2011 NBA Draft Results: Top Undrafted Prospects (With Video Highlights)

Now that the 2011 NBA Draft has come and gone, 60 new players have entered into the immediate attention of basketball fans around the world. 

Not all of the 60 players drafted will make impacts in their rookie seasons and some may never even make it across the pond to play in the United States, but all were drafted nonetheless. This class of prospects includes some pretty bizarre picks. 

Remember though that it is not necessary to be drafted to make an impact in the league. After all, Bruce Bowen, Udonis Haslem, Brad Miller, Ben Wallace and others have all gone on to have successful careers despite not hearing their names called on draft night. 

So, which players were forced into free agency while Lavoy Allen, Milan Macvan, Ater Majok, Targuy Ngombo, Adam Hanga and even Chukwudiebere Maduabum were drafted?

Read on to find out which undrafted players you should remember. 

Pablo Aguilar

A 6’8” forward from Spain, Pablo Aguilar is hoping to make it at the sport’s highest level as a good shooting role player.

In 2010, over half of his shots came from outside the three-point line, and that may be the area of the floor from which he’s most comfortable. With long arms and good footwork though, he is also quite adept at getting to the rim and finishing when he needs to.

No one is quite sure whether he’d play small forward or power forward in the NBA though, and he wouldn’t be capable of defending either position.

Without strength or elite athleticism, it seems unlikely that Aguilar will ever become anything more than a role player. 

Robin Benzing

Robin Benzing not only stands 6’10”, but he has long arms to boot, making him absolutely gigantic when standing next to anyone that is supposed to try to guard him at the small forward position.

The German clearly understands the game of basketball and makes a lot of good decisions. The decision-making process is made a lot easier by the fact that he’s athletic, possesses a good jump shot and has some handles for such a tall individual.

His defense and strength are both terrible though, and he will never be able to put on too much weight thanks to a very slight frame. This is one of the reasons that he pulls down far less rebounds than a player with his height should. 

Matthew Bryan-Amaning

The Englishman traveled all the way across the pond and then across the entire country to play his college basketball at the University of Washington.

Matthew Bryan-Amaning is a 6’10” power forward with athleticism that can match anyone in the class not named Josh Selby, Iman Shumpert or Travis Leslie.

Bryan-Amaning is as explosive as they come and has the physical skills necessary to be extraordinarily effective in fast break situations. 

While he needs to improve his offensive game across the board, the upside here is absolutely huge. As he’s improved during each and every one of his four years with the Huskies, that trend could continue until he maxes out on his potential.

Just don’t expect him to ever develop into a capable defender. 

LaceDarius Dunn

Never averaging less than 13.6 points per game during any of his four seasons at Baylor, LaceDarius Dunn is a terrific shooter of the basketball, something you may assume from the fact that he lines up at the shooting guard position. 

Dunn, a 6'4" member of the Bears, averaged an incredible 19.5 points, 2.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game during his final season of his collegiate career. 

The Big 12's all-time leading scorer though accomplished all of these things because he has a tendency to absolutely dominate the ball, much like a poor man's Jimmer Fredette. At times though, Dunn's touches become far too many and his shots, and even points, come as a detriment to his team's success. 

Diante Garrett

Running the show for Iowa State, the cellar-dwellers in the Big 12, Diante Garrett has been one of the fastest rising prospects during recent weeks.

A 6’5” point guard with a motor reminiscent of the Energizer Bunny, Garrett has the physical tools needed to succeed at the next level.

However, he doesn’t shoot particularly well, and he is a far cry from efficient at times.

Garrett improved during all four seasons he spent with the Cyclones, finishing his senior year averaging 17.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists.

If he improves his shot and really focuses on his defensive play though, Garrett could become a valuable bench player. 

Justin Holiday

The brother of current Philadelphia 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday, Justin Holiday is hoping to make a name for himself in the NBA now.

A 6’6” small forward, Holiday played out his NCAA eligibility at the University of Washington, averaging 10.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game as a senior for the Huskies.

His defensive prowess is what will most likely make a mark in the NBA, but Holiday has seen his shooting touch improve remarkably in the past year. While he once couldn’t hit a brick wall with his three-point shot, he shot 36 percent from downtown as a senior despite going 1-for-16 during the final seven games of the season.

