The 2012 NBA Draft figures to consist of a deeper, more talented group of prospects that the 2011 class.  Team needs HAVE been taken into consideration with this 2012 NBA mock draft and the order is based on the current NBA standings.  Click on the players’ name for a complete, in-depth scouting report.

(By the way, The Sports Bank was graded as the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.)

UPDATED: 2/2/12

31. Charlotte- Draymond Green, F, Michigan State, 6-6, Sr.
A young team like the Bobcats would benefit having somebody with Draymond Green’s versatility and basketball IQ on their roster.

Go here for more on Draymond Green

32. Detroit- Alex Young, G/F, IUPUI, 6-6, Sr.
Pistons could use some depth and scoring on the wing.

33. Cleveland (from NO)- Darius Miller, G/F, Kentucky, 6-8, Sr.
The Cavs really need an up-grade of talent on the wing and Darius Miller could be a useful role player off the bench.

34. Washington- Darius Johnson-Odom, SG, Marquette, 6-3, Sr.
Depth at the two would make sense since Nick Young becomes a free agent after this season.

35. Sacramento- Kevin Jones, F, West Virginia, 6-8, Sr.
Jones is having a monster senior season for the Mountaineers and would be a solid value pick at this point of the draft.

36. Toronto- Hollis Thompson, SF, Georgetown, 6-8, Jr.
Hollis Thompson is a terrific shooter with good size who could provide a scoring punch off the Raps’ bench.

37. Golden State (from NJ)- Damien Lillard, PG, Weber State, Jr.
The Warriors signed Nate Robinson as a short term, back-up point guard.  Damien Lillard could be the long-term answer behind Stephen Curry.

38. Denver (from GS)- Scott Machado, PG, Iona, 6-1, Sr.
Scott Machado is one of the best pure distributors in college basketball and provides insurance at the point in case Andre Miller leaves via free agency.

39. Atlanta (from PHX)- Andrew Nicholson, PF, St. Bonaventure, 6-9, Sr.
Again, with only six players under contract for next season, Hawks need depth everywhere and go best available player.n

Go here for more on Andrew Nicholson

40. New York- Tyshawn Taylor, PG, Kansas, 6-3, Sr.
Knicks need depth all across the board but are still searching for an answer at the point.

41. Cleveland- Robert Sacre, C, Gonzaga, 7-0, Sr.
The Cavs would be wise to use one of their picks in this draft in finding a true center.

42. Houston (from MIN)- Augusto Cesar Lima, PF, Brazil, 6-10, 1991
With four picks in this draft, the Rockets will take at least two foreign players who they can hope will develop overseas and contribute down the line.

43. Memphis- JaMychal Green, PF, Alabama, 6-8, Sr.
The Tide senior is a solid value at this point and would add some depth inside for the Griz.

44. Detroit (from HOU)- Furkan Aldemir, PF, Turkey, 6-9, 1991
With their third pick of the draft, Pistons go the foreign route.  (This pick stays with Houston if is between #31-#40.)

45. Milwaukee- Henry Sims, C, Georgetown, 6-10, Sr.
The Bucks don’t have a true back-up big man for Andrew Bogut; a role that Sims could maybe fill.

46. Boston- Orlando Johnson, SG, UC-Santa Barbara, 6-5, Sr.
C’s should look to add depth at the two in case free agent-to-be Ray Allen doesn’t return next season.

47. Dallas (from LAL)- Ricardo Ratliffe, PF, Missouri, 6-9, Sr.
The Mizzou big man has a chance to stick on an NBA roster due the energy and physicality he brings to the floor.

48. Portland- Jordan Taylor, PG, Wisconsin, 6-1, Sr.
Taylor gives the Blazers an option at the point in case Raymond Felton leaves via free agency.

Go here for more on Jordan Taylor

49. Orlando- Jarrod Jones, PF, Ball State, 6-9, Sr.
Like I said earlier, since their future hinges on Dwight Howard’s status, anything is possible so I’ll give the Magic the best available player.

