Performance Over "Potential"
NBA teams have frustrated fans for years by selecting 18-year olds with the "wingspan" of a C-130 Hercules and a career scoring average under 5. This year, that seemed not to be the case; college performers like Kevin Love (fifth overall) and Joe Alexander (eighth) went in the top ten, while "projects" like JaVale McGee, Alexis Ajinca, Donte' Greene and DeAndre Jordan dropped to 18th, 20th, 28th and 35th, respectively.On a somewhat related note... one has to wonder if the European talent pool is starting to dry up. With the exception of Danilo Gallinari -- an Italian forward selected sixth overall -- none of the European players selected in this draft seem like locks to play in the United States next season. Most were selected by teams that will likely look to "stash" their new acquisitions overseas -- and off the salary cap -- for the next few seasons.
He chose... poorly.
Hey, Indiana Jones is back in the news, so we'll use that memorable quote from The Last Crusade as a lead to talk about some of the players who may be kicking themselves for staying in this draft.The biggest example -- and I mean that literally -- is Texas A&M freshman DeAndre Jordan. Based on his size and athleticism, Jordan was pegged as a top-ten pick in many draft projections, but he slipped all the way to the second round, going to the Clippers with the 35th overall pick.
Jordan is an great example of the "performance over potential" trend. Teams saw past his size and noted the fact that he only averaged 20 minutes per game for A&M last season, and that his foul shooting (44% on the year) was abysmal. In a lot of ways, the one-and-done rule really hurt a guy like Jordan. He might have been a first-rounder out of high school... but after pro scouts got a longer look at him, he slipped into the second -- and out of "guaranteed contract" territory.
Two heroes from the Final Four, Kansas guard Mario Chalmers and Memphis swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts, find themselves in the same boat. In next year's draft -- expected to be much weaker, with a smaller crop of one-and-done freshmen -- both may have landed in the first round. Instead, Chalmers was the fourth pick in round two and Douglas-Roberts the tenth.
I'd be inclined to say the same about Michael Beasley's teammate, Bill Walker, the K-State freshman selected 47th overall. But he's a special case. Walker is an explosive athlete who might have been a first rounder if he'd gone into the draft right out of high school... but he suffered knee injuries in two straight seasons. His entry into the draft may well have been a "I'd better get an NBA contract before something else happens" decision, and I can't fault him for that.
Final Four Teams Well Represented
This much is clear -- NBA scouts were watching the Final Four. Five members of the champion Kansas Jayhawks were drafted -- Brandon Rush (13), Darrell Arthur (27), Chalmers (34), Darnell Jackson (52) and Sasha Kaun (56). (Kaun is the least likely of the bunch to play in the NBA -- he reportedly has a lucrative offer to play professionally in his native Russia.Three of the runner-up Memphis Tigers and Final Four UCLA Bruins were selected as well -- top overall pick Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey (33) and Douglas-Roberts (40) from Memphis, and Russell Westbrook (4), Kevin Love (5) and Luc-Richard Mbah a Moute (37). That's eleven players from the NCAA Tournament's final weekend.
The Carolina Tar Heels weren't represented -- but only because they all withdrew from the draft.