Effective in transition and on defense, Holiday probably won’t become anything more than a role player, unlike his brother Jrue. 

Scotty Hopson

Once a top-ten recruit out of high school, Scotty Hopson hasn’t exactly panned out as expected, but he’s still an explosive off-the-bench kind of talent.

The athleticism possessed by Hopson is undeniable. You could say that he has, appropriately enough, some serious hops.

While the 6’7” tweener has taken some good shots and had his fair share of explosive games, he isn’t a polished enough prospect to garner much serious attention, especially because the interviews conducted with him by GMs didn’t go too well.

Even though I don’t really like his game, I can’t help but root for the high-flying Hopson because of the throwback flattop that he convincingly pulls off. 

Rick Jackson

As you might expect from a Syracuse big man operating in Jim Boeheim’s zone defense, Rick Jackson is a very good defensive player. But he doesn’t have much talent on the offensive side of the floor.

At 6’9”, the senior power forward averaged 13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds, but those points were all of the easy, you-aren’t-going-to-get-those-in-the-NBA variety. Jackson doesn’t have too many post moves and his jump shot is way below average.

Fortunately though, rebounding and not offense is his calling card. With great size, strength and knack for reading the ball off the rim correctly, Jackson can definitely succeed in that area once he makes the jump to the next level. 

Terrence Jennings

A 6’10” power forward from Louisville, Terrence Jennings could only manage to average 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for the Cardinals before inexplicably deciding to go pro after the 2010-2011 campaign.

The hype surrounding Jennings was incredible when he was coming out of high school, but he has definitely failed to live up to it at this point in his career.

His size and athleticism are definitely what they need to be for him to make it in the league, but now it’s time for him to learn how to spend less time on the bench in foul trouble and more time on the court developing his skills.

He should be learning that with Rick Pitino for one more year though. 

Joffrey Lauvergne

A 6’10” small forward from France, Joffrey Lauvergne averaged just 5.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game while playing professionally in his home country.

Now, he’ll attempt to travel across the Atlantic Ocean and ply his trade in the United States.

Obviously, he’s got a higher ceiling than those aforementioned numbers because of the fact that he was thought of this highly. Lauvergne has a great jump shot and above average upside, both of which will help him succeed on the offensive end of the court.

While mainly a catch-and-shoot guy at this point in his career, Lauvergne has also displayed an ability to put the ball on the floor and drive with success.

Right now though, he’s absolutely a project player who will likely spend some more time in Europe before making the journey across the pond for good. 

David Lighty

A 6’6” shooting guard, David Lighty spent all four years of his collegiate career as a role player for Thad Matta’s Ohio State Buckeyes. Because of that, he’s developed into the prototypical glue guy that is so valuable on each and every NBA roster.

Lighty does a lot of things well. He plays good defense, has a more than capable jump shot, handles the ball well and finds open teammates.

But more than anything else, he’s a leader with fantastic intangibles while never making mistakes.

He’s the kind of guy you want on your team even if he’s not the sexiest name out there.

Kalin Lucas

A 6’0” point guard who received tremendous training under the eyes of Tom Izzo and the rest of the Michigan State program, Kalin Lucas would be an elite prospect if he had just been blessed with NBA-level athleticism.

As it stands though, he hasn’t. Instead, the Spartan is good at just about everything a guard needs to be good at. The problem is, he isn’t great at anything.

Lucas though has displayed great leadership skills throughout his career, and he could very well become a valuable end-of-the-bench guy.

The point guard averaged 17.0 points, 3.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game during his senior season. 

Demetri McCamey

While a lack of athleticism and conditioning has limited the ceiling to a rather low level for Demetri McCamey, he still could become a good, but not great, point guard in the NBA.

At 6’3” though, McCamey has both the size and strength necessary to succeed. His jump shot and ball-handling skills are also quite good, even for a guard.

McCamey has been a big contributor for the Fighting Illini ever since he first arrived at Illinois, but his production seemed to plateau during his last two seasons, during which he averaged just about 15 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.

Even that may be too high of a ceiling in the NBA for McCamey, but he has drawn comparisons to players like Derek Fisher in the past. 

