College Hoops Video

North Carolina Tar Heel Coach, Roy Williams, followed up his 2009 NCAA Men’s basketball championship with a top 5 2009 NCAA recruiting class. Although North Carolina will miss Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and senior Tyler Hansbrough who will all be playing professionally next season, Coach Williams returns a talented crop of players from last season to go with John Henson, Travis and David Wear, Leslie McDonald, and Dexter Strickland who comprise the 2009 recruiting class.

 

Many pre-season rankings hold the Tar Heels a bit lower than their usual pre-season nr 1-3, however, most agree that Coach Williams has more than enough talent returning next year to achieve 30 wins, compete for the ACC title, and just maybe make a deep run in the 2010 NCAA tournament.

 

Projected 2009-10 Starting Lineup for the North Carolina Tar Heels

2009 North Carolina Tar Heels Projected Starter – Point Guard – Larry Drew II

Larry Drew averaged just under 10 minutes a game last season with his most minutes coming with star point guard, Ty Lawson, was out with a toe injury. Drew played in all of North Carolina’s games last season. Drew didn’t really get enough FT and 3PT attempts for fans to see what he is capable of, so you shouldn’t really look hard at the 41% free throw or 35% field goal clips he achieved over the course of the season. Dexter Strickland also looks to see some minutes behind Larry Drew as he picks up the offense and adjusts to the college game. Look for Drew’s playing time to increase as the season progresses.

2009 North Carolina Tar Heels Projected Starter – Power Forward –Deon Thompson

Deon Thompson comes off a season where he averaged 10.6 points a game to go with 5.7 rpg. He’ll be expected to up his production a bit with the loss of Hansbrough for his senior year and gives the Tar Heels an experienced front court presence heading into the 2009-10 season. Star recruit, David Wear will compete for playing time with Thompson and will likely see increased minutes as the season proceeds and the Tar Heels get deeper into ACC play when Coach Williams will need added depth in the front court.

2009 North Carolina Tar Heels Projected Starter – Center – Ed Davis

A huge win for Tar Heels fans was Ed Davis choosing to return for the 2009-10 NCAA season vice declaring for the NBA. He finished the second half of the 2008-09 season extremely strong. Davis led the Tar Heels with 65 blocked shots and pulled down 6.6 rebounds per game. Look for Davis to be the defensive lead of the Tar Heels next season with a bit more offensive production than we saw out of him last season. He’s not likely to pull down 20 points a game, but 13-15 a game is not out of the question.

2009 North Carolina Tar Heels Projected Starter – Small Forward – William Graves

William Graves heads into the summer time as the leading candidate for starting at the SF role for Coach Roy Williams next season. Star recruit, John Henson, will be battling for playing time and could see time behind either Graves or Deon Thompson. John Henson looks like he can play naturally in either the 3 or 4 position in Coach Williams’ offense next season, so his minutes may very likely will just depend on how quickly his defensive came gets up to ACC level competition.

 

2009 North Carolina Tar Heels Projected Starter – Shooting Guard – Marcus Ginyard

Marcus Ginyard received a medical redshirt for last season after only playing three games. He’s started 55 times in his career as a Tar Heel and was also voted the team’s top defender his sophomore and junior years. He’ll bring experience to the backcourt which should help North Carolina jell more quickly as a team as the Tar Heels get into the 2009-10 NCAA basketball season. As the season moves along, expect to see recruit Leslie McDonald start to see an increase number of minutes as Coach Williams gets his team ready for another post-season run in 2010.

Projected 2009-10 North Carolina Tar Heels Starting Line-Up:

PG: Larry Drew, II

SG: Marcus Ginyard

SF: William Graves

PF: Deon Thompson

C: Ed Davis

Refs:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/81568, http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/05/2009/05/top-5-2009-ncaa-basketball-recruiting-classes/, http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/60116, http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=27016, http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/2009/04/did-i-mention-i-really-like-this-ed-davis-kid/, http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/2009/04/john-henson-is-awesome, http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/2009/06/four-heels-get-drafted/, http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/06/2009-north-carolina-basketball-recruiting-john-henson/,

Updated: May 30^th, 2010

The following is our June update for the 2010 NBA Mock Draft. The mock is updated with the 2010 NBA Lottery Draft order but only goes through the first round for now. We have past the NCAA declaration deadline and have four of the Kentucky Wildcat freshmen from last season in addition to Junior Patrick Patterson declaring for this year’s draft. Kentucky point guard has been the odds-on #1 pick favorite since before he played a game for the Wildcats, although many think he could be inter-changeable with Ohio State star Evan Turner. The following is the College Hoops Video update for the 2010 NBA draft.