50. Utah- Dee Bost, PG, Mississippi State, 6-2, Sr.
Jazz could use an up-grade at the point guard position.

51. San Antonio- Marcus Denmon, SG, Missouri, 6-3, Sr.
Marcus Denmon seems like the type of energy/role player who could find a home in San Antonio.

52. Washington (from DAL)- Renardo Sidney, PF, Mississippi State, 6-10, Jr.
When you are a team starving for talent, you can afford to take a risk on Renardo Sidney with your third pick of the draft.

53. Denver- Herb Pope, PF, Seton Hall, 6-8, Sr.
Herb Pope could stick on a NBA roster due to his ability to crash the glass and hit mid-range shots.

54. L.A. Clippers- Drew Gordon, PF, New Mexico, 6-9, Sr.
The former UCLA transfer could possibly provide the Clips with a rebounding, role player to bring off the bench.

55. Indiana- Reggie Johnson, C, Miami FL, 6-10, Jr.
Adding a big man behind Roy Hibbert, who is a restricted free agent this summer, seems like a wise move.

56. Atlanta- Tu Holloway, PG, Xavier, 6-0, Sr.
Kirk Hinrich is a free agent so the Hawks could use options at the point behind Marquis Teague.

57. Philadelphia- Jae Crowder, F, Marquette, 6-6, Sr.
Crowder could find a home in Philly thanks to his toughness, shooting ability, and versatility.

58. New Jersey (from MIA)- Kim English, G/F, Missouri, 6-6, Sr.
Kim English has a solid all-around game that could find him a home in the league.

59. Minnesota (from OKC)- Mike Scott, PF, Virginia, 6-8, Sr.
Scott is an inside/outside forward who could provide depth in case Michael Beasley is not back next season.

60. L.A. Lakers (from CHI)- Kyle O’Quinn, C, Norfolk State, 6-10, Sr.
Lakers need to find depth at every position and O’Quinn could find a spot on their roster due to his size.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FIRST ROUND

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.

First let me say that this group is like being the shortest Plumlee brother. Or the Plumlee brother that’s worst at basketball. The list of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks is indeed rarified air. These guys are just nowhere near the elite group of Joe Montana, Steve Young, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, John Elway etc. but this group of five passers does have four total Pro Bowls to their credit.

So here it is, the best signal callers to “game manage” the biggest game while letting their running attack and defenses do all the heavy lifting.

1.) Trent Dilfer 200o-1 Baltimore Ravens,  career passer rating 70.2

The conversation about this post’s topic usually starts with Dilfer, and it’s easy to understand why- IT’S TRUE! That Ravens defense might have been the best the game has ever seen. The only peer would be the….

2.) Jim McMahon 1985-6 Chicago Bears, 78.2

…Bears of the 46 Zone. That D and Walter Payton, the greatest running back in NFL history won games for Chicago, not the Punky QB. McMahon was injury prone and put up these very unimpressive numbers: 15 TD 12 INT, 56% comp pct. during the Super Bowl season.

3.) Doug Williams 1987-8 Washington Redskins, 69.4

Has the lowest career passer rating of any Super Bowl winning QB, but his victory means much more on another second substantive level. His win further proved wrong every redneck racist moron who feels all African-American QBs should be moved to WR, DB, or the ATH category.

4.) Mark Rypien 1991-2 Washington Redskins, 78.9

He has 2 Pro Bowl appearances to his credit, the Washington State product just saw his career end briefly. In other words, he’s not as terrible as you remember him. It’s just he’s no Troy Aikman here.

5.) Brad Johnson, 2002-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 82.5

Had the best season of his career in ’02 putting up a 22-6 TD-INT on his way to the Pro Bowl. Another name who’s always on the tip of the tongue in the “game manager” sports bar discussion, Johnson was actually pretty solid. I think the reason he wasn’t taken as seriously as he should have been is the fact he only threw 26 passes in college and was a 9th round pick out of Florida State.

