Larry Brown Sports

Thursday’s NBA draft was both exhilarating and head-scratching. Some players went higher than expected (ahem, Iman Shumpert). Others fell far, to teams that never expected to grab them (Chris Singleton and the Wizards, for instance).

It’s too early to tell which of these players will reach their potential and which ones will veer off the tracks in an Adam Morrison-like train crash. Like an overwrought episode of Franklin & Bash, it’ll take a while for the basketball community to reach its final verdicts.

In the meantime, here’s a quick pick-by-pick analysis of each player taken in this year’s lottery and how they fit with their new team:

1. Kyrie Irving (PG) – Cleveland

The look on Irving’s agent’s face when Irving’s name was called No. 1 was priceless. Turns out Cleveland had kept them in the dark all week long. Not a promise (despite there being word of a promise). Not a hint. Nothing. When you heard “Kyrie Irving to the Cleveland Cavaliers,” that’s the first time he heard it too. I’m sure Irving’s agent will remind Cavs executives of this in a few years when it comes time to sign an extension. In the meantime, Irving will be asked to keep the Cavs afloat with a nucleus of Baron Davis, AndersonVarejao, J.J. Hickson and Tristan Thompson. No easy feat. Let’s hope Dan Gilbert isn’t thinking playoffs any time soon.

2. Derrick Williams (PF) - Minnesota

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Reading NBA draft previews sometimes feels like wading through Princess Bride-style quicksand. With so many names to remember and stats to sift through, it can be hard to figure out what draft info is important and what’s just unnecessary nonsense.

Do you care as a casual fan, for instance, that Enes Kanter has 5.9% body fat? Or that Marcus Morris can run three quarters of the court in 3.2 seconds whereas his twin brother, Markieff, runs it in 3.4 seconds? Not really, right?

You just want the basics. Which is why I wrote this beginner’s guide.

Draft lunatics will already know most of what is written below. It’s not quantum physics, just a good starting place for people staring at the screen on draft night wondering “who is that guy?”

If you’re here for insight into Nikola Vucevic’s standing reach, you’ve come to the wrong place. But if cheat sheet info delivered in 100 words or less is your thing, I’m your guy. You won’t find any quicksand here.

Here’s my Cliff Notes-style guide to the 2011 NBA draft:

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Viewers watching the Kentucky-North Carolina game on Sunday hoping to hear a good breakdown from the analysts at halftime came away disappointed. Actually, they probably had their senses assaulted by the uncomfortable three-minute interview CBS conducted with UConn stars Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb. Check it out if you didn’t already see it via Bubbaprog:

Walker’s a junior so he’s had three years of media experience, but Lamb made it painfully obvious he’s only a freshman and new to interviews on national TV. CBS should have known better than to put an inexperienced player on TV for a sit-down like that because not even Charles Barkley fudging his questions could lighten the mood. Next time CBS should ask for the coach and a media-savvy player for an interview. Then again, they’re kind of in a tough spot because only people in Massachusetts and Connecticut can understand whatever dialect of English Jim Calhoun speaks.

UConn has advanced to the semi-finals of the Big East Tournament after beating DePaul, Georgetown, and Pittsburgh in a three-day span.  The story of the afternoon on Thursday was once again Kemba Walker — the nation’s best point guard in my opinion — who scored 24 points.  None were bigger than the two that came with 0.00 seconds remaining in the game.  Check out the Kemba Walker game-winner against Pitt, courtesy of Mocksession:

The shot was incredible, but Gary McGhee should have switched back and let Brad Wanamaker cover Walker.  He had to have known he was going to either drive or take a step-back jumper.  McGhee allowed him to get more space than he needed to hit the shot, which is Walker’s bread and butter to begin with. In any event, UConn stays alive and moves on to face the winner of St. Johns and Syracuse on Friday night.  The Huskies have given themselves a huge boost in NCAA tournament seeding.

Not much has changed since we wrote about Kemba Walker lighting things up back in November. The junior guard from the Bronx leads the nation in scoring with 26.1 points per game, one more than Jimmer Fredette. He had a tougher time against Texas on Saturday, being held scoreless the first 17 minutes of the game, but you knew Kemba couldn’t be quieted. Not only did he have the game-winning shot with five seconds left, but he also hit this incredible three-pointer:

Walker was only 8-27 in the game, but he had seven in overtime including that amazing shot and his game-winner. I suppose it’s a fitting shot for him to make given how well he’s been playing all season.

You know how people tend to remember where they are when important events happen — presidential elections, natural disasters, and so on?  Call me crazy, but I remember where I was the day I found out Kemba Walker committed to the University of Connecticut.  Am I saying a recruit signing a letter of intent compares to the magnitude of the aforementioned events?  Not quite.  But I was a sophomore at UConn at the time and like most of the other bonehead sports fans who go to a Division 1 school, I wanted to see a national championship before my four years were up more than I wanted a degree.

The degree came.  The championship never did.  Yes, I know that little piece of stamped, signed, and sealed paper will carry me further in life than witnessing the Huskies cut down the nets would have, but I digress.  I had done enough research about UConn’s recruiting class to know Walker could be something special.  Maybe not a one-and-done guy, but my friends and I were sure he’d show enough in two years to jet for the NBA.

Three years later, Kemba is still a Husky.  With A.J. Price in the fold his freshman year, there wasn’t much opportunity for playing time.  When the opportunities presented themselves, Walker chipped in.  His play off the bench in the 2009 NCAA Tournament had as much to do with UConn’s run to the Final Four as Hasheem Thabeet’s low-post presence on defense.

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