NBA DRAFT: OSU TO MAKE HISTORY

By Adam Kiefaber

The NBA Draft will take place a week from today on June 28th. The coverage will start at 7:00 p.m. (eastern) on ESPN.

Normally, the Buckeyes are not known for producing NBA talent. In the last five drafts Ohio State has not had a single player taken in either the first or second rounds of the draft. Also, no Buckeye in the last 14 drafts has been taken in the first round.

This year’s draft is practically guaranteed to have the first ever Ohio State player to be taken first overall in Greg Oden. Another Buckeye, Mike Conley Jr., should be selected in the top ten. Also, Daequan Cook is expected to go in the first round while Ron Lewis might be picked in the second round.

The last first round pick from Ohio State was in 1992 when the Dallas Mavericks picked Jim Jackson fourth overall. The last Buckeye to be drafted was in 2001 when the Miami Heat took Ken Johnson 49th overall. Johnson played in only 16 games in his NBA career. In 2000, Ohio State had two players taken in the second round. Michael Redd was taken 43rd overall by the Milwaukee Bucks and now is an NBA all-star. Scoonie Penn was the second to last pick of that draft and couldn’t make the Atlanta Hawks roster.

NBA.com features a consensus mock draft that lists 16 different mock drafts from all over the Internet. In all 16 mock drafts, Greg Oden is listed as the first overall pick, which belongs to the Portland Trail Blazers. At worst Oden could end up being the second overall pick if Portland chooses Kevin Durant.

In the 16 mock drafts, Conley’s draft position ranges from third to 11th overall. The Atlanta Hawks hold the third and 11th picks in the first round. There is no chance that Atlanta will pass on Conley twice.

Many Buckeye fans question the choice Daequan Cook has made by leaving Ohio State for the NBA (see Should Daequan Cook Dip Out of NBA Draft?). According to the mock drafts (14 of 16 have listed picks past the top 14), Cook’s draft position ranges from 23rd overall to not being taken in the first round. Four mock drafts have Cook going to the New York Knicks (23rd overall). Other mock drafts have Cook going to Philadelphia (21st overall), Phoenix (24th and 29th overall), Utah (25th overall) and Houston (26th overall). Two mock drafts have Cook being passed over in the first round.

In my mind, Ron Lewis could be the steal of this draft. In Ohio State’s last 10 games (including the NCAA tournament) Lewis averaged 17 points a game. Also, he scored 27 points in the overtime win over Xavier in the NCAA tournament as well as 25 points in the one-point win over Tennessee in the Sweet 16. However, Lewis could be the steal of the draft because no one thinks that he will be drafted. Only five of the 16 mock drafts list a complete rundown of the second round and none of them have Lewis being selected.

ESPN.com lists 100 prospects in their draft database and Ivan Harris is not among them. There are only 60 picks in the draft.