The Pacers didn't have any luck in the Lottery Tuesday night. I didn't expect they would, but it is still a gut punch to see the Pacers sitting with the 10th pick due to their inexplicable 11-5 run to end the season. Such memorable wins we had. Beating a Cleveland team without LeBron, then the next night coming home to beat the juggernaut New Jersey Nets. Ahh, quite a run, one I will never forget. I have never cheered against a team I like that hard since, well, since way back in 2009 when I sometimes secretly cheered against Iowa Basketball in hopes Todd Lickleiter would get canned, which worked out. But, before that I didn't cheer against my teams. It showed Tuesday night that my cheering against the Pacers, for the good of the organization mind you, was the correct thing to do. Now instead of someone like John Wall, Evan Turner, or Derrick Favors to play alongside Danny Granger, the Pacers are looking at a player the caliber of the rest of the team, aka a role player. So without further ado, I look at 10 possible players who the Pacers may pick with the 10th pick, assuming they don't trade it for someone like Adam Morrison. At the end I'll rank the 10 players in the order I would like to see them in a Pacers uniform.
1) Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest)- Aminu falling to the 10th pick is unlikely, but possible. I didn't see Aminu play too much this year, but his numbers (15.8 ppg and 10.7 Reb/game) were pretty respectful, even in the weak ACC. Aminu is extremely athletic, and he has a lot of growing to do in terms of skills. Aminu could be a player in the mold of a Marvin Williams or a more skilled Jamario Moon. He lacks a shooting touch from the outside, but his energy on the offensive glass helps him contribute. I wouldn't mind seeing him in the blue and yellow, but it seems far fetched.
2) Xavier Henry (Kansas) - I'm pretty high on Xavier Henry. I thought he played well for Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament, and in their loss to UNI in the big dance. Granted, he didn't have as huge of freshman year as some expected, but I think if he was on a less talented team than Kansas he would have had the ball more and put up bigger numbers. He still put up 13.4 ppg on a team that was ranked #1 most of the year. Henry also seems like a good kid, which is of course what the Pacers are looking for. No more Tinsleys or Artests for Indy. Henry's body seems NBA ready right now, his ball handling and outside shooting will need some work, but I could see him and Granger being a very good 1-2 combo. I could also see him being Brandon Rush 2.0, which is a nightmare for Pacers fans.
3) Patrick Patterson (Kentucky) - I've seen Patterson everywhere from Pick 8 to the late teens. He was a great player in college, but actually saw his numbers decline in his junior year. I contribute this decline in points and rebounds per game last season to his maturity. Patterson saw that with Wall, Cousins and Bledsoe in the rotation there were less shots to go around. I found his acceptance of his role to be a good trait and a possible enticing quality for the Pacers. Patterson could be a big help inside for Roy Hibbert and his maturity and college experience could help him be a contributor right away.
4) Greg Monroe (Georgetown) - Monroe is a very attractive pick. He has a great basketball IQ, he passes extremely well for a big man, and he played for a Georgetown team that had guards who didn't utilize him enough. The big knock on Monroe is that he sometimes lags in the hustling department. Some people think he loses focus sometimes, just like our old buddy Brandon Rush. While we are on the subject, I would like to state I loved the Brandon Rush pick two years ago. I still think Rush could flick a switch and figure out he needs to work harder and has potential to be a really good NBA player, but this hasn't happened yet and Pacer fans are frustrated. I think Monroe would benefit immensely from working with Roy Hibbert. They are both Georgetown guys, and although their game is a little different, Hibbert has shown a strong work ethic and could rub off on Monroe.
5) Gordon Hayward (Butler) - This pick scares me to death. I feel like larry Bird is sitting in his office right now, calling all the Butler boosters trying to sell season tickets if they draft Hayward. I really like Hayward and hope he has a good NBA career, but I don't think he is 10th pick material. The white guy from Indiana who led Butler on a Cinderella run is frightening to me. Hayward showed he can compete with the big boys, but he also showed he has a lot of work to do both in terms of basketball and in terms of getting his body NBA ready. Please don't pick Hayward. Maybe trade T.J Ford or Solomon Jones for like the 16th or 17th pick and draft him there if you want to sell tickets. Don't waste the 10th pick.
6) Donatas Motiejunas (International) - Let's be honest, I don't know anything about any European players not named Josh Childress or Ricky Rubio. This guy is being hyped pretty hard. If he becomes the next Dirk or circa-1999 Peja, then he would be a good pick, but the Pacers saw what happens with hyped Europeans with the Saranus Jasikevicius disaster.
7) Cole Aldrich (Kansas) - I'm not an Aldrich fan. I know some people, like Bill Simmons, think he will be a 15 and 8 guy in the pros, but I'm not seeing it. We saw Jordan Eglseder from UNI play as good or better than Aldrich in the tournament, and Eglseder looks like Kane, so that's not a good sign for Aldrich. I just don't see his game transferring to the NBA very well. In my opinion he is more Josh McRoberts than Rik Smits.
8) Ed Davis (North Carolina) - Davis to the Pacers is a popular mock scenario. I'm not big on Davis. After the national title year, he was supposed to keep UNC relevant. He did not. He looks skinny and over matched against good players. With that being said, I felt the same about Roy Hibbert, and now I'm very happy with Hibbert's progress. If Davis can fill out a bit and get more of a face up game, he could be real good. Until he does that, I'm not sold on him.
9) Avery Bradley (Texas) - I really like Bradley. I think his potential is as high as anybody not named Wall in this draft. I could easily see him being the Brandon Jennings or Ty Lawson of the 2010 Draft. He is only a freshman, so he is young, but he has talent and he has a lot of it. His is great defensively and explosive offensively. His freshman season left something to be desired, but since when has someone not named Kevin Durant not been dragged down by the terrible in-game coaching of Rick Barnes?
10) Ekpe Udoh (Baylor) - Udoh is an enigma. He is athletic as all get out. He was a cornerstone of the team that brought Baylor to prominence. He averaged 3.7 blocks a game last year, which is ridiculous. He is 23 this month. His defense is good, when he wants to play it. I really would not be surprised by anything Udoh does in the pros, be it good or bad.
My Rankings in terms of who I want the Pacers to pick (1 being the highest)
10) Hayward
9) Motiejunas
8) Aldrich
7) Aminu (because I don't see him being available under any circumstances)
6) Davis
5) Patterson
4) Bradley
3) Udoh
2) Monroe
1) Xavier Henry
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