The impending NBA lockout kept a few underclassmen from testing the NBA draft waters. But only a few.
There are 69 early entrants to the NBA draft, down slightly from 80 last year (51 stayed in). The complete list is here. A quick breakdown follows.
Entrants by class: freshmen 10; sophomores 12; juniors 47.
Duke freshman Kyrie Irving is expected to be the No. 1 selection, followed by Arizona sophomore Derrick Williams. UConn junior Kemba Walker could go in the top 5.
Entrants by conference: ACC six; Big East six; Big Ten four; Big 12 11; Pac-10 eight; SEC eight.
BCS schools make up 42 of the 69 early entrants. Kentucky has the most (counting Enes Kanter) with four. Kansas and Texas each have three early entrants.
Entrants by position: PG 17; SG 15; SF 16; PF 13; C 8.
Three point guards (Irving, Walker and Brandon Knight) are expected to go in the top 10. Colorado’s Alec Burks is the top shooting guard. Kentucky’s Terrence Jones or San Diego State’s Kawhi Leonard are the best small forwards. Williams is the top forward. Kanter is the best center.
And yes, those top players at each position are underclassmen. Expect no more than seven seniors to go in the first round.
(Thanks to Draft Express for the complete list.)
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