We’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating here. NBA Draft day represents a great deal of bittersweetness around the RTC compound. On one hand, we want nothing but the best for every single one of the kids we’ve enjoyed watching over the last few years on campuses around the country. For most of these guys, tonight is the single greatest moment of their lives, and represents a crowning achievement they’ve dreamed of for many hours, days, weeks, and years. On the other hand, like caretakers at the end of the annual summer camp, we’re sad to see the next crop leave us. When we think back to specific instances, such as when we interviewed an uncertain and unknown yet clearly talented Arizona power forward as a freshman two Januarys ago; or, when we watched a likable yet overlooked Providence senior drop 52 against Notre Dame last February; or, when we started crushing on the jumpshot of a funny-named guy from BYU back in 2009; or, when we shook our heads in wonder and amazement that the same player who looked so lost for Jim Calhoun in 2010 became the best player in America (and a national champion) in 2011. We nod our heads to honor and say goodbye to every one of these guys, and we certainly hope that they’ll take advantage of the tremendous opportunity that they’ll be afforded in just a few short hours. Godspeed, fellas.
Over the last six weeks, we put together a draft profile of the 35 collegians who we feel have the best chance of a first round selection tonight. Since we focus exclusively on college basketball around here, we believe we bring a slightly different perspective to these things. Although we take time to project out each player’s skill set for the significantly different NBA game, we also have the experience of watching these players very closely as collegians (rather than as future pros) to discuss their strengths and weaknesses. Each player we did a profile for is listed below, in alphabetical order by last name.
- Keith Benson, Oakland
- Marshon Brooks, Providence
- Alec Burks, Colorado
- Kenneth Faried, Morehead State
- Jimmer Fredette, BYU
- Jordan Hamilton, Texas
- Justin Harper, Richmond
- Tobias Harris, Tennessee
- Tyler Honeycutt, UCLA
- Kyrie Irving, Duke
- Reggie Jackson, Boston College
- Charles Jenkins, Hofstra
- JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
- Brandon Knight, Kentucky
- Malcolm Lee, UCLA
- Travis Leslie, Georgia
- Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State
- Jon Leuer, Wisconsin
- Shelvin Mack, Butler
- Darius Morris, Michigan
- Marcus Morris, Kansas
- Markieff Morris, Kansas
- Chandler Parsons, Florida
- Josh Selby, Kansas
- Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech
- Kyle Singler, Duke
- Chris Singleton, Florida State
- Nolan Smith, Duke
- Trey Thompkins, Georgia
- Klay Thompson, Washington State
- Tristan Thompson, Texas
- Nikola Vucevic, USC
- Kemba Walker, Connecticut
- Derrick Williams, Arizona
- Jordan Williams, Maryland
* RTC correspondents Andrew Murawa, Kevin Doyle, Zach Hayes and Brian Goodman contributed to these draft profiles. Additional thanks to Chris Denker of NetScouts Basketball for his scouting breakdowns of each player profiled.