The NBA Draft Stock Report checks in on which players have made a name for themselves in the past week; either helping or hurting their future draft position. These early pre-season tournaments give players great exposure matching up against marquee opponents on national television. In this week’s addition, a season ending injury hurts one players stock while a first round prospect ends up in Jim Calhoun‘s doghouse.
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BUY:
Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas, Jr.
After watching Robinson at the Maui Invitational, I am pretty sold on him being a top ten lock and possible top five pick. He has the size, athleticism, is explosive at the rim, has a nice face-up game, and a terror on the boards. The fact that he was a bit emotional after KU’s loss to Duke in the championship game also shows his passion and love for the game and should in no way be viewed as a weakness. I think his stock will steadily climb as the season progresses.
Aaron Craft, PG, Ohio State, Soph.
I don’t think there’s any chance of Craft leaving school early but I have no doubt that he can be a solid back-up point guard in the NBA someday. I have been a fan of his since day one in Columbus due to his hard-nosed style of play. In OSU’s blowout of Duke, Craft proved that he is one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the game and knows how to run an offense. He is also a more than capable outside shooter and works well in pick and roll situations. What more would an NBA team want out of their back-up point guard?
Herb Pope, PF, Seton Hall, Sr.
As a pre-caution from a heart condition, Pope saw his playing time cut last season and as a result, his production dipped during his junior year. Pope appears to be rejuvenated this year as he averaging 20.5 points and 11.7 boards a night and was one rebound against Northwestern away from having double-doubles in every game. He is an under-sized power forward by NBA standards which hurts his stock, but Pope should get plenty of second round looks if he can stay healthy and this productive.
SELL:
Trevor Mbakwe, PF, Minnesota, Sr.
A season-ending ACL injury crushes any chance the Gophers have of making the NCAA Tournament, but it likely also eliminates any possibility of Mbakwe being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft since an NBA team won’t want to give guaranteed money to a guy coming off a serious injury. He was a borderline first round pick due to his aggressiveness on the glass and got off to a solid start this season, but now we can expect to hear his name called in the second round.
Alex Oriakhi, PF, UConn, Jr.
Rather than having a breakout season that would have solidified his status as a first round pick, Oriakhi has been relegated to bench duty due to the emergence of Tyler Olander and addition of Andre Drummond. Oriakhi then really got in Jim Calhoun’s doghouse by tweeting, “I know sum bs” in response to former teammate Jamal Coombs-McDaniel’s tweet questioning why Oriakhi is coming off the bench. In UConn’s third place game against Florida State in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Oriakhi posted all goose eggs except for three fouls and one turnover in just ten minutes of floor time.
Tarik Black, PF, Memphis, Soph.
The 6-8, 252 pound Tiger can be a force inside when he is on the floor… the problem is he keeps getting in foul trouble. Black fouled out of two of Memphis’ three games at Maui Invitational and has picked up four fouls in two other games which has strapped him to the bench for long stretches. Consider this; he has 18 fouls this season and only 12 rebounds. That’s not a good ratio for someone is considered a potential first round prospect and is technically under-sized for the next level.
PREVIOUS NBA DRAFT STOCK REPORTS:
11/22/11
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.
You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.