15 NBA Draft Prospects in the NCAA to Keep an Eye out for 2011-2012 Season
Without NBA games to watch right now, we basketball fans have to fill the gaping void in our lives with other things. What better way to spend our time than watching college basketball to find the next big NBA stars?
The 2012 draft class is shaping up to be one of the most stacked group of players in quite some time. From the top to the bottom, the prospects are head and shoulders above the last batch of rookies that is supposed to be entering the NBA right about now.
These are the 15 draft prospects who you want to keep an eye on throughout the 2011-2012 season. Keep in mind that these are not the 15 best players, but rather the 15 talented college basketball players who are the most fun to watch.
Harrison Barnes
1 of 15School: North Carolina
Year: Sophomore
Position: Small forward
Personally, I think that Harrison Barnes is the absolute best player in college basketball. He's already followed up a great end to his freshman year with a stellar start to his sophomore campaign, proving that he can score in bulk both on land and on sea.
Brad Beal
2 of 15School: Florida
Year: Freshman
Position: Shooting guard
Of all the freshmen in the country, Brad Beal may have been the most impressive so far. The young shooting guard for the Florida Gators is pretty much the second coming of Ray Allen. He can shoot the three-ball as well as anyone and his ability to move with and without the ball is quite impressive.
Anthony Davis
3 of 15School: Kentucky
Year: Freshman
Position: Power forward
Of all the stellar freshmen on a loaded Kentucky Wildcats team, Anthony Davis might be the very best of the bunch. Davis and his unibrow are trending towards the top of all NBA draft boards if they aren't already on the top. His combination of offensive and defensive impact is greater than almost everyone's in the entire country.
Andre Drummond
4 of 15School: Connecticut
Year: Freshman
Position: Power forward and center
Andre Drummond may have gotten off to a slow start for the Connecticut Huskies, but that's partially due to the fact that he's playing in a face mask after suffering a broken nose and concussion right before the season started. In terms of sheer physical talent, Drummond is very much worth watching. He has the potential to be the best player in the country as early as this year.
John Henson
5 of 15School: North Carolina
Year: Junior
Position: Power forward
When you block nine shots in a game, you're bound to get noticed. John Henson is fully capable of shutting down the entire painted area for the duration of a game and still dominating the glass and making an enormous impact on the offensive end of the court.
Tu Holloway
6 of 15School: Xavier
Year: Junior
Position: Point guard
Let me just put it this way: Tu Holloway, an all-around player good enough to be considered a dark horse candidate for Player of the Year, is enough fun to watch that I'm making an eight-hour drive the day after Thanksgiving just to see him play in person.
John Jenkins
7 of 15School: Vanderbilt
Year: Junior
Position: Shooting guard
In terms of pure shooting ability, I can't think of a player more demanding of my attention than John Jenkins. The reigning scoring champion in the SEC is going to hit multiple long-range shots each game and average at least 20 points per game this season.
Myck Kabongo
8 of 15School: Texas
Year: Freshman
Position: Point guard
As a pure point guard, it's hard for a player to be much better than Myck Kabongo. Even though he can score in various ways, the talented freshman floor general for the Texas Longhorns will make a few passes per game that leave you absolutely speechless.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
9 of 15School: Kentucky
Year: Freshman
Position: Small forward
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is an absolutely incredible all-around player. A great athlete, MKG is simply good at everything. Usually when I say things like that about prospects, it comes with a follow-up statement about how they're not great at anything. For this freshman small forward, that's not the case. He's actually great at everything, or at least will be in a very short time.
Jeremy Lamb
10 of 15School: Connecticut
Year: Sophomore
Position: Shooting Guard
Here's all the evidence I need: the early favorite for dunk of the year.
Quincy Miller
11 of 15School: Baylor
Year: Freshman
Position: Small forward
Freshmen are always tantalizing players to watch just because of their raw potential. But when they immediately produce, they're even more fun to watch. In the first three games of Quincy Miller's career, he scored 17, 17 and 20 points.
Austin Rivers
12 of 15School: Duke
Year: Freshman
Position: Shooting guard
Austin Rivers is incredibly fun to watch because of the way he plays. As one of my friends (a Duke fan) said the other day, he's trying to replace Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler all by himself. Rivers creates some incredible opportunities for himself and he's going to produce highlights, but he's also going to make some dumb decisions this early in his career.
Thomas Robinson
13 of 15School: Kansas
Year: Junior
Position: Power forward
I wasn't as thrilled about Thomas Robinson before the season started as I should have been. I didn't realize just how much talent was sitting on the bench for the Kansas Jayhawks last year while the Morris twins were filling up the scoreboard. After watching this power forward early in the season, I'm already sold. His combination of power and finesse makes for a great spectacle.
Jared Sullinger
14 of 15School: Ohio State
Year: Sophomore
Position: Power forward
If you want to see pure dominance in the paint from a big man, look no further than Jared Sullinger. After a stellar freshman year, the star of the Ohio State Buckeyes squad elected to return to Columbus to terrorize opposing defenses for one more year. There's only one big man in his conference who can stop him, Minnesota's Trevor Mbakwe, so expect to see Sullinger throw up some monstrous numbers this year.
Tony Wroten
15 of 15School: Washington
Year: Freshman
Position: Point guard and shooting guard
Through three games for the Washington Huskies, Tony Wroten has averaged 12 points, five rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. The backcourt duo of Wroten and Terrence Ross is quickly making people forget about the dominance of Isaiah Thomas last year. Even as a freshman, Wroten is making a mark as a terrific all-around player.
Adam Fromal is a syndicated writer and Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