Not mentioned. Jeff Hostetler 1990-1 New York Giants, is often brought up in this conversation but I can’t in good conscious put a guy with a 101.8 passer rating and 2 Pro Bowls in this group. Sorry hasslers of the Hos, he’s too good.

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

Following some of the links here could lead to NSFW photos, just warning you now about that. Check it out, Playboy Playmate Jaime Edmondson in every NFL team’s gear. Call it Playboy’s salute to the greatest sport on the planet. When you’re done enjoying Jaime’s photos, vote for which one you think is the hottest.

Miss January 2010 is a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader and co-creator of the Play by Playmate sports blog on Playboy.com By the way, BIG SHOCKER of news here, Edmondson has a tramp stamp. You can see it prominently in many of her pics. Quite a surprise, isn’t it?

See the full gallery here

Follow Edmondson on Twitter here

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports 

He does regular weekly radio spots in Chicago and Cleveland and has appeared on live shows all across the world from Houston to New Zealand. You can follow him on Twitter

Right now Tim Tebow is much more than a Denver Broncos quarterback, he’s a pop culture tour de force. Everyone has an opinion on him including the writers at “Saturday Night Live.”

Last night Taran Killam played the overanxious Tebow, Andy Samberg portrayed unsung place-kicking hero Matt Prater and Jason Sudekis played the Son of Man. Big J.C. claims credit for the Broncos’ winning streak and appears in their locker room post OT win over the Chicago Bears.

The reason? To tell the Broncos it’s time for them to start winning games on their own instead of relying on Him to have to show up and save them every fourth quarter.

He also says he might not be able to make it this week versus the New England Patriots; Jesus might not be able to help them versus Tom Brady and company.

Oh, and he says what the rest of the world is thinking regarding Tebow dropping his name- TONE IT DOWN A NOTCH.

For more on why Tebow is so polarizing go here.

Here are some of Jesus’ best lines in the sketch:

“Tim’s doing his best- Dad bless him”

“I got a big birthday coming up. And what do you get the man who’s sacrificed everything?”

“By the way, Mormonism- all true, every last word of it.”

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

You knew this was coming. Eventually, someone would dare to be stupid enough to say this. Especially after yesterday, when the Chicago Bears (SPECIFICALLY MARION BARBER) gave away a game to the Denver Broncos and Tim Tebow. The collapse was so unlikely and so one-sided in the final two minutes that you just knew some idiot would claim this game was “God’s will.”

This comment is so bad, I’m sure Tim Tebow himself will back away from these comments.

TMZ spoke with Pastor Wayne Hanson, who runs Summit Church in Castle Rock, Colorado, a Denver suburb. He is Tebow’s pastor and attributes the success of Tebow and the Broncos to God’s favor.

The giant gossip site tells us:

Hanson tells us, “It’s not luck. Luck isn’t winning 6 games in a row. It’s favor. God’s favor.”

Pastor Hanson adds, “God has blessed his hard work.”

We asked Hanson if Tebow would be winning games if he wasn’t such a strong believer — and the pastor replied, “No, of course not.”

This is so intelligence insulting on so many levels. What about all the Christians who play for the Chicago Bears? What about all the Bears fans who prayed for a victory yesterday? What about the other five teams who lost to Tebow? And their fans? Do you know how many Christians are deeply connected to the Raiders, Chiefs, Chargers, Vikings  and Jets? Yet their prayers are not to be answered and Hanson’s are?

This is extremely smug and condescending, not to mention a little batsh** crazy to assume God is on your side and not the others in a football game.

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio shows all across the world. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

The Chicago Bears didn’t have to spend too much time nor look very far to find Mike Martz’s replacement. The successor is a former Minnesota Vikings head coach who happens to be on their staff as the current OL coach: Mike Tice.

“(Coach Lovie Smith) and I share a similar mindset of what the Bears offense should look and feel like,” Tice said in a statement released by the team.

“There will be a toughness about us. We are going to be a powerful run team and we’re going to be able to mix in explosive pass plays. It will be important for us to utilize the talents of our players and exploit matchups each Sunday. We have athletes we can build with.”