Jamine Peterson

Jamine Peterson saw his collegiate career get off to a great start when he averaged 19.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game for the Providence Friars against the rest of the Big East, but then he was dismissed from the team for violating team rules.

Peterson elected to play professionally in Greece instead of using up the remaining two years of NCAA eligibility that he had and signed with Kolossos Rhodes. But after a three-game losing streak one month into the season, Peterson was released.

Since then, he’s been playing for the New Mexico Thunderbirds and the D-League, averaging 13.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game despite receiving limited minutes.

The 6’6” forward has great physical tools and a solid offensive game, so he does have a chance to succeed at the game’s highest level, even though he hasn’t done so anywhere else yet. 

Jacob Pullen

Jacob Pullen became a superstar at Kansas State thanks to the “Fear the Beard” campaign, but he’ll have to find a new catchphrase in the NBA, as he has no shot at overtaking James Harden for the honor of having the best facial hair in the NBA.

What Pullen can do though is score the ball proficiently, as he’s got plenty of skill and the recklessness of what Bill Simmons would call an irrational confidence guy.

Despite a lack of athleticism, Pullen scores in volume because he has a fantastic jump shot that he utilizes after his quickness and skill with the ball gets him an open look.

Pullen averaged 20.2 points per game during his senior season for Frank Martin, just one year after posting 19.3 points per contest. 

Xavi Rabaseda

Xavi Rabaseda, a 6’7” shooting guard and small forward from Spain, is really nothing more than a “draft and stash” candidate to be snatched up in this year’s draft.

He’s already 22 years old, but the development is still not complete and won’t be for quite some time.

Rabaseda is one of the most efficient players in Europe and seems to be able to score a lot of points in very little playing time. In the ACB this year, Rabaseda averaged 8.7 points in just 22 minutes of action per game.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see him play out the rest of his career in Europe. 

Willie Reed

Willie Reed was blossoming into a great basketball player for the St. Louis Billikens into a supposed sexual encounter that I won’t go into here led to his suspension from the university. He ended up sitting out the entirety of his junior season.

Reed averaged 12.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore and was quite skilled in his role as the power forward.

Blessed with ridiculous athleticism, the 6’9” Reed is now getting a chance at a comeback in the NBA.

To make good on that second chance though, he’ll have to take his physical tools and develop the basketball ones that go with them. His jump shot especially needs work, as do his post skills. 

Jereme Richmond

One of the rawest prospects in this draft class, Jereme Richmond probably should have spent at least one more season in Champaign, Illinios before he decided to make himself eligible for the NBA draft.

As it stands, Richmond has only one season of experience at any level above high school and he played rather sparingly during that one season, averaging just 7.6 points, 1.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Richmond was very highly recruited by the Fighting Illini, ever since he was a freshman in high school really, so his collegiate career was considered quite disappointing, especially since his attitude and a few suspensions marred it even further.

The 6’7” small forward has an incredible amount of athleticism, and his potential is through the roof (meaning he really has no ceiling to speak of). 

Richmond was the player who I was most surprised to see go undrafted. 

Damian Saunders

A 6’7” forward from Duquesne, Damian Saunders is a high effort player who specializes on the defensive end of the court.

Saunders was the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year last season thanks to his tremendous skill in that area. He’s capable of blocking shots and stealing the ball from offensive players at a high rate while still staying out of foul trouble.

Unfortunately though, as good as he is on defense, he’s still going to have to find a consistent jump shot to be able to make it in the NBA. No matter how good he is, teams won’t be content to play four-on-five while he’s on the court.

Saunders averaged 12.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the Dukes as a senior. 

Giorgio Shermadini

A 7’1” center from Georgia (the country not the state), Giorgi Shermadini is actually one of the rare international players who is more highly thought of for his basketball skills than athleticism and potential upside.

Shermadini has shown off good footwork and a great arsenal of low post moves, moves made a whole lot easier by the fact that he’s generally the tallest player on the court.

However, the center lacks that upside I was talking about, and he’s still very inexperienced. Shermadini only started playing the game when he was 15 years old and still doesn’t always look like he knows what he’s doing.

He could still improve, but he doesn’t seem to be good enough to stick on an NBA roster at any point in his career. 

Xavier Silas

During his senior season with the Northern Illinois Huskies, Xavier Silas backed up his impressive junior campaign by averaging an astounding 22.3 points, 1.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game.

