Mid Major Players to Keep an Eye on
I'd put Barton 1st on that list. I know he's skinny, but he has a smooth athleticism, and given the increased responsibility he'll have this season he could break out. People forget how close Memphis was to beating Arizona in the tourney last season.
But, for college impact, I like the two guys providence put in front of Barton. Will Barton is a nice athlete and should step up this season, but the two guys in front of him are seniors who should have huge years as well. I have been a big fan of Drew Gordon for a while, I am surprised he is not more highly regarded as a possible draft prospect. I am guessing he could go late first round or so, the guy is a protypical PF with solid strength and athleticism. His brother, Aaron, is getting a lot of love as a HS prospect right now, but I liked Drew coming out of HS to. At the 2008 Nike Hoop Summit, he was beasting on Serge Ibaka and Alexis Ajinca. I was surprised he never became much at UCLA, but I am thinking he might be one of the top senior draft prospects for 2012.
Tu Holloway is definitely sick as well, on a Xavier team that always seem to be around come March. Reigning A-10 POY, he should be on draft radars as well as a 2nd round guy, if not higher. As much as I like Barton as a 2 guard prospect with his length and athleticism, that Memphis team is going to be really balanced, much like they were last season. Think you came up with a solid list of Mid Major guys, providence. Kazemi and McDermott are two guys without a really defined NBA position, but both are killer college players. I want to throw out just one name of a player who I see as a definite sleeper from a pretty popular mid major team, Sam Dower from Gonzaga. He is 6'9 and carries his 248 pounds pretty well, I liked what I saw of him last year. Averaged 7.6 ppg and 3.3 rpg in 14.1 mpg as a redshirt freshman last season for the Bulldogs. Don't think he leaves this year, but could see him going being a possible pick in the 2013 or 2014 draft.
Tarik Black should also be on there imo. Even though Memphis has higher profile guys, you can make the argument that he will be there most impotant player. Good list overall though.
Also, another guy to keep a eye on is Ian Clark from Belmont.
Ray McCallum could really explode this season. Frankly I don't know why he didn't go to a big-time program, other than to play for his father.
Also, I never realized that 2013 Aaron Gordon was Drew Gordon's brother until now. And yes, Drew Gordon may have &$#%#&@! up at UCLA, but he deserves attention from NBA scouts this season.
from Dayton. Hindersj1 is right, that man can play. If he can improve his shot selection, he could be a sleeper late 1st - mid 2nd pick. He can be a nice scoring punch off the bench for an NBA team down the road. Ray McCallum needs to reevaluate that decision to play for his dad. Definitely hurt him in the long run by denying himself he opportunity to play elite competition game in and game out.
to mikeyV and AMG, Drew Gordon didnt struggle at ucla. He was starting, playing well and looked like he was gonna be a very key player for the program before he left halfway through his sophomore season. He might have gotten benched eventually behind nelson and smith, but he would have still gotten 20+ minutes a night and maybe even started over one of them.
From all things i read including sources from inside the program, his leaving was simply about not liking the teams style. He said they didnt get up down and run enough for his liking and he thought he was gonna be held back playing a slow it down style. Plus im sure he didnt want to have to battle for minutes as hard as he would have at ucla up front.
Yeah, he's kind of a workhorse, hustle type player with really good fundamentals ( coach's son ). He's got a nice shot and is very efficient on offense, and is a good enough athlete, although not great. He dropped 11.3 ppg for the FIBA U19 team, he's a 4 year player, but a guy I feel could sneak into the end of the 1st round or be an early 2nd rounder.
I had high hopes for Trey Zeigler, but I've lately been reevaluating my support for the guy. He just doesn't seem to stand out all that much and hasn't really developed quite the way I thought. I was expecting a James Harden type player, but as of now I'm simply hoping for a player first round worthy. Perhaps a couple more years and he could develo into a Salmons type, but I'm not holding my breathe. Perhaps I'm wrong and there is a big breakout yer ahead of him but I doubt it.
As for McCallum, I was high on him as well, still am, but don't expect him to be the next Steph Curry like I thought after the MCDonald's ASG.
Here is another small school talent that has NBA aspirations he was as stated before the fourth leading scorer in Division 1with a 22.7 scoring average also in high school he played point guard as well and he has the size to play the position at 6-5 205.
Here's the link on Suero
Here is my list of the top 20 mid major guys, I consider mid major any team not in a power six conference
There were some good guys I had to leave out but thats the list.