Keith Brumbaugh
Brumbaugh was really highly thought of in high school until he decided his favorite pastime was stealing from Wal-Mart. Talent-wise he’s supposed to be pretty good but obviously he’s a risky pick (although perhaps if he got first round money he wouldn’t have to steal from Wal-Mart) so he’s likely to go in the second round.
Kosta Koufos
Koufos is one of the rare guys that is basically a first round lock that I think would be best to come back to school only because I think he looks like a top 10 pick next year. Instead I would guess he’ll go around 20 or so.
Chris Douglas-Roberts, Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier
Roberts will clearly stay in the draft and he will be a first round pick. I doubt Anderson or Dozier will see the first round and I expect to see them back at Memphis. How bad would it be for Memphis if they do follow through and stay in the draft though? With these three plus Rose and the exhaustion of Dorsey’s eligibility, who is left? I understand they’ll still have talent and they have a good class coming in, but could next year be the year that Memphis loses the CUSA crown? Well, maybe more realistically is next year the year that Memphis loses a CUSA game?
C.J. Giles
Although talented he is not talented enough to overcome the fact that he’s been kicked off of multiple college teams. Like Brumbaugh he isn’t a bad gamble in the second round where you wouldn’t be tied to him but a first round pick on Giles would be awfully stupid.
Lester Hudson
Despite coming from Tennessee-Martin, you have to be impressed when you look at the stats. He really fills out a stat sheet, although considering at his size he is likely a point guard it is troubling that turnovers is one of the stats he fills up. I would say he was almost certain to come back but considering grades have been an issue with him I wonder if he cares about the academics and he’s old enough at this point that his age is becoming a negative in terms of the NBA as he’ll be 24 by the time the next NBA season tips off.
Jamont Gordon
Assuming he goes back to school it was a great idea for Gordon to declare. He might as well become familiar with the process so he can be more comfortable going through it again next year. He’s not getting a first round contract this year but with a good senior year it could happen in 2009.
D.J. Augustin, A.J. Abrams
This puts a damper on Texas’s hopes at a national title next year. Augustin will go in the lottery most likely. Abrams will likely be helping the Longhorns in their Final Four hopes next year; he’s not a first round guy this year but like Gordon, as a junior there is no reason not to go through the process now.
Mario Chalmers
I love Chalmers (and that was before the buzzer sounded in regulation against Memphis). Chalmers played in a strong backcourt and stood out to me. I think his numbers would look a lot better as well if he was not on such a balanced team. If people fail to realize that he’s awesome he could come back to school but I like him in the first round.
