While our Tier 1 conference-specific mock drafts have been finished for awhile now and the actual Big Chief Challenge drafts are in progress (email me if you'd like an update), I have had two mock drafts waiting to be recapped. The first will be our Tier 2 mock draft (also known as the Masters Challenge). Tier 2 consists of the Atlantic 10, Colonial, Conference USA, Horizon, Missouri Valley, Mountain West and WAC (although the WCC should by all rights take over for the WAC). We made a few wrinkles in the rules for this draft. Since there were only four brave souls participating in this draft, we decided to go ten rounds. Also, this year in the Masters Challenge, we are introducing blocks and steals to the mix. We are still using three categories, but blocks will be added to rebounds and steals will be added to assists. I don't think it will make a huge difference, but I like to tinker with my leagues.
Round 1
1. Big Chief: Tu Holloway Xavier G SR
2 big5guy: Andrew Nicholson St. Bonaventure F SR
3 UAWildcat: Arsalan Kazemi Rice F JR
4 asatyss: Ray McCallum Jr. Detroit G SO
I had the crazy good fortune to draw the first pick and I went with the chalk. Holloway is a dynamite scorer who grabs a good amount of rebounds for a guard and passes as well as any point in the country. He is going to dominate the ball for the Musketeers, who have a lot of weapons. It was an easy pick. I have tried to find a source that has Nicholson as a center, but have come up empty. Perhaps he used to be known as a part-center, but he is now all-forward. Whatever the case, he is a great scorer whose stats were somewhat buoyed by a pair of games that went into multiple overtimes last year. Nicholson is a decent rebounder and adds some blocked shots. UAWildcat snagged Kazemi who is a double-double beast from Rice. He has progressed nicely in his career, but I am not sure he can do better than 15 points and 11 rebounds. Sometimes people draft for progression and when a minutes cap is reached, the stats just can't be bettered. 15 and 11 is quite good enough. Asa took the second guard of the draft in Detroit's do-everything McCallum. The coach's son may have a different role if Eli Holman continues his leave of absence.
Round 2
1. asatyss: Kyle Weems Missouri State F SR
2. UAWildcat: Keith Clanton UCF F JR
3. big5guy: Chris Gaston Fordham F JR
4. Big Chief: Cameron Moore UAB F SR
Asa opened the second round by complementing his top guard with the Missouri Valley's top returning player. Players in the Valley are somewhat limited by the majority of the teams' slow style of play, but Weems is a valuable player who added a steal and a block to his 16 points and seven rebounds as a junior. The Knights' Clanton is also a defensive stat hoarder. He averaged a steal and 1.9 blocks last year to go along with 13.9 points and 8.2 rebounds. Gaston saw his scoring fall a bit from his freshman to sophomore season, but Harry had to be glad to put the A10's top big men together. It will be interesting to see if Gaston has to sacrifice more stats to allow the Rams to be competitive. I stayed in my comfort zone with Conference USA by selecting another big in Moore. The Blazers lost some important pieces to their team, but Moore returned from an NBA flirtation. With Moore and Holloway, I had my bases fairly well covered in the first two rounds. This allowed me to wait on a center.
Round 3
1. Big Chief: Drew Gordon New Mexico F JR
2. big5guy: Hank Thorns TCU G SR
3. UAWildcat: Alec Brown UW-Green Bay C SO
4. asatyss: Kendall Williams New Mexico G SO
With Gordon and Moore, my team is going to be tough to beat on the boards. Gordon started his Lobo career a bit slowly as he found his place on the team. His rebounding number ascended during the season and he should be a top pick from the Mountain West. Harry took the top assist guy on the board with Thorns who doled out seven assists as a member of the Horned Frogs. Thorns also added 10.4 points and is a solid start for the Big 5 backcourt. UAWildcat took the first center in the Phoenix's Brown. He has been mentioned as a breakout player by Jeff Goodman. Centers are rather hard to come by in this league. Brown averaged 10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 25 minutes. Asa added to his backcourt with the second Lobo of the round. Williams should get a good chance to show what he can do now that Dairese Gary has moved on. Williams averaged 11.0 points and 4.2 assists as a freshman.
Round 4
1. asatyss: Doug McDermott Creighton F SO
2. UAWildcat: Devonte Burton Nevada G SO
3. big5guy: C.J. Aiken St. Josephs C SO
4. Big Chief: Dario Hunt Nevada F SR
Asa continued to mine the Valley with McDermott who averaged 14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds as a freshman. While people usually associate a jump in stats from a player's freshman and sophomore year, but McDermott averaged 29.1 minutes last year. In other words, I think his potential is somewhat limited. There is nothing wrong with his stats. UAWildcat stayed west of the Rockies with sophomore Burton from the Wolf Pack. Burton averaged 13.6 points and 3.6 assists as a freshman last year. He is from Compton. Harry selected the second center of the draft with the Hawks' shot blocking sensation Aiken. The 6-foot-9 sophomore swatted away 3.4 shots last year, but only added 7.3 points and 4.5 boards. I continued to go big with the second Nevada player of the round. Hunt averaged 12.6 points and 9.9 boards last year. I should be done with forwards with Moore, Gordon, and Hunt.
