Last week we had a fantastic entry and poll that you may not have seen projecting the impact of early entrants in the NBA draft on the ACC Basketball landscape that can be seen by clicking here.
Tonight we thought we would open an entry for the NBA Draft which can be followed at the NBA Draft Website.
We’re not huge NBA followers here, but a draft in any sport is interesting and exciting. Additionally, Wolfpackers can’t totally ignore the league after Josh Powell just won a ring; Vinny Del Negro and Nate McMillan coaching the two youngest up-and-coming teams in the league; and Shaquille O’Neal just getting traded to play with JJ Hickson in Cleveland
Not to mention, maybe we can all FINALLY go a day without the Charlotte Observer running an article chronicling that Tyler Hansbrough is excited about getting drafted and can’t wait to prove his critics wrong. Maybe just ONE friggin day? (For fun, you should check some of our Tyler Hansbrough tags)
A few quick observations:
- Stephon Curry ends up in Golden State. Damn, that is a long way from the New York Knicks as all of the local media had been salivating.
- Gerald Henderson ends up in Charlotte. Despite being one of the most incompetent franchises in professional sports, the Bobcats have quickly transformed themselves into a playoff contender behind Larry Brown’s leadership in the organization. Henderson’s physical toughness and well rounded game will add another piece to Charlotte’s push to make their first playoff appearance in the summer of 2010.
- Wake Forest’s James Johnson will head to Chicago to play for our own Vinny Del Negro’s Baby Bulls.
Here is an interesting exercise in which I want you to engage.
First, take a look at the Top 15 picks as listed below and can you tell me what round of the NCAA Tournament that each of the picks was eliminated?
Next, do the same exercise for the limited number of schools that had more than one player drafted in the Top 35 selections. I count the following schools to achieve that distinction:
UConn – 4 wins; Final Four exit
Arizona State – 1 win; second round exit
Louisville – 3 wins; Elite Eight loss
North Carolina – 6 wins; National Champion
Wake Forest – 0 wins; first round collapse
UCLA – 1 win; second round exit
USC -1 win; second round exit
Only four schools placed a draft pick in the top 15 and multiple picks in the top 35. Those schools were: Louisville, Arizona State, USC, and North Carolina.
Particularly interesting is the statistic that only two schools placed a draft pick in the top 10 and multiple picks in the top 35. Both of those schools were from the Pac-10 – USC and Arizona State – and both schools lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. You may recall that USC defeated Arizona State for the Pac-10 Championship as the Sun Devils blew a 15 point halftime lead while managing to score only 4 points in the last 7:37 of the game and only 63 points for the entire game. Despite all of this pro talent?
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