2010 NBA Mock Draft

#1 Washington Wizards: John Wall, PG, Kentucky, 6-4, Fr.

John Wall is considered to be the top point guard pick in this year’s draft. Most expect the Wizards to take Wall with the first pick and that they will move Gilbert Arenas over to the 2 guard spot with the drafting of Wall.

#2 Philadelphia 76ers: Evan Turner, G/F, Ohio State, 6-7, Jr.

Philly needs a “go to” player to help bring life back to the team. They have a chance with landing the second spot in the draft to pick a franchise player, and Turner looks like the perfect fit.

#3 New Jersey Nets: DeMarcus Cousins, C, Kentucky, 6-11, Fr.

Its hard to say if the Nets will take Cousins, Favors, or Wesley Johnson with this pick, but Cousins has demonstrated the most talent amongst the three players.

#4 Minnesota Timberwolves: Derrick Favors, PF, Georgia Tech, 6-10, Fr.

If for some reason Evan Turner drops to #4 look for the T-Wolves to take him in this spot. If not, then either Derrick Favors or Wesley Johnson would provide the most help to the current team needs.

#5 Sacramento Kings: Xavier Henry, SG, Kansas, 6-6, Fr.

The Kings need some help on the wing and Xavier Henry could be the answer…though it may take him a few years to get there. This may be a bit high for X to be drafted, but it wouldn’t be surprising.

#6 Golden State Warriors: Al-Farouq Aminu, SF, Wake Forest, 6-9, So.

Golden State needs wing and front-court depth. Aminu can provide them a player with the size to play inside or expand his skill set to play in in the team’s running style.

#7 Detroit Pistons: Ed Davis, PF, North Carolina, 6-10, So.

The Pistons need size, and Ed Davis is one of the most athletic options available at the #7 spot in the draft. They could end up drafting Greg Monroe, Ekpe Udoh, or if we see one of the other bigs drop. Shouldn’t count Cole Aldrich out of the game just yet either.

#8 Los Angeles Clippers: Greg Monroe, PF, Georgetown, 6-10, So.

The Clippers may take Johnson if he’s still available in the 8 spot, but don’t count out Greg Monroe’s upside potential with his athleticism.

#9 Utah Jazz: Patrick Patterson, PF, Kentucky, 6-9, Jr.

The Pistons need a player to play in the half-court. Patterson is one of the prospects that will be available and could fill their needs. Although his wing play was an area of focus during his junior year, its unknown how it will hold up to NBA level competition.

#10 Indiana Pacers: Eric Bledsoe, PG, Kentucky, 6-1, Fr.

The Pacers need a point guard to run the team into the future and Bledsoe looks to be the best available to take with the pick. A bit high for a player with his stats from last year, but remember that he played alongside John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, etc for the season.

#11 New Orleans Hornets: Ekpe Udoh, PF, Baylor, 6-10, Jr.

The Hornets need another big. Look for them to take the best one available, and don’t be surprised if you see Cole Aldrich get picked in this spot. Udoh has a great defensive game and could be the pick here.

#12 Memphis Grizzlies: Wesley Johnson, SF, Syracuse, 6-7, Jr.

The Grizzlies are coming off of their best season in a long time. Johnson could be just the all-around help they need to get over the hump and back into the playoffs.

#13 Toronto Raptors: Cole Aldrich, C, Kansas, 6-11, Jr.

The Raptors will likely lose Chris Bosh and could use Aldrich to help fill the void left if he signs with another team.

#14 Houston Rockets: Hassan Whiteside, C, Marshall, 7-0, Fr.

Houston doesn’t have a lot of holes to fill this offseason, but Whiteside could be the perfect draft pick to take now and work on his potential.

#15 Milwaukee Bucks: James Anderson, SG, Oklahoma State, 6-6, Jr.

The Bucks need a shooter and traded their solution for the aging Michael Redd last season (Jodie Meeks). James Anderson could fill that void and help provide additional scoring for the Bucks.

