NBA Draft 2011: Power Ranking Kemba Walker and the Toughest Prospects to Defend
Each NBA prospect brings a different set of skills to the table, but each and every member of the 2011 draft class has the potential to become a valued member of a professional team.
Some players are great defenders, others are masters at crashing the boards. Some are just simply nightmarish for defenders to try to guard.
It's that last set of players that we're going to focus on with this slideshow. As you've guessed by now, Kemba Walker is one.
But who are the other nine, and does Walker actually rank at the top of the class?
10. Norris Cole
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Even though most people haven't heard of him and he's probably going to be drafted at the beginning of the second round, Norris Cole is still one of the hardest people to guard in the 2011 NBA draft.
Cole was an absolutely prolific scorer at Cleveland State, averaging 21.7 points per game during his senior season for the Vikings. He managed to improve his points per game during each of his four years at the collegiate level, going from 4.9 to 13.3 to 16.3 to 21.7.
With picture-perfect shooting form and a great jump shot, especially when he's coming off the dribble, the guard is very difficult to cover. He also has great athleticism and the explosive quickness necessary to burst past his defender.
9. Chandler Parsons
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Chandler Parsons may not be a gifted scorer, but he was a matchup nightmare while at Florida and will continue to boggle opposing coaches' minds when they try to figure out how to guard him.
The Gator only averaged 11.3 points per game as a senior last season, but there's more to offense than simply scoring. Parsons, a 6'10" forward with the ball-handling and outside-shooting skills of a guard, could crash the offensive glass as well as anyone and made good, smart passes all season long.
I'm not entirely sure yet how he'll fit in the NBA. Truthfully, it depends a lot on which team drafts him. But regardless of where he goes, Parsons will find his way onto the court and be tough to guard.
8. Jon Leuer
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Another big man with outside-shooting skills, Jon Leuer was one of the most offensively versatile players both on Wisconsin's talented roster and throughout the entire country.
The 6'10" power forward has a good array of post moves but can also step all the way back to the three-point line and drain three-pointers with the best of them. He used that inside and outside game to average 18.3 points per game while playing for one of the most efficient offenses in the nation.
His footwork and dribbling skills are already very good and will only improve. There weren't too many power forwards in the country that could keep up with Leuer, and the same will hold true in the NBA.
7. Jordan Hamilton
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With great strength and speed to boot, Jordan Hamilton can comfortably run the point, play shooting guard or small forward and even body up against power forwards in the low post.
But the 6'7" sophomore from Texas is best suited at either shooting guard or small forward thanks to a silky-smooth jump shot and the instincts of a scorer.
During his second season in Austin, the California native averaged 18.6 points per game while shooting a fairly efficient 44 percent from the field. Hamilton has a good bit of work to do on his game, especially his ball-handling skills, which are somewhat weak for a potential 2-guard in the NBA.
But after all, Hamilton is only 20 years old and has plenty of time to work out the kinks in his game. Right now, the things he brings to the table make him a very attractive pick who could work his way up into the lottery.
6. Trey Thompkins
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People have questioned Trey Thompkins' intangibles and athleticism, but not his scoring ability and versatility. After all Thompkins averaged 16.4 points per game during his junior season for the Georgia Bulldogs and could do it all on offense.
It wasn't uncommon to see the power forward handle the ball and help break full-court presses before passing the ball back off to a guard so he could set up in the paint. Thompkins struggled from behind the arc this season but has demonstrated in the past that he can drain balls from downtown.
When it comes to his post game, though, no player in this draft has a better arsenal of moves that can completely fool a defender.
Polished and skillful are the best words to describe his offensive game.
5. JaJuan Johnson
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Much like Chandler Parsons, JaJuan Johnson is a 6'10" power forward who is fully capable of doing anything that a coach asks him to do on offense. As a senior for the Purdue Boilermakers during the 2010-2011 campaign, Johnson averaged 20.5 points per game on 49.4 percent shooting, his least-efficient output since he was a freshman.
His jump shot is still shaky at best and he needs to work on his post moves, but Johnson's size makes up for his lack of skill in some areas. He is also quite athletic and quick, both signs that he will be quite difficult to guard in fast-break situations.
Because of the lack of finish on his offensive game, Johnson is most likely going to be selected as a project player towards the end of the first round.
If everything goes according to play, the Boilermaker could prove to be quite a steal.
4. Jimmer Fredette
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The best shooter in college basketball during the 2010-2011 season, Jimmer Fredette had absolutely unbelievable range and would commonly "Jimmer it" from at least five feet behind the three-point line.
Playing against a rather weak Mountain West Conference, Fredette managed to dominate the competition to a tune of 28.9 points per game.
Now before I continue, I just want to make it clear that I really like the guy and I hope he's successful at the next level. I just have a lot of reservations before giving him my full endorsement.
Here are the problems. First of all, Fredette has displayed absolutely no ability on the defensive end of the court. It remains to be seen whether this is a byproduct of poor skill or whether his coaches just never asked him to put forth maximal effort on anything but offense, but without defense it will be tough for him to stay on the court in the NBA.
Then there's the fact that Fredette is not particularly big, quick or athletic. He can just shoot. And even then, he shoots rather inefficiently, as demonstrated by his 45 percent shooting from the field during his senior season.
Still though, because of his range and incredible scoring ability, Jimmer has to be high up on this list.
I'm just hesitant to fully support the placement.
3. Kyrie Irving
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During the brief time that he spent running the show at Duke, Kyrie Irving managed to prove that not too many people in the country could slow him down whatsoever.
After all, he managed to average 17.5 points and 4.3 assists per game in the 11 contests which his toe injury didn't keep him out of. Amazingly, in that short time, Irving proved that he was ready for the next level.
Not too many players could have been confident about such a tough jump.
Irving lacks an elite level of explosiveness, but he makes up for it with every other part of his game. He's already being compared to Chris Paul by some, and as we saw during the Lakers-Hornets series, that's not a bad guy to be compared to.
2. Alec Burks
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At 6'6" and almost 200 pounds, it's kind of unfair that Alec Burks plays both point guard and shooting guard. He's just too big for most defenders at those positions.
Now, couple that size with great length and ridiculous athleticism and Burks becomes a player who shouldn't be able to be guarded. But for some reason, he was only able to average 20.5 points per game during his sophomore season with the Colorado Buffaloes.
That reason is two-fold.
Burks does not possess a jump shot that is anything to write home about at this point in his career. He also needs to put some more meat on his bones and beef up.
Once he improves in both those areas, he'll be even harder to guard than he is now.
1. Kemba Walker
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As he proved during both the Big East Conference tournament and the NCAA tournament, Kemba Walker is simply impossible to guard when he's feeling it.
Throughout his stellar junior year at Connecticut, Walker averaged 23.5 points per game. This was all despite the fact that he stands just 6'0".
Walker is blazingly fast and will immediately become one of the fastest players in the NBA as soon as he is drafted into the league. And when I say fast, I'm not just talking about baseline-to-baseline sprinting speed. I also mean the ability to change directions, move laterally and stop on a dime.
This point guard may not have the size, but he has all the other tools and especially the intangibles.
Defenders may have to look down at him, but they won't enjoy doing so because he'll be a tough player to stop.
