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2012 NBA Draft Stock: Duke vs. North Carolina Special Edition
Updated 2/9
2012 NBA Draft Stock: Buying
Austin Rivers, SG, Duke, Fr. Doc’s son takes a lot of flack for being a selfish, cocky player on the court, but he backed it all up Wednesday night with his clutch three at the buzzer. He is the only player on the Duke roster who can create opportunities for himself. He wants the ball in his hands at the most important times of the game. Rivers was 6-10 of three, displaying his NBA range from distance, while also showing his ability to create off the bounce. He is a likely lottery pick if he declares after this season, but he could use another year in college to get stronger, work on his defense and learn how to better play off the ball.
Tyler Zeller, C, North Carolina, Sr. The senior was all over the floor in the first half, scoring 19 points but was slowed down in the second half including a couple of critical missed free throws down the stretch. Still, Zeller did enough in the first half to back up the talk of him being a potential lottery pick.
2012 NBA Draft Stock: Holding Steady
Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina, Soph. It was a tale of two halves for Barnes, who was held without a field goal in the first half, but finished with 25 points on the night. He displayed the aggressiveness in the final 20 minutes that many feel he lacks to show on a consistent basis, and that was evident against Duke. When he gets going, he is one the best scorers in college basketball, but he tends to disappear too frequently.
James McAdoo, F, North Carolina, Fr. North Carolina coaches want to see more aggressiveness out of McAdoo and the freshman showed some glimpse of his ability but still does not seem completely comfortable at this point of his career. He picked up four fouls in just 12 minutes of play. While he has the potential of being a top-five pick down the line, he certainly needs another year of experience under his belt before he even considers leaving for the NBA.
2012 NBA Draft Stock: Selling
Mason Plumlee, PF, Duke, Jr. The middle Plumlee finished with just eight points but did end up grabbing 14 rebounds. However, his weaknesses were exposed as he couldn’t help the Blue Devils shore up the glass, as Zeller and Henson combined to grab 10 offensive boards. Zeller also went off in the first half, finishing with 23 points as a good share of them came with Mason guarding him. Plumlee is what he is; an athletic big who is not very physical and limited with his offensive game. Wednesday night’s game hurt him way more than helped him.
P.J. Hairston, SG, North Carolina, Fr. With the Heels losing Dexter Strickland for the season, Hairston has taken on a bigger role but not made the impact that North Carolina was hoping for. He was scoreless against the Blue Devils, missing all three of his shots. Hairston is just 2-16 from three since Strickland’s been out of the lineup, which is discouraging since his outside shooting is supposed to be his biggest weapon.
2012 NBA Draft Stock - March 28
2012 NBA Draft Stock - March 15
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Feb. 21
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Feb. 15
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Duke vs. North Carolina Special Edition
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Feb. 8
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Feb. 2
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Jan. 21
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Jan. 15
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Jan. 8
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Dec. 18
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Dec. 1
2012 NBA Draft Stock - Nov. 22
2012 NBA Draft Stock - April 1 (McDonald's All-American Game)
Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
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