Silas is a 6’5” shooting guard who does just that: shoot.

The guard played much more efficiently during his senior season than he ever had before, making almost 46 percent of his shots from the field. Silas was particularly impressive from behind the arc, where he made two shots per game while shooting 41.3 percent.

Silas definitely needs to learn how to cut back on the turnovers and play smarter, but that can be done with good coaching. 

Jamie Skeen

One of the key cogs in VCU’s magical run to the Final Four, Jamie Skeen likely would not have been anywhere near this list if he had not been so impressive during March Madness.

In reality though, Skeen was just continuing the fantastic play that the Rams had gotten so used to during the regular season. He was just finally getting the recognition he deserved.

Skeen was one of the most improved players in the country, making a massive leap from his junior season to his senior season en route to averaging 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Highly recruited out of high school, Skeen was a member of the ACC All-Freshman Team at Wake Forest but the death of Skip Prossor, knee problems and a suspension for violating Wake Forest academic policies led him to transfer to VCU for his junior season.

He’s a great all-around player on offense and really doesn’t have too many weaknesses. He just doesn’t have any extraordinary strengths either. 

Greg Smith

If teams were drafting just the bodies of the prospects, Greg Smith would have been taken. But after all, the skills contained in the body are a part of the total package.

Smith is a 6’9”, 253-pound power forward who is also capable of manning up and taking down the other team’s biggest player on the floor. In addition to weight and height, he also has a significant amount of strength and athleticism to add to his cause.

The most impressive thing about Smith though is his hand size. Literally a foot wide, his hands are big enough that he can snatch a basketball out of the air with one hand like it’s a tennis ball.

Smith though has yet to have his physical skills manifest themselves though, as evidenced by the fact that he averaged just 11.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last year. 

Durrell Summers

A 6’5” shooting guard for the Michigan State Spartans, Durrell Summers was supposed to capitalize on his opportunity to lead Tom Izzo’s squad this past season after the departure of Chris Allen and Raymar Morgan, but he never really did anything but put up meaningless numbers for an underachieving team.

Summers is boiling over with athletic ability, but his ball-handling skills and decision-making are questionable at best. He’s quite prone to having one great performance and then following it up with a dud.

The senior averaged 11.6 points, 0.6 assists (not good for a guard) and 4.2 rebounds per game during his final season wearing the green unis of Michigan State. 

Malcolm Thomas

A 6’9” power forward from San Diego State, Malcolm Thomas finally saw all of his hard work rewarded when he, Kawhi Leonard and the rest of the Aztecs received a high seed in the NCAA Tournament and won a few games.

Thomas was in his senior season and averaged 11.4 points, 2.3 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game.

The power forward could develop into a great role player if he gains a little bit of consistency with his jump shot after only hitting on six of his 25 attempts during the previous season.

With great athleticism and timing, Thomas is a threat to finish strong on fast breaks and is also quite adept at blocking shots.

He could stand to add on a few pounds, but right now the jump shot should be priority No. 1. 

Chris Wright

A 6’7” forward from Dayton, Chris Wright is athletic enough that he was actually nicknamed “Top Flight” while he was in college and playing for, ironically enough, the Flyers.

Wright has massive upside on the defensive end of the court but whatever you do, don’t ask him to do anything but dunk the ball on offense. He averaged 13.2 points per game as a senior, but remember that A-10 provides a significantly lower level of competition than the NBA.

The jump shot is particularly poor and will need a lot of work if he’s ever going to make it in the league.

Wright has been highly recruited up to this point in his career, but that has obviously changed now. 

Tomislav Zubcic

Calling Croatia home, Tomislav Zubcic is a 7’0” power forward who may also be able to dabble at the small forward position.

He’s a great shooter, as he recently showed during the Eurocamp All-Star game, where he drilled six of his seven shots from the field.

With his height and his ability to play from the perimeter, Zubcic is a very intriguing prospect who could eventually develop into a poor man’s version of Dirk Nowitzki.

But that said, his physical and mental toughness alike will have to drastically improve if he is even going to mentioned in the same sentence as the reigning Finals MVP again. Zubcic has a tendency to fade into the background when the spotlight is on and crack at the first sign of a struggle.