Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 12:22 pm  |  44 responses

2010 NBA Mock Draft – Top 10 Prospects

Take a guess at who is our projected no. 1 overall pick?

by Jeff FoxJohn Wall

While it was fun strolling down memory lane with our NBA Draft Remix series, it’s time to get back to the matter at hand – the 2010 NBA Draft. As is usually the case, there is a clear-cut choice as the projected top pick in next June’s draft, and the way he has been playing this year so far there is pretty much a 100 percent chance he’ll remain on top when June rolls around. Without further ado, Draft 365′s first 2010 mock draft — the top 10 prospects as of now — but remember, it is still really early and we can only guess which underclassmen will declare for the draft in June).

1. John Wall | PG | Kentucky | Freshman
Not that this comes as a big surprise, but we’re enamored with John Wall. Guessing we’re probably not alone in our feelings. The best point guard prospect to come along since Chris Paul left Wake Forest, Wall has it all – size, speed and skills. While he still has a few holes in his game (not much of an outside threat; turnover prone), he will no doubt be a top point guard in the NBA for a long time and is a no-brainer to be the first overall pick next June.

2. Derrick Favors | PF | Georgia Tech | Freshman
Derrick FavorDerrick Favorss is one of those guys who seems to have be born to be a NBA player. He’s 6-10 with a freakish wingspan. He’s uber-athletic. He can run the floor, rebound, block shots and jump out of the gym. In many other draft years he would be the top prospect – but this isn’t your average draft year.

3. Donatas Motiejunas | PF | Benetton Treviso | 1990
Donatas Motiejunas looks primed to be the highest-picked European in the draft since fellow Benetton Treviso product Andrea Bargnani went first overall in 2006. What intrigues the scouts about the lefty Lithuanian is the same thing that intrigues scouts about most European prospects – he’s a 7-footer who can shoot the three. But, as an added bonus, he is also able to play in the post on offense and defense.

4. Al-Farouq Aminu | SF | Wake Forest | Sophomore
Al-Farouq Aminu got overshadowed by teammates James Johnson and Jeff Teague last season, so he wisely stuck around college for a second year. Looks like the move paid off, as he is averaging a double-double and has already matched his total three-pointers made from last season.

5. Evan Turner | SG | Ohio State | Junior
The 6-7 Evan Turner was putting up insane numbers (19 points, 11 boards, 6 assists) in Ohio State’s first eight games (while playing the point guard spot, no less) before falling off the rim during a dunk attempt and breaking his back. Assuming he heals up fully, his versatility should make him a high draft pick.

6. Willie Warren | PG/SG | Oklahoma | Sophomore
An explosive athlete and explosive scorer, the main question surrounding 6-4 Willie Warren is can play the point guard position in the NBA or is he instead an undersized 2-guard? Our guess is the later.

7. Ed Davis | PF | North Carolina | Sophomore
An early favorite to be selected in the top three, Ed Davis’ stock seems to have fallen a bit since he hasn’t been as dominant as expected this season. Still, he is one of the top talents in the draft and shouldn’t fall out of the top 10.

8. Wesley Johnson | SF | Syracuse | Junior
The athletic Iowa State transfer has made sure that this isn’t a rebuilding Xavier Henryyear in Syracuse despite all of their offseason player departures. Besides his athleticism, he also is hitting over 50 percent of his three-pointers this year and has a 7-foot wingspan that he has been using to block over two shots a game.

9. Cole Aldrich | Center | Kansas | Junior
The top center in the college game, Cole Aldrich might not have the “upside” of other guys on this list, but he has a good skill-set and, as the saying goes, “You can’t teach height”.

10. Xavier Henry | Shooting Guard | Kansas | Freshman
Overlooked by all the John Wall hype is the fantastic freshman season former SLAM diary keeper Xavier Henry is having. The athletic shooting guard is leading top-ranked Kansas in scoring and is hitting his three’s at a 53 percent clip.

Read more of Jeff Fox at The Hoops Manifesto.

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  • tavoris Posted: Dec.18 at 12:26 pm
    they should just cancel the draft after the first pick. just kidding…

  • niQ Posted: Dec.18 at 12:27 pm
    Well, I guessed the first 3 right… But the 3rd pick was a guess just cause he’s European and for some reason apparantely its cool to draft European players with high picks now.

  • niQ Posted: Dec.18 at 12:27 pm
    Well, I guessed the first 3 right… But the 3rd pick was a guess just cause he’s European and for some reason apparantely its cool to draft European players with high picks now.

  • Myles Brown Posted: Dec.18 at 12:30 pm
    I cant wait for the sh*t we get after trading Flynn and drafting ANOTHER POINT GUARD. Of course to do anything else is stupid.

  • tmw554 Posted: Dec.18 at 12:31 pm
    whats up with that stephenson kid that was getting alot of talk last year?

