ups, taking each and every one in stride, never allowing his emotions to get the best of him and producing on an elite level at the free-throw line.
He uses his size—but mainly his rear—to box-out defenders and give them two options: Either allow him to dunk or hack him and send him to the foul line, where he shoots 70.2 percent.
He lost a lot of weight, but that does not limit his effectiveness in the paint. On the contrary—in late-game situations, he uses his defensive skill—without fouling—to keep the other team’s offense on the perimeter.
One would think that because of his size, he lacks the athleticism of some of the other players surrounding him, but that is not the case.
Sullinger has the speed to make his way up and down the court with his opposition and can finish with either of his hands at the rim. He has a mid-range jumper that may not be as polished as he would like, but it is good enough to make him a threat on every level.
