NBA Draft 2011: Kemba Walker and the 10 Best Offensive Prospects
The 2011 NBA Draft is just a little over a week away. Mock drafts are flying around like flocks of birds and everyone is wondering who will go where.
Kyrie Irving is the favorite to go to the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first pick, yet Irving has only played 11 games of college basketball and may not be the best pick out there. There's a ton of competition.
This year's draft class features several pure scorers and ball-handlers who can run a team offensively. Here are the 11 best.
11. Jimmer Fredette
1 of 11
Jimmer Fredette is as much of a pure-shooter as they come. His ability to hit long threes, combined with his unconventional (yet effective) shot, made him a media sensation in his senior season at BYU.
During that season, he averaged a whopping 28.9 points per game.
The thing most NBA teams will fear a little bit when drafting Fredette is his ability to be a ball-handler. It is much harder to be a consistently high-scoring guard in the NBA than it is in college basketball.
Nonetheless, expect more "Jimmer Time" next season in the NBA.
10. Alec Burks
2 of 11
Alec Burks has not been the most discussed college basketball player in his two-year tenure at Colorado, yet he has been nothing but pure gold for the Buffaloes.
Burks averaged 20.5 points per game during his sophomore season at Colorado. A big guard at 6'6", he also averaged a healthy 6.5 rebounds per game.
Like Jimmer Fredette, teams will be a little weary to draft Burks, wondering if he can effectively spread the ball around. He only averaged 2.9 assists per game last year.
9. Klay Thompson
3 of 11
Klay Thompson has grown consistently in his three years at Washington State.
He averaged 12.5 points per game his freshman year, 19.6 his sophomore year and 21.6 his junior year.
He won't be a top 10- or even a top 15-pick, but he will be an offensive asset to whoever decides to draft him. He also has great size for a guard at 6'6".
8. Nolan Smith
4 of 11
Nolan Smith is a fantastic point guard who can shoot and spread the ball around. This past year, his senior year, he averaged 20.6 points per game and 5.1 assists per game.
Any team would love to have a player like Smith on board. He is a dual-offensive threat and has the potential to be a star of Derrick Rose's caliber.
He's been a little forgotten about since fellow Duke star Kyrie Irving will probably be the first overall pick, but Smith will be a star in his own right.
7. Jordan Hamilton
5 of 11
Jordan Hamilton is an interesting player because at 6'7", he can play both the guard and the forward position.
He averages 18.6 points per game, which is respectable, yet his real draw is in the amount of rebounds he gets—he averages 7.7 per game.
Look for Hamilton to go within the first twenty picks. Whoever drafts him will play around and find the best place to fit him in.
6. Enes Kanter
6 of 11
Enes Kanter didn't play at Kentucky due to an NCAA violation, but that will not stop teams from drafting him.
In his years playing in prep school in California, Kanter was dominant. He is huge, at 6'11", 260 pounds, and has the ability to score points, get rebounds and play great defense.
In a scrimmage with some of the top players from last year's draft, Kanter scored 36 points and had 15 rebounds.
5. Darius Morris
7 of 11
Darius Morris has been fantastic in his two seasons at Michigan.
He is a point guard who has a tremendous offensive ability in moving the ball around. In 35 games this season, he had 235 assists—a whopping 6.7 per game.
Morris is not a bad scorer either, and many teams will want to get their hands on this ball-handler.
4. Brandon Knight
8 of 11
Brandon Knight will probably be a top five pick in this year's draft, and rightfully so. In his one season at Kentucky he was dominant, leading the Wildcats to what was, for many, a shocking Final Four run.
He averages over 18 points per game and shoots 40 percent from the three-point line.
Knight will be a star wherever he is drafted.
3. Derrick Williams
9 of 11
Derrick Williams most likely will be the first forward taken in this year's draft.
For a forward, he has great speed and mobility. He is big enough to be a threat down low, but also small enough to play and shoot from the perimeter.
He averaged 19.5 points per game this past season at Arizona.
2. Kyrie Irving
10 of 11
Kyrie Irving is projected to be the top pick in most people's mock draft. He's an interesting selection for the top pick, however, since he only played 11 games at Duke due to an injury.
Irving came back from his injury with a bang though, scoring 28 points in Duke's Sweet Sixteen loss to Arizona.
Irving was a sensation in high school and teams (most likely the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick) will hope that he is a sensation in the NBA.
1. Kemba Walker
11 of 11
Finally, Kemba Walker—the man who led the Connecticut Huskies to their 2011 March Madness victory.
Walker was simply amazing this past season at UConn; he had 23.4 points per game and hit clutch shots like no other. He also has great stamina, playing almost 38 minutes per game.
The biggest thing working against Walker is his size; he is only 6'1". Many point guards have succeeded in the NBA at this small stature, however, and I think Walker will be one of them.
He won't be drafted in the first ten picks, but I think he is the greatest offensive weapon in this year's NBA draft.