  • tavoris Posted: Dec.18 at 12:32 pm
    how is Willie Warren (at 6’4″) an undersized 2? Isn’t Dwayne Wade 6’4″, and doesn’t he post up other 2′s?

  • Nolan Posted: Dec.18 at 12:36 pm
    Aminu over Wesley? I realize Wes is like 35 years old but he has been beyond sensational. Aldrich has knee problems and could be red flagged similar to Blair last year. He’s a tremendous player though. He’s come a long way since his high school days. Good mock.

  • Jeff Fox Posted: Dec.18 at 1:25 pm
    Dwyane Wade IS an undersized two-guard, but he’s Dwyane Wade so he can get away with it! And to answer the question about Aminu over Wesley, I just think Aminu has more potential right now, but things can change if Wesley keeps playing the way he has.

  • Captain Jean Luc-Picard Posted: Dec.18 at 1:33 pm
    Myles, the only problem with drafting Wall and trading Flynn is that Wall hasn’t yet shown a propensity for making errand behind-the-back passes at crunch time.

  • Hussman25 Posted: Dec.18 at 1:36 pm
    NO LOVE FOR MR. STEPHENSON????? *TWO THUMBS DOWN*

  • niQ Posted: Dec.18 at 1:47 pm
    A lot of Mock Drafts have Lance Stephenson going around 30+. Although that to me is underrating him a lot, they say its cause he simply gives up on plays. If he doesn’t get a call (his way), he literally just sulks on the court for the next few positions. Although he can score in bunches, it’s his attitude that a lot of teams are shying away from. But who knows, maybe he’ll shoot up the rankings as the year progresses. Tyreke Evans was predicted to be like 16th or 17th pick around this time last year, then got drafted 4th. Same goes for Russell Westbrook, I hadn’t even heard of his name or paid attention and he went 4th in his year.

  • niQ Posted: Dec.18 at 1:48 pm
    *the next few possessions.

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Hot Topics Posted: Dec.18 at 1:55 pm
    [...] 2010 Draft [...]

  • Jeff Fox Posted: Dec.18 at 1:57 pm
    niQ has it right – it is Stephenson’s attitude that is scary off scouts. If he was special talent he could get away with it, but really what does he bring to a NBA team that is special or different from the other top draft prospects?

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Dec.18 at 2:01 pm
    Who knew Xavier had that type of consistency from deep. He’s playing like a beast. Top 10 pick for sure.

  • niQ Posted: Dec.18 at 2:47 pm
    @Myles Brown, I laugh at any of your comments regarding next year’s draft cause its so true.

  • Young Lebron 23 Posted: Dec.18 at 3:49 pm
    Stephenson is really talented but he needs 1.) a midrange game 2.) better effort on defense 3.) needs to change his overall attitude period.

  • Jukai Posted: Dec.18 at 5:16 pm
    nIQ: No offense, but how the hell did you not know who Russell Westbrook was?
    Combine all the attitude worries you heard people talking about with Mayo and Beasley, then add a little more, and you get Stephenson. Kid is bad news.

  • Jukai Posted: Dec.18 at 5:40 pm
    Hey, where’s Royce White in here? Dude’s a machine. Like, a computer almost.

  • Dacre Posted: Dec.18 at 5:46 pm
    I would just try and find out which 2nd round player the Spurs have their eye on and go for them. your going to get a natural born winner. and stay away from any player goldenstate or knicks like.

  • ChiTownStatus Posted: Dec.18 at 6:32 pm
    whts up with my man greg monroe????

  • Nick Gibson Posted: Dec.18 at 10:06 pm
    Wes Johnson=The Matrix: Reloaded.

  • Jeff Fox Posted: Dec.18 at 10:21 pm
    Monroe is a guy I’m definitely keeping my eye on – not sure if he will declare for the draft or not though.

  • Tyler Whitcomb Posted: Dec.19 at 5:37 am
    Nice job! Here are my top 10 1. John Wall
    2. Derrick Favors
    3. Ed Davis
    4. Al Farouq Aminu
    5. Willie Warren
    6. Wesley Johnson
    7. Xavier Henry
    8. Cole Aldrich
    9. Evan Turner (Because of injury or top 3)
    10. Devin Ebanks

  • Tyler Whitcomb Posted: Dec.19 at 5:53 am
    I wouldn’t grab Lance Stephenson on my IBL team, his attitude is as bad as I have seen it and this is on TV, imagine him away from hoops. His game is good, but not great. I seriously don’t see him as a top 50 pick right now, who in the hell would draft him in the NBA? He is a player that can create his own shot and create for others when he is not being selfish like in the McDonalds game and that is huge in the NBA and he has size for a guard. So I admit he has skills offensively. However he lacks ability to defend, toughness mentality, speed ( He has quickness), Mid range shooting, 3 point shooting, good post passer, help side defender, leadership skills, and communication skills. I know I’m picking on him and there are also others that are top 10 material that lack some of these skills, but to me his overall speed at the 2 spot, his defensive mentality, his maturity, and his lack of always competing really kills him. Maybee in time he could develop his attitude and skills and be a 1st round pick, never a lottery pick. As of right now, no way and I hardly doubt ever.