Tice will become Smith’s fourth offensive coordinator since he became the Bears’ coach in 2004.

You may wonder why an offensive line coach should get this gig, given how bad the Bears O-Line has been. The unit ranked 27th in the league this season and 32nd a year ago. However, people within the team, and league think Tice has done a good job making the most out of a unit ravaged by injuries and lacking in talent, due to the fact that the now fired Jerry Angelo drafted most of them.

Mike Martz resigned from the Chicago Bears today; more like he was forced out.  Martz often himself in trouble for ultra pass-heavy schemes that left the quarterback vulnerable.

Not a good idea when the Bears just acquired Jay Cutler, giving the franchise it’s first real signal caller since Sid Luckman. In both years Cutler and Martz worked together there was friction and trouble.

Who could forget in midseason when Cutler was caught on camera saying “F him” about Martz in a nationally broadcast games.(See video here

And both this year and last year, the Bears ran into an opponent with whom Martz’s schemes (and his stubbornness to stick to them no matter what) really HURT the Bears. There were two games in which Cutler was sacked a ridiculous amount of times. And that says something because up until his season ending injury, Cutler had been sacked more than any other QB in the NFL.

“Philosophical differences” was given as the reason for the split. But given all the hype this man has had bestowed upon him. Yet all the flameouts in numerous cities..

…Mike Martz is proof that the word “genius” is thrown around a little too liberally these days.

Maybe they’ll bring back Ron Turner for a third time? He’s currently QB Coach in Indianapolis. But as well all know, no job on the Colts staff is safe right now.

The Bears also fired GM Jerry Angelo.

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

The Chicago Bears season ended for all purpose with the injury to Jay Cutler in week 11. The Green Bay Packers ended the pathetic Bears season in a practical sense on Sunday night of Christmas Day. It ends officially and mercifully (and believe me I mean mercifully, because when you live in Chicago, people DO NOT SHUT UP ABOUT THE BEARS EVER) on Sunday.

But Sunday night’s game provided good comic relief from a female Packers fan in the stands.

Returning from commercial break, just a couple minutes before the half, cameras focused on a woman in the stands at Lambeau Field. She was holding a sign with a special message to her now EX-boyfriend. Apparently he wasn’t, to quote the song by Chi-town rapper Common, “faithful to the end.”

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio shows all across the world. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

The fantasy football season is on the final stretch and every move takes on do-or-die importance. If you need a win now, start the higher rated player in my rankings and bring home that championship.

Quarterbacks

Could Impress: Tim Tebow. The Bills have fallen off the map after their fast start, and a big reason is the play of the defense. Buffalo is giving up 165 rushing yards a game and has struggled horribly against mobile quarterbacks. Tebow’s pass numbers have been better the last few weeks, so expect a good mix of rush and pass numbers for #15.

Could Disappoint: Eli Manning. The ‘other’ Manning is coming off his worst game of the season and has a tough matchup with the Jets this weekend. If we know one thing about Eli, it’s that he forces the issue in pressure games. If you’ve got other good options, you might want to consider sitting Manning.

Injury Replacement: Matt Moore. Give the guy credit; he’s been an above average quarterback this season, putting up double-digit fantasy points in more than half of his starts. The Patriots have allowed less talented quarterbacks to put up big fantasy numbers this season. Moore’s a decent play this week.

