Blake Griffins going first, that much everyone knows. Young Spain teenager Ricky Rubio probably will go No. 2 - unless the Clippers or Wizards pick in that spot. Thabeets going to be in the mix. But here's a name that we haven't seen mentioned anywhere, mostly because Roy Williams is hiding him: UNC freshman power forward Ed Davis, who's shown more toughness in his flashes off the bench than Brandan Wright displayed during his entire freshman season in Chapel Hill (and he went 8th in the 2007 draft).
The LA Times compiled a rather comprehensive list of what players might translate well from the college game to the pros, and the results are somewhat surprising. We've highlighted the names that surprised us:
Willie Warren, 6-3, 207, Fr., Oklahoma ? Admirers see better Rodney Stuckey, or another Eric Gordon.
Huh? All the shooting guards in the country and he's in lottery territory?
12 Cole Aldrich, 6-10, 250, Fr., Kansas ? Joel Przybilla with an offensive game.
Frankly, thought we'd see him higher.
13 DeMar DeRozan, 6-6, 210, Fr., USC ? Big finish for off-the-chart athlete. Admirers say he's more skilled than he shows, but defers too much. Now, says one GM, to see if he's Rudy Gay, Rodney Carney or Gerald Green.
Work on the outside shot, which is something Gay and Carney had coming out; Green didn't, and he's an afterthought.
15 Solomon Alabi, 7-1, 240, Fr., Florida State ? Not as big, as quick or as far along as Thabeet, but coming faster.
We'll get back to you in two years.
22 B.J. Mullens, 7-0, 250, Fr., Ohio State ? Athletic, skilled, projected for top five before nothing debut, but at least he didn't shrink.
If he leaves, he'll never amount to anything in the NBA. Jon Koncak.
25 Jrue Holiday, 6-3, 195, Fr., UCLA ? You had to see him as a prep to have him this high as a projected point guard ? but lots of pros did. As far behind Darren Collison as he is, has size and strength Collison never will.
Vastly overrated at this point. Not even in the same universe as DeRozan.
30 Devin Ebanks, 6-9, 205, Fr., West Virginia ? Long, athletic. Admirers see a young Tayshaun Prince.
