Next year's draft is going to be stacked.
Anthony Davis, a 6-foot-10, 200 pound forward from Chicago has been the talk of the town for months. But at the McDonald's game -- both in practices and in the game itself -- he solidified his spot as the guy to beat for the No. 1 spot in the draft in 2012.
Davis has an unusual story. He was 6-foot-2 going into his junior year of high school -- a point guard. But a crazy growth spurt added 8 inches to his stature. Many kids get clumsy or awkward when their body grows that fast. Not Davis. He's rail thin, but still demonstrates the quickness, ballhandling and shooting abilities of a guard.
But it gets better. Sometimes those 6-foot-10 guards in a big man's body are the bane of an NBA scout's existence. They want their big men to rebound and block shots. That's where they are most valuable to a NBA team. Davis, is doing that as well. He's an aggressive rebounder, a big-time shot blocker and isn't afraid to dunk over people. In other words, he's the best of both worlds. Scouts are almost uniformly comparing him to a young Kevin Garnett.
Davis will be playing at Kentucky next year, and if he can live up to potential, he should be the odds on favorite for the No. 1 pick in 2012.
Austin Rivers, son of Doc Rivers, may have the most complete game of any guard in the country. His high basketball IQ and killer instinct are super appealing. But his lack of size for his position and lack of explosive athleticism (he's a good, but not an elite athlete) may lower his ceiling a bit. Rivers will head to Duke sitting at No. 2 on our 2012 Big Board.
Michael Gilchrist (committed to Kentucky), Bradley Beal (committed to Florida), James McAdoo (committed to North Carolina) and Myck Kabongo (committed to Texas) also drew a lot of praise from scouts as potential lottery picks in 2012.
Is Roy Williams screwing us over?
UNC's Harrison Barnes continues to be on the fence however. He recently had his exit interview with head coach Roy Williams. In the interview Williams told Barnes that he would go somewhere between No. 5 and 11 in the draft, according to a source familiar with the discussion. I think Barnes will go higher -- likely in the Top 3. The bigger question will be whether Barnes wants to return to a loaded UNC team next year to try to win a championship.