A couple of weeks ago, six stalwart fantasy college hoops fans gathered for a second mock draft. Because the draft was so small, I had second thoughts about writing it up for the site. But, after tossing it around in my mind, I figured why not. The rules were Big Chief related (still plenty of room in the Big Chief Challenge, feel free to email me for details, but the deadline to join is October 17) so each team needed to draft two guards, two forwards, a center, and utility. One of the six players had to be a freshman. Once again to protect the innocent, I went with conference names. I was the Big 10 and had the first pick.
Round 1
1. Big 10: Howard Thompkins, Georgia, JR, F
2. SEC: Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech, SR, G
3. Big East: Talor Battle, Penn State, SR, G
4. Big 12: Kyle Singler, Duke, SR, F
5. ACC: Demetri McCamey, Illinois, SR, G
6. Pac 10: Klay Thompson, Washington State, JR, G
While I am not sure Thompkins is a consensus top pick, I couldn't think of a good reason not to take him as the first pick. He provides scoring and rebounding in a sweet combination. There are plenty of good directions to go and I wouldn't really argue with either Delaney (who I had as my top player in my initial top 10) or Battle, who is a one-man team. I think Singler has a better reputation than a fantasy actuality (fantasy actuality?), but he should be good for 17 points and seven rebounds. McCamey sets the ACC up to be a strong assist team. Klay Thompson will have to show that he can dominate against Pac 10 competition, rather than just beating up on Tier 3 and 4 competition.
Round 2
7. Pac 10: John Shurna, Northwestern, JR, F
8. ACC: Fabricio Melo, Syracuse, FR, C
9. Big 12: Augustus Gilchrist, South Florida, JR, F-C
10. Big East: LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor, SR, G
11. SEC: Kemba Walker, Connecticut, JR, G
12. Big 10: Harrison Barnes, North Carolina, FR, F
Shurna and Thompson give the Pac 10 a very nice scoring combination and both should rebound quite well relative to their position. The ACC made the first real reach of the draft with freshman Fab Melo. Yes, he does knock out the two hardest to fill roles - freshman and center, but his upside is providing Arinze Onuaku numbers of 12 points and eight rebounds. Gus Gilchrist might be the best center eligible player in college basketball, but to see him taken ahead of Tracy Smith and JaJuan Johnson was somewhat surprising. Dunn should score a ton of points and Walker was snagged just ahead of me. Consarnit! I wasn't really aiming for Walker again, but I was happy to see Barnes fall to me. He should be the top scoring freshman and gives me a strong frontcourt.
Round 3
13. Big 10: JaJuan Johnson, Purdue, SR, C
14. SEC: Jacob Pullen, Kansas State, SR, G
15. Big East: Derrick Williams, Arizona, SO, F
16. Big 12: Alec Burks, Colorado, SO, G
17. ACC: Robbie Hummel, Purdue, SR, F
18. Pac 10: Tracy Smith, North Carolina State, SR, C
I decided to pull the trigger on one of the top centers with Johnson. I have had him in the past and never really took to him, but he has progressed in his career and should continue to give me an edge in rebounds. The SEC took the opposite strategy by taking their third guard. Delaney, Walker and Pullen should give that team an edge in points and assists on a weekly basis. The Big East broke the all frontcourt or backcourt trend by going with Williams to balance their guards. Burks should provide Colorado with a lot points in another losing season. Hummel, like Singler, should provide 17 and seven, but he was taken two rounds later. Tracy Smith is statistically the best returning center, so he provides the Pac 10 with a strong foundation along with Shurna and Thompson.
Round 4
19. Pac 10: Brandon Knight, Kentucky, FR, G
20. ACC: Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, SR, G
21. Big 12: Kyrie Irving, Duke, FR, G
22. Big East: C.J. Leslie, North Carolina State, FR, F
23. SEC: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State, FR, F
24. Big 10: Reggie Jackson, Boston College, JR, G
With their building blocks in place, the Pac 10 snagged a high echelon freshman. Knight should be the main man for the Wildcats and could bring John Wall-like production (if not the same level of hype). The ACC took the top scorer off the board with Hazell. They needed some scoring punch. The Big 12 took their freshman and second Blue Devil in Irving, who many have compared to Jason Williams. Leslie could be a sneaky pick and teaming him with Derrick Williams could be a sweet frontcourt combination for the Big East. The freshman run in Round 4 continued with Sullinger who should provide the guard-oriented ACC with plenty of points and boards. I started to fill in my backcourt with the well-rounded Jackson, who rebounds well for a guard and provides a handful of assists.
Round 5
25. Big 10: Chris Warren, Mississippi, SR, G
26. SEC: Perry Jones, Baylor, FR, F
27. Big East: Mike Tisdale, Illinois, SR, C
28. Big 12: Marcus Morris, Kansas, JR, F
29. ACC: Marshawn Powell, Arkansas, SO, F
30. Pac 10: D.J. Kennedy, St. John's, SR, G-F
A continued to stock my backcourt with the high-scoring Warren from Ole Miss. He will give me enough assists to keep opponents honest. The SEC continued to take freshman with the well-named Jones from Baylor. Freshmen are a bit unpredictable but they are often the most talented players in the draft. The Big East filled their center slot with a solid but unspectacular Mike Tisdale. Marcus Morris should be the main man for the Jayhawks and he should improve significantly on his 12.8-point and 6.1-rebound average from his sophomore season. Powell is coming off a broken foot, so he may need some time to round into form for the Razorbacks. Kennedy is a forward who can pass. He provides stats from all three categories. I like players like that.
Round 6
31. Pac 10: Jimmy Butler, Marquette, SR, G-F
32. ACC: Josh Selby, Kansas, FR, G
33. Big 12: Kalin Lucas, Michigan State, SR, G
34. Big East: Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame, JR, F
35. SEC: Enes Kanter, Kentucky, FR, C
36. Big 10: Brad Wanamaker, Pittsburgh, SR, G
The Pac 10 finished off their solid squad with more multi-position eligibility. Butler provided 14.7 points and 6.4 rebounds, which is an excellent number for a guard-eligible player. The ACC took a swing at Selby who still has not been declared eligible. He could team with McCamey to make a tough combo to beat in assists. The Big 12 also took a risk with Lucas who is coming off an Achilles' injury. He really is a steal at this point in the draft. The Big East finished off their team with Abromaitis, who should score plenty for the Fighting Irish. The SEC took another big swing for the fences in trusting that John Calipari will defy the odds and get Kanter eligible for the season. I finished my backcourt with Wannamaker, who like Reggie Jackson, fills the stat sheet nicely.