The NBA Draft Stock Report checks in on which college basketball players have made a name for themselves in the past week; either helping or hurting their future draft position.
Click here for The Sports Bank’s 2012 NBA Mock Draft.
BUYING:
Bradley Beal, SG, Florida, Fr.
To be honest, I expected better numbers from Beal than what we’ve seen this season. But when you remember that is part of a backcourt featuring ball-dominant, gunners like Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Mike Rosario; Beal is playing his role to perfection. He is athletic, can shoot the ball, rebounds well for his position, and has played a major part in the Gators’ current six-game win streak. Beal is a high character kid who is very coachable and is very deserving of being a mid lottery pick this summer… if he declares for the draft. I could actually see him returning to Gainesville for his sophomore season.
Fab Melo, C, Syracuse, Soph.
In a strange way, Melo being suspended for a few games could actually be beneficial for his draft stock. If anything, it proved just valuable Melo is to the Orange this season and how much of an impact he can make as a presence in the middle. The seven-footer is obviously still a work in progress on the offensive end but with size being in demand at the next level and with Melo’s steady development, I would not be shocked if he was a mid-first round pick this season. More than likely though, he returns to ‘Cuse for his junior season which could help boost his stock even more.
Reggie Johnson, C, Miami FL, Jr.
The big fella was beastly inside for the Hurricanes in their upset win at Duke on Sunday; scoring a career-high 27 points and grabbing 12 boards. Johnson certainly isn’t the most athletic or explosive big man, but he knows how to throw his 284 pounds around inside and simply over-powered Duke’s athletic bigs. Since he tested the NBA Draft waters last summer, it would lead me to think that Johnson would declare after this season. If so, he is a safe bet second round pick and could possibly slide into the late first round with a strong finish to this season.
SELLING:
Jeremy Lamb, SG, UConn, Soph.
I think Lamb is a great talent and will certainly be a lottery pick, but it baffles me when I see other mock drafts having him as a top five pick. He is in a funk during his last two games, just 7-28 from the floor, 4-18 from distance. At least during the win against Seton Hall he got to the charity stripe and grabbed 8 boards, but his “sleepy” demeanor on the court and the way he mentally checked out of the game in UConn’s loss to Georgetown certainly concerns me.
Shabazz Napier, PG, UConn, Soph.
Lamb’s shooting slump pails in comparison to what Napier is going through as he is just 1-22 from the field in his last three games. At the beginning of the season, I though Napier had lottery potential. Now I’d likely take fellow Husky point guard Ryan Boatright over Napier. Because he has been so inconsistent this season, he is a second round pick if he declares for the draft after this season.
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.