QB Rankings

1. Arian Foster HOU (@ Indianapolis)

2. Ray Rice BAL (vs. Cleveland)

3. Maurice Jones-Drew JAX (@ Tennessee)

4. LeSean McCoy PHI (@ Dallas)

5. Adrian Peterson MIN (@ Washington)

6. Ryan Mathews SD (@ Detroit)

7. Michael Turner ATL (@ New Orleans)

8. Reggie Bush MIA (@ New England)

9. Michael Bush OAK (@ Kansas City)

10. Rashard Mendenhall PIT (vs. St. Louis)

11. Chris Johnson TEN (vs. Jacksonville)

12. Shonn Greene NYJ (vs. New York Giants)

13. Frank Gore SF (@ Seattle)

14. Marshawn Lynch SEA (vs. San Francisco)

15. Willis McGahee DEN (@ Buffalo)

16. Beanie Wells AZ (@ Cincinnati)

17. Cedric Benson CIN (vs. Arizona)

18. C.J. Spiller BUF (vs. Denver)

19. Steven Jackson STL (@ Pittsburgh)

20. Roy Helu WAS (vs. Minnesota)

21. LeGarrette Blount TB (@ Carolina)

22. Felix Jones DAL (vs. Philadelphia)

23. Darren Sproles NO (vs. Atlanta)

24. Ahmad Bradshaw NYG (@ New York Jets)

25. DeAngelo Williams CAR (vs. Tampa Bay)

26. Jonathan Stewart CAR (vs. Tampa Bay)

27. Kahlil Bell CHI (@ Green Bay)

28. Donald Brown IND (vs. Houston)

29. Ryan Grant GB (vs. Chicago)

30. BenJarvus Green-Ellis NE (vs. Miami)

31. Kevin Smith DET (@ San Diego)

32. Peyton Hillis CLE (@ Baltimore)

33. Ben Tate HOU (@ Indianapolis)

34. Mike Tolbert SD (@ Detroit)

35. Brandon Jacobs NYG (@ New York Jets)

36. Marion Barber CHI (@ Green Bay)

37. Lance Ball DEN (@ Buffalo)

38. Chris Ivory NO (vs. Atlanta)

39. Jackie Battle KC (vs. Oakland)

40. Pierre Thomas NO (vs. Atlanta)

41. Thomas Jones KC (vs. Oakland)

42. Toby Gerhart MIN (@ Washington)

43. Evan Royster WAS (vs. Minnesota)

44. Kendall Hunter SF (@ Seattle)

45. Sammy Morris DAL (vs. Philadelphia)

46. Mark Ingram NO (vs. Atlanta)

47. Daniel Thomas MIA (@ New England)

48. Ricky Williams BAL (vs. Cleveland)

49. Stevan Ridley NE (vs. Miami)

50. LaDainian Tomlinson NYJ (vs. New York Giants)

Stephen Kelley is a contributor at The Sports Bank where he covers Fantasy Sports and Pro Drafts. You can follow him on Twitter @stephen_tsb.

The fantasy football season is on the final stretch and every move takes on do-or-die importance. If you need a win now, start the higher rated player in my rankings and bring home that championship.

1. Rob Gronkowski NE (vs. Miami)

2. Jimmy Graham NO (vs. Atlanta)

3. Tony Gonzalez ATL (@ New Orleans)

4. Jermichael Finley GB (vs. Chicago)

5. Antonio Gates SD (@ Detroit)

6. Aaron Hernandez NE (vs. Miami)

7. Jason Witten DAL (vs. Philadelphia)

8. Brent Celek PHI (@ Dallas)

9. Vernon Davis SF (@ Seattle)

10. Owen Daniels HOU (@ Indianapolis)

11. Brandon Pettigrew DET (vs. San Diego)

12. Dustin Keller NYJ (vs. New York Giants)

13. Kellen Winslow TB (@ Carolina)

14. Jermaine Gresham CIN (vs. Arizona)

15. Jared Cook TEN (vs. Jacksonville)

16. Anthony Fasano MIA (@ New England)

17. Ed Dickson BAL (vs. Cleveland)

18. Greg Olsen CAR (vs. Tampa Bay)

19. Heath Miller PIT (vs. St. Louis)

20. Marcedes Lewis JAX (@ Tennessee)

21. Scott Chandler BUF (vs. Denver)

22. Visanthe Shiancoe MIN (@ Washington)

23. Jacob Tamme IND (vs. Houston)

24. Kevin Boss OAK (@ Kansas City)

25. Evan Moore CLE (@ Baltimore)

Stephen Kelley is a contributor at The Sports Bank where he covers Fantasy Sports and Pro Drafts. You can follow him on Twitter @stephen_tsb.