  • Diego Posted: Dec.19 at 1:15 pm
    I’ve seen Cinci play a lot this year and am not impressed with Stephenson at all. While I disagree that he is a bad defender (he shut down Bouldin from Gonzaga), he has many other holes in his game. He has no concept of team offense-he needs an isolation to score, he is a bad 3 point and midrange shooter, and he is not incredibly athletic. Add this to his questionable attitude and teams will have reason to stay away

  • Lucas Posted: Dec.19 at 5:46 pm
    Great Article Slam, I wrote one fairly similar to this recently profiling some other intriguing prospects.
    http://in-n-outnba.blogspot.com/2009/12/2010-nba-draft-intriguing-prospects.html

  • Dacre Posted: Dec.19 at 8:34 pm
    so having said all that -about lance stephenson….Knicks will probably turn around and take him with their pick… right? no doubt.

  • Dacre Posted: Dec.19 at 8:35 pm
    Does Xavier Henry ooze ‘Rip Hamilton’ style?

  • fds Posted: Dec.19 at 10:27 pm
    wat ever happend to renardo sidney?

  • Jeff Fox Posted: Dec.20 at 9:17 am
    Renardo Sidney still hasn’t been cleared by the NCAA to play for Miss. St. He’s still sitting in limbo.

  • TADOne Posted: Dec.20 at 1:46 pm
    Lance Stephenson is starting to sound alot like former UNC player Joe Forte. Talented, but uncoachable.

  • Jack Posted: Dec.20 at 6:08 pm
    U think Xavier Henry’s bro, CJ is gonna play NBA ball

  • Jeff Fox Posted: Dec.20 at 11:51 pm
    CJ isn’t considered a NBA prospect at this point.

  • chintao Posted: Dec.21 at 3:17 am
    Since we’re on John Wall’s ball$ again, let’s rub-in the fact that the Knicks have no shot at him: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2009/12/13/2009-12-13_john_wall_.html Don’t worry, New York, you can alway make the trip across the river to Jersey (or Brooklyn?).

  • nicko Posted: Dec.21 at 11:55 am
    whats up with John Riek?…you know the dude from AFrica who looks like hes a 45 year old man with 3 kids.

  • niQ Posted: Dec.21 at 2:37 pm
    Lance is sort of like Bill Walker, no? Didn’t he get a lot of love from SLAM? The only game I ever saw of him in the NBA be just kept argueing with refs and players.

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Dec.22 at 4:13 am
    dacre, no. not at all. his game is so much more versatile, plus he has incredible range. and an nba ready body. funny how he is putting up the EXACT same numbers as wall, well, actually better in some stats. but is getting no natl love. the sky is the limit with x.

  • SLAM ONLINE | » 2010 NBA Draft - Point Guards Posted: Jan.8 at 12:21 pm
    [...] John Wall | Kentucky | FreshmanWe’ve already written about how much we love John Wall here, and here. Our opinion has not changed in the least, as Wall continues to impress in his first (and [...]

  • Rodney K Posted: Jan.13 at 3:46 pm
    Lance Stephenson is over-rated! He’s the next coming of Korleone Young. And you’re right, there’s a good chance the Knicks will sell the farm for the opp to draft him.

  • GametimeWeezy Posted: Jan.24 at 4:23 pm
    whats the word on Greg Monroe?

  • Hotshot Posted: Jan.25 at 12:38 am
    Stephson will be the best nba ready when he gets their, amino could be like d howard, favors will be a great player he has his own game. john wall could be like isaih thomas mby better.

  • Ders Posted: Jan.29 at 11:35 am
    Okay, if the Nets (or any lucky team who gets the 1st pick) don’t pick Mr. Wall… That would be like drafting Darko, and let Wade pass by. By the way, if LeBron is gonna move to the Nets, and he talks friendly with Bosh, the Nets would be pretty awesome next season. Wall, LeBron, Bosh, Lopez, and maybe Harris if J-Wall doesn’t “kick” him out of the team. Sorry, just dreaming. And yeah, I think Derrick Favors will make the list of pretty good NBA players, if he doesn’t join Blake Griffin and Greg Oden on another list……..

  • 2010 NBA Mock Draft Database | The Hoop Doctors Posted: Jan.30 at 11:50 pm
    [...] Slam Online [...]

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