NCAA Daily

Draymond Green

Draymond Green is coming off a big time senior year for Michigan State, one in which he was a consensus All-American and Big 10 Conference Player of the Year. Green also put himself in rare air as far as stastical measurements in the power 6 NCAA Conferences, as he became the first player to average over 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists since Tim Duncan's senior year at Wake Forest. His college success is impressive, 107 wins, 2 Final Four appearances and a conference title during his Spartan days. Still, people wonder where the 6'7 and 235 pound Green will fit in the NBA.

Green is somewhat of a 3/4 hybrid, gaining comparisons to numerous undersized 4's with varying success. Draymond seemed to be a winner and a player who improved greatly over time, but the tweener label makes it difficult to project his role on a NBA team. He was able to be a successful point forward at times on the college level, but the NBA would expect him to play off of the ball and more than likely defend guys with more size and greater athleticism than Draymond may possess. Despite these odds, Green still is up for the challenge.

According to Green, he is being projected to go anywhere from 20-30, obviously a first round pick being his goal and supposed window. He has a workout scheduled with Boston, who seem to be in his range with possession of the 21st and 22nd pick. Draymond also has accepted an invite to the Chicago Pre-Draft camp and is expecting to workout for close to a dozen other interested teams.

"I'm not going to worry about getting tired because I've been grinding my whole life," he said. "Some teams are going to bring me in as a 3 and some as a 4 to see how I deal with quickness or length. I'm sure I'll be going against some 6-10 guys and some shorter and quick guys."

Green also has an answer for those wondering about where he will fit on a team.

"If teams ask me if I think I'm a power or a small forward my answer is going to be, 'I'm a player.' I don't want to be classified, I just want a chance to play."

These seems to be perfect answers and a great attitude, though it still of course leaves many questioning whether to take a gamble. This is a deep draft in PF depth, not to mention PF is one of the more deep positions in the league. Even if Green is classified as a combo forward, there seem to be many of those available in the draft. Seems like this senior might have the resume and references to carve out a position in the first round.

While there are taller players and probably those with more upside, attitude is incredibly important. You are applying for a job in the NBA, professionalism can give you a major leg up. Tom Izzo gives a glowing reference to Green as a potential roster employee.

"My biggest point is and will be, Draymond is one of the few guys that has gotten better every year — from his shooting to ball handling to his body — and he'll keep doing that because of his work ethic," Izzo said. "The guy is a winner in much the same way that Magic (Johnson) and Mateen (Cleaves) were here and no one is ever going to have a problem with him off the court."

Magic Johnson and Mateen Cleaves were pretty much as close as one could get to polar opposites of NBA success. Still, Izzo provides a point that might be on the minds of teams looking for a player of Green's stature and skill set. Are we getting a professional who will buy in to what our team stands for? So far, seems like Green is doing well for himself in that regard. For those players one might think have more prototypical size and athleticism for a particular NBA position, it takes more than that to be a NBA player. Green being "a player" might be enough justification for him to end up as a first round pick on June 28.

The official list of early entry candidates for this upcoming NBA Draft has been released by the league as of May 3, 2012. The list includes 49 college players and 17 international players, bringing the grand total to 66 early entrants. The deadline for early entry declaration was April 29, while the deadling for withdrawal from the draft is 5 pm on June 18.

NCAA rules stated that a player forfeited college eligibility by remaining in the draft any time after April 10, so it looks like the June 18 withdrawal date will mainly apply to international players. Last year, 89 players entered there name at the deadline, with 25 withdrawing by the June 13 deadline to make it 64. With the NCAA's new rule changes, the numbers should be somewhere similar depending on the international prospects decisions.

Nobody too surprising added to the list. Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin decided to declare shortly after it was announced he would be suspended for one year had he decided to stay a Terrapin. Quincy Miller of Baylor was also a fairly late decision, as many expected him to remain at Baylor. Though it had been reported that North Texas' Tony Mitchell was highly considering early entry into the 2012 Draft, he decided to remain in school and play for new coach Tony Benford.

A number of intriguing players on this list, it will be a wonder of what happens between now and the June 28 Draft. At the very least, we now have a solid list of prospects who have officially left college and international players eyeing the NBA.

The #1 Kentucky Wildcats were the only team in 2012 to finish with an unblemished conference schedule, closing 16-0 in SEC play. Their latest victory was a 74-59 takedown of the #16 Florida Gators, with the Gainsville crowd unable to shake them. Now 30-1, Kentucky was led once again by super frosh Anthony Davis with 22 points, 12 boards and 6 blocks. Florida got 21 points and 9 boards from sophomore Patric Young, but there guards were held neutral by the quick Kentucky defense.

With Anthony Davis thought to be a possible triple crown award winner, considered the favorite for freshman, defensive and national player of the year, John Calipari is preparing for the tournament by simulating life without him. It has been pretty incredible that Davis, who is currently leading the NCAA with 4.7 blocks per game, has not had foul trouble become a major issue. However, just to be safe, Kentucky is taking time to prepare for the possibility of playing without him for larger portions of time.

During their lone loss of the year to Indiana, Kentucky was indeed forced to play large chunks of the game with Davis on bench with foul trouble. With the NCAA tournament usually leading to more physical, methodical play, teams might try to attack the paint despite Davis' shot swatting prowess to draw cheap fouls. Kentucky has taken time in each practice to play Davis on the second team with either Terrence Jones at center or Eloy Vargas taking the spot with Jones staying at the 4. This preparation seems like a great idea, as more physical teams might try to break the trend of Davis being relatively foul free.

The Providence Friars might have put a pin in UConn's NCAA tournament bubble after their 72-70 win at the Dunkin Donuts Center. The home team Friars rallied back from a 14 point deficit with 12:30 remaining, using a 19-2 run to take the lead for good. Bryce Cotton and LaDontae Henton made 5 three pointers apiece for the Friars, finishing with 22 points and 18 points respectively.

Gerard Coleman added 13 points while Vincent Council dished out 11 assists for a Friars team that has all of their main pieces returning next season. With top rated freshman Kris Dunn in attendance and joined as class headliner with Ricardo Ledo, the Friars should improve on this years 15-15 mark. Meanwhile, they may play spoiler to a team with huge pre-season expectations.

After winning the NCAA tournament behind scintillating lead guard Kemba Walker, UConn had incredibly high hopes even with his entrance into the draft. With the late addition of big man Andre Drummond, along with the returning promise in Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier and Alex Oriakhi, many thought Connecticut would be the team to beat in the Big East. As things have gone, they are currently 7-10 in conference and fighting for their NCAA tournament lives.

The team has been 3-5 without head coach Jim Calhoun on the sidelines, though to be fair they are only 3-9 in their last 12 games. Andre Drummond had only 2 of his 14 points in the second half. To make matters worse, he was called for a technical foul against Providence that ended up having obvious consequences on the final score. Drummond also finished with 12 rebounds, including an offensive board that gave Jeremy Lamb a decent shot at the win.

Connecticut's issue seems to be leadership and at times a lack of effort. Everyone has suffered wild inconsistencies and there seems to be very little to rely on. This seems to be a guard oriented team that has a difficult time involving the bigger bodies. They have really never come to a happy medium, which could end up costing them a spot in this years tournament. With next years NCAA tournament in doubt, Connecticut better find some motivation or they may have to wait until 2014 for another chance at the NCAA crown.