Round 5
1. Big Chief: T.J. McConnell Duquesne G SO
2. big5guy: Samme Givens Drexel F SR
3. UAWildcat: Will Barton Memphis G SO
4. asatyss: Kenny Frease Xavier C SR
With my forwards set, I turned my eyes to the backcourt and selected the Dukes rising sophomore McConnell. Duquesne lost some key parts of their team (including Damian Saunders, one of my favorite fantasy players in recent memory), so McConnell will be given a chance to expand his game. Harry stayed home for the Dragons' main frontcourt force. Givens averaged 12.2 points and 10.1 rebounds and Drexel is expected to be among the top teams in the Colonial. Barton was supposed to be the next great Memphis player, but rumors had his ego bigger than his production. He did average 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds, but more was expected of him. Asa took Frease before he was put on suspension. The suspension is not expected to last long into the season, so even at this point the Musketeer center is a nice value pick.
Round 6
1. asatyss: Adonis Thomas Memphis F FR
2. UAWildcat: Mark Lyons Xavier G JR
3. big5guy: Damier Pitts Marshall G SR
4. Big Chief: Andrew Smith Butler C SO
The first freshman went off the board with Asa selecting Thomas from Memphis. The 6-foot-6 forward seems to be a good fit for the Tiger offense, but I wonder how many scoring opportunities he will get with their guards (both Bartons, Charles Carmouche, Joe Jackson). UAWildcat took the third Musketeer of the draft. Lyons averaged 13.6 points for Xavier last year and he adds 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Harry took a bit of a surprise with Pitts being the first Marshall player selected. My guess is that DeAndre Kane would be first, but Pitts fits more of a prototypical point guard role. Pitts averaged 15.8 points and 4.4 assists last year. I decided to solve my center slot once and for awhile with Butler's Smith. He figures to have an expanded role and a seven-footer in the Horizon can do some damage.
Round 7
1. Big Chief: Eric Copes George Mason C FR
2. big5guy: Dezmine Wells Xavier F FR
3. UAWildcat: Joe Jackson Memphis G SO
4. asatyss: Kendall Timmons Tulane G SR
If Smith should falter, I took the top freshman center on the board. Copes is a 6-foot-8 center who should get some playing time at GMU. His minutes may be limited at the start of the season, but if I am patient, I could fill the center and freshman spots with one player. The second freshman of the round went next when Harry took Wells from Xavier. He is highly touted, but one wonders how many minutes and opportunities he'll get on the Musketeers. If Frease is out for an extended perior, Wells will look like a genius pick. UAWildcat selected the third Memphis Tiger with Jackson. He is a nice scoring guard that provided 9.0 points and 3.1 assists as a freshman. Asa made two excellent value picks with his seventh and eighth round selections. He had wondered if there was something wrong with Timmons. Other than playing for the lousy Green Wave, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the 6-foot-5 do-everything swingman. He averaged 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 steals in 36.1 minutes. I am not sure how he slipped this far.
Round 8
1. asatyss: DeAndre Kane Marshall G JR
2. UAWildcat: Alex Kirk New Mexico C SO
3. big5guy: Carl Jones St. Josephs G JR
4. Big Chief: Vander Joaquim Hawaii F-C JR
Asa bolstered his team with Kane, another do-everything guard. The junior averaged 15.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. These value picks will certainly make Asa's team the one to beat. The news about Kirk's injury was just coming out when this draft took place. Kirk had offseason back injury that may cause him to redshirt this season. Had he been slated to play, he would have been a nice pick at this point. Harry took a pure scorer in Jones to add to his already excellent backcourt (funny how having only four teams in a league makes for All Star teams). Jones knocked in 17.0 points last year as a sophomore and was the top scorer on the board at that point. I continued my center run with Hawaii's Joaquim. I had him on my squad last year and he improved as the season went on. He had seven double-doubles as a sophomore.
Round 9
1. Big Chief: Marcus Jordan UCF G JR
2. big5guy: Micheal Eric Temple C SR
3. UAWildcat: Dee Davis Xavier G FR
4. asatyss: Khyle Marshall Butler F SO
I went with bloodlines in Round 9. Michael's elder son, Marcus averaged 15.2 points for the Knights last year. He only hit 40.6% of his shots, but that is irrelevant in this league. With all of the Xavier love in this draft, one would think Temple would have had more players selected. Eric, the team's center, was the lone Owl to be tabbed. He averaged 7.0 points and 5.9 rebounds, but should be in for a bigger role with Lavoy Allen graduated. Davis was the fifth Musketeer selected (most of any team - Memphis and New Mexico had three apiece). He is a 6-foot freshman who should get some time in backing up Holloway. Asa took Butler sophomore Marshall, who like Eric should see an expanded role after the Bulldogs' graduations. He was a highly touted prospect who only saw 15.2 minutes as a freshman.
Round 10
1 asatyss: Anton Grady Cleveland State F FR
2 UAWildcat: Ryan Pearson George Mason F SR
3 big5guy: Rayvonte Rice Drake G SO
4 Big Chief: Jake Odum Indiana State G SO
Asa finished up his draft with a backup freshman. Grady is a 6-foot-7 first year player that can play near the basket or on the win. The Vikings lost Norris Cole, so they have a lot of available opportunities. Perason was a great value pick at this point of the draft. The Patriot averaged 14.4 points and 6.8 rebounds in 2010-11 and has been mentioned in the Colonial Player of the Year preseason buzz. If Rice isn't suspended, he'll be a nice pick as well. He was arrested for shoplifting. As a freshman, he provided 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. I finished the draft with another Valley player in Odum who I also had last year. His play improved as the season went on and he averaged 9.4 points and 4.0 assists.