#16 Minnesota T-Wolves: Jordan Crawford, SG, Xavier, 6-4, Soph.

The T-Wolves are still very young, and Crawford could provide them a scorer for the near term.

#17 Chicago Bulls: Donatas Motiejunas, F/C, Lithuania, 7-0, 1990

Motiejunas gives the Bulls another wing option to play alongside Rose. If the Bulls believe they have a strong shot at landing the “King” in free agency, this pick may change significantly.

#18 Miami Heat: Gordon Hayward, SF, Butler, 6-9, So.

The Heat could need a significant amount of help next season if they lose D-Wade. If Hayward is available this deep, then look for Miami to snatch him up.

#19 Boston Celtics: Damion James, SF, Texas, 6-8, Sr.

The Celtics may lose Ray Allen solely due to finances after this season. Damion James could be the best wing player available to take as a potential backup or replacement for Allen.

#20 San Antonio Spurs: Luke Babbitt, SF, Nevada, 6-9, So.

Babbit could be the perfect wing/inside player to add to the Spurs squad to try and make it deeper into next year’s playoffs.

#21 Oklahoma City Thunder: Solomon Alabi, C, Florida St, 7-1, So.

The Thunder made it to the playoffs, but need to have a defensive paint presence. Alabi could provide that need for the team with his 7’1” height.

#22 Portland Trail Blazers: Daniel Orton, F/C, Kentucky, 6-10, Fr.

Portland needs some size and Orton may be the best pick for them to take. He is relatively un-proven at the college level, but showed a lot of upside towards the end of last year’s college basketball season.

#23 Minnesota Timberwolves: Paul George, SF, Fresno State, 6-8, So.

#24 Atlanta Hawks: Avery Bradley, G, Texas, 6-2, Fr.

#25 Memphis Grizzlies: Terrico White, SG, Mississippi, 6-5, So.

#26 Oklahoma City Thunder: Devin Ebanks, SF, West Virginia, 6-9, So.

#27 New Jersey Nets: Elliot Williams, G, Memphis, 6-4, So.

#28 Memphis Grizzlies: Kevin Seraphin, PF, France, 6-10, 1989

#29 Orlando Magic: Lance Stephenson, SG, Cincinnati, 6-5, Fr.

#30 Washington Wizards:Willie Warren, G, Oklahoma, 6-4, So.

So, earlier today I updated my final 2009 NBA Mock Draft. Then, I realized that a number of the readers of the site rely on the RSS feed that is limited to the last 10 articles on CHV. As a result, this is a short synopsis of the CHV 2009 NBA Mock Draft with a link to the full two round 2009 NBA Mock Draft!

We’ve seen who’s going and staying in the draft now. The biggest surprise is the lack of “awe” for Ricky Rubio’s only workout conducted before the draft with the Sacramento Kings.  I dropped him all the way down to nr 5 since the Kings don’t seem to thrilled with him, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him go even lower! Jodie Meeks chose to remain in the draft along with Memphis’s Shawn Taggart and we have seen a fair bit of movement of players based onhow their pre-draft workouts have gone. Tyler Hansbrough and B.J. Mullens have helped their cases since the 2008-09 NCAA regular season wrapped up and Terrence Williams may have worked his way into a 2009 NBA lottery pick! Particularly interesting is that Minnesota has traded to get the nr 5 and 6 picks with many thinking they’ll take the best Point Guard on the board with the pick and a good shooting or slashing guard with the second. Don’t be surprised to see them take DeRozan and Evans here vice mucking with Rubio if he’s still around.

Top 5 2009 NBA Draft Picks:

2009 NBA Mock Draft #1	LA Clippers	Blake Griffin	6-10	248	PF	Oklahoma	So.
2009 NBA Mock Draft #2	Memphis	Hasheem Thabeet	7-2	267	C	UConn	Jr.
2009 NBA Mock Draft #3	Oklahoma Cty	James Harden	6-5	218	SG	Arizona St	So.
2009 NBA Mock Draft #4	Sacramento	Jordan Hill	6-10	235	PF	Arizona	So.
2009 NBA Mock Draft #5	Minnesota	Ricky Rubio	6-3	180	PG	Spain	Intl.

View the Complete College Hoops Video 2009 NBA Mock Draft!