Jamie Skeen, Ben Hansbrough: Five most underrated players in the NBA draft 2011 (Part-1)
Only a few days are left in the NBA draft 2011 and the teams from both the Conferences are giving it a final thought to pick the best talent available from the board.
Cleveland Cavaliers have a big chance to improve their team once again by drafting the top talent with their first and fourth overall picks. The worst team of the season, Minnesota Timberwolves will be drafting with the second
pick as a reasonable selection can change their destiny as well.
However, one of the biggest concerns for the teams with the top pick is the fact that the underrated prospects turns out to be a valuable picks every year. This year, things are heading in the same way. A number of players are
receiving less attention considering the potential they carry as they can emerge as a high-value draft afterwards.
Five underrated players this year are discussed below.
Jamie Skeen
Virginia Commonwealth University’s versatile power forward Jamie Skeen who can also play as centre was one of the top threat in the college league. Skeen is an incredible all round performer who carries the potential of becoming
the next NBA Star. In the last season with Virginia Commonwealth, Jamie led the college team with an average of 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. With a reasonable height of 6 feet 8 inch, Jamie is very productive on the defence as well and plays a vital role
in restricting the best offensive players of the other team.
However the prolific power forward is Ranked 68th on the NBA draft board which means that Skeen will be selected late in the second round or earlier in the third round. Jamie’s comparison can be done with the Memphis
Grizzlies influential power forward Zach Randolph who was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers with the 19th first round pick in 2001. After two years in NBA, Randolph became a constant double-double threat as currently, he is considered as one
of the best players in the league.
Jamie carries the same potential as a considerable improvement was seen in his game-play every year during his college career. Any team who drafts Skeen needs to polish his hidden strength for the pros of NBA and then he can do
wonders for the team.
Ben Hansbrough
University of Notre Dame’s influential shooting guard Ben Hansbrough is another surprising underrated prospect in this year’s draft. Being the brother of the Indian Pacers dynamic power forward Tyler Hansbrough, Ben definitely
has good bloodlines.
During the Big East Conference, Hansbrough showcased his extra special talent which earned him the reputation of one of the best players. Ben’s magnificent game-play powers the team on both the offensive and defensive sides of
the court. The most dominating aspect of Ben is his outstanding control from beyond the arc. Hansbrough connects 43.5 percents of his 3-points attempts which will only going to get better with the passage of time and veteran guidance.
Ben averaged 18.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds which gives an idea of his potency. Even after decent stats, Ben is ranked 77th on the board